How to add Anchor Links in Emails

Anchor links in email are incredibly useful for newsletters that are long and content-rich. They give your subscribers a chance to quickly scroll down and directly skip to where they want to read. And when your emails are easier to navigate, your readers are more likely to stick around and take in the entire message. Let’s take a look at exactly how anchor links can help your marketing and what you need to do to use them.

Anchor links in email are incredibly useful for newsletters that are long and content-rich. They give your subscribers a chance to quickly scroll down and directly skip to where they want to read.

WHY USE ANCHOR LINKS IN EMAILS?

What exactly is an email anchor link? An anchor link is a hyperlink in an email. When that hyperlink is clicked, it takes you to another part of the email instead of opening a separate window. Anchor links are most helpful for long messages, which is why they’re generally used in email newsletters instead of other emails.

You might choose to include just a single anchor link, or add a full anchor menu in your email header. This menu acts like a table of contents so readers can see at a glance what’s included in the message.

Anchor links are huge for your email UX (user experience). Keeping your email simple can capture a user’s attention. And adding an anchor menu is a great way to simplify your message.

HOW TO CREATE ANCHOR LINKS IN A TEMPLATE

Adding an anchor link in your email campaign is easier than you might think. All you need is a basic know-how of the HTML link structure of your anchor links. As we’ll see, an anchor link is made up of two parts: the URL link and the actual anchor tag that the link is “jumping” to in your email.

GETTING STARTED

Now that you’re familiar with the concept of anchor links in emails, let’s walk you through how to add them in the document editor. 

Step 1: Build the template

To start, drag in a three-column structure to arrange the top anchors. Continue to add text and images to recreate the header, intro and first story. After formatting the text, get ready to add the links.

Step 2: Choose an anchor link name and its position

Now it’s time to name and position the first anchor in the correct section of the template. For this step, we’ll be using the custom HTML content block from the Content menu to add our anchor (think of it as a bookmark).

Drag and drop the HTML block to where you want the link to “jump” down to. In this case, it’s right between Kids Activities story where my Blog starts, titled “Make your own Maori jewellery”

This is how the HTML block looks once it’s in position but before we add the code:

To create the anchor, paste in one line of HTML code in the Content Properties field of the custom HTML block on the right:

<a name="blog"></a><br />

The name in quotes (“blog”) can be whatever you want. Just keep it simple and easy to remember — ideally one word — as this is the keyword you’ll use when linking to this anchor tag.

Step 3: Link the anchor

Now that the anchor’s position has been specified, the text in the header needs to be linked to it. Simply select “BLOG” and choose the Insert Link selection in the toolbar.

In the menu, link to the anchor by entering #blog in the URL field.

For the link to work, it’s important to include the hashtag (#) before the name and to make sure the name matches the one you chose earlier. The shorter and simpler the name, the easier it’ll be to remember.

Now you’ve created the two parts of your anchor links: the anchor text and the link pointing to it.

Duplicate that HTML content block, then copy it and drag it to the next section. Update the name that’s within the quotes and link the text at the top to the new anchors you’ve created.

Step #4: Get Browser Link to test the anchor links

When the page opens on your browser click on the anchor links and watch the magic happen. If you’d like, you can add additional anchor links at the bottom of each section with text that says “Top of page” or something similar. This will let readers go back up to your anchor menu with a single click. But otherwise, your anchor links in email are ready to go.