{"id":4530,"date":"2015-06-23T15:43:24","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T15:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/rules-using-images-email-marketing\/"},"modified":"2018-05-29T16:53:37","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T16:53:37","slug":"rules-using-images-email-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/rules-using-images-email-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Rules for Using Images in Your Email Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/image-60228503\/stock-vector-flat-design-concept-of-newsletter\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/06\/d79c5-img.png\" alt=\" Flat design concept of emails and newsletters. \" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Running an effective email marketing program is much more than just sending out an email blast once a month to your subscribers. Email marketing is a nuanced marketing channel, and understanding the rules for using effective images in your emails can go a long way towards generating ROI (Return On Investment).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Consider these numbers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Email marketing <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/email-marketing-stats-list\">has an ROI of 4,300%<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pardot.com\/blog\/the-2015-email-marketing-landscape\/\">For 69.7% of internet users<\/a>, email is the preferred method for biz communication.<\/li>\n<li>By 2016, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/email-marketing-stats.html\">there will be 4.3 billion email accounts globally<\/a>. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Convinced? Good. Here are some rules for using images to create traffic- <em>and<\/em> revenue-generating emails:<\/p>\n<h2>1. USE CONCENTRATED COLOR<\/h2>\n<p>Marketers think a lot about how to use color within a product or website. These color rules also apply to email and other marketing channels. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/how-to-pick-the-right-colors-for-your-brand\">The psychology of color<\/a> is especially important in email, where users spend a matter of seconds looking at the content before deciding whether to click or delete.<\/p>\n<p>Too much color within such a confined space will make your email feel cluttered and unfocused. But a well-placed punch of a concentrated hue will guide a user&#8217;s eye to primary messaging or a strong call to action. Below are some examples of images that follow the best practices for color usage (in this case, <em>red<\/em>):<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/06\/039c1-img.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Back To School&#8221; image |&nbsp; HalfPoint<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/image-71789956\/stock-photo-happiness%2C-winter-holidays%2C-christmas-and-people-concept-smiling-young-woman-in-white-hat-and-mitt\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/06\/b02c9-img.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Happiness &amp; Holidays&#8221; image |&nbsp; dolgachov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>2. SIZE MATTERS<\/h2>\n<p>One of the more tempting email tactics is creating a fully image-based email design. Without the hassle of worrying about web-based fonts or in-line CSS (Cascading Style Sheet), the allure of image-only emails is pretty clear. But without any HTML text to parse, mail servers are much more likely to mark these messages as spam.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To avoid the dreaded spam folder, use moderately-sized images as accent pieces within an overall design that combines plain text with visual content.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>3. DEVELOP WITH CARE<\/h2>\n<p>Even when an email finds its way into a user&#8217;s inbox, there&#8217;s no guarantee that the images within that email will display correctly. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/gmailblog.blogspot.com\/2013\/12\/images-now-showing.html\">Gmail updated its platform<\/a> to automatically download and display images to users on the desktop and mobile apps. Unfortunately, other email clients haven&#8217;t caught up. Some or all of the images in your email may be blocked by email clients unless a user manually clicks to allow them.<\/p>\n<p>Plan ahead for problems, and make sure that the small percentage of users who don&#8217;t receive your images instead have a solid color background or some great alt text as a replacement. For users who <em>do<\/em> load images, use absolute links to images hosted on a reliable server to ensure there won&#8217;t be any broken link issues.<\/p>\n<h2>4. FIND THE RIGHT TYPE<\/h2>\n<p>Don&#8217;t fall prey to simply tossing a handful of JPGs into a freshly-minted email layout. The type of image file you choose can have major implications in the campaign performance and &#8220;viewability&#8221; for end users.&nbsp;When creating images for your campaigns, here are some quick <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/litmus.com\/blog\/png-gif-or-jpeg-which-ones-should-you-use-in-email\">guidelines to help you<\/a> choose the correct format:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>JPG: Best choice for photos<\/li>\n<li>PNG: Best choice for line art, logos, or images with transparency<\/li>\n<li>GIF: Best for flat graphics, or images with few colors and simple lines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/image-90799502\/stock-vector-laptop-with-mail\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/06\/100a1-img.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Laptop with Mail Icon&#8221; image |&nbsp; korinoxe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>5. READ THE FINE PRINT<\/h2>\n<p>Determining if it&#8217;s okay to use licensed images can be tricky work, but it&#8217;s even more difficult for companies to set aside their own time and resources to art direct enough imagery for an entire email campaign. Stock photo websites like <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/\">Bigstock<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/\">Shutterstock<\/a> each have clear guidelines that allow you to use the licensed images you purchase in opt-in email campaigns. If you&#8217;re buying or sourcing images from anywhere else, be sure to read the fine print to make sure that you are legally allowed to use the image in an email campaign.<\/p>\n<h2>6. MAKE IT MOBILE<\/h2>\n<p>At the end of 2013, mobile became the most common way users access their email, surpassing desktop apps and webmail. And the momentum isn&#8217;t slowing down. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.radicati.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/01\/Mobile-Statistics-Report-2014-2018-Executive-Summary.pdf\">By 2018, 80% of email users<\/a> will access their email accounts from mobile devices. Thinking about mobile optimization is now pretty much required for large brands and small businesses alike.<\/p>\n<p>Designing emails for mobile viewing means rethinking everything from font size (14px minimum on body copy), to incorporating &#8220;finger-sized&#8221; buttons for easier clicking. Mobile friendliness applies to the images you&#8217;re using, too. <strong>Pictures that look beautiful on large-screen monitors will likely feel crowded or dense on a mobile device. <\/strong>Aim for email imagery with a single, clear subject that can be easily understood &#8211; even at smaller sizes.<\/p>\n<p>While desktop apps will typically display email files as large as 100KB without clipping your message, mobile apps have a much lower threshold. To ensure your full email is delivered, keep the file size under 20KB, including your images. This frequently means crafting a more concise email and removing any unnecessary styling from the code.<\/p>\n<h2>AND FURTHERMORE &#8230;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p>These tips only scratch the surface of all there is to know and learn about email marketing. For more information on using images to craft strong campaigns, take a look at these great resources:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/top-colors-for-email-marketing\">5 Top Colors for Email Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/infographic-the-psychology-of-graphics\">Infographic:&nbsp;Psychology of Graphics<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/3-common-mistakes-when-editing-photos-and-how-to-avoid-them\">3 Common Mistakes When Editing Images<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">About the Author:&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"font-size:16px;\">Ashley Kemper is a marketing strategist who spends her free time traveling and pursuing hobbies in photography, web design, and blogging. Follow her on Twitter&nbsp;<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theashleykemper\">@theashleykemper<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/free-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/06\/da29c-image-ctaimage-cta.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Running an effective email marketing program is much more than just sending out an email blast once a month to your subscribers. Email marketing is a nuanced marketing channel, and understanding the rules for using effective images in your emails can go a long way towards generating ROI (Return On Investment).&nbsp; Consider these numbers: Email&hellip;<\/p>\n<a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\" https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/rules-using-images-email-marketing\/ \">Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[813],"tags":[539,420,15],"class_list":["post-4530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-small-business-tips","tag-email-marketing","tag-business-tips","tag-colors","col-sm-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcS8aA-1b4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4530"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7957,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4530\/revisions\/7957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigstockphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}