The use of images in emails has a significant impact on the click-through rates (CTRs) and overall engagement of your email campaign.
Images in emails have the ability to boost your CTR by 42%. This is because visual content is more captivating and can readily capture your readers’ attention. They are also better illustrations to help recipients understand the message you sent faster.
In adding images to your message body, you should make sure that the image is relevant to your message and that it is visually appealing to your audience. The image should convey a message or add meaning to your text.
Are you struggling with low CTRs in your email campaigns? Here is a solution that can boost your CTR by 42%. Image addition in emails can drastically improve your campaign click-through rates when applied effectively. Learn more with our guide on how to strategically apply this to your upcoming campaigns.
Tips for using visuals effectively in email campaigns.
1. Maintain your brand identity.
As much as you want to use an image that can capture your audience’s attention, the idea of brand identity should not be put aside.
Making use of your brand logo in the image, color palettes, unique image styles for your brand, or brand’s fonts.
2: The text-to-image ratio should be higher for text than image.
The aim of visuals is to present an illustration of the text content and not be the focus of your email. When your image ratio is higher than that of text, there is an increased load time, which is discouraging.
We recommend that your emails contain 20% visual content (images) and 80% text.
3: Let the image be in alignment with the specific emotions you want subscribers to experience when they read your email.
For your image in an email campaign to perform excellently, it is expected that you create visual content that aligns with the content of your email and the expected reaction. That way, your audience can easily do justice to what you have sent.
4: The Color of the Image
What determines the choice of color to use for your image in an email campaign is the marketing objective for your brand. Consumers look out for colors when making their buying decisions, and brighter colors are usually linked with positive feelings. Neutral colors are for peace and calmness, so it all depends on the objective of your campaign. All in all, your brand recognition should be put in place, and you should avoid using colors that contrast with your brand’s image.
5: The image should not be heavy or blurry.
Image sizes and quality to be used on your e-mail campaign are crucial optimization qualities you should look out for when creating emails with images. When you make use of a heavy image, it will slow down the loading speed of your email, and no one has all the time to wait for one email to load before they can interact with the message you want to pass across. In the same vein, blurry pictures or images that are too small are bad indicators, so you should try to avoid them for optimum email performance and to enhance CTRs.
6: Use bullet points.
To enhance readability, it is recommended that you make use of bullet points around your text and visuals. Bullet points will clearly point out the information that your audience has, and they will reduce the confusion that is encountered when clustered emails are sent.
The role of videos and GIFs in engaging email content
1. Videos and GIFs convey complex messages into digestible information for better engagement.
GIFs and videos help in interpreting complicated messages into a form that is digestible and impactful to the end user. They are perfect for brands that want to display their product features, they are also cool ways to share product tutorials for better understanding and engagement. Recipients pick up the point passed across by merely seeing the visuals.
2. They drive more traffic.
Videos and GIFs, when shared and spread across various platforms, can help you drive more engagement. GIFs are small in size, and users are more likely to share them. Since they are branded, it is a better opportunity to gain exposure and a higher engagement rate.
3. Driving Engagement
When your thumbnail is eye-catching and captivating, it will further drive engagement, and the recipient will most likely open the mail. This is the same for button GIFs that signify an action. If you use a captivating visual for your email campaign that requires your audience to click on the “play” button, it already conveys the message that there is a video they must watch. Animated GIFs are also perfect attention-getters.
4. They create emotional connections with the audience.
With playful videos and GIFs, a brand can become more friendly and humane to their customers. Customers love when they are valued, and with emotions in GIFs, they will most likely engage with the content of your mail. This will in turn foster a better identity for your brand and increased engagement across different social media platforms.
The Takeaway
Visual contents are more captivating and can readily capture your readers’ attention; they offer clearer illustrations of the message you sent. However, this can only work when they are applied effectively in the right way.
When you implement the tactics outlined above and use powerful email marketing tools like MAILDRIP, you can boost your CTR and engagement with images in emails.
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