07/10/2026
Pretty emails don’t always make more money.
I say this as someone who spends a lot of time creating emails, so I absolutely care about how an email looks. But a beautifully designed email that doesn’t get people to click, buy or take the next step isn’t doing its job.
I’ve seen brands spend hours perfecting fonts, colours, spacing, product photography and button styles, while the actual strategy gets very little attention.
Before worrying about whether an email looks good, I’d rather ask:
Who is this email for? Why are they receiving it? What do we want them to do? Does the copy give them a reason to care? Is the offer relevant to them?
Because good email marketing isn’t about creating the prettiest email in someone’s inbox. It’s about getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time.
Sometimes that email will look beautiful. Sometimes it might be incredibly simple. What matters is whether it does what it’s supposed to do.
I’d take an email that drives revenue over an email that wins a design award every single time.
Have you ever sent an email that looked great but completely underperformed? What do you think was missing?