In this blog, Monica Mahale, Director of Product Marketing, reveals five benefits of image-based emails and why marketers should choose a visual approach instead of text-heavy templates.
Customers Respond to an Image-First Approach
When it comes to branded emails, it’s easy for text to get skimmed over. Customers aren’t opening their inboxes to read a novel—they expect to be engaged immediately. To capture attention that quickly, marketers need to rely on a strong visual approach.
It’s not just in email—it’s the entire digital environment. From the rise of short-form TikToks and Instagram posts to the near-extinction of long Facebook text blocks, it’s clear: customers respond to being shown, not told, the benefits of a brand.
In this blog, we’ll unpack the benefits of a visual email approach and how you can use it to its full potential to drive performance.
Why Customers Engage With Visual Emails
The idea that customers engage with image-based messages more than text-heavy sends isn’t guesswork, it’s a fact: visual messages drive higher open rates and click-through rates according to a recent email statistics study by Snov.io. Let’s dive into three reasons why this is the case.
Multiple Data Points Delivered Instantaneously
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s especially true with data-rich, composite images. Rather than a long description of a product you know a customer is interested in (thanks to behavioral data) a single image can display a product, ratings and reviews, inventory status, pricing, and more—all in one hero asset. One image can sell the product better than paragraphs of copy ever could.
Incorporate Eye-Catching Branding
Whether it’s distinctive fonts, premium design elements, or creative assets that unmistakably reflect yourbrand, visuals instantly convey the digital experience customers can expect. These days, simply switching from Arial to Calibri font isn’t enough.
Automatic Real-Time Relevancy
From pricing and promotions to inventory and points balances, ensuring 24/7 relevance is crucial to delivering an elevated marketing experience. If a customer interacts with an outdated email, they’re far more likely to click out, frustrated by dashed hopes of snagging that last concert ticket.
With real-time, personalized images, marketers don’t need to rely on information that’s only as recent as the email build. Instead, information can be refreshed at the moment of open, reflecting the latest information on your site and customers’ most current contexts—whether that’s their latest purchase, the weather, the time, and more.
One of the best benefits of real-time, image-based emails? If a mistake slips through, something that happens to even the most careful marketer, you can update the email after it’s sent.
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Why the Visual-First Approach Is Better for Marketers
The fact that customers respond better to image-based emails is reason enough to pivot, but the benefits don’t stop there. This approach also improves marketers’ workflows in two key ways.
Improved Production Efficiency
On the surface, an image-based campaign may seem more complex and time-consuming to build. But when you’re using dynamically personalized images, the campaign process is actually far more efficient than text-only:
Reduced Coding Complexity: The best image-based content solutions are no-code, making it simple for marketers to intervene and not constantly rely on IT teams. Additionally, versioning and manual efforts are easier to fix when content can be updated before and after deployment.
Reusable Content: Composite images include a base asset and layers of data on top. Because of this, assets can be easily reused and updated using a modular approach, ultimately speeding up builds and opening the door to infinite creative versions. Talk about gaining more bang from your creative buck.
With text-heavy sends, it’s far more challenging to track customer activity. Unless the recipient clicks on a UTM’d hyperlink, marketers lack understanding of what content resonates with customers.
This isn’t the case with image-based emails. Whether marketers choose to use tracking pixels or dynamic content, images inherently have the infrastructure necessary to capture detailed and accurate engagement information. Click-through rates, opens, conversions, and more are all easily accessed with instant tracking.
Best-Practices for Image-Based Campaigns
The benefits of using a visual email approach are undeniable. But where does that leave marketers in terms of next steps? It’s time to dig into best practices for image-based campaigns to ensure you maximize their potential.
Test, Don’t Guess
Marketers can’t just pop in an image and call it a day. With every send, keep a test-and-learn mindset. Whether it’s swapping the hero image to see which performs better or testing different CTAs, learning what resonates with your particular audience is critical to creating images that truly engage customers.
Keep Copy Short and Sweet
Visual-first doesn’t mean visual-only—so make the copy that’s in your email count. Keep text clear and to the point, and always make sure your subject lines are fresh. With the onset of Gmail’s Manage Subscriptions and Apple’s iOS 18 Sender Groups, marketers need to be sure they aren’t reusing the same stale copy.
Brands That Have Perfected Visual Approach
It’s our turn to show, not just tell. Let’s start with Pandora’sinteractive campaign, made simple with dynamic automation.
Pandora transformed contextual data points—such as weather and time—into visually compelling countdown timers and weather-based station recommendations. To boost engagement while collecting data for future sends, they also included captivating genre polls. This campaign successfully increased both clicks and listening time, without the heavy manual lift.
Next, let’s look at Best Western’s loyalty module. Rather than simply telling customers their current points balance, Best Western translated that data into a unique animated experience. The chart clearly displayed the customer’s current points balance, along with the dollar amount they were eligible to redeem, in an engaging way that earned Best Western a 14% increase in monthly revenue.
Lastly, let’s look at how Origins proved the effectiveness of a visual strategy with their A/B tested CTA. To promote a free 5-piece set with purchase, Origins sent two CTA versions: one with text only and another that included both images and text. The version that included images saw a 57% increase in click-through rate, demonstrating the power of visuals to boost engagement.
Transform Email Engagement with Visual Content
From anecdotes to statistics to in-market examples, the verdict is clear: image based emails win. Discover how to create compelling content that’s both personalized and automated by booking a call with us or exploring the related resources below.
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