Do You Have Image Issues?

This issue, in our Top 5 Tips for Campaign Success, we’re getting down into the nitty gritty business of images.

Take it from us, these technical considerations can go a long way to making your email campaign run smoothly from start to finish. We invite you to follow along each week and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments section.

As with content, the images you use in your email campaign will vary depending on your industry, your audience and your brand voice. What we can tell you, no matter what direction your creative takes, is that when it comes to the images you use in your emails, hosted is best!

Hosted Images

Hosted images are images that live on the internet, not on a personal server or file. Having your images hosted online makes them much more accessible, which in turn makes testing easier and the setup process more flexible. Changing images that are hosted is as easy as editing a little bit of code or supplying a different link.

Also, hosted images give longevity to an email. Even if someone opens an email months after sending, a hosted image will still be there. Companies who keep their images on a private server often move or delete images to conserve space. If the image is not hosted and is moved or deleted from the initial server, an email opened months later will break.

(Image) Size Matters

Dimensions: 600px to 650px is still the best image size for email. The most popular screen resolution worldwide—across both mobile and all platforms—is 360×640. Roughly 34% of mobile users and 19% of all platforms use this resolution.

Segmenting Images

It can also be beneficial to cut your images into smaller segments. If you cut your images up into pieces, you can have different links available at different locations within the image. Say you have an image with more than one product. If you segment that image in the code, you will be able to provide unique links to the different products in the photo. This allows us to better track the clicks and acquire more data on the customer.

Cutting your images into smaller bites, so to speak, also helps the image to display correctly. It’s easier to pull down several smaller images (even if they’re pieced together) than one huge image. Anything to make the loading of your email faster and easier is a good thing.

Alternative Text

Occasionally images will not display, despite your very best efforts. For this reason, it’s also beneficial to add alternative text for your image. Alternative text allows a recipient to still see the offer even if the image does not display correctly. If a consumer can clearly see your offer, they’re more likely to click through even if the image is broken.

Whether your email contains artistic lifestyle shots or bold colors and big numbers, following these tips will not only help to expedite the creation of the email campaign, but it will ensure that you get your message across to your audience in the most clear and impactful way.

The next post in our Top 5 Tips for Campaign Success will discuss Test Lists. You won’t want to miss it!

Previous Posts:

Tip #1: Provide Ready-to-Test Files

Tip #2: Make a Content Checklist