When it comes to designing eDMs (email marketing campaigns), the structure of your messages can significantly influence your results. While image-only emails might appear visually striking and there is more control over the design, they often fall short when compared to HTML-based emails that blend text and images. Here’s why HTML-based emails are a better option for your marketing campaigns.

1. Deliverability Issues

• Spam Filters: Image-only emails are more likely to be flagged as spam. Many email service providers (ESPs) are wary of image-heavy emails because spammers often use images to conceal harmful content.
• Load Times: Images can slow down the loading time of your emails, particularly if the recipient has a slow internet connection or if the images are large. Slow load times can lead to a poor user experience, causing recipients to close your email before it fully loads.

2. Accessibility Concerns

• Text-Only Readers: Some users rely on text-only email readers or have images turned off by default to save data. In these cases, if your email is image-only, the recipient may see nothing at all, missing out on your entire message.
• Screen Readers: Many visually impaired people use screen readers that can’t interpret images. HTML-based emails allow you to include alternative (alt) text for images, ensuring that everyone can access your content.

3. Searchability and SEO

• Lack of Searchable Content: Search engines and email search functions rely on text to index content. With image-only emails, there’s no searchable content, meaning your email might not be easily found by recipients searching their inbox. Although, this might be changing as image reading technology progresses.
• No Keyword Optimisation: HTML emails allow you to strategically place keywords within your text, improving the chances of your content being found when recipients search their inbox.

4. Engagement and Interaction

• No Clickable Links: While you can add clickable areas to images, HTML-based emails allow for more intuitive linking. Recipients are more accustomed to clicking on text links than image links. Also, you can make your CTA (call to action) buttons stand out more.
• Image Loading: Some email providers do not load email images by default, to help protect against spam. With HTML emails, buttons and text will load, meaning the user can still see what your email is about.
• Personalisation: HTML-based emails make it easier to personalise content with dynamic elements like the recipient’s name or personalised offers, which can increase engagement and conversion rates.

5. Tracking and Analytics

• Better Tracking: HTML-based emails offer more accurate tracking of open rates, link clicks, and user behaviour. With image-only emails, tracking is less reliable, and you may miss valuable insights into how your audience interacts with your content.

Tip: Balancing Images and Text

For optimal results, aim for a good balance between images and text in your emails. A common guideline is to use a 60/40 split—60% text and 40% images. This ensures that your emails are visually appealing while remaining accessible, searchable, and easy to load. Also, always include alt text for images to improve accessibility and make sure your key messages are delivered even if images don’t load.

Conclusion

While image-only emails may look impressive, they come with significant drawbacks that can hinder your marketing success. HTML-based emails, while they also come with some cons, combine images and text, offer better deliverability, accessibility, engagement, and tracking capabilities. For effective email marketing, use HTML to create emails that not only look good but also reach and resonate with your audience.