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Cooler Tips #51 |
Color: The Subliminal Communicator
Hello CoolerEmail Subscriber!
 Several of our clients have been agonizing over their 'color schemes'. With so many choices available - the average computer screen has over 16
million colors - it can be a little daunting. Your color choices convey a message that will either help support or conflict with the message you're trying to express. It causes an emotional response in your readers.
About a decade ago hospitals started painting their interiors with a subdued green shade instead of sterile white. Why? Pale greens are calming and help to counteract the stress associated with a hospital visit. It's also a color we
associated with nature (or nurture).
There are almost as many color theories as there are colors, but for let's make it simple for supporting your email campaigns. There are two things that you need to consider: 1) who are your clients, and 2) what are your services or
products.
For years, research has been done on the psychological effects of color - or the different wavelengths of light. For instance, The military did a study that found that infrared light (or colors that were red and warm) made soldiers fight
more aggressively. Some psychiatrists have found that ultraviolet light (or colors that are bluish and cool) will calm down an agitated patient. Restaurants have known for years that red (as in those red-checked table cloths) tend to
stimulate the appetite.
So how can you use this to your advantage in your email campaigns? Here's the key: The computer monitor actually is a projector of light. White light is a combination of all of the wavelengths. Each color has a certain wavelength in the
color spectrum, and each wavelength has an effect on the brain. A study done by the University of Kentucky suggested that when the light enters the eye it affects the hypothalamus, which affects the pituitary gland which controls the
hormone levels that affect our moods. But enough science! Here's how it breaks down:
White: Non color, clean, pure, luminous, it gives the eye a rest and makes things look more orderly
Yellow: Warm color, stimulating, energetic, positive, cheerful, happy, inspirational, spiritual and healthy
Orange: Warm color, a little more intense than yellow, wealth (gold), associated with caution in the US, an up-beat color
Red: Hot color, danger, associated with anger or strong emotion, also some sexual connotation (love, Valentines), definitely a 'get noticed color' (use sparingly), it means good luck in China and is worn by Chinese brides, the brass
section of an orchestra is also associated with red
Purple: Cool color, dignified, pompous, mystic, nostalgic, shadowy, favored by little old ladies
Blue: Cool color, quietness, truth, constancy, reliability, power, subdued, melancholy, brooding, sober, calm, icy, the sound of flutes is associated with blues
Green: Cool color, quiet, refreshing, peaceful, nature, money (can be associated with guilt or illness), sacred color to Moslems, associated with death in China
Brown: Cool or Warm color, stable, earthy, subtle, strength, sadness, associated with the sound of violins
Black: Cool color, ominous, deadly, depressing, night, emptiness, sophisticated, power, elegance, rebellion, associated with funerals in western cultures.
A word about color intensity:
The more intense the color, the louder your message. There is also an 'age' correlation to color intensity. Young children respond to very intense colors. This remains true through most of the twenties, but as a person gets older they
respond better to less intense colors. Men respond to more intense colors; women to softer, less intense colors. Men also respond to higher contrast between colors, where women respond better to color themes that are more muted and closely
coordinated - less contrast.
Tints and tones
One more little thing to think about in the color arena. A tint is a color that's been diluted by white or desaturated by light (think pastels). A tone has been grayed down - they're muted colors. Tints are considered fluffy (think Easter
Bunny). They're fun, but not taken too seriously. Tones are the opposite. They carry weight and are more 'institutional' (think banker - not mental). Women tend to favor tints, where men go for tones.
Now what?
Let's go back to those first two considerations: 1) Who are your clients, and 2) What are your services or products.
Case in Point #1:
Suppose you're a financial planner who's clients are 34-65, mostly women. You want to tell them about your new estate planning services. Consider using subdued blues (truth, reliability, sober), greens (money), and orange (gold), with
plenty of white space to convey your message. This palette does two things for you: 1) It represents you as being stable, reliable and truthful with associations with money, plus 2) It appeals to the color sense of your target audience -
women, ages 34-65.
Case in Point #2:
Suppose you're selling a video game for teenage boys. Think high intensity, warm colors (excitement, energy) with lots of contrast. Try red and black with some bright orange.
One Last Point:
Keep your color palette to just three to five colors. Remember that if you use the same color at different intensities, tones, or tines, they count as different colors. Too much of a good thing is still too much.
This article was written by Barbara Saunders, noted marketing collateral designer and owner of Newsletter Associates, a complete newsletter service helping small businesses grow client relationships. For more information, visit
www.newsletters-inc.com. All right reserved. (c) 2004 |
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Learn more about using color on the web! |
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UK Spotlight: Consumers Respond Favorably to E-mail Marketing
Our cousins across the big pond recently released the findings to a study on email marketing versus TV advertising and other forms of marketing. Research conducted by IPT in August and September 2004 indicates that consumers are showing a
more favorable opinion of e-mail marketing compared to TV advertising. When asked to pick the most effective marketing communication channel, 32% of consumers say e-mail, not far behind the 39% that choose television. With the majority of
respondents choosing to receive their messages at home in the evening, the report claims, "e-mail is fast encroaching on TV's territory as the king of promotion."
The study also probes consumers to find out what makes them most likely to respond to e-mail messages. Discounts or money-off offers top the list, followed closely by a general interest in the product, a prize drawing, and brand
familiarity.
Rankings
TV = 39%
eMail = 32%
Radio = 12%
Press = 10%
Other = 7%
Marketers must agree with consumers' positive assessment of e-mail marketing. The report finds that 92% of industry professionals currently include e-mail in their marketing budgets, and 51% of them intend to increase their spending next
year.
Despite their positive attitudes, however, marketers' understanding of e-mail marketing usage and tactics reveals some gaps. They still use e-mail marketing predominantly for customer retention, and its potential for up selling. Customer
acquisition and brand awareness is being under utilized. Just 41% of marketers measure open and click-through rates to gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns. Furthermore, 63% of the executives surveyed are still unclear on the
implications of recent privacy laws and regulations. |
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Cooler Bytes |
**NOTICE**
System Maintenance
From 1am until 3pm Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, November 13th, we will be performing a system-wide maintenance upgrade. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Although you still
may be able to access your account while our engineers are completing the upgrade, we strongly recommend not sending any emails between 1am and 3pm PST on Saturday, November 13th. Any emails scheduled to go out during maintenance will be
delayed until after the upgrade is complete.
Don't miss this event!
CoolerEmail's Co-Founder, Lars Helgeson, will be speaking in San Diego at the
Internet Marketers Association meeting on December 7th at Intuit at 6pm. If you're in the area, check it out!
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Multi-Language Capability Upgrade
New languages are now available for profile updates and send-to-a-friend. In List Settings, you now can choose English, Spanish, French, German, Norwegian, Dutch, Italian, or Portuguese for your Footer Language. This language
automatically carries over to your recipients' profile update screens (from this screen, any other language can be instantly selected) and send-to-a-friend pages.
Event Sequencer Manager Upgrade
The Event Sequencer allows you to pre-program sequences of emails that you can send to a contact. Once a series of editions and their delays are programmed here, in the Events' section (CRM>
Utilities) under each contact you will be able to assign the sequence of emails. This makes it a one-step process to deliver a series of emails to anyone in your Master CRM.
When would you use Event Sequencer?
Use it the same what you'd use an auto-responder. Deliver a series of messages, perhaps lessons or sections of an ebook. Or just use it to follow up with your clients. If you generally check in with your clients every four to six months,
now you can do it all in one step!
Auto-Complete on Send Page
Make your life easier with our new autocomplete for the single email field on the Send page. For easy testing of editions you create, you have always been able to type in email addresses of individuals to send editions. Now we will read
your Address Book (defined in the Master CRM) and auto-complete the email field for you as you type, making it quicker and easier for you to send the test email.
Track Latest Read Time
On the Tracking page for any edition you send, you can now keep track of the latest read times for your recipients. Under the first graph, there is a new link that will pop-up the contacts ordered by latest read time.
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Thank you ... |
We are always striving to make CoolerEmail even better. Customer requests for feature enhancements are responsible for many additions. If you have feedback or suggestions, please send them to
suggest@cooleremail.com.
And as always.... be cool!
The CoolerTeam---
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