How to create a better email footer

Let's look at an example email:

This email from Google Analytics begins with a header containing the Google logo and the Google Analytics logo. Then it goes into the body of the email.

And at the bottom you can see the footer:

This email footer example includes additional resources to improve the customer experience and keep customers in the brand's ecosystem. Here, Google provides links to its Help Center and Analytics Forums to help customers find solutions and get expert advice. Next, Google provides a logout link, followed by a link to access personal accounts.

Whether you're working on a new email newsletter design or a transactional email template, email footer design is not just for email marketers or designers, but also for email developers. All parts of the email team must work together to create an effective email footer.

Four elements to include in an email footer

Now that we've laid down the basics, here are four elements you need to include in your email footer:

• Contact information
• Unsubscribe link
• Legal information
• Disclaimer

Let's take a closer look at each of these components:

Contact information

As mentioned earlier, email footers are a great place to add additional information to your users so they don't have to leave your email to receive replies. This reduces friction for the user and ensures a better customer experience. Include your contact information in your footer to make it easier for your subscriber to get in touch. You can provide preferred email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses. Even if your users don't reach out, providing your contact information makes it clear that you welcome user interaction and conversation.

Unsubscribe link

Many email clients, such as Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, determine whether your email is placed in your subscriber's inbox based on how subscribers interact with your emails. For example, many users often mark emails as spam when they cannot find a way to unsubscribe. Make sure your email doesn't impact your deliverability by providing an easy-to-find unsubscribe link in the footer of your email.

Legal information

Email footers are a convenient place to include legal information, including details about your company's compliance with data protection laws such as GDPR. Keep your users informed about your legal obligations and how to handle their personal data responsibly (and lawfully).

Disclaimer

If your industry requires disclosure of legal disclaimers, you can include them in the email footer. How to meet your legal obligations without distracting your subscribers from your core content.

Four more email footer ideas

Aside from the necessary elements we've discussed, here are some useful elements you can include in your email footer:

• Knowledge base or help forum
• Social media icons
• CTAs
• Mission and values

Let's unpack each of these additional elements:

Knowledge base or help forum

As we saw in the Google email example, a useful element in your footer is a link to your company's knowledge base or help forum. Your subscribers probably have questions. Keep them in your brand ecosystem to make it easier for them to purchase. Show that you are open to having conversations and getting in touch with your customers.

Social media icons

Why should you limit yourself to email messages? Today, brands need to cross-pollinate across different platforms to retain their customers. Make it easy for your customers to find you on different platforms by conveniently placing social media buttons or social media links at the end of the email.

This is what the social notice looks like with images enabled.

CTAs

You made a good impression in the body of your email, but maybe it didn't stick. The email footer gives you another chance to get your message out there and get clicks. Include a CTA to encourage your customers to click on your landing page on the way to purchasing.

Mission and values

Any marketer will say that marketing is about creating conversations and spaces. Put your brand's mission and values ​​front and center to appeal to your users. Be clear about what your brand does and why people should care.

How can I create better email footers?

In this section, we've compiled a list of best practices for creating email footers. These include:

• Use a clear structure. If you send a lot of emails to the same subscriber, make sure your footer is clear and consistent. Don't provide too much or too little information.
• Make important links easy to identify. Don't clutter your footer with too many links or too much information. Make sure your links all correspond to the correct pages. Provide a small selection of links that are relevant to your users.
• Deliver your brand’s voice. Even though the footer is at the end of your email, it shouldn't be an afterthought. Stay on brand and use appropriate colors, fonts, and tones.
• Think about accessibility. Consider accessibility when designing your email footer template. This means that you should choose appropriate colors and email-safe fonts to keep your emails accessible to your subscribers.

Wrap up

And that's it! Remember that a carefully crafted email footer can go a long way.

Are you ready to send your email? Don't forget to test your footer first to see how it appears to your subscribers. Try our email testing tools free for seven days.

Author: The Email on Acid Team

Email on Acid's content team is made up of digital marketers, content creators, and real email geeks. Connect with us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook, and tweet @EmailonAcid on Twitter for more great email marketing news and great convos.

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