As a Personal Stylist, I often work with clients to help them find the colours that will illuminate their faces and make them sparkle but did you also know that the colours you choose send an important message and determine not only how you, as an individual, are perceived, but also how your brand is perceived. So, today I want to talk about the importance of colour in e-mail marketing campaigns and brand image. 

Colours are the first thing that someone notices about you and they are an important factor in first impressions, whether about you or your brand.

The human eye can distinguish 10 million different colours and our reaction to them is influenced by our memories (positive or negative associations), where we see colours in the natural world (for example, blue is associated with a calm, sunny sky and so is often seen in leisure and travel industries but also financial and high tech companies as it conveys stability), our culture  (for example, in the occidental world, brides often wear white and so it is a symbol of purity, but in the oriental word it is the colour of mourning), and finally semantics (for example ‘green with envy’, ‘to have the blues’).

Each colour has a hidden meaning and understanding the effects each colour has on the subconscious mind will help you dress each day and for very occasion with confidence.

You can offer the best product, the best service or the best special offer, but the wrong choice of colour scheme may hinder you achieving your marketing objectives by sending out the wrong message.

Today, I want to talk about the importance of choosing colour in e-mail marketing campaigns, and how choosing the ‘right’ colour scheme can increase your e-mail conversion rate.

The first point is that colours evoke different moods, and can influence our behaviour, including our buying behaviour. The Psychology of Colours is a fascinating subject (well, it is to me!) and quite complex as colours often have positive and negative connotations. The table below gives just a brief summary for each colour.

ColourPositive ConnotationNegative Connotation
WhitePurity, Innocence, Cleanliness,
New beginnings, Simplicity		Coldness, Detachment,
Lack of interest
BlueCalm, Relaxation, Harmony,
Loyalty, Reliability, Honesty,
Communication		Sadness
RedLove, Passion, Warmth,
Dynamism, Energy,
Action, stimulates the
appetite		 Aggressivity, Arrogance,
Danger
Yellow Optimism, Positivity,
Warmth, Happiness,
stimulates the appetite		Dishonesty, Cheating,
Betrayal 
 OrangeEnergy, Enthusiasm,
Creativity, Communication 		Frivolity, Untrustworthy
 GreenHope, Good luck, Calm,
New beginnings, Growth,
Health, Nature, Luxury		Envy, Failure 
 PurpleMystery, Creativity,
Spirituality, Wisdom, Wealth 		 Loneliness, Sadness,
Jealousy
 PinkRomance, Kindness,
Compassion, Sweetness 		 Inexperience, Naivety
 BrownStability, Reliability,
Tradition, Authenticity 		Boring, Dull,
Unexciting 
BlackDrama, Sophistication,
Power, Elegance, Luxury

Evil, Darkness, Death,
Unhappiness

So, how do we put this knowledge to use in e-mail marketing?

Here are a list of tips to help you

Select your colour scheme in function of your brand image and the emotions you want to elicit 

By understanding how colours affect your customers and making use of this in your brand e-mail marketing strategy, you can optimise your e-mail conversion rate.

For example, if you are a brand associated with the health industry, green could be a good choice for your marketing campaign, whereas for a brand in the travel industry, light blue is associated with relaxing destinations, tropical beaches and tranquility.

Similarly, for a brand associated with communication, orange could be a good choice and for portraying an image of reliability and trustworthiness then a darker blue is definitely worth considering.

Don’t forget also that memory plays an important role in colour psychology and so it’s best to align your email colour scheme to your brand colours as much as possible, so as to avoid confusion and establish brand recognition .

colour in e-mail marketing

Remember also to feature images with the relevant colour scheme.

E-mails with images are proven to drive engagement more than those without. However, not just any image will do but you should select one that fits with your overall colour scheme and elicits emotions in line with the purpose of your e-mail.

An example of a brand logo that takes into account colour psychology is that of McDonalds, as both red and yellow stimulate the appetite and the red encourages people to eat more and to act quickly and yellow makes you happy! Perfect choice for a fast-food chain!

Take into account cultural differences

You should also take account of the geographical location of your target market as cultural differences also play a role in how colours are perceived.

For example, the colour red evokes passion and love in the Occidental world and good luck in China. However, it is associated with mourning in South Africa.

Consider gender differences

When you’re considering your e-mail marketing campaign, you need to remember that gender plays a very big role in the interpretation of colour.

Women have an extra colour photopigment in their eyes and they see the colour spectrum slightly differently from men, which causes them to prefer certain colours over others.

For example, 57% of men state blue as their favourite colour, compared to 35% of women. Have a look here for more information on the role of gender in colour psychology.

By understanding these differences you can segment your email lists by country and by gender and use the preferred colour scheme for each segment thereby increasing your conversion rate.

Use a different colour for your CTA button

One of the key elements of your e-mail marketing is the ‘Call to Action’ (CTA) button, which incites customers to visit your site, buy now, sign up for a webinar…. , so bearing this in mind, your CTA button should be a colour that incites action!

An obvious choice therefore is red, but all bright colours such as yellow and orange will also attract the customer to ‘click’ ! However, avoid pale colours, such as pastels or colours that can be perceived as ‘dull’, such as brown.

Take account of Personal Preferences

Reactions to colour vary from one person to another and may even change over time (according to experience). So, an important factor is testing your colour scheme as you may find that your target audience doesn’t have the reaction you anticipated!

 For more information on running a successful e-mail marketing campaign, please have a look here.

I hope you enjoyed this feature about The Importance of Colour in e-mail marketing and have a look here for more of our features.