In an eye-tracking study (commissioned by Mailtastic), researchers from the UX Lab at the University of Zadar have revealed insights into the design elements that capture users' attention and drive engagement in one-to-one emails. This research provides valuable information for marketers to take advantage of the marketing opportunities that email signatures offer.
“Our research shows that well-designed banners complement the email experience, increasing overall engagement without distracting from the original content.”
Mate Juric, Assistant Professor at the UX Lab, University of Zadar
Enhance Email Experience
Email signature banners have a remarkable impact on your daily communication, acting as a valuable source of additional information to the reader, while simultaneously bolstering your marketing efforts and unlocking new opportunities.
Their effectiveness is reinforced by the eye-tracking patterns of participants, revealing the reader's natural tendency to first focus on the email's primary content before being drawn to the banner.
Moreover, the resoundingly positive responses from participants not only affirm the trustworthiness of email signature banners but also unveil an exciting opportunity for marketers.
As Mate Juric aptly suggests, “Marketers can leverage this positive sentiment towards banners and provide captivating and contextually relevant content.”
Key Insights Into Effective Banner Design
“Our research provides actionable insights for marketers looking to create visually appealing and effective email signature banners. These elements resonate with target audiences and improve overall campaign performance,” says Mate Juric.
The study identified key design components that significantly influence user behaviour:
Colors
Dark colours, especially those with a high contrast to white, were found to be preferred for banner backgrounds.
“Marketers should leverage the power of contrast to make their banners visually striking and attention-grabbing,” advises Mate Juric.
Images
Banners with images of people received more attention.
“Incorporating human elements into banners provides a personal touch that resonates with users and increases the likelihood of clicks,” explains Mate Juric.
Call-to-action buttons
Call-to-actions such as “Register Now” have been shown to be effective in driving clicks.
“Marketers can increase click-through rates by including clear and compelling CTAs in their banners,” suggests Mate Juric.
Dynamic content
While dynamic content such as GIF banners attracted attention, the study revealed a surprising 50/50 split in preferences for static and dynamic banners.
“Our findings highlight the need for marketers to consider the specific objectives of their campaigns. GIF banners get more attention, but not necessarily more clicks.
They are great for awareness campaigns, but if the goal of a campaign is to increase clicks and conversions, marketers should focus on dark colours, people and CTA buttons when designing banners,” comments Mate Juric.
With these actionable insights, marketers can improve the value of daily emails sent by employees.
“By understanding how users engage with email signature banners, companies can optimise their design strategies for increased visibility and interaction,” concludes Mate Juric.
Coming up Next: Unpacking Insights and Strategies
We are currently creating even more in-depth content to unpack all of the findings of the study.
Stay tuned for more actionable tips and tricks on how to create email signatures that multiply your revenue opportunities, as well as interviews with the research team.
About the UX Lab University of Zadar
The Laboratory for Interactive Systems and User Experience places the University of Zadar alongside the most developed foreign academic institutions that research topics in the field of human-computer interaction and that recognize the importance of user-oriented design.
The UX Lab is conceived as an open academic research group that coordinates and conducts interdisciplinary research focused on the study of people interacting with digital content, products, and interfaces.
About the Study:
This research was carried out on behalf of Mailtastic. The research was organized into two parts:
The first part investigated whether people notice an email signature banner, focusing on areas such as banner, signature only and hyperlink, using different arrangements for different respondents.
The second part looked at what makes people click on a signature banner, looking at banner characteristics such as colour brightness, presence of a CTA, etc.
The metrics used included eye-tracking metrics such as number of fixations and subjective metrics based on a 5-point Likert scale assessing factors such as click intention and banner likeability. The study used the Tobii Pro Nano eye-tracking device to ensure accurate data collection of participants' gaze behaviour.
About Mailtastic:
Mailtastic is a B2B email signature marketing platform to centrally manage your employees' email signatures and enhance them with marketing banners. Thus, marketers transform their daily email traffic into a powerful marketing channel.
