Designing Engaging Emails for the Banking Sector: Tips, Benefits, and Examples

Email remains one of the best avenues for banks to connect with their customers. There are a lot of factors to consider when designing emails in the banking sector – brand image, security, trust, and clarity all play an important role. We’re going to get into the minutiae of banking email best practices. Then we’ll examine some real-life examples to see these methods at work.

The Benefits of Engaging Emails for the Banking Sector

Before jumping into the meat of our article, it’s worth answering an important question: why is designing engaging emails so crucial for banks? The reasons are many, and they include:

• Communication: First of all, a well-designed, highly personalized email helps banks communicate better and more transparently with clients, securing their trust and loyalty in the long term. To further enhance this experience, mobile banking apps can offer real-time updates and personalized notifications. Understanding the banking app development cost is key to ensuring these features are implemented effectively within budget.
• Engagement: Banking is a sector that often uses jargon and complicated terminology. With well-thought-out emails, banks can level the playing field and make clients feel more engaged and involved.
• Financial information: Because the banking industry is constantly evolving, it’s vital to keep on top of any trends and changes. An engaging email helps banks deliver financial management risk in a simple and digestible way, promoting financial literacy.

What Types of Emails Do Banks Send?

Banks can use engaging emails for a range of different purposes, as they can help to sell products as well as ensure that vital information gets customers' attention. Types of banking emails can include the following:

• Brand awareness emails - As banks try to tempt new customers with enticing offers and high levels of customer service.
• Newsletters - Banks often send out customer newsletters and updates through email to keep their clients informed of anything from financial news to green investment initiatives.
• Customer surveys - Many banks send emails that include customer surveys and customer satisfaction scores, to enable them to gain valuable feedback and calculate metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS).
• Notifications and account alerts - Particularly crucial, emails are a great way to send immediate updates for any account activity that needs customer attention.
• Promotional campaigns - Emails are also often used by banks as a way for them to announce new products, available account upgrades, or new services, boosting sales and making sure that customers are kept in the loop.

Although banks often need to be careful when it comes to sensitive information in emails,  you can see there are already a variety of different ways that banks are using email to boost sales and improve customer service.

What Makes an Engaging Banking Email?

An average email inbox will contain a huge variety of messages, from a notification about package delivery to a promotion for a health insurance dialer. If banking providers want their emails to be opened and read, these are the best practices to abide by:

1. Clear and concise messaging: Keep your message succinct, focusing on the core information or call-to-action you want to convey. Everyone appreciates clarity, especially when it comes to our finances.
   
2. Professional and trustworthy design: Opt for a clean and organized layout with elements that reflect your bank's official branding. Include the bank's logo, brand colors, and contact information to establish trustworthiness. Remember, first impressions matter.
   
3. Accessibility and mobile-friendliness: Your emails must be mobile-compatible to cater to users on smartphones and tablets because many people check their emails on the go. Use accessible fonts and colors to accommodate all readers, including those with disabilities.
   
4. Personalization for relevance: Always address your customers by their names to give your emails a personal touch. Use customer data, such as behavior and preferences, to segment your audience and deliver tailored content – this makes them feel valued and increases engagement. Consider using customer success software to automate these processes and personalize the customer journey at scale.

You can gauge your customer’s satisfaction with your approach by analyzing your engagement metrics and adjusting your email strategy accordingly.

Additionally, consider incorporating tools like People Search to enhance your personalization efforts and to find out basic contact details such as someone's email address.

1. Engaging subject lines: The goal is to get customers to open the email, so the subject lines should be compelling and relevant. Avoid overly promotional language or clickbait tactics. Instead, preview the content of the email in a way that makes them want to know more.
   
2. Visual elements for impact: Incorporating engaging visuals like images, infographics, or charts is a persuasive technique to improve your email content. Ensure images have descriptive alt text for recipients who rely on screen readers.
   
3. Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs): CTAs are the navigational signposts in your email. They should be prominent, clickable, and persuasive. Use action-oriented language like "Learn More," "Open Account," or "Contact Us." Make sure there's no guesswork involved in what step to take next.
   
4. Legal compliance and transparency: Compliance with legal requirements is mandatory. This includes adhering to regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant laws. Provide a clear and easily accessible unsubscribe option and essential privacy information.
   
5. Security measures and trust signals: Where appropriate, reassure email recipients of any security measures that are in place, such as SPF or DMARC protocols. Phishing scams are rife, so it is also recommended to include trust-building touches like security badges or certifications.

Examples of Engaging Banking Emails

Efficient communication is particularly important in the banking sector. Customers need to be well-informed about their finances and options. This means banks should have efficient mailing systems, secure apps, the best auto dialer software, and a strong email strategy. Here are some great examples of the latter.

Monzo

In the example above, we see a number of the techniques we previously mentioned in action.

• The subject line is to the point and includes the biggest selling point of the email content: Monzo has an award-winning credit card for you.
• There’s a clear message – the email is promoting a credit card. All the important information about what’s on offer is covered in under 100 words.
• The branding is in keeping with Monzo’s usual image, and it is designed to be mobile-compatible, so a customer doesn’t have to be at their computer or use RealVNC remote software just to read it.  
• The CTA is very obvious; turquoise stands out against a dark background. The words “Get an instant decision” are persuasive and assure the recipient that this will be a quick process.
• Trust signals are on show here, too. The fact that the credit card is award-winning is reiterated with an official badge. Plus, it’s confirmed that it is covered by Section 75 protection.
• Monzo is also transparent about the fact that checking if you’re eligible won’t affect your credit score, but if you fail to keep up with payments, then your rating will be negatively impacted.

Barclaycard

This email from Barclaycard is advertising a benefit the cardholder already gets, and it employs a number of common tactics.

• The subject line is personalized with the customer’s name. This is attention-grabbing when they’re scrolling through their inbox and lets them know that the information inside is just for them.
• The text next to the image has the typical Barclaycard blue background, maintaining branding consistency, along with the logo at the top. This helps reassure the recipient that the email is trustworthy and that it is really from their bank.
• All the information on how to take advantage of the cashback is clearly conveyed in short, bold sentences so the reader can scan the text and see the most important information.
• There are brightly colored visual elements to attract the recipient’s attention. The logos of well-known brands advertise where the cashback rewards can be redeemed in an efficient and eye-catching way.

Nationwide

This email is a bit different, as it isn’t promoting anything. It’s an automatic service email triggered by a customer adding a bank card to Apple Pay. Banks have to send many of these emails, and they are very important for customers, so strategic elements still come into play.

• Trust elements are very important here. The email is confirming an important action regarding a payment card, so the branding makes it clear it is from Nationwide, and the customer’s postcode is included at the top (though blank here) as an added level of reassurance.
• A CTA is still included, even though this is just a service email. This builds trust even further as if there are any issues or concerns, the customer can click through to the link and verify that the bank has a legitimate domain purchase, and they can trust the email is from Nationwide and get help if they need it.
• As this email is with regards to a payment card, there is security information included as well. Nationwide’s safeguarding measures are outlined so that the customer feels confident their financial assets are in good hands.

Monzo

Back to Monzo! This one is introducing a new investment service, so it includes lots of information in the images above and below. Let’s discuss what makes this email stand out.

• The subject line is short but powerful: “Be the first to try…” is a persuasive invitation, as is the effectively designed CTA button.  It makes it feel exclusive and appeals to natural human curiosity, thus making it more likely they’ll open the email.
• As there is a lot of information to get across, the email has been cleverly designed to break up the text with slick visual elements. The key points are divided into squares with colorful graphics. Plus, the final graph illustrates an attractive upward curve that everyone wants to associate with their finances.
• At the bottom, there are trust elements included in the way of official certifications such as “FSCS Protected” to verify that they are legitimate banks. This is particularly important in the context of the email when there are so many investment scams to be wary of.

Paypal

Paypal is a financial giant of the modern era, facilitating online payments for everything from beauty subscriptions to dialer software for call center agents. Check out the screenshots above and below to see some great contemporary approaches to banking email design.

• The message is very succinct and clear. There are only 25 words before the first CTA. There’s plenty more information in the email, but if the reader is already sold, they can click through in a matter of seconds.
• For those who want to know more, the second half of the email uses visual elements that are clearly in keeping with the PayPal branding and illustrate the benefits with bright graphics.
• There is full transparency in the main body of the email that this is an unregulated credit agreement. While this may not be a great selling point, it does demonstrate PayPal’s commitment to legal compliance.

Apply These Best Practices to Your Banking Emails

By adhering to these best practices, your banking emails are constantly professional, engaging, and effective. Every email you send is an extension of your brand, and in the banking industry, even more than most, you are also building trust. Your email campaigns can have a big influence on the consumer experience, strengthening both your credibility and customer loyalty.