A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the old saying goes. So understanding how to use images in e-newsletters effectively is quite important. Here are a few tips to ensure that your images in email newsletters work to your advantage.
Always use calls to action
It's absolutely paramount to use a call to action on each and every image you include in an electronic newsletter. Unlike text links, which require action verbs that are specific to the story at hand, calls to action on images can be as simple as "Click Here." You can elaborate to a limited extent, but keeping your calls to action as short and sweet as possible will encourage a substantial number of clicks. For example, when we included the words "Click Here" on our images, our click-through rates doubled.
You may ask yourself why a call to action is needed in the first place. The answer is because recipients may mistake your well-crafted images for simply a supplement to an article as opposed to an actual advertisement. The bottom line is that if you put an ad in your e-newsletter, let the user know that it should be clicked.
Watch the file size and type
Remember that you're sending your e-newsletter to a variety of email extensions and each recipient has a differing level of computer aptitude. Only include .jpg and .gif images, as most email clients can support these two extensions with little setback. When you begin using .png, .bmp, and .tif images, your chances of proper delivery shrink.
Generally speaking, the smaller the file size of your image, the better. Not only will your users be able to download them faster (thus receiving your information much more quickly), but your image will have a lower chance of finding its way into the spam folder. Ensure that your entire campaign has a delivered size of less than 40 KB and test it out beforehand to ensure that it passes this criterion.
Be aware that animated images mean more content
Animated images have become all the rage in e-newsletters. These use Flash or other technology to make multiple frames show up in the same image area, thus increasing the amount of content that is sent to readers. In addition, the rotating nature of these images draws the user's eye, creating even more exposure for your message.
When you create animated and rotating images, avoid any overly distracting movements like shaking, spinning, or pulsating. Just keep your message simple and rotate as you see fit.
Use image branding
Images should be used to label sections of the newsletter. They provide an eye-catching way to divide your mailing and should be of uniform color. Ask your graphic designer to create a newsletter color scheme that mimics what's found on your Website in order to preserve any branding you've been able to create. When possible, use the exact same header in your newsletter as you'd find on your Website so that your recipients know immediately where the mailing came from. Moreover, be sure to include your logo on your header and in any relevant images. Remember, an image is your personal billboard! Don't be afraid to promote yourself.
Remember: Square + rectangle = success
Square and rectangular images should be used over obscure shapes. In order for your newsletter to be as straightforward as possible for your users to navigate, use basic shapes. In addition, square and rectangular images will afford you ample real estate to convey your message. Ideally, images will accompany stories within your newsletter, making these types of shapes fit perfectly and look professional.
Translate everything If you send images in multiple languages or in multiple formats, remember to adjust the images as well. If nothing else, change your calls to action, which are the real drivers of clicks in electronic newsletters.
— Dan Cypra is an Internet gambling industry expert and writes for several of the leading poker news sites on the Web.
That moves the problem to whether the user needs to assume more responsibility or the developers need to do a better job making code secure and transparent.
I have an opinion, but I doubt this will be solved in a timely manner.
Is accepting your e-mail in a text-only form that lists out links not an option? Some newsletter authors would write out what the graphics are in the text version and then put a link, eliminating the issue of potentially malicious links and similar to your cut/paste method.
Your statement "not all links are malicious" has significant implications. In my world, one malicious link is too many. That means someone's life could be turned up-side down. For example, what if you clicked on a link that you thought was OK. Yet it wasn't and it gathered enough information about you to steal your identity?
We seem to be a bit apart in what we are talking about. Your use of the term "link" typically refers to the URL path that is active in e-mail messages. Any security type worth their salt will advise not clicking on the link. It's not perfect, but using the copy/paste method lessens the chance of clicking on a spoofed link.
When you use images as the link, that option is taken away and the bad guys are beside themselves about that.
Also, you mention if you sign up for an e-mail newsletter, it should be trusted. Well, entire e-mail newsletters are easily spoofed. The bad guys are doing a good job spoofing Web sites, so e-mail newsletters are not a problem.
My whole point is that not all the links are malicious. Not all the planes crash. Not all the rides end in an accident. There are honest people out there doing their best. Why should they pay for the bad guys?
Wouldn't it be better to work on improving security software as we know the bad guys are always going to be out there and the good guys deserve a chance?
By the way, you have to subscribe to the newsletters, that basically means that it's your responsibility to trust or not to trust the source. Now, why wouldn't you let other people make use of their free will?
You assume wrongly and I am not interested in discussing about that.
I am far from being paranoid. I gather that you are not familiar with the the millions of computers that are infected with Conficker, Zeus, and other malware variants that found their way onto computers by FIRST getting the user to click on a malicious link in an e-mail.
As for having the latest security measures on your computer, that is all well and good. Except that Conficker was zero-day for months, finally MS came out with a patch. Second Zeus morphs with each new install, so security software is useless.
As for trust, I have no problem with that. My whole point is that placing links on images removes any transparency the user had. Finally, I also must assume that you do not work in an enterprise environment. As, active links in non-business e-mail messages are typically stripped or the messages are deleted depending to corporate policy.
Honestly, after reading your comment I have these thoughts: Don't take a plane because it can crash and you can die. Don't drive a car because you can have an accident. Basically, don't do anything because something bad can happen. Stay at home safe until you die. But be careful, you can have home accidents too.
Is it fair to tell people that all the links and linked images in all the newsletters in the world lead to computer infections? Is it fair for all the writers and editors who work hard trying to offer a good and reliable newsletter to their clients? No, it is not.
Generalizing is not a good practice. Promoting fear is not either.
Any computer well equipped with the right security software can be free of infections.
There is risk on the Internet as there is risk in the world, in the streets, in the air, in the sea, in your home.
Do people stay at home because of a fear of catching the flu or any other virus if they go out? There are vaccines, right? The same with computers. And still, there is always a tiny risk.
Living in fear paralyzes. Life is less rich when we are not able to take risks. Not to mention that there is something called trust that people should learn to practice at least sometimes. We should trust more in the good will of the writers and editors who work hard on their newsletters.
Good and bad were, are and will always be part of the real and virtual worlds.
I receive email news from Canada's theglobeandmail.com. I still use the old AOL software to read my e-mail and until about 6 months ago, I could see and get the links to articles at their site. They were just highlighted text links in a frame, nothing fancy, and it worked fine on old software and browsers. Then they changed over to some kind of scripted software, Java or Flash, and now I receive a title bar and frame with nothing inside. I have to use AOL.com to actually see the links and headlines now. I hate AOL.com, but the links do work easily.
So if the only change to their mail was to maybe add a formatted text, why change at all? I think you can still do plain ol' HTML the same way. Scripting is not always necessary.
Most newsletter outlets also allow a text-only entry to be written, which is where you could highlight some of the headlines of your newsletter. However, I'd contend that if you trust the source, allowing images is okay.
I generally disable images from email newsletters.. and I hate the newsletters that are 100% image-based, so I have no idea what it says without the graphics.
So please make email newsletters that can be read even without images...
Ideally, you'd want to make sure that the source you're clicking from is reliable. It's a fine line to walk when you're sending someone a newsletter with a bunch of links. Great point!
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