Image-only emails, or image-only email campaigns, have emerged as a somewhat controversial trend in email marketing. As brands seek to capture their subscribers’ attention in their inbox, the exclusive use of images is presented as an easy solution that certainly favors the attractiveness and effectiveness of the content and simplifies the layout of responsive designs. According to Snov.io‘s summary of 101 email statistics for 2024, emails that include images achieve a higher OR (27%) and CTR (4.5%) than text-based emails (20% and 3%).
However, this practice has sparked an intense debate about the effectiveness and accessibility of this type of email and has led email marketing gurus to explain the disadvantages or mistakes that these emails can bring about.
Pros of Using Images in Your Email Campaigns
- Aesthetics and visual appeal
Images make your emails more dynamic and eye-catching. The combination of colors, elements or visual effects can quickly capture attention and help the user understand the message at a glance. This, in turn, will improve your click-through rate (CTR) because the more the user is attracted to the content, the more likely they are to click.
- Consistency with your brand
Images are a great ally when it comes to reflecting an aesthetic consistent with your identity. Beyond logos or corporate colors, it’s worth mentioning the great challenge of integrating the brand’s typography into your emails. Not all devices or mail clients can render custom fonts uniformly. While images ensure that the typography is displayed as it was designed, using text can result in the main typography being replaced by another set by default by your template or the operating system (MacOS and Windows), which would change the aesthetics of the email depending on the recipient.
- Speed and simplicity of layout
If you’re considering using image-only emails, it’s because you think that a good image can summarize all the information in your email. In addition, you know that current marketing automation tools have editors that allow you to integrate images intuitively and quickly using drag-and-drop technologies, without having to resort to HTML and CSS. If you’re looking to send a lot of emails with a simplified workflow, you’ll find that images are your best ally. But there are many mistakes you can make while using this type of email. For example, an excessively horizontal creative could make text on mobile small, while a vertical one can be overwhelming on desktop. Keep in mind that if you decide to use only images in your email, they’ll be your only communication tool, and they must meet all requirements: they should be attractive, legible, identifiable, and action oriented.
Cons of Using Images in Your Email Campaigns
- Risk of being labeled as spam
Junk mail filters or spam filters use algorithms to detect email messages that are considered potentially “harmful” to the recipient. The problem is that there’s no uniform method for detecting this type of content: there are different types of filters, and each organization or mail service can set its own criteria. Therefore, it can be difficult to specify what exact circumstances will cause your email to be categorized as spam.
Some of the most frequent include filters based on blocking lists, content filters, Bayesian filters, reputation filters or even customized filters, where each organization sets its own rules. Content filters, for example, analyze text and/or formatting to identify characteristics that are typical of spam. They look for keywords or phrases commonly associated with this content or evaluate the excessive use of links and the relationship between text and images in your email. Bayesian filters, in turn, are an advanced type of content filter based on machine learning over time. It calculates the probability that a message is spam based on the appearance of similar elements in previous content that has been classified as spam. As the system receives more mail, its accuracy improves.
It’s crucial to understand that the exclusive use of images in emails can increase the likelihood of being classified as spam. For years, image-only emails have been commonly used by spammers, who try to circumvent text filters by hiding suspicious words behind images. Filters have evolved and can now detect these types of tactics, so in certain cases, they mark emails with excessive images as spam.
- Loading problems
Of course, the use of images increases the total size of our email, and an excessive weight can generate loading problems. According to Snov.io, “74% of users delete the message if it doesn’t open within 5 seconds.” (Source). Not only does it affect how fast your content is downloaded, but it can also affect your deliverability rates. If an email service detects a large file in a bulk message, it may decide not to deliver it or to display a warning notice to the recipient. It’s recommended that the weight of the images be around 100 KB per file, while the maximum total weight of the email should not exceed 600 KB.
In addition, according to Snov.io, 43% of recipients have images disabled or use email services that disable images by default to protect user privacy, and the user must give consent for the images to be displayed. This means that the recipient could open an email made only of links and alternative texts (if any), which could frustrate them because they cannot see the full message.
- Accessibility problems
People with visual impairments struggle with emails that contain only images, especially if there aren’t any alternative descriptions available. They rely on screen readers that cannot interpret visual content and need text to understand the message.
Conclusions and Best Practices
As email marketing specialists, it’s important to strike a balance of elements in each email to maintain an attractive and coherent aesthetic in our communications, but also to avoid the loss of crucial information in the event of any mishap. If we have resources at our disposal, we must take advantage of them. Images are undoubtedly the most eye-catching element of our emails, but also the most vulnerable.
My advice is that, when planning the images and/or creatives that make up the content, think about whether it’s possible to summarize all the information in a single sentence or central message (which should be its alternative text). If so, make sure it’s well reflected (with a headline, for example), and use the graphic resources of your identity to create that emotional connection and reinforce brand recognition. By doing so, you’ll get the most out of your creatives, which should be complemented with text or other elements to optimize communication.
But if you cannot synthesize the content of the image in a sentence, you probably have too many creative elements. In that case, you should try to create a hierarchy and communicate through other resources, like text, buttons, secondary images and modules, or even split the email into several different ones.
Here’s a summary of the 5 best practices for image layouts for your emails:
- Take advantage of the communicative power of visuals. Using images will help you gain dynamism and visual appeal in your emails, which will improve their CTR. Beyond the tangible message you’re conveying, colors, layout or typography also communicate and persuade greatly.
- Beware of spam. Consider that the exclusive use of images may increase the risk of your email being labeled as spam, as filters may identify common patterns with other emails of this type. Don’t forget to optimize their weight and dimensions before uploading them to your email to ensure fast loading and take care of your deliverability rates.
- Ensure accessibility. Don’t settle for your email being received correctly by “the majority”. If a user is in your database, they want to know about you, and they deserve that you spend time using all available resources to ensure that no details are lost. Don’t forget to include alternative descriptions for the images.
- Synthesize and prioritize the message. Before designing your creatives, try to summarize the content in one sentence and make sure it’s well reflected in the design. If you cannot synthesize the message, review the creative elements, simplify them and/or restructure them to ensure that the information comes through clearly.
- Evaluate effectiveness. Regularly adjust your email marketing content strategies based on performance and subscriber feedback. Review your heat maps, CTR, deliverability rates and conversions.
At Globant Gut’s Design Studio, we combine design and creativity with strategic knowledge to boost your brand engagement. Using AI and the latest technologies, we design innovative experiences to provide a competitive advantage in a constantly evolving landscape. Contact us to make the magic happen!
