Colors in e-mail marketing: reaching the target group with the right mix

Round 416 Advertising mails land in the mailbox of an average recipient per month. A meaningful subject and a personal salutation are a good door opener. But what's the best way to encourage the reader? Leslie Harrington, Executive Director of the Color Association of The United States sums it up: "We respond to color on different levels. There are social and cultural levels, as well as personal relationships with certain colors. In addition, there is an innate response to color."

Association with own brand image

If certain colors are used in e-mail campaigns, it is advisable to first think about the association with one's own brand. The decisive factor for the color selection is which feelings and connections are to be evoked in the recipients that conform to the brand image. The recently published study "Impact of Color in Marketing. concludes that 90 percent of decisions for certain products can be based on color alone. Red, for example, is considered a "loud color" and, when used extensively, is a clear sign of desired attention. Blue, on the other hand, is considered the color of honesty, loyalty and trust. Although it is the Most popular color in men, blue is considered a gentle color with a calming effect. Warm orange is different, offering optimism and confidence. Associations such as sunny days and bright light ensure that orange is perceived as particularly positive and stimulating.

Test color associations!

In our everyday lives, colors are already predefined: In road traffic, for example, green stands for "free passage," while red is an unmistakable warning signal. An experiment by Hubspot looked at how predefined colors can be used to increase conversion rates. In fact, a red button with call-to-action got 21 percent more attention than a green one.

The result shows that despite common color associations, the effect in campaigns should be checked beforehand, e.g. by means of an A/B test, and the campaign optimized on the basis of the results. Because every customer is different and the reaction to a color can depend on various factors, such as mood, location, the device used, the choice of color combination.

Gender plays a role

Another aspect of choosing the right color for email campaigns is the gender of the recipients. The psychology of colors can be gender-specific, as certain colors are perceived better than others by men and women respectively, such as Kissmetrics has recently shown: It's true that men and women have the same preferences when it comes to choosing between light and dark colors. But unlike men, who love bold colors, women prefer significantly softer tones.

Bypass the spam filter with the right colors

The spam algorithms of Internet providers filter primarily for keywords that are stored as spam triggers. What many people don't know is that the ratio of images to text can also be decisive for spam. The rule of thumb is 25 percent images and 75 percent text, with format and color also playing an important role here. However, practice shows that, for example, extensive use of red in texts is one of the most common triggers. Many spam filters work with a scoring system. Each of the mentioned attributes stands for a certain point value. The more points an email scores, the more likely it is to end up in the spam folder. Companies should therefore also take care to keep their own spam score low when choosing colors.

Conclusion

The psychology of color can give marketers a decisive advantage in email marketing. For campaigns to successfully reach their recipients, the following aspects should always be kept in mind:

• Does the color combination of text, images and background match the brand?
• Were too many "loud" colors used?
• What colors lead to a higher conversion rate for a call to action?
• What state of mind should the message and color choice trigger?

Alexis Renard is CEO at global all-in-one email service provider Mailjet. The European company optimizes the delivery of emails to a wide variety of inboxes. As a result, Mailjet offers startups to large enterprises a user-friendly tool to manage and sustainably improve their open and click-through rates. With over 15 years of B2B experience, Renard is driving the company's growth internationally.