If you think social media marketing has replaced email marketing, then you’re mistaken.
Email marketing is thriving even with a surge in social media usage. In 2021, there are more than 4 billion worldwide email users, whereas only 2.2 billion people actively use Facebook, the most popular social media platform.
While we witnessed a disastrous 2020 because of Covid-19, the latter brought a golden opportunity for email marketers. With 49% of shoppers buying more online than they did pre-Covid, the potential of email marketing is unmeasurable.
However, email marketing is not how it was 10, 5, or even a year ago – it’s constantly developing. Consider the following 7 ways email marketing is evolving in 2021 and beyond.
Artificial Intelligence for the Win
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed industries all over the world, email marketing included. Gone are the days when marketers would have to sift through heaps of data to find meaningful information. AI has taken over this responsibility and does so in a matter of seconds.
With the insights gathered, AI can write effective subject lines, convincing email copy, and send emails at a time most fruitful. You can also use AI to track how a prospect interacts with an email. This further narrows down how email campaigns can be adjusted to individual readers to convert them successfully.
Personalization to the Core
If you’re not personalizing emails in 2021, then you’re doing it wrong. Interestingly, 80% of consumers will purchase from a brand if personalized experiences are provided.
Personalizing emails goes well beyond addressing your prospects with their name. True personalization entails understanding customer behavior and then sending targeted emails to convert them. For instance, if you notice a customer abandoning the cart before making a purchase, a smart strategy would be to send them an email with a limited-time free delivery option.
The cart abandonment email from Levis, as seen below, offers a 25% discount for a limited time period.
Impeccable Email Design
With inboxes cluttered with promotional emails, it can be challenging to stand out. One way through which you can attract and maintain your prospects’ attention is through well-designed emails.
A balance should be maintained between text and images, a complementing mix of colors should be used, and the email copy should be legible. Email design is subjective – it differs from industry to industry. For instance, this guide for agencies describes how emails can be strategically designed for effective email marketing.
Many email design tools are offering ready-to-made templates relevant to different industries and usages. These templates enable you to create stunning emails with a few modifications. Not only is it time-effective, but saves you from the cost of hiring a graphic designer.
Benefit from User-generated Content
User-generated content is heavily used for social media marketing. It’s high time for email marketers to jump on the bandwagon.
Content generated from your audience is great for convincing potential customers to buy your product/service. Not only does it augment your credibility, but it gives the impression that you care for your customers. Add user-shared images, share poll results, and include customer testimonials in emails.
Another strategy is to benefit from influencer marketing by featuring reviews from popular social media influencers. Since they have a sizable following and are well-trusted, your customers would want to associate themselves with their favorite influencers.
The below screenshot from Eight Sleep’s email features reviews from renowned sports professionals.
Emails are a great way to collect information about what your customers think about you. Add surveys and polls, or give them an incentive to share images of them using your product. This can then be used to reach a wider customer base via emails.
Interactivity = Engagement
There’s no better feeling than being involved. When you add interactive elements to emails, your audience rewards you with their engagement. Interactive elements also create positive word-of-mouth and make your audience excited for the emails to come ahead.
“How do I create interactive emails?” Easy, follow the suggestions below;
- Polls
- Image slider
- Gamify emails
- RSVP for events
- Star rating directly on the email
- Surveys
- Option to view dark or light mode
The following image displays how you can gamify emails by letting readers scratch and win exclusive discounts.
Rich Multimedia Attracts
With attention spans getting shorter and shorter each day, your prospects spend less than 14 seconds on an email. Increase their staying time by featuring rich multimedia content, including videos, GIFs, infographics, and podcasts.
However, be wary of not including too much visual content within an email. It can be an eyesore for the viewer and may make it difficult to comprehend the message communicated. You should also be concerned about the email file size. Rich multimedia content is heavier in size, which may result in your email service provider not supporting the email.
Write like a human
This point seems obvious, but in reality, it is not. Many emails today still feature promotional and salesy language, which not only puts off your customers but gets the spam filters activated. Your best bet is to write in a conversational tone that feels as if you’re having a one-on-one conversation with your audience.
Humanistic copywriting doesn’t feel forced. It ensures you’re narrating a story rather than aggressively selling a product/service. One easy way for writing like a human is to focus on your product’s value propositions instead of its features.
Email marketing is as important as it was back in the day. In fact, its significance has surged ever since the pandemic hit us in 2020. Incorporate the above-discussed 2021 email marketing trends to make the most of your email campaigns.
