Wondering If You Should Use Images in Your Emails?

Short answer?
→ Yes. But you need to do it right.

Images in email newsletters can make your message pop, reinforce your brand, and create a scroll-stopping experience—when used intentionally.

But if you overdo it?
Your email might look cluttered, take forever to load, or worse—end up in the spam folder.

Let’s break down when to use images in emails, how many is too many, and how to make them work for your business (not against it).

Are Images Good for Email Marketing?

→ Images are great for email—if they support your content, not replace it.

They’re especially effective for:

Visual brands who want their emails to match their IG aesthetic
Coaches and service providers who use headers to announce offers or updates
Creators who want their emails to feel less “corporate” and more personal

But it’s important to keep these email best practices in mind 👇

How Many Images Should You Use in an Email?

→ One per email is usually enough.

That one image—usually a branded header—can:

Set the tone for your email
Reinforce your brand colors and style
Make your emails feel polished and professional

Too many images, on the other hand, can:

Slow down load time (especially on mobile)
Confuse your reader or pull focus from your message
Trigger spam filters in Gmail and Outlook

💡 If you want to showcase multiple visuals, consider linking to a portfolio page or blog post instead of dropping 6 images into one email.

What Size Should Email Images Be?

Here are your quick image formatting best practices:

→ File type: PNG or JPG (avoid PDFs and SVGs for email)
→ Header width: 600–800px (depending on your platform)
→ Image size: Keep it under 1MB for faster load times
→ Alt text: Always add it for accessibility and deliverability
→ Responsive design: Test your email on mobile before sending

Each email platform handles image sizing slightly differently—so always preview before hitting send.

How to Make Your Email Design Look On-Brand (Without a Designer)

You don’t need a full design team to make your email look incredible. You just need: → One branded Canva header
→ One clean footer (optional but nice!)
→ A consistent background color that matches your image
→ Minimal text in the image itself—save the real copy for the email body

This setup works beautifully across:

Flodesk
Squarespace Email Campaigns
Kajabi
Mailchimp

And if you want it all done for you every week?

We’ve got something for that 👇

→ Want Branded Email Images Ready to Go Every Week?

Inside Your Inbox Team, you get: → A professionally designed Canva header image each week
→ A matching footer image (optional—but beautiful!)
→ Weekly email templates designed to go with the visuals
→ A plug-and-play system that works with any email platform you’re using

It’s designed for small businesses who want to look pro without spending hours designing.

Want a peek? 👀

Click here to preview this month’s image pack →

—we send a few options and name the pages with the corresponding weekly email number.

→ Still Not Sure Where to Start?

If you’re feeling stuck or haven’t emailed your list in a while, try this:

→ Use this free re-engagement email (it’s short, sweet, and beautifully designed in Canva)
→ Or grab our free Email Marketing Guide to get your email list setup and strategy in place

No overwhelm. No opt-in required.

TL;DR: Should You Use Images in Your Emails?

→ Yes—but stick to one high-impact image per email (like a header)
→ Use Canva to design your visuals or start with ready-to-go templates
→ Optimize your image size, especially on the mobile view, so people can read your text in your images and see what you want to show, no matter what device they are using
→ If you want to save time and look on-brand every week, Your Inbox Team has your email visuals done for you

Get beautiful and well-written emails out every week in 4 hours or less per month*— Join our email marketing templates membership, Your Inbox Team 🔥

— our email templates can be customized for any business and niche, we even did all the AI work for you, and you’ll get a Custom GPT and AI Prompt that already gives AI all it needs to know about how to make it work the best for you. You just need to answer its questions about your business.

Need an email marketing platform for your small business?

We love and recommend Flodesk.

Flodesk is a great company, offers beautiful emails, easy to set up, have transparent pricing, allow you to segment your list, share templates (for those creating emails for clients) and more.

**This page contain affiliate links