The psychology of colour fascinates me. It should also fascinate you, but for different reasons. I delve into the various facets of the effects of colour because I, like a significant proportion of the male population, am partially colour-blind. You should research the subject because the use of colour can positively or adversely affect those who read your marketing emails.
Red, we are told, is a warm colour and generates feelings of comfort, anger, hostility and danger; and that’s not just one researcher’s opinion. Blue, I’ve read, generates a sense of calm, although this can degenerate into sadness or even indifference. It’s all very vague. It leaves email marketing with few specific directions.
There is a simple and straightforward method of discovering what colours are most likely to produce the emotions you wish to generate, and email marketing is all about emotions, of course. All you have to do is view the free email marketing templates. One that makes you feel the way you want your subscribers to mirror is an excellent starting point, but it needs a little bit of testing. Colour does not work on its own. There has to be some form of relationship with the rest of the email.
Anyone who has been involved in designing a website for a customer will be used to being told, “I can see what you mean, but I’ve never liked green.” Sometimes they will say, “Green as a colour.” It’s frustrating, but it’s a pointer to our problems.
I have two suggestions:
1/ Read up on the psychology of colour, and
2/ Don’t slavishly follow any published rules of colour psychology.
I’m glad I’ve cleared that for you. Like all so-called rules in email marketing, following them regardless produces bland and unemotional emails. The unimaginative and those who are averse to risk-taking will do exactly that.
We will test all design aspects of the marketing emails we produce, so there is no excuse for not being bold with colour. If you want to emphasise a particular word or short phrase, you might be tempted to choose a bold font. Lots of people do. However, colour can do exactly the same, but better. Do you want to emphasise danger? Then putting all the words relating to actions or objects that can be dangerous in red will add tension, probably. That’s an emotion; that makes it good.
Do not go in half-hearted. A light pastel blue is not, in many people’s eyes, including mine, a colour. On the other hand, white space should be thought of in the same way as a colour, as it can be used in exactly the same manner. Colour can act as a frame. White space around an image – the same.
Colour, even for those partially colour-blind, produces emotions, and you can direct them to produce a particular one. The rules of colour psychology should be ignored if you feel, when reviewing your latest email marketing campaign, they are not appropriate. Discard them. Go with your instincts, but, as always, test.
