You’ve heard it a million times: “You need to use images in your email marketing.”
But when it comes to designing email marketing images, it’s hard to know where to start. You might have questions like:
– What images should I use?
– How do I create visually appealing images?
– How do I make sure my images stand out in the inbox?
These are all valid questions. But don’t worry; we’re here to help. In this post, we’ll cover 13 tips for designing email marketing images that look great, tell your brand’s story, and help you get better results.
1. Know your target audience.
You’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating. You need to know who you’re designing for.
In email marketing, you’re designing for a specific audience: your subscribers. And if you’re doing it right, you’re segmenting your subscribers with verified email addresses in your email outreach tool or customer relationship management software (e.g., Capsule CRM) and designing messages that speak to each group.
2. Choose images that are relevant to your message.
The images you use in your email marketing should be relevant to the message you’re trying to get across. If you’re promoting a new product or service, use an image of the product or service. If you’re sending a newsletter, use an image that represents the main topic of the newsletter.
Using relevant images helps to reinforce your message and ensures that your subscribers understand what you’re trying to say. It also helps to create a more cohesive design in your email marketing.
3. Use colors that are on-brand.
The colors you choose for your email images can have a big impact on how your email is received. After all, colors are known to evoke certain emotions in people.
When designing your email marketing images, it’s important to keep your brand colors in mind. Using your brand colors in your email images will help to reinforce your brand and make your email feel more cohesive.
If your brand has a lot of colors, try to stick to a few main colors and use the others as accents. This will help to keep your email images from feeling too busy.
4. Make sure your images are high-quality.
Low-quality images can make your brand look unprofessional. They can also be a red flag to your email recipients that your email isn’t worth their time.
That’s why it’s important to use high-quality images in your email marketing.
At a minimum, your images should be 600 pixels wide. This is the standard width of an email on a desktop, so it ensures that your images will look good in most inboxes.
If you’re using images of products, make sure they’re high-resolution and show your products in the best light. You may need to hire a professional product photographer to get the best results. You could also use an AI image generator.
5. Use images that are the right size for your email.
When you’re designing your email, it’s important to consider the size of your email’s content blocks, as well as the size of the images you plan to use.
For example, if you want to use a full-width image at the top of your email, you’ll need to make sure it’s at least 600 pixels wide.
If you’re using a smaller image, like the one in the example below, you’ll need to make sure it’s the right size so that it doesn’t look stretched or pixelated.
You can find our recommended image sizes for all of your email marketing needs in our Image Size Cheat Sheet.
6. Add images to your email signature.
If you want to get a little more creative with your email signature, consider adding an image as well as using an email signature generator. This is a great way to show off your brand’s personality and make a lasting impression with your email recipients.
Just make sure the image you choose is professional and high-quality. You can use a photo of yourself, your team, or your company logo. You can also use a banner image that represents your brand, like in the example below.
Whatever image you choose, make sure it’s relevant to your brand and the message you’re trying to convey in your email.
7. Use GIFs to add movement to your email.
If you’re looking for a way to add movement to your email marketing images, GIFs are a great option. GIFs are short, looping video clips that can be embedded in your emails to give them a little extra pop.
GIFs are a great way to add movement to your email marketing images, and they’re also a great way to grab your audience’s attention. There are tons of free GIFs available online, so you can easily find one that’s perfect for your email.
Just be sure to keep the file size of your GIF in mind. If your GIF is too large, it can slow down the load time of your email, which can be a turnoff for your audience. Try to keep your GIFs under 1 MB, and be sure to compress them if necessary.
8. Use alt text for your images.
Alt text is the text that appears in place of an image that doesn’t load in an email. It’s also used by screen readers for visually impaired users.
Alt text is an important part of your email design. In fact, it’s required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make your emails accessible to everyone.
To add alt text to your images, simply click on your image and look for the “alt text” field in your email editor.
9. Don’t go overboard with images.
The amount of images you include in your email marketing content should be dependent on the type of email marketing campaign you’re running.
For example, if you’re sending an email newsletter, you’ll likely want to include a variety of images to break up the text and keep your subscribers engaged.
On the other hand, if you’re running a promotional campaign, you’ll want to be careful not to go overboard with images. Including too many images in a promotional email can make it look cluttered and disorganized.
Instead, try to limit the number of images you include to just one or two. This will help you keep your email looking clean and polished, while still allowing you to showcase your products or services.
10. Test your images.
Finally, the most important thing you can do to improve your email marketing images is to test different options.
You can use A/B testing to compare different images, but you should also test things like your image size, the number of images you use, and the placement of your images.
You can also test different elements of your images, such as the colors, fonts, and shapes you use.
Testing is the only way to know for sure what works best with your audience. Plus, it will help you continue to improve your email marketing images over time.
11. Use images that are relevant to the season.
Another easy way to make your email marketing images more relevant to your audience is by using images that are relevant to the season.
For example, if you’re sending an email in the winter, you might want to use images of snow, hot cocoa, or people bundled up in warm clothes. If you’re sending an email in the summer, you might want to use images of the beach, ice cream, or people wearing shorts and sunglasses.
You can also use images that are relevant to specific holidays and events, such as Christmas, New Year’s, or the Fourth of July.
12. Use images to show off your products.
If you have an ecommerce store, you know how important it is to showcase your products in your marketing.
Images are a great way to do this in your email marketing campaigns. You can include high-quality photos of your products in your email designs to show off the different colors, styles, and sizes you have available.
You can also use images to highlight new products or to show your products in action. For example, if you sell clothing, you could include images of models wearing your clothes in your email designs.
13. Use a call to action in your images.
A call to action (CTA) is a message that tells your readers what to do next. In email marketing, a CTA is usually a link or button that sends readers to your website, landing page, or another piece of content.
In the case of an image, your CTA might be a button or text overlay that directs readers to another page on your website. Whatever your CTA is, make sure it stands out in your design and is easy to click on.
In the example below, the CTA is the “SHOP NOW” button at the bottom of the image. This button stands out against the white background and is easy to click on, demonstrating effective use of design principles similar to those highlighted by OSI reviews and Judge.me.
Conclusion
What are you waiting for? It’s time to start designing better email marketing images! With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating a standout email that your subscribers will love.
