This page has UX-specific guidance for teams that have approval to create and publish Government of Yukon email newsletters. This guidance includes:
- how to apply existing standards; and
- email newsletter-specific standards.
Apply existing standards to email newsletters
Naming your newsletter
Follow the government's standard for naming a service. In addition, make sure:
- the newsletter name is concise, easy to understand and descriptive;not to use overused or cliché words and phrases; and
- avoid using words like “report,” “alert,” “trend,” “news,” and “update. These add to the word count and do not give potential subscribers any idea what your newsletter is about.
The user journey starts on Yukon.ca
The user journey must start on Yukon.ca. For email newsletters you should work with your communications lead and ECO to:
- add a link to your newsletter on the page that lists all government newsletters; and
- create a bridge page on Yukon.ca specific to your newsletter. This page will follow the Subscription page online design pattern.
Applying branding to your newsletter
Government of Yukon email newsletters templates are designed to maximize the liklihood people will open and engage with the content. This means the design:
- is clean, orderly and free of clutter;
- presents content in a simple, straight-forward manner;
- supports mobile and desktop;
- is consistent from one newsletter to the next; and
- meets the government's accessibility standard.
Buttons
The brand colours have been added to the button in the template with buttons as links. This colour should match the button colour we have noted in the Colour and palettes for digital service page and the text should be white.
Colours
The brand colours are all added to the platform. You can use them in a variety of ways as long as your design choices align with existing standards and meet the government's accessibility standard.
Fonts
Fonts available in the platform are Monserrat, Arial and Helvetica. These are included in the templates. Use Monserrat for headings and use Arial or Helvetica for the remaining text.
Links
Once you add a link in an newsletter article - it will automatically apply the branding colours. You should also underline the link text to make it more visible to users as a link.
Depending on the template you choose, you can also add a link as a button which will meet accessibility standards for contrast.
Supporting graphics
You can also use one or more of the supporting graphics to add a design element to your newsletter. Make sure you add alternative text if you use these images. You can use these in place of a Horizontal Rule to separate articles or you can use it to separate the footer from the rest of the newsletter content.
Applying online design patterns to your newsletter
Some of the pages and emails people will see as they subscribe, unsubscribe and manage their personal preferences follow the government's Confirmation online design pattern. This format should be used for all government newsletters.
Email newsletter-specific standards
Understand how people engage with email newsletters
People interact with digital newsletters much like a normal webpage. They scan headings to look for words that interest them.
In an NNG study of 117 e-newsletters, researchers also determined people:
- spend less than a minute consuming newsletter content after they've opened the email;
- consumed only 19 per cent of a newsletter; and
- 35 per cent of the time they skimmed only a small part of a newsletter.
Competing for attention in a person's inbox
People get more email in their inboxes today than ever before. They only have so many hours in a day to look through these emails and decide what to open and look at.
This means it's important follow the UX and content standards to increase the likelihood they will open your email and engage with the content.
Another common behaviour for people is to open a newsletter, scan it and then save the email in a folder so they can refer to it later. To ensure these users can access past issues try to include links that are not likely to break right away.
How long should your newsletter be?
The length of a newsletter depends on how often you plan to send it out, the template you choose and the subject matter.
- Daily or weekly newsletters should be shorter than monthly or quarterly newsletters.
- If your newsletter is over 5 articles:
- consider sending it out more often;
- select a template that allows you to add a headline with a 2-4 sentence summary and then link to a website or blog with more details on the topic; or
- add a brief table of contents at the top of the newsletter that link to content further down the page.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure your newsletter is no larger than 100 KB.
How often should you email a newsletter to subscribers?
Ask yourself the following questions to determine the frequency for emailing your newsletter to subscribers.
- What is the team's capacity to create content and get it added to the template and sent through approvals?
- How often is content available?
- Do you already follow a publishing schedule for a paper newletter that would work on the digital channel?
- Are there topics or events that happen every year that can serve as themes for the newsletter?
- Is the newsletter seasonal? Or will it go out throughout the year?
Subscribers want to see a consistent publishing schedule so once you've determined what this looks like, it's important you stick to it. People expect this type of content to be time sensitive and relevant.
Parts of newsletter templates and how to use them
We have created several templates you can use to help you achieve your business goals and align with these UX standards.each template has the following parts.
Header
Every email newsletter has a header across the top.
What you can update
- Name of the newsletter
- Date of publishing
- Issue number (optional)
What you can not update
- The logo
This has the government's logo, the newsletter name and the date of publish or issue number.
Body
The body is the main part of the email newsletter and where you will add your articles and supporting information.
What you can update
- Content
- Colour of the horizontal rule to separate articles
- Add supporting graphic (optional)
- Social media share and follow icons
What you can not update
- Single column layout
- Colour of links
Footer
The footer appears at the bottom of every newsletter.
What you can update
- The background colour - as long as it still passes accessibility standards for contrast
- Icons and the associated links to social media accounts
What you can not update
- A link so people can manage their preferences
- A link to the privacy statement for the platform
- A link to Yukon.ca
- Copyright
- Link to unsubscribe
Email standards to follow when you send a newsletter to subscribers
Sender
The sender must be clear and follow the existing policy. In addition, the sender should:
- not be the name of an individual
- be no longer than 20 characters
- include the name of the organization (Government of Yukon)
Subject line
The email subject line should be purposeful and concise.
- Treat it like a headline
- Limit it to 40 characters
- Front load with key words
Preheader text
Preheader text is the short summary text that follows the subject line when a person views an email in their inbox. This information is important because it helps people decide if they should open the email or not. This text should be informational and support the subject line.
Avoid
- Using emojis or GIFs.
- Repeating information in the subject line and sender line.
Test your email newsletter
If you are building your first newsletter - make sure you test:
- how it looks on desktop and mobile devices;
- to make sure it meets the government's accessibility standard; and
- how quickly it loads outside the government's network.
This gives you time to make adjustments to ensure people can see and interact with your content.
Before you send out each edition of your newsletter
- Have another person proofread to make sure there are no typos or other errors.
- Check to make sure your newsletter is viewable and usable on several different browsers and devices.
- Make sure your newsletter content can be downloaded all over the Yukon – not just in Whitehorse or in a government office.
What to do if you email a newsletter out and then discover an error
Even if you've tested the newsletter and made sure it's viewable on mobile devices and on different browsers - mistakes happen. If you discover an issue after you've emailed a newsletter out:
- correct the error or address the issue; and
- send out a brief apology with the updated newsletter.