What Are Email Buttons and How to Add Them to Your Campaigns

What is an email button?

An email button is a CTA button on your email that tells users what to do next. When someone opens your email, they're presented with various content.

However, the main goal of your email marketing campaign is to bring customers back to your website to take action. For example, an e-commerce business may promote a certain product to increase sales via a targeted email campaign.

There are a few different ways to create an email button, including those with background images and different font sizes and weights. One of the most popular types of email buttons is the bulletproof button.

Unlike buttons built with images, they're built with HTML and CSS code, allowing the button to be displayed in various email clients.

The most significant benefit of bulletproof buttons is that they appear in emails even when the images are turned off. Bulletproof buttons are crucial for creating bulletproof emails that can increase clicks and engagement in your email marketing campaigns.

Even though these buttons are coded, you can edit the HTML template to update the font size or font weight, background image, and colors to create truly unique bulletproof HTML email buttons.

In addition to displaying in all clients, even when the images are turned off, HTML buttons load faster, making your email more effective because users will see your CTA and know what to do next. But, of course, HTML email buttons are less unique than image-based buttons because you can't design your button in design tools like Photoshop or Canva.

Benefits of using email buttons in your campaigns

Whether using image-based or bulletproof HTML email buttons, the most significant advantage is increasing your ROI and CTR. Email buttons encourage subscribers to take action, allowing you to highlight your CTA to attract more attention.

Users won't take action if your email doesn't have a strong CTA. The alternative to an email button is hyperlinked text, which can confuse subscribers because the text may not tell them what to expect.

Email buttons are incredibly visual. When someone opens your email, it's likely one of the first things that will catch their eye, prompting them to take action, make a purchase, visit your website, or receive an offer. A thoughtfully designed button can increase the likelihood of customers taking action on your emails, making them more effective overall.

Unfortunately, if your CTAs have background images or are images themselves, many users may never see them because their email client has images turned off. Therefore, email buttons are crucial to the success of your campaigns and increasing clicks.

Consider how most people read emails. Like when they read blogs, most people scan for pertinent information instead of reading every word and looking at every image. Your email button stands out from the rest of the content for several reasons, including font size and weight.

Buttons are typically larger with bolder fonts to catch the user's attention. In addition, they have design elements that make them stand out from text and images. As a result, email button CTAs are much more effective at drawing users' attention, making it easier for them to understand what you want them to do.

How to add an email button in HTML and CSS

There are several ways to add an email button in HTML and CSS, and you don't have to be a website developer or master coder to do it to ensure your email buttons are bulletproof. Remember, the two most popular ways to add email buttons are by using images with links or HTML.

Mailchimp makes it easy for you to design your email button, including changing your font with content blocks, allowing you to drag and drop to create buttons with ease.

HTML email buttons

HTML email buttons can be full or fixed-width, depending on how you want your button to look next to the rest of the email layout.

To create HTML email buttons, you'll need to custom-code your email template using the following code:

'''< table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#505050; border:1px solid #353535; border-radius:5px;">

Email button placement strategies

The location of your call to action determines whether subscribers will notice it and take action, so strategic placement is crucial for maximizing clicks and conversions. Getting this right means thinking about how people actually read emails and what they're looking for when they open your message.

Above the fold vs. below the fold

Above the fold refers to the content visible without scrolling, while below the fold requires users to scroll down to see it. Placing your primary email button above the fold ensures maximum visibility since many subscribers won't scroll through your entire email.

However, don't ignore below-the-fold placement entirely. If you have longer content that builds value and interest, a well-placed button at the bottom can catch subscribers who've read through your full message.

Repeating CTAs throughout the email

Using multiple buttons throughout your email gives subscribers more opportunities to take action without being pushy. This strategy works particularly well for longer emails where you might lose readers along the way.

Space your buttons naturally throughout the content, ensuring each one feels relevant to the surrounding text rather than randomly placed. Remember to keep the same text decoration and styling consistent across all buttons so they look cohesive and professional.

Aligning button placement with user intent

Your button placement should match what subscribers expect based on your email's content and purpose. If you're announcing a sale, place your "Shop Now" button immediately after highlighting the discount details.

For educational content, position your call to action after you've delivered valuable information and subscribers are ready for the next step. Think about the customer journey: where in your email does it make the most sense for someone to want to click through to your website or landing page?

Email buttons do's and don'ts

Creating effective email buttons isn't just about making them look pretty; they need to work flawlessly across different email clients and devices while guiding your subscribers toward the action you want them to take.

A good button can be the difference between a subscriber clicking through to your website and deleting your email. Here's what you need to know to get your email buttons right every time.

Don't use images

As we've mentioned, not all images are displayed on every email client. Therefore, many of your subscribers might not see your CTA email buttons if they have images turned off.

While using images as buttons can make your buttons look unique and stand out, it's more important for them to appear for all your subscribers if you want them to take action.

Choose the right fonts

Like images, not all fonts display correctly on all email clients. Therefore, you should choose universally recognized fonts. You can use a font generator to help you find the right font for your email marketing campaigns to ensure they stand out and can be displayed properly.

In addition, you should consider font size and weight, which will affect your button's ability to stand out from the rest of the email content.

Consider destination

When using email buttons, you have a particular goal in mind. For example, e-commerce businesses promoting a product to increase sales will likely have an email button that says "Buy Now" after highlighting the product in the rest of the content.

If your button doesn't lead to the product page, subscribers will get confused and leave the website. Therefore, you should always ensure you're setting the correct expectations for where customers will end up when they click your button.

Write a strong CTA

The design elements of your email button are crucial for helping it stand out, but the CTA is essential for setting expectations and encouraging subscribers to take action.

Your CTA should only be a few words long to tell customers what to do. Something as simple as "Buy Now" or "Browse Collection" can effectively let customers know what to expect when they click the button.

Mind your button styling

The visual design of your button affects how clickable it looks and feels. Use contrasting colors that stand out from your email background, and make sure your buttons look like buttons with proper borders, padding, and hover effects.

When setting up your CSS, consider using inline block display properties to ensure your buttons maintain their shape across different email clients. Your text-align property should center the button text for a clean, professional appearance.

Testing your email buttons before sending

Even the most beautifully designed email button won't deliver results if it doesn't work properly when subscribers try to click it.

Testing is your safety net against embarrassing mistakes, such as broken links, buttons that don't display correctly, or CTAs that look great on desktop but are impossible to tap on mobile devices.

Smart email marketers never send campaigns without thorough testing because one technical glitch can tank your entire campaign's performance.

Preview across devices and clients

Your email button might look perfect in your email builder, but that doesn't guarantee it'll work everywhere your subscribers will see it. Test your emails across major email clients like Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and Yahoo Mail to catch any display issues before they reach your audience.

Don't forget about mobile devices. Use tools like Mailchimp to see exactly how your buttons render across different platforms, or simply send test emails to yourself on various devices and email apps.

Use A/B testing for CTA placement and copy

A/B testing shows you what actually works with your specific audience. Try testing different button placements.

You can also test different button copy to see whether "Shop Now" performs better than "Browse Collection" for your subscribers. Keep your tests focused by changing only one element at a time, and make sure you have enough data to draw meaningful conclusions before declaring a winner.

Check link tracking and accessibility

Before hitting send, click every button in your email to make sure the links actually work and lead to the right destination. Set up proper tracking parameters to measure which buttons are being clicked and driving conversions.

Don't forget about accessibility. Your buttons should be usable by people with disabilities, which means including alt text, ensuring sufficient color contrast, and making sure they can be navigated with keyboard controls.

These small details may seem minor, but they can have a significant impact on both your deliverability and brand reputation.

Harness the power of a strong CTA

A strong email marketing CTA is about more than just the words you use to entice users to take action; the simple addition of a button can draw their attention to your CTA to set expectations and help them understand the next steps.

Buttons are the best way to show subscribers what to do next because they stand out from the rest of the email content. Mailchimp makes it easy to design email buttons that encourage clicks and sales. With the right design, you can improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.

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Key Takeaways

• Well-designed email buttons increase click-through rates and conversions by making it crystal clear what you want subscribers to do next.
• HTML buttons display across all email clients even when images are disabled, ensuring your CTAs are always visible to subscribers.
• Position your primary button above the fold for maximum visibility, but repeat CTAs throughout longer emails to capture readers at different stages.
• Always preview your buttons across different devices and email clients, then use A/B testing to optimize placement, copy, and design for better performance.

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