How could it be improved?

1. The subject line is your first, and sometimes only, opportunity to get your reader’s interest and can have a big influence on an email’s open rate. Think it through carefully – what might your audience be most interested in? The current subject, ASU in the community, doesn’t really tell someone what’s in there for them. One option is to pick out a particular point of interest. For example:
   Subject: ASU celebrates Martin Luther King – get involved!
2. While the current design is straightforward and uncomplicated, the subtlety means that the individual sections don’t really stand out. Consider using simple techniques such as including header areas with more striking changes in colour that break the email up visually.
3. Currently the opening gambit for the first article is the lead paragraph of the piece itself. This doesn’t summarise the story effectively, only introduces the writer. Just like the subject line, this precious space is your opportunity to engage the reader, so always write dedicated email text to pique their interest.
4. It looks as though all text in the email has been rendered as images. This poses two risks: firstly, a high ratio of images to text may mark the message out as spam; secondly, if a recipient’s email client is set not to automatically open images, all they’ll see is a big, blank space.
5. The final section ‘In Your Community’ is a little ambiguous. The fact that this is a summary of local news and events is not immediately obvious. To make an email quick and easy to read, it’s usually best to call a spade a spade, or in this case, a news section a news section.
6. Approach your text links slightly differently. Rather than [click to read more], consider a call to action around what the reader will be most interested in. For example: Amazing art and entertainment – visit the “A=Art” Auction
7. Take advantage of the other promotional opportunities and include calls to action such as ‘volunteer’ or ‘add your program’, and provide more reasons to click-through. One simple way to do this, and give the email even more brand consistency, is to include your website navigation, or a slimmed-down version with the relevant links.