Master Outsourced Email Design with These Proven Tips

Captivating designs are crucial to the success of email marketing campaigns. They influence user engagement, readability, and conversion rates. They also capture attention and build brand identity and trust.

Although many email templates and design tools are available, a custom design delivers a unique and professional experience that better aligns with the brand’s message. Business process outsourcing (BPO) emerges as a viable solution for designing high-impact emails.

If you’re considering leveraging third-party support for email marketing, this article is for you. It explores practical strategies for maximizing BPO expertise to create visually appealing and high-performing emails. Keep reading for effective outsourced email design tips!

Understanding outsourced email design

What is BPO, and why is it an effective strategy for email design? BPO involves delegating specific functions to service providers, allowing businesses to focus on core activities. 

The functions of BPO providers are broad. In email marketing, they handle design, campaign management, performance analysis, and customer segmentation. By leveraging BPO, businesses can access specialized skills and tools for their email marketing campaigns.

Benefits of email design outsourcing

In 2024, product promotion and awareness were the primary goals of most marketers when running email campaigns. Although essential, these goals are often time-consuming, taking resources away from other critical business activities. 

BPO for email design involves crafting custom, engaging layouts, typography, and formats that align with a brand’s identity and objectives and enhance the user experience. It also offers the following benefits:

• Access to specialized expertise: Businesses can work with designers who have in-depth knowledge of email design best practices.
• Cost savings: They can avoid the overhead costs of maintaining an in-house design team.
• Faster turnaround times: They can benefit from quick and efficient design creation during email campaigns.
• Optimized for all devices: They design emails that render well on different devices, from laptops to smartphones and tablets.

Strategic outsourcing allows businesses to create high-quality email marketing campaigns without the complexity and expenses of doing it in-house.

Selecting the right email design service provider

A reliable service provider can significantly enhance the performance of email campaigns by delivering high-quality, engaging designs. Here are practical outsourced email design tips for selecting a vendor:

• Evaluate their portfolio. Businesses must review the provider’s past work to determine whether their style aligns with their brand’s vision and quality standards.
• Check client testimonials. They must check reviews and feedback from other businesses to gauge reliability and customer satisfaction.
• Assess their expertise in email marketing. They must ensure the provider is well-versed in the technical aspects of email design, including responsive design and platform compatibility.
• Know whether they offer scalable solutions. Businesses must also choose a provider who can adapt to their unique needs and adjust designs based on campaign objectives.
• Examine turnaround time. The best provider can meet deadlines and complete projects promptly.

Selecting the right email design partner helps email campaigns stand out and deliver the best results.

Establishing clear communication channels

With transparent communication, the business and the email design partner can work toward their vision and goals and manage expectations. It prevents misunderstandings, streamlines the design process, and aligns the final product with the brand and objectives.

Businesses can effectively communicate with their BPO partner with these strategies:

• Set regular check-ins. They should schedule frequent meetings to discuss progress, address concerns, and provide feedback.
• Use project management tools. Email marketing software and tools such as Trello or Asana can centralize task, deadline, and communication tracking.
• Define expectations upfront. Businesses must clearly outline campaign goals, design preferences, and timelines at the start of the partnership.
• Provide detailed briefs. To avoid confusion, they must share comprehensive design guidelines for different types of email and other assets.
• Encourage open feedback. They must create a feedback loop where both parties can share inputs and suggestions.

Solid communication channels foster collaboration. Both parties can provide feedback and adjust campaigns to achieve the desired outcomes.

Understanding email design best practices

Emails that include graphics can achieve a 43.12% average open rate and 4.84% click-through rate (CTR), while emails without graphics can hit only 35.79% and 1.64%, respectively. This highlights the value of incorporating visual elements in campaign success. 

However, following email design best practices is essential to ensure the graphics enhance the campaign’s appeal, functionality, and engagement.

For effective visuals, follow these outsourced email design tips: 

• Keep it simple and clean. About 66% of recipients prefer short emails. Keep yours concise by avoiding clutter, using clear headings and text, and having ample white space.
• Use responsive design. Design mobile-friendly, responsive emails.
• Include a strong call-to-action (CTA). Make it easy for recipients to take the desired action with a prominent, clear CTA.
• Use a clear visual hierarchy. Arrange content so the most important information stands out, using font sizes, colors, and strategic placements.
• Personalize content. Include recipient-specific details, such as their name or preferences, for a more engaging and tailored experience.
• Incorporate accessible design. Send inclusive, accessible emails using high-contrast colors, alt text for images, and readable fonts.
• Optimize load times. Use compressed images and simple coding to speed up the email’s loading time.
• Test across email clients. Check whether the design renders correctly on email marketing platforms such as Gmail, Outlook, and mobile devices.

With these best practices, businesses and their BPO partners can harness the true power of graphics for effective email marketing.

Maintaining brand consistency in outsourced designs

Brand consistency in email design refers to maintaining a uniform visual and messaging style that aligns with a company’s identity across all marketing materials. It is crucial for building trust, recognition, and a cohesive customer experience.

When outsourcing email design, businesses work closely with their BPO partners to ensure that all designs stay true to their brand guidelines. The following effective outsourced email design tips help maintain branding:

• Provide detailed brand guidelines. They must share the brand’s color palette, font styles, logo usage, and tone with the BPO team.
• Maintain a consistent design template. They must utilize a standardized email template for a uniform campaign layout.
• Review drafts regularly. Businesses must frequently check design drafts to confirm whether they align with their brand identity before final approval.
• Communicate brand values and messaging. Companies should make sure the BPO team understands the key messages and brand values.
• Centralize the approval process. They can streamline review and approval workflow to quickly vet brand alignment before sending emails.
• Provide access to brand assets. Companies must supply the BPO team with high-quality logo files, image libraries, and other brand assets to maintain visual consistency.
• Track and refine designs. They must continuously monitor email performance and design consistency and adjust when needed.

Brand consistency in outsourced email designs helps reinforce the company’s identity and enhances campaign effectiveness.

Importance of mobile-responsive designs

Mobile devices account for 41% of all email views, highlighting the importance of a mobile-responsive design. Emails must adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes to deliver an optimal viewing experience on smartphones and tablets.

These effective outsourced email design tips can help:

• Use fluid layouts. Design emails with flexible grids that adjust to various screen sizes.
• Optimize images. Compress and resize images for faster load times and better viewing on smaller screens.
• Simplify content. Keep text concise and use large fonts for easy readability on mobile devices.
• Prioritize the CTA. Ensure the CTA buttons are large, easily clickable, and within thumb-friendly areas.
• Test on different devices. Preview the design on multiple devices to evaluate compatibility and appearance.

As more users rely on mobile devices for email access, a mobile-friendly design maintains engagement and reduces bounce rates. An experienced BPO partner can help develop mobile-responsive email designs that maximize engagement across all devices. 

Integrating feedback and revisions

Feedback and revisions are critical to the email design process to align the final product with the business’s objectives and expectations. A collaborative approach between businesses and BPO partners helps streamline the process, including adjusting layouts before the rollout.

Here are ways to incorporate feedback and revisions to email designs:

• Establish clear feedback channels. Both teams must know where and how to communicate feedback.
• Request feedback at key milestones. Companies must gather input after each phase of the design process for timely revisions.
• Maintain version control. Businesses must track changes so the most recent designs reflect the needed updates.
• Be open to iterative revisions. Both parties must allow multiple rounds of feedback to refine and perfect the design.
• Set up approval checkpoints. They should schedule regular reviews to align the design with campaign goals at every stage.

An experienced BPO partner can seamlessly integrate feedback and revisions to meet all expectations and goals of the final email designs.

Monitoring the performance of outsourced email designs

Closely tracking the performance of outsourced email designs is essential to understanding their effectiveness and making data-driven adjustments. By analyzing key metrics, businesses can identify what works and what doesn’t, improving future campaign outcomes.

Businesses can monitor the effectiveness of outsourced email designs through these tips:

• Track open rates and CTR. Monitor how well emails are being received and engaged with.
• Analyze conversion rates. Measure how many recipients take the desired action after receiving the email.
• Review bounce rates and unsubscribes. Identify email content issues with deliverability or unsubscriptions.
• Monitor mobile performance. Tracks how emails perform specifically on mobile devices, as most users access emails on phones.
• A/B test designs. Regularly test different email designs, including subject lines, to see which resonates best with your audience.

Consistent performance tracking guarantees that outsourced designs align with business goals and target audience expectations.

Cost considerations in outsourcing email design

Outsourcing email design can offer significant cost savings compared to hiring an in-house team, but businesses must carefully evaluate the associated costs. Effective cost management ensures that the quality of the designs aligns with the budget and that the return on investment (ROI) justifies the expense.

Companies can make outsourcing cost-effective with these best practices:

• Evaluate the pricing models. They must choose between fixed-rate, hourly, or project-based pricing to determine what best suits their needs.
• Account for additional costs. They must also consider potential add-ons, such as revisions, additional design work, or expedited timelines.
• Factor in long-term value. Weigh the cost against the potential for increased engagement and higher ROI.
• Compare multiple providers. Businesses should get quotes from different BPO partners to obtain competitive pricing.
• Monitor ongoing costs. They must track expenses related to future campaigns, including updates or design maintenance.

Considering these cost factors allows businesses to optimize their email design outsourcing and marketing efforts, stay within budget, and maximize quality and results.

The bottom line

Outsourcing email design can help businesses enhance the quality and effectiveness of campaigns, provided they follow best practices and collaborate closely with an experienced BPO partner.

Take your email marketing to the next level. Outsource your email designs today! Let’s connect to discuss more about the effective outsourced email design tips in this article and any questions you might have about BPO.