You might not think much about learning how to create email footers or even email footer best practices.
Creating email footers usually falls by the wayside in the seemingly larger scheme of things. Marketers pay more attention to things like email design, snazzy graphics, high-engagement content, and click-worthy subject lines.
Even popular email service providers don’t give importance to footers. Email automation platforms give you a default footer template where you can drop in your social media information.
However, neglecting this aspect of an email’s design is a missed opportunity.
The email footer is precious real estate. When you only plaster a logo and legal disclaimers on an email footer, you don’t do justice to this crucial space.
Don’t waste this space. In this article, we’ll explore creative ways to design and write engaging email footers that are conducive to conversions.
We’ve collected best practices and marketing inspiration through Panoramata, which holds a huge database of emails, among other marketing content pieces.
With this email search engine, you can browse through thousands of email footer examples that you can use for inspiration.
Share links that might be overlooked
The usual links you see on email footers are legal disclaimers, unsubscribe buttons (or links), and social media handles.
If your brand has a hundred different things happening all the time, it’s easy for your customers to forget and overlook.
Email footers can be a great place to add little icons and links for your customers to take a look at other relevant things that you have available. Maybe they can read up more about another add-on service or related products by clicking on your footer.
Look at how Heathrow Airport does this.
At the bottom of the email where the email footer is, Heathrow Airport management uses the space as a series of prompts.
Through the footer, people can check out the airport’s mobile app, travel money feature, parking privileges, and the Heathrow Service.
All of these are things that customers could easily forget or might not even know about. A footer can be a space for a subtle reminder because it is an unintrusive part of your email and therefore does not detract from your email’s main message.
Include fun elements like trivia
Your email footer doesn’t always have to mean business. The footer is a great way to insert playfulness into your brand’s communication with your subscribers.
Fun elements are more engaging and are a welcome change from the usual links and icons. They can also be more memorable or become something readers look forward to when receiving your newsletter.
A footer can be a space for a subtle reminder because it is an unintrusive part of your email and therefore does not detract from your email’s main message.
The brand Sundays uses a little “Did you know?” element at the bottom of the email where the footer is.
But they don’t stop there. Sundays also includes links to FAQs, a free sample, a comparison link, and a link to ingredients.
Sundays shows how you can sprinkle not-so-serious elements onto your footers while still conveying important information about your brand.
Feature your referral programs
Dropbox became the brand it is today through referral programs. Referral programs are that powerful.
More than 90% of people trust other people they know to make purchases, according to Viral Loops.
Savvy brands use referral programs to spread awareness. There’s power in word-of-mouth marketing and it’s probably the oldest marketing technique there is.
Which brings us back to email footers. Email marketing and referral programs are a killer combination.
Why not use the whole footer section for a referral program? To illustrate, observe how the brand Honey does this.
The bottom of their email features a referral program embedded into their marketing email.
The copy “You’re almost there!” is encouraging subscribers to take the next steps because they’re so close to the prize: a $10 gift card.
Notice the yellow progress bar that they place above the Your Honey Gold line. It triggers the human need to satisfy curiosity and grab a reward that’s just out of reach.
Honey also makes referring easy by including a link in the footer. They even include a short explanation of how the referral program works to emphasize the benefits of referring someone to them.
Provide assistance and highlight your USP
If you want to keep it simple and drive home a point, create email footers to reiterate your brand statement–the thing you stand for and your brand’s USP.
See what the brand Taylor Stitch does at the bottom of their transactional email.
Notice that they also add a little section to have people ask questions or resolve any doubts after ordering their products.
Give readers room to explore other options
What if the purpose of the email was not to have you buy but to explore and learn more?
Nissan uses the footer section of its email campaigns to prompt you to check out their lineup of SUVs, crossovers, sports cars, and passenger cars.
The process goes like this: Receive email. Click to explore. Learn more. Sign up. Receive more email. it’s a profitable loop if you ask us.
Best Practices and Tips for Creating Email Footers
How you design email footers for your campaigns is truly your call, but a few best practices are inevitable:
- Keep your footers short, tidy, clean, and easy to read or view
- Don’t create extra large footers (so big that the actual email itself is dwarfed)
- Be sure to place legal links, privacy policies, and other important links such as “Unsubscribe”
- Test your links or change them often
- Keep your footer mobile-optimized as most people check emails on mobile phones
I hope this guide helps you in designing better footers for your email marketing campaigns.
If you’d like to see an endless array of email marketing designs (including footers), check out our always-updating email marketing campaigns on Panoramata.
Want more email ideas and inspiration? Check out our email swipe file with over 100 newsletter ideas you can use for your next campaign.
FAQs
1. What should be included in an email footer?
An email footer can have legal disclaimers, an unsubscribe link, and relevant brand information. You can also include referral links, fun trivia, or customer support details to enhance engagement.
2. How can an email footer improve conversions?
A well-optimized footer can drive action by promoting referral programs, offering additional resources, or reinforcing your brand’s unique selling points. It acts as a subtle yet powerful way to engage subscribers without distracting from the main email content.
3. How do I make my email footer mobile-friendly?
Keep your footer design simple, use readable fonts, and ensure links are easy to tap. Test it on different devices to confirm that all elements display correctly and remain functional.
