While email marketing in itself is the primary marketing channel for 81% of SMBs, it can’t reap the best results without visual content.
Forbes’ data says that adding videos to your emails can boost click-through rates by 500%.
Another study states that sixty-five percent of users prefer emails to contain mostly images.
Moz states that GIFs, when used correctly, can significantly boost email conversions.
Clearly, these stats aren’t for nothing. Visual content and email marketing have ties made in heaven. The question of concern is, how do you leverage this match and make the most of it?
Aiding to the same, here’s a list of 5 visual elements that you can use in your emails to earn whole lotta conversions.
1. Videos
It’s no surprise that users on the web love videos.
The convenience of not having to read tons of text. The comprehensiveness. The time saved from reading and the recall ability of video content. All of these factors make video a favorite to internet users around the world.
But do videos work wonders in emails as well?
Well, that can be estimated by the fact that using the word “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribes by 26%. The question is, which video suits your email campaign the most?
To help you decide, here’s a bunch of pointers.
- You can show your prospects in and around your workplace: Let them know who they are working with is one easy way of gaining your prospects’ trust.
Basically, when you enable your prospects to look inside your workplace, they know that yours is a real business and can be relied on. - Showcasing your products is a good idea: If you are selling a product or a service, email marketing can significantly help you pump up your sales.
No wonder, 73 percent of the leading online retailers are using videos in their marketing campaigns.
To do this, you simply need to create a video highlighting your product/service’s key features. - Testimonial videos work like charm: While you may mention in your emails that most of your clients are happy with your service, nothing’s better than actually showing the happy clients.
Apparently, that’s why even Hubspot says that video testimonials help boost your email marketing conversions. - Show the good that you do: Another thing you can do with your email videos highlights your brand’s community projects to raise awareness about a good cause.
This hospital in Texas did the same with their “Fight Song” for children suffering from cancer. The video is brilliant and so it earned them a decent number of shares and likes.
Also, note it’s always better to tell stories with your videos. Humans love stories and remember them too. The best you can make about this fact is to make a video that connects with your audience.
It can be anything from a simple “Hello, nice to meet you” kind of introduction video to an explainer video talking about what you do and how you can help your audience.
The bottom line, adding the right videos to your emails can help you significantly boost your conversions. Just keep the above-mentioned tips in mind and your videos will help you convert better.
2. GIFs
Also known as graphics interchange format pictures, GIFs have now become a huge part of visual content on the web. And then, studies have revealed that when correctly used, GIFs can boost email conversion rates by 103%.
Clearly, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t invest in GIFs. But how exactly? Well, here’s a simple approach.
If you have problems creating GIFs, there are a number of tools available on the web that can help you create awesome GIFs from videos and screen records. Some of them are mentioned below.
- GIF Maker
- Animated GIF Maker – Ezgif.com
- Giphy GIF Maker
- Animated GIF Maker and Editor
And speaking of how to pick the right GIFs for your brand, well, you can use the following ideas.
- GIFs that give your prospects a quick demonstration of your product
- A small yet on-point how-to video in your GIF
- A brief-yet-comprehensive animated infographic
Apart from this, make sure that all the GIFs that you plan on mailing to your prospects are optimized in size. Some GIFs can be too large to send via email. The best way of making sure that they actually reach your prospects is to optimize them.
Here’s a list of some of the top free GIF optimizer tools available on the web:
- EZGif
- GIF Compressor
- Online GIF Optimizer – Compress GIF Online – GIF Maker
- Compressor.io
Important note: As you try GIFs for boosting your email conversion rates, make sure you are constantly monitoring your analytics on the side. There can be occasions when GIFs won’t improve conversions.
Using GIFs to reap maximum reward is a case of experimenting and indulging in A/B tests. Keep this in mind or the plan may backfire, costing you conversions.
3. Pictures
After GIFs and videos, pictures are an essential part of email design. They draw readers in and persuade them to go through the rest of your email.
Plus, images are easier to process when compared to textual content and can thus convey your message quickly. But to make sure that this happens, you need to choose the right images for your emails, which support the purpose of your email.
To know more about gathering awesome pictures for adding to your emails, try these tips.
- Snap candids of your staff: As it works for videos, giving an inside view of your workplace and the people working in it can work wonders for images as well.
Just like videos, such images will help build trust and credibility for your brand. - Royalty-free pictures websites: Apart from clicking candids, you can also take images from websites like Unsplash and Shutterstock.
These websites have hundreds and thousands of brilliant pictures that you can use for free in your email marketing campaigns. - Click product pictures: If you are not a fan of the idea of acquiring images from the web and want to maintain the genuineness of content in your emails, you can also click pictures of your products.
A Time.com study states that large product images which feel almost real can significantly boost conversion rates.
4. Infographics
If you want to make life easy for your email recipients and boost conversion rates at the same time, infographics are the way to go. One of the most comprehensive visual elements, infographics can charm up your email conversion rates like anything. No wonder, nearly 42% of marketers say that original visual content like infographics performs best on all marketing channels, including email.
So, go on with infographics and provide unique, priceless information to your audience.
Also, remember, it’s important you don’t go for the sale with every email you send. By educating your customers you are going to be telling them why exactly they need your product, so whenever you remarket them, the impact is better.
5. Email Design
Anything from your email’s flow to the positioning and color of your CTA buttons, of it matters when it comes to email design.
The basic idea here is to better the parameters such as visual elements like rich media, responsiveness, and interactivity. The reason is the real need for your emails to be super-responsive if you want to convert with them.
Also, understand the need for using spot-on CTA buttons.
The color scheme of your CTA buttons needs to be well through-through. This can better be understood by discussing color psychology.
Psychology of colors behind choosing the right CTA colors
Every profession in the world takes colors seriously. Doctors and nurses wear white as a sign of sterility. Companies intensively think through their logo colors before coming up with the final pellet.
It’s obvious that colors matter a great deal.
But what exactly in colors makes them matter?
Every color evokes a feeling or mood within people’s heads and therefore results in a different reaction when they see it. And that is why it’s crucial for you to choose CTA colors that evoke a sense of benefit in the minds of users, so they click through.
One simple approach towards CTA design is to use a good contrast. Basically, what you need to do is try colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel.
Final words
Visual elements play a great role in making or breaking any email’s conversion rates.
In this post, we tried talking in detail about 5 such visual elements and how you can use them to boost your email campaign’s conversion rates.
Hopefully, this was helpful.
