Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?
Recently, while attending the Email Evolution Conference in New Orleans, a topic was discussed that we found very interesting – and there were a number of key insights laid out that we thought were worth sharing.
One of the featured presenters at the conference, Kath Pay from Holistic Email Marketing, spoke at length about the use of images in email campaigns, as well as a number of considerations that marketers should take into account when incorporating imagery.
As one would think, including a quality image in an email can be very effective, as it can help draw the reader in and tell a story, or even just reinforce who the email is being sent from or whom the message is about. For example, including a picture of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz can quickly show the recipient of an email what subject matter is being covered in the copy.
So while incorporating imagery in the body of an email can have a very positive impact on the effectiveness of a message , there are some major caveats to consider as well.
According to Kath Pay, 43% of consumers have images blocked in their emails. This means that perfect picture a sender has place in their email, on average, is only getting through to a little more than half of a message’s recipients. This is especially problematic when a sender has converted an entire email message to a single image.
This practice can indeed be tempting, in order to ensure that the text and the pictures are arranged exactly as the sender would like them to be. And while this does indeed ensure the message cannot be manipulated in any way when it’s sent out on someone else’s email list, the problem –as you can guess – is that 43% of those receiving the email will not see anything when they open the email.
This will result in a huge number of recipients deleting the email simply because they cannot read it.
That’s why it is important to not rely solely on an image to evoke the response you are hoping to convey. No matter how good an image is, crafting compelling copy is always incredibly important.
As the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. But the recipient of an email has images turned off, an image that contains your entire message is, in a word, “worthless”.
Mustard Seed Interactive is an expert email provider, ready to help you to make the right choices when considering the best layout for your emails. We’re here to help you optimize the deliverability of your email, which will greatly increase the likelihood that your audience will open it and act upon your message.
Roger Rayburn is the Operations Director of Mustard Seed Interactive. He can be reached at roger@mustardseedinteractivellc.com
