A lot of marketers don’t realize how important it is to use images in their email campaigns. While text is definitely key for these campaigns, you can’t forget about how useful images can be. Images that are attention-grabbing and visually appealing are more enjoyable for people to look at, and that visual appeal can make a big difference when trying to connect with your target audience. This article will be your guide to using images in your email campaigns.
If you’re looking to make your email campaigns better and help them stand out, you have to include relevant images along with your text. It’s interesting to note that research from Venngage found that 49% of marketers are already using visual content on platforms like blogs, websites, and social media (Facebook and Instagram, for example).
What’s even better is that when you use images in your emails, you can customize them however you want. And if you decide to go with stock images, you’ll have tons of options to choose from.
This article will teach you how to use images effectively in your email marketing. But before we get into that, let’s look at how images can benefit your email campaigns in the first place.
What Benefits Can Images Bring to Your Email Campaigns?
Powerful, engaging images are like the foundation of your email campaign. Plus, a lot of people prefer to read content that has images compared to lengthy texts. The strategic use of images in email adds a personal flair, and this can really help strengthen your brand image and the values you want to convey. Images are hands down the best way to take control of how aesthetically pleasing your email marketing is.
Need some inspiration? Take a look at this image:
In this image, Slack uses vibrant colors and emojis in their eye-catching visuals, giving it a playful vibe. They’ve not only made their message clearer with images, but they’ve also found a way to grab the attention of their readers.
However, to really get the most out of your images and prevent yourself from making email marketing errors, you need to make sure they’re sized appropriately. For example, if your images are too big, they might take a long time to load, and your readers won’t be happy about that. It’s also important to ensure that your images actually relate to the message in your email marketing and that they fit with the products or services you’re promoting.
4 Tips for Using Images in Email Marketing
When it comes to using images in your email marketing, there are a few tips to keep in mind. You want to make sure you’re on the right track and not using images that don’t resonate with your target audience.
1. Figure Out Your Image Style and Stick With It – A Guide to Using Images in Your Email
Determining your brand identity is a crucial step in any business growth strategy because it helps you create a voice that’s uniquely yours. If you’re trying to connect with a broader audience, you’ll need to tailor the images in your email marketing accordingly. Your images need to match your brand’s voice and the overall message of your content. You might be tempted to use bold images, but if they don’t fit with your brand, you won’t get the reaction you want from your customers.
On the other hand, if your email campaign has a lot of complex information, using infographics can be a great way to simplify it. And once you start using them, be consistent. Research has shown that about 41.5% of marketers feel that infographics and graphics are the best for getting customers engaged.
National Geographic, for instance, is known for its sharp, journalistic images of nature, and they seamlessly blend these into their email marketing campaigns. Check out this example:
In this example, you can see how they’ve combined stunning images with captivating text. Just by glancing at this email, you can instantly make the connection to National Geographic and what the brand represents.
Remember that the best way to keep things consistent when using images in your emails is to maintain a uniform design across all of them. You can switch up the content, but elements like colors, header sizes, and fonts should stay the same.
2. Use Images That Grab Attention: A Guide to Using Images in Your Email
To use images effectively in your email campaigns to capture attention, you have to be dedicated to finding ones that showcase something special about your company. If your images don’t stand out, they won’t matter to your online audience.
While stock images offer plenty of variety, you might not need them if you’re trying to highlight particular products from your company. However, one of the hardest things can be getting images that are visually appealing and high-quality. Work with your in-house photographers and graphic designers to explore options for color, design, and size that will really make your product images catch pop.
Take a look at this example from Dazadi. The company knows that a picture of a child driving is going to immediately catch anyone’s eye. So, they used it as a concept for one of their marketing emails. It’s a surefire way to make sure no one misses their email.
You could also try using photos of people who work at your company to give your emails a more authentic touch. Or include pictures of customers who have bought your products, along with quotes about their experience. When you decide to be creative and think outside the box, the possibilities are endless.
A previous study conducted for the Nielsen Norman Group discovered that when images of people were used in email marketing, the campaigns achieved better results and got more engagement from email recipients.
3. Don’t Go Overboard with Images
We all know how nice images can look, and it’s easy to get carried away and use too many. But remember that if you do this, the quality of your email will go down. If your emails are all images, your brand will start to lose credibility because some information has to be presented in text form. Remember that finding the right balance is key, especially if you’re planning on sending recurring emails to your subscribers. Too many images might overshadow the most important information in your email sequence.
Plus, if your emails are just images, they could end up in people’s spam folders, which defeats the whole purpose of sending them in the first place. Make sure you have pre-header text in your emails; otherwise, people might not even bother opening them.
The following image is a good example of how to use images correctly in an email:
This email has several images that are all sized perfectly so that they don’t look cluttered. They’re paired with text that’s a good size, and the pre-header is engaging. All the different parts of the email look like they belong where they are, and they’ve nailed the ideal image-to-text ratio.
4. Pay Attention to Image Size and Format: A Guide to Using Images in Your Email
Before you send out your emails to your email list, it’s smart to test them out on different devices. If you send emails with image sizes or formats that aren’t right, you could end up driving away potential customers.
If you need to shrink the file size of an image, make sure you’re using a high-quality cropping tool. If you try to do it yourself, the images might end up distorted. Also, images with huge file sizes can take forever to load, which is going to frustrate your readers.
This next image is a great example of a company that’s used the correct image sizes in its email newsletter:
The images aren’t just beautiful with their colors, but they also fit perfectly with all the other elements of the email in terms of size.
It’s also crucial for you to understand the concept of image formatting. Some popular image formats include JPEG, PNG, and GIF, among others. JPEGs, for instance, tend to have the lowest quality but are the easiest to compress. They won’t take up too much space in your emails. If you have photos that include text, PNG would be a good option. And if you want to include an animation, GIFs are the way to go.
Bottom Line
Email marketing has become super popular in recent years. Tons of companies are actively using it as part of their marketing strategies, so you need to find ways to stand out.
Pay attention to aesthetics and what resonates with your customers. Images have the power to dramatically improve the overall quality and impact of your emails, and you can use them to showcase your best products.
Consistency is just as important as not going overboard with images, and so is finding that sweet spot with your text-to-image ratio. Do your homework beforehand and sweat the small stuff. Get your team involved, and see how adding images to your email campaigns can make a difference for your company.