Inspire your customers. Nurture leads. Build brand recognition. 

These are a few of the benefits of choosing the perfect email template

But what happens when the template that you once loved starts to feel a bit stale? Or what if you’re trying to communicate something special? Is changing things up part of a smart email marketing strategy? Or is it the type of change that could cause your customers to unsubscribe? 

When — and whether — to change your email template depends on your brand, your customers, and your marketing needs. 

What is a reusable email template? 

The whole point of a reusable email template is to have a solid foundation for all of your email needs. By using the same general layout, the same fonts, and the same colors, you:

  • Reduce the time it takes to draft new emails, allowing you to send them more frequently.
  • Improve the return on investment for your email marketing strategy by using a template that you know works with your target audience.
  • Increase brand awareness by teaching your target audience to associate certain colors, fonts, and styles with your brand.
  • Nurture leads by teaching them what to expect from your brand and following through on those expectations.

What you should consider before a change of email template 

Fear of the unknown is real. People hate change, even if it’s a change for the better. Any time your business considers making a change that will impact your customers, you need to decide whether that change will have noticeable benefits. 

When it comes to switching your email template, it’s important to remember that any new template hasn’t yet been tested by your audience. While most professional email templates will have been tested for strong delivery rates, mobile responsiveness, and overall style, it can still take some trial and error to make a new template that’s perfect for your brand. 

This may not matter if you’re considering a temporary change of email template — for a holiday or promotion, for example. But if you’re thinking about permanently changing the template you use, you may want to consider testing the new version on a sample audience first. 

Before you choose to switch email templates, you’ll also want to think about whether such a change would be jarring to your target audience. This could happen if: 

  • Your mailing list is relatively new.
  • You recently started using a new email template.
  • Your new template looks drastically different from your current one.

When to change your small business email template 

Although there are many reasons to stick to tried-and-true email templates, there are also reasons to mix things up a bit.

Any new email template needs to reflect your brand and feel connected to your typical emails. The last thing you want is for your audience to open a mailing from you and not recognize your brand. That’s the opposite of building brand awareness. 

Rebranding

Rebranding your business is an obvious time to change your email template. If you’re introducing a new business name or switching up your logo, your template has to change to accommodate that.

Make it clear when you send your first rebranding email that your business is the same, but you’ve updated the look. Being upfront and honest about the change builds trust and helps customers get on board. 

Holidays

Holidays are one of the most popular times to change email templates. They’re also one of the few exceptions to the rule that your templates should always use your brand’s colors. 

Feel free to bring a bit of green into your holiday email template for St. Patrick’s Day or inject some red for Valentine’s Day. Just make sure that your font choices, logo, pictures, and writing style are all on display so your audience still recognizes your brand. 

Starbucks changes its marketing every Christmas season, but the brand is still undeniably recognizable. Image source: Thatsmags.com.

Saying ‘Thanks!’

Thank-you messages are meant to be personal and affectionate. This is a great time to set aside your typical email template for something a little more intimate. 

You still want your thank-you email template to showcase your brand’s colors, logo, and typical font choices. But for these messages, consider ditching your social media links and skipping the usual call to action. Your message will feel more sincere if it’s clear that you’re not trying to upsell your customers at the same time. 

Celebrating a milestone

If your brand is celebrating something big, a celebratory email template can show your customers that you take pride in your achievements. Use your favorite colors and fonts and add a celebratory flair or GIF. This change in email template will help your customers feel your excitement. 

Sales 

Big sales call for big announcements. 

TubeBuddy celebrates a sale while using the same red-and-white motif and logo for which the brand is known.

By their nature, sales emails should be distinctive. They may include numerous product pictures, prices, and dates. Because the layout is so different, it makes sense to use a specific template. Make sure to keep borders, colors, and fonts similar to your typical emails so recipients know right away who’s running a sale. 

Announcements and invitations

Certain occasions call for a little pomp and circumstance. Using a different template for announcement emails and invitation emails can highlight the special occasion. 

Whether you’re announcing a new line of perfumes or inviting VIPs to a special event, feel free to break out a new template for the occasion. 

Try to use a template that reflects the occasion to ensure your customers understand why it looks different from other emails.

Surveys

If you’re asking customers to provide you with feedback, you want an email template that draws their attention. 

For email surveys, asking your customers to double-check why your email looks different from the norm is a compelling reason for them to read the email in full and respond to your feedback request.

Brevity is your friend when you’re asking for a favor from your customers. Explain why you need honest customer feedback and how it will be used to improve your business. Provide a quick link for them. You can even use click segmentation, so customers’ responses will segment them into different lists for future target marketing. 

Change your email template when it’s smart for your brand

We talk about the importance of brand consistency a lot. But sometimes, it makes sense for your brand to change things up and inject a bit of excitement into your audience. 

The key to getting this marketing strategy right is making sure your change of email template comes at a logical time and highlights something special. 

It may even make sense to have a handful of go-to templates ready for different occasions. This gives you the benefit of testing your templates and perfecting their style while allowing you to switch things up in a fun, festive way on occasion.

Get started today by refreshing yourself on how to choose the perfect email template. Then, brainstorm upcoming events that might call for a template switch. Working this change into your marketing calendar makes it easy to make a smart marketing decision in a timely manner.