Being aware of each element present in what is being sold is essential to increase the range of an email marketing campaign. According to psychology, each implicit detail on the product or service being offered impacts the consumer in a certain way - stimulating or suppressing the purchase. By that, each word chosen to compose the announcement, the content, images and even colors might have a big impact on the consumer.

In this article, you’ll learn a little more about this concept and how it can be applied to the use of CTAs to improve the conversion rate of your email marketing campaigns.

But after all, what is a CTA?

The CTAs, which means "call-to-action", are functions that call your contacts for carrying out a certain action in your email marketing. They may take the form of links or buttons, always with the goal of increasing conversions. However, there is a whole strategical work for creating CTAs. In the case of email marketing, there are ways to use this resource wisely and achieve your goals.

Knowing how to choose the right type of CTA also makes a difference. There are several types, such as a link to another related post or a specific landing page, but keep in mind that the call-to-action should take the visitor to the next step in your sales funnel.

It is essential to carry out tests on the images, colors, texts and links of CTAs, because through this analysis it is possible to select which one offers the best possible performance: if you notice a format that is not performing as it should, it's time to change it to achieve better results.

The persuasiveness of colors at the moment of conversion

When applied to email marketing campaigns, there is no specific magic color to generate more conversions. The effect on the consumer depends on the emphasis of a message item (like the CTA) to the rest of the text. That’s why the visibility is so important and applied to both text and images. It's called Isolation Effect: you can influence the actions of your customer through isolated colors that will work as a guide along the email.

Before choosing the color, make sure that the other elements of the campaign aren’t competing with the purchase button. To draw your future customer’s attention, besides the color, the button must be visible and contrasted from the rest of the email.

To achieve an even greater impact, many people use the 60-30-10 rule. You must choose a palette of three different colors and apply them to the email in proportions of 60%, 30% and 10%. The strongest color of them, usually used by 10%, should guide the reader or consumer along the campaign. Choose the action you want highlighted and use a color to emphasize it. For example, if your email is already blue and gray, why not highlight your CTA with a red button?

Everything counts when setting the tone of your campaign

Pay attentnion when choosing the color palette of your brand and all your visual identity. Thoroughly research the target audience you want to reach, study competitors, consider logos, websites and campaigns, so that you can keep the same line of your industry and still find your gap in the market.

Every color has a meaning and a different impact on the reader or customer. It is important that the color of your brand, company, product and communication matches the message you want to send. Do not know where to start? Here are some tips:

• Yellow: associated with energy, creativity and optimism. It is used to draw attention on shop windows. Reminds of caution or care, as well as being a good option for details or purchase buttons;

• Blue: connected with brand trust and security. It is often used in corporate business, as it boosts productivity and is associated with communication, logic and spirituality;

• Orange: it represents a friendly brand, sociable, active, and sometimes fun. It is usually applied to CTAs in order to stimulate impulsive shoppers;

• Black: color with great impact. Related to sophistication, elegance and efficiency. Linked to luxury and power, it is ideal for sophisticated products;

• Rose: related to love and tranquility, symbolizes the feminine universe and romanticism. It is indicated for products aimed at teens and for female personal use;

• Purple: a soothing color, directly linked to the resolution of problems. It also represents nobility, wealth, success and wisdom, indicated for anti-aging beauty products and rejuvenating;

• Green: it is a color that causes relaxation, which refers to stability, peace and possibility. It gives the feeling of health and renewal, as well as being associated with nature and the environment;

• Red: the hottest and most dynamic color stimulates energy and excitement, encourages action and confidence, and causes the sense of urgency and anxiety. It is ideal for sale offs.

Besides increasing the effectivity of your CTA, studies show that the colors ease reading (40%), learning (55% to 68%) and understanding (73%) of readers and customers. You should analyze if the chosen color conveys the ideal personality to captivate consumers:

• If you want to show a more friendly and energetic image, prefer the vibrant and warm colors;

• If you want to show trust and professionalism, opt for cool colors and switch between light and dark tones.

You can also follow the representations already set in some industries, such as blue for business (technology, social networks), red for sale offs, green for gardening, purple or black for luxury goods, and so on.

However, the color is not the only element of your campaign that affects consumer behavior. It must be linked to the design as a whole, including words and other images:

• Choose a color that matches, complements and contrasts with the colors and other elements of the layout;

• Highlight the call-to-action with a color that draws attention (but without breaking the color set) and in a size that gives visibility to the campaign to facilitate its location;

• Leave a clear space around the purchase button in order to demonstrate its importance within the email and stimulate the contact’s action;

• Be careful to contrast the text within the CTA with its background color and make it readable;

• Give preference to solid colors and avoid using gradients or any other combination of colors that may take the focus out of the text;

It is important to test the color palette from your campaign on different monitors and devices. Also remember that usability comes first: it is your target audience that makes the brand from start till the end, from its conception to the reader conversion.

Misconceptions and myths around colors psychology  

The impact of color in branding and marketing, unfortunately, resulted in several myths. This means that there is no "best" nor “magical” color to increase your conversion rate and revenue: you need to test different color options to see what works best for a particular campaign and audience.

Keep in mind that psychology of colors can help us understand how colors impact the responses of your customers, and how it can possibly increase your conversion rate. Whether your customers are aware of it or not, colors affect their decision-making processes.

Tips for creating a CTA that converts

You already know that a killer CTA is one that causes the most possible clicks. When creating a CTA, it should make the email receiver do the action you propose, either schedule a meeting, make a purchase, access or or download a piece of content.

Besides the use of colors, there are several other factors that can influence the performance of your CTA. To help you, we separated 4 killer tips that will surely make your CTAs much more persuasive:

1. There’s no point on having a wonderful CTA within an email that the contact won’t open, so the secret is to improve every aspect of the email marketing, starting from the subject line. Have a clear CTA! Make explicit the action you expect from your audience so that they can understand and agree with it.

2. Segment carefully your contacts and make sure that your emails are being sent to the right audience: the CTA need to be totally related to what the contact is looking for. An interesting idea is to personalize the email to create a bond with the receptor, using personal data from your contacts such as name or birthday, for example.

3. Don’t create a CTA with a commercial appeal without even mentioning something about the product or the service on the email. The CTA must be clearly related with the main subject of the email. Offer something to attract your customer or prospect, such as a limited time discount, an exclusive ebook related to your product, etc.

4. Use a verb to instigate the contact’s action. The “call-to-action”, as the name says, must draw the attention with power words such as “Try free”, “Read more”, “Ask for your trial”, “Get your discount”, “Buy now”. It’s important to know that the CTA must be a image and not read as a text, because many action verbs and power words are identified as spam by email providers.

In conclusion, both color and content of your CTA can bring better conversion rates, but its planning is still essential to ensure good results! Be aware that the CTA is only an element of the email, which is a part of a whole campaign that must be properly planned.

It has to be aligned with the concept and objectives of your email marketing campaign to achieve the desired results: generate signups, download an ebook, buy a product, and so on. Because of that, make sure that your campaign has a defined audience, tone of communication and objectives, and then try different colors and shapes for an amazing CTA!

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