My list of personal pet peeves is long.
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Dishes left overnight in the sink.
Dust bunnies in yoga studio corners.
Hour long meetings that could've been an email.
People adding me to their random personal Substacks (shudder).
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But few things rile me up as much as a messy inbox. So when I saw my friend launch expert Brenna McGowan post her biggest email pet peeve (small font size), I knew I had to share mine.
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I sign up for a LOT of newsletters in the name of industry research.
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​Pro tip: use a separate email account for these emails - this keeps your main inbox clean if you're like me and use yours as a to-do list. My "assumed name" email is probably the closest I'll get to being a spy, but I take my kicks where I can get them. ​
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After years of doing this work there's a few things I make sure to note and fix immediately when I audit and update someone's account.

1. Your logo doesn't have to be so big.

I catch this most often with folks using Mailchimp - a giant logo at the top of the email that forces someone to scroll 2-3 times on their phone just to get to the first bit of copy. (Frankly, I don't think most emails or personal brands need to use a logo on their emails, but that's a bigger topic for another day.) It's hard enough to get people to open your email - don't make them scroll to get to your point.

2. All images should link somewhere.

Images should be used sparingly (and for the love of Pete, don't make your email one giant image). If you're gonna use an image, make sure if someone clicks it, it goes somewhere. People click images, full stop - you're going to frustrate them if it doesn't go anywhere - especially if it's something they want to sign up for!

3. Font choice matters.

I once had a designer friend who created everything with 9pt font. Looks cool, impossible to read. Don't discount digital accessibility - you want to use 16px or larger to ensure clear readability on desktop and mobile devices. Use a simple sans-serif font like Arial - emails are not the space to get fancy. Use high color contrast (like black text on white background) to make sure everyone can read your great copy.

4. Edit the preview copy.

This week I got an email from a huge internet brand. And there was a big booboo from the start.

Someone forgot to change the "this is your pre-header" - it's a 2 second fix, but often overlooked. (Using Kit to send your emails? You can edit the preview text right below the subject line).
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Not sure if your email has issues? Send yourself a test email - and open it up on your phone (like 60%+ of your audience already does).
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you've got this,
Michelle

p.s. just remembered another peeve. Email services that don't let you easily fix these things. Looking for an better way to send emails that won't frustrate you? Make the move to Kit.* (Want a hand moving and cleaning up your account? Hit reply and let's chat.)