How to Successfully Harness the Power of Colors in Your Marketing Emails

I know, you’re no designer. Your goal is to create great content and the colors are a subjective matter anyway.

Still, you should not overlook the power of colors when you create marketing emails. Content goes hand in hand with design. This might seem unfair, but there is simply no denying that great design has a lot to do with attracting and retaining readers. Send your audience a well-designed email and they will more than likely read it without further ado. If your design is poor, however, chances are your readers will slip away, no matter how great your content is.

I am no designer either. But just like you, I have to create email templates. Sometimes, I don’t even feel qualified for the task. Yet, I manage to create converting templates, just by leveraging the power of colors.

Colors have an impact on how we think and behave. This is no miracle. Colors guide our eyes and highlight the important content.

Still skeptical? Here are a few facts backed by science:

• 93 percent of people decide to buy a product based on how it looks.
• Colors are a critical factor for 85 percent of consumers.
• On a website, if the call-to-action button is appealing, it takes the reader less than three seconds to find it and click on it.

Ready to leverage colors and create killer marketing emails? Here’s what you should do:

1. Keep things simple.

Remember when you were a kid? You’d put as many colors as possible in your drawings. Well, in content marketing, that’s not the best strategy. Your readers like simplicity, because it makes the content easier to read. At the same time, keep in mind that if too many colors create confusion, too few colors make your email boring. To balance things out, opt for two or three complementary colors. It could be blue and orange, red and green, yellow and purple — make your pick!

2. Remember that the genders have different color preferences.

Whether it is for cultural or biological reasons, men and women experience color differently. So, if your target audience is male, use colors such as green or black. But if they are female, choose colors such as green or purple. And if you want to reach both men and women, then go for blue. Everyone likes blue!

3. Don’t forget that colors are symbols, and their meaning varies depending on the culture of the reader.

Let’s look at a few examples here. For many people worldwide, blue is a traditional, peaceful color. It brings to their mind feelings of calmness and security. However, if you’re in the food industry, don’t use it. Blue not being much present as such in nature, it has long been associated with poison. In the same note, you should be careful when using white. In Western cultures, it means peace and purity; but in Asia, it is the color of death and bad luck.

4. Use the colors that are right for your brand positioning.

• Want your brand to have a universal, trustworthy touch? Go for blue, just like Facebook and PayPal did. You will not only please both men and women, but you will also convey values of trust, order, and loyalty. (Remember, though, if you’re in the food industry, don’t do it.)
• Do you sell organic, eco-friendly or outdoor products? Without hesitation, opt for green. In most cultures, green is the symbol of nature.
• A warm and fun color, orange conveys a sense of activity and togetherness. Some go as far as saying that it “stimulates physical activity, competition, and confidence.” This may be why sports teams and children’s brands are all fans of orange.
• Do you want to position your brand as a luxury? Then, black is your color of choice. Many consider it to be elegant, sophisticated, powerful, and timeless.

5. Use bright colors for your call-to-action buttons.

Bright colors — such as yellow, orange, red or green — are great at capturing attention. Use them carefully and you’ll create what color psychologists call an “isolation effect”. This occurs when an area is the only item of a particular color. It is especially powerful to guide your readers to your call-to-action buttons. When overlaid with a bright color, it can create the touch of excitement that will make your readers click.

6. Don’t overlook white.

Too often, we forget about white. Even though it’s not considered an actual color, it still has a critical role to play in design. Great email designs make ample use of white space. Their designers know it creates a sense of freedom and spaciousness. And surely, you want your readers to feel good!