Content design is a key part of any promotional email. But many marketers underestimate the importance of knowing how to design images in email marketing and other types of visual content. They are not aware that graphics are highly adaptable. They can be efficiently used in any email marketing strategy.
With so many emails hitting inboxes every day, it’s important to make sure your emails stand out from the crowd. One method to achieve this is by developing eye-catching images that capture your subscribers’ attention and urge them to connect with your material.
In this post, I’ll be providing my best tips and tactics for producing images that will assist in boosting your email marketing game. From selecting the correct picture size and style to adding effective CTAs and utilizing A/B testing, I’ll cover everything you need to know to produce images that engage with your subscribers and generate conversions.
See also: How to design an email that gets opened.
Why Is It Important To Design Beautiful And Complete Email Marketing?
Email marketing campaigns are great content marketing tools, but the potential of these tools can hardly be fulfilled — owing to deleted, unopened, and unread emails.
The average email open rate across sectors is 20.94%, while email CTR is under 7.8%. (Source)
Yet, well-planned and professionally created emails can help you attract the attention of your readers and get them to react to your CTAs.
When it comes to email marketing, graphics are equally as crucial as textual content. These are a few reasons why:
Grab the eye: Consumers are inundated with many emails each day. Adding eye-catching pictures may make your email stand out in a crowded inbox.
Boost engagement: Images may help break up the content in your email and make it more visually attractive. This might assist in keeping your audience engaged and interested in your material.
Increase conversions: Well-designed images may assist in encouraging your viewers to take action, such as clicking through to your website or completing a purchase.
How To Design Images In Email Marketing
Now that we understand the importance of images in email marketing, let’s dive into some tips for designing effective visuals for your campaigns.
Keep things simple: When it comes to email design, less is frequently more. Adhere to one or two images in each email, and avoid cluttering your layout with too many graphics or text.
Select high-quality images: Blurry or pixelated images may distract from the overall aesthetic of your email and make your business seem amateurish. Be sure you pick high-quality images that are clear and aesthetically attractive.
Employ a clear focus point: Utilize a clear focal point in your picture to bring the recipient’s attention to your message. Pick a picture that is simple to grasp, aesthetically attractive, and relevant to your business and message.
Optimize images for email: Optimize your images to guarantee that they load fast and appear accurately across various email clients and devices. Use image compression tools or save your images in optimal formats like JPEG or PNG to minimize file size without compromising quality.
Employ contrasting colors: Utilize contrasting colors to make your images stand out and capture the recipient’s attention. Employ colors that suit your brand and message and assist in delivering your message more effectively.
Utilize relevant images: Your images should be relevant to your brand and the message you’re attempting to express. Avoid utilizing generic stock photographs and go for creative images or graphics that suit your brand’s style and tone.
Optimize for mobile: The bulk of emails are now opened on mobile devices. Make sure your images are suited for mobile viewing and load swiftly on tiny displays.
What Are The Things To Consider In Using Images In A Design?
This article below solely covers emails that are HTML-authored and transmitted using SMTP. ( SMTP are bulk email service providers ).
Normally, to produce a stunning HTML email, many marketers utilize email platforms like Mailchimp, Getrespone, etc., Or email marketing tools like Top Email. These platforms include design tools and ready-made templates for marketers to pick from.
While producing your own email marketing images, you need to keep the following aspects in mind:
What is the usual size of images in email marketing?
To keep email consistent, it should all have the same design. (Layouts may vary, but components like color, title length, and font should be constant.)
The single requirement is similar to all email marketing design services: The picture size should be 600px wide. There are two key reasons for you to satisfy this principle:
1. Images need to be crisp on a high-resolution monitor, such as iPhone, Ipad, or a computer screen like Apple’s Retina.
2. In addition, quite a few consumers now check email on mobile devices. In particular, smartphones do not have great memory capacity. An email including images that are too big takes a long time to load or may not even be viewed.
The ratio of images to text in emails
Most marketers don’t care about the number of images incorporated in emails. Sadly, things are not always so straightforward. Considering the number of embeds substantially affects email deliverability.
Spam filters utilize a range of criteria to examine each communication. For example:
• Emails containing just images will likely be forwarded to the Spam folder.
See also How to prevent email from going to spam.
• Optimize the distribution ratio of images to text to maximize inability.
There is no “ideal” ratio. However, most marketers strive to limit images to just 20% or up to 50% of email content. Above 50% might trigger the spam filter and prevent your letter from reaching the inbox.
See also:
What format should be created for email marketing images?
Digital images may be made in a myriad of forms. Yet there will still be some conventional layouts in email marketing. Popular possibilities include PNG, JPEG…
PNG – Portable Network Graphics – Portable Network Graphics
PNG delivers high accuracy and a greater color pallet than GIFs. GIFs can only show up to 256 colors.
Unlike JPEG, PNG images, when compressed, do not affect resolution. They still keep the original quality.
One of the benefits of PNG is the ability to operate with layer transparency. This makes it easier to integrate them into other assets. For example, PNG will mix more seamlessly as a backdrop than a GIF.
If you intend to make a picture using Screen Capture, keep it in PNG format. JPG, on the other hand, may lose quality compared to the original. This is also the biggest downside of PNGs — they are generally bulkier than JPG or GIFs.
JPEG
JPEG is one of the most common picture formats. As indicated above, it delivers great picture compression, frequently decreasing the file size to a minimum of 90%. ( JPEG compresses images by grouping components into bigger bits. This step decreases the quality of the file.)
In addition, the JPEG format does not keep the quality of the original picture as well as PNG.
The Use Of Images In Email Marketing
Firstly, receivers do not always have time to read the content. Images are vital to make the information quickly clear. Normally, readers will react more quickly while seeing images than reading text.
Similarly, images contribute to creating terrific impressions even if the receiver only views them for a few seconds. They assist in connecting with your audience and enhance click-through rates for your campaigns.
These are some uses of images that you might make while planning email marketing:
1- Use a picture as a backdrop in Email marketing
Most ESPs feature the capability to add background images to messages. On the one hand, adding a backdrop graphic helps your email stand out. Nevertheless, not all email clients display the same background image.
2- Employ images to build brand language
People search for companies with a consistent identity that works for them. When utilized appropriately, images may become part of the speech. This takes attention to detail in visual design as well as finding distinctive representations of the brand.
3- Stand out and add professionalism to your email signature
Adding a picture for your email signature may offer your message a distinctive touch without distracting it from the rest of the text. That said, a signature that’s too huge or too little will only appear sloppy and unprofessional. Most individuals read emails on their phones. Therefore don’t forget to build responsive images for all sorts of devices.
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Ways To Find Images For Email Marketing Campaigns
Now you know how to properly utilize images in email marketing. You may start exploring for images to add to your campaign. However, certain images are limited to particular sorts of usage. There are many methods to obtain images that are absolutely free to use for marketing reasons.
Stock images
Built-in images are the easiest method to include images in marketing emails, such as https://www.pixabay.com. With millions of images, you’ll be able to locate precisely what you’re searching for. You may also alter old images by cropping, adding text, etc.
Take your own picture.
Accessible images are ideal in certain instances. However, they are not suitable for product presentation. Or other things directly relevant to your brand. In this situation, it may be preferable to capture images indoors, especially as high-quality cameras become increasingly widespread.
Self-portraits provide various choices that other options aren’t accessible such as pre-built images or user-generated material.
Conclusion
We are all aware of the significance of images in email marketing. Hopefully, these ideas will help you figure out the best way to integrate visuals into your email strategy.
By following the techniques and best practices provided in this article, you can design aesthetically beautiful and engaging emails that captivate your audience’s attention and generate results.
Remember to keep your design basic, use high-quality and relevant images, and optimize for mobile viewing. By utilizing images carefully and purposefully, you can boost your email marketing game and connect with your audience in a more compelling manner.
FAQs:
What picture size should I use in my email marketing campaigns?
The appropriate picture size for email marketing campaigns might vary based on the email service provider you employ. Nonetheless, a reasonable rule of thumb is to limit your picture size below 200KB and no broader than 600 pixels.
What format should I use for my email images?
The most prevalent image formats for email marketing are JPEG and PNG. JPEG files are good for images with a lot of colors, whereas PNG files are better for images with transparent backgrounds.
How can I make my CTAs stand out in my email images?
To make your CTAs stand out, utilize contrasting colors, strong wording, and eye-catching visuals. Make sure your CTA is clearly visible and simple to click.
Can I use stock photographs in my email marketing campaigns?
Absolutely, you may utilize stock photographs in your advertisements. But be sure to use high-quality images that are related to your company and the message you’re attempting to express.
How many images should I put in my emails?
It’s typically advisable to keep to one or two images every email to avoid overloading your readers with too much visual stuff.
Do I need to optimize my images for mobile?
Yeah, with the majority of emails
Do I need to optimize my images for mobile?
Indeed, with the majority of emails being viewed on mobile devices, it’s vital to ensure that your images are optimized for mobile viewing. This implies that your images should be prepared to load fast and appear correctly on tiny displays.
Can I use animated GIFs in my email campaigns?
Absolutely, animated GIFs may be a terrific way to add some movement and visual appeal to your emails. But make sure that the animation is not too obtrusive and that the file size is modest enough to load rapidly.
Should I include images in every email?
That depends on your brand and the message you’re attempting to portray. Although images may be a strong tool in email marketing, they shouldn’t be utilized for the sake of using them. Make sure that your images are appropriate and complement the overall content of your email.
