The Great 8: Email Marketing Trends That Are Here To Stay
Email is over 40 years old. Can you believe it?
Email is over 40 years old. Can you believe it?
At the same time, it’s still an integral part of many companies’ marketing strategy. From email automation to personalized outreach, email is one channel that will never die.
Here’s why.
Time To Reinvent The Wheel - Video Email If you’re relying on text-based emails, you’ll be in for a shock over the next year or two. More and more marketers are designing videos for their email campaigns. Why videos? Because they’re more interactive. Videos go beyond plain text, and immerse users in your “universe.” So, take your old text-based campaign, and consider reinventing it as video. When you do, step it up a little on the quality. One thing that’s happening with email is that mail providers, like Gmail, are making it easier than ever to get rid of spam and bulk email. That’s bad news for marketers. It means that, if you want your emails to be read, you have to create truly amazing content, not sales pitches or cheap content outsourced to third-world countries.
Simplicity Never Gets Old
Simple emails are usually the best. Think about when you send your friend an email. It’s usually, if not always, simple in nature. You’re not bugging them with spinning graphics and complicated offers. You’re not attaching a bazillion photos or trying to impress with a fancy design. Don’t try any of that stuff with your prospects, either.
Design Your Email For Mobile
More and more people are viewing emails on their mobile devices. If you want to capture their attention, design your emails for mobile. Responsive design will allow your message to be read in any format, and with 41 percent of users accessing mail on mobile devices, you just can’t ignore it.
Data Will Become Even More Important
Data is more important than ever. Use analytics to track open rates, use triggers to send emails, move prospects to different lists, and remove prospects automatically when they take specific actions. For example, use your open rates and read rates to determine what messages you should be sending out.
A high clickthrough rate to your sales page, but a high bounce rate, might mean your email isn’t matching the offer on your sales page, or your sales page needs work.
Regardless, use email services that allow you to look deep into the data and make adjustments based on the numbers.
Automate Your Marketing
Marketing automation is difficult to set up, but pays dividends once it is. This mortgage software, for example, helps mortgage professionals manage and track leads from lead capture right through to the sale. Yes, it does take work to set it up. But, once it’s done, life becomes so much simpler.
Have an Editorial Voice
You can’t send people a never-ending pitchfest via email. It just won’t work. Your emails need an editorial voice now. You should be focused on helping people solve problems and uncover solutions. You should be telling a story with your emails, linking to helpful information, providing tools, and offering people “a way out” from what others are doing to them (selling).
Personalization is Making A Comeback
Personalization is back, baby. But, unlike earlier attempts, this time around it’s a bit more subtle. When you send an email to a friend, do you always use their name in the subject line? How about the body? Do you always capitalize the first letter of a sentence or is conversation more informal? Model your personalization strategy around how you normally communicate with people.
The World Really Is Flat
The flat UI trend isn’t disappearing. In fact, people seem to really enjoy it. Gradients and shadows are dead. Long live vibrant color and flat design. Make your emails simple with flat images, graphics, and beautiful typography, and you’ll be one step ahead of everyone else.
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