Digital direct: Don't underestimate the visual elements of email marketing

Email is visual too, and a picture can be the 'thousand words'
subscribers may or may not read in the body of the email.

Of course, the creative components of all marketing materials are, to a
certain degree, determined by the organisation's brand image, corporate
colours and personality. But there are still choices that can be made
about which images are the most compelling and the best representation
of the company and its products and services. Any imagery that does not
fit the brand is likely be less successful.

These choices need to reflect the brand and, more importantly, get
readers to act. Although there is no report spreadsheet or analytics
programme to prove which is the more compelling image, creative
treatments can be tested in the same way as other elements of email
campaigns.

A/B split testing involves creating different emails, identical except
for the images, which are sent to a random segment of the distribution
list. Even similar pieces should generate split test results that
indicate whether readers have a measurable preference for one version
over another.

And with something to measure and analyse, even left-brain marketers
will be happy.