Picking the Right Colors to Increase Email Marketing Conversions

Ways to increase email marketing conversions depend on a number of factors, and color plays a bigger role than you might think. When designing the emails you send to your clients, your goal is to get them to engage with you in some way. Whether you’re sending them a discount offer, a blog post you just wrote or some sort of download, the primary focus for that email will be on the call to action (CTA).

So how do you make this CTA so appealing that the reader can’t help but click on it? Color. Whether they click the button to refer business to you or give you their own, choosing a color that makes these buttons gently whisper, “click me” into your readers’ ears has a major impact on their decision to do so.

Depending on whom you talk to, people will generally argue that either green or red is the end-all-be-all color to drive conversions, but there hasn’t actually been concrete evidence that any specific color performs better than another. The reason for this is simple: there are all sorts of different people in the world with all sorts of different preferences.

Fortunately, there are a few guidelines to follow that will help you pick the right colors for your CTAs. Below are three ways to find out what your specific client-base responds best to.

1. Look to the candy companies.

Candy is an impulse buy. I have rarely (not never, mind you) made a trip to the store just to grab some Reese’s cups or gummy bears. These items are strategically placed on both sides of the checkout line so that you will think, “oh man, Skittles sound great right now” and pick them up without enough time to think, “wait, I don’t need this… I have a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in my hand and half a chocolate cake in my refrigerator” before your attention is required by the cashier.

Candy companies know that they have to grab your attention quickly, and they do that through colorful packaging. One of my favorite studies on the matter found that even though most people prefer Snickers to Skittles, they are more likely to purchase a bag of brightly colored Skittles than they are to reach for the drab brown Snickers wrapper.

The same thing goes for your call-to-action buttons. Your client is subscribed to a lot of email lists, and if they click into your email you have a short amount of time to capture their attention and get them to perform the desired action (usually clicking through to a landing page). Using a bright color that stands out from the rest of the email guarantees that your reader can easily locate what they are looking for and are more likely to follow through on that CTA.

2. Understand the psychology of color.

CTA buttons and links need to be bright, but chances are your email template isn’t black and white. So let’s discuss which bright colors are best.

Different colors mean different things. We all know that the color blue is a popular choice for bedrooms because it promotes calm and sleep, but did you know that it also promotes trust?

There are several charts that break down what each color represents to your recipient. If you want your reader to click a button that makes them feel confident in their choice, choose orange. If you want to instill a feeling of peacefulness, go with green. Here’s a great chart from The Logo Company on brands that invoke these emotions through their logos.

By deciding which emotional response you’re trying to evoke from your recipient you can narrow down the colors to the ones that best suit your company and the desired CTA outcome.

3. Try different things.

Presumably, if you’re creating your own email campaigns, you’re doing so with the help of an email client that allows you to track your results. That means you’ll be able to see metrics on how many times people interact with your call-to-action buttons throughout the duration of your campaign.

The absolute best advice I can give you is to try different colors. Choose the colors that make the most sense for your brand and message and alternate between them. Cycle through the colors, making sure that you’re using each color with each type of content you put out, and figure out which color gets the most clicks for you.

Your client base is unique and until you test, you can’t know what they will prefer. If your winning color is barely above the one that comes in second place, alternate between the two in your email campaigns for the best results.

Wrap-Up

Color is a tricky thing for marketers because everyone has different reactions to them, but there is a ton of research supporting the emotional triggers colors have on large swaths of people.

When it comes to increasing your click-through conversions in your email marketing, your best bet is to pick colors that are eye catching and elicit the emotional response you’re looking for. And most importantly, experiment. What works well for someone else might not work for you, so always be testing the colors of your CTAs.