"The Not-Annoying Email Guide"
Presented by Marie Wintriss, Associate Director of Digital Strategy at UMC Digital
This meetup focused on creating effective, user-friendly email communications. Marie walked us through an email marketing guide, where we talked about principles for creating email campaigns people actually want to read. Each section focused on a key best practice, why it matters, and how teams can implement it immediately.
Consider Your Audience
Marie emphasized the importance of understanding who you're emailing. This includes identifying your audience, grouping or segmenting them appropriately, and considering their email habits — including where, when, and on what devices they check their inbox.
Create Concise Content
One of the session’s key reminders: emails should prioritize the information your audience wants, not what’s easiest to send. Marie recommended consistent templates, predictable formatting, and focusing on the essentials, such as events and deadlines.
Make CTAs Obvious
Clear calls to action make or break an email. Best practices included using button-style CTAs with action-oriented verbs, avoiding simple text highlighting, bolding important dates, making all images clickable, and ensuring accessible color contrasts.
Link to Your Website
Marie stressed the importance of routing readers back to your website — every link improves SEO and AI optimization. Your website serves as the authoritative source of information for your audience
Manage Your List
We reviewed core list-management principles:
- Using externally provided lists from data stewards
- Capturing minimum essential data (email, first name, last name)
- Segmenting audiences
- Creating a simple, effective signup form
Send Monthly, Not Weekly
Marie advised against excessive email frequency. Monthly communications strike the right balance for most audiences. This allows space for timely, actionable content while preventing fatigue and opt-outs.
Try MyEmma
Teams unsatisfied with their current email tools were encouraged to consider MyEmma, with support available from UMC Digital for teams wanting to explore a switch.
