As 2019 has come to a close, now is the time to begin exploring the new, up-and-coming trends that 2020 is bringing to light in every aspect of digital marketing, one of these being our topic for today; Email Marketing. It’s easy to get discouraged with email marketing when the data is often reflecting that subscribers rarely open these emails, could be seldom interacting and it can feel that they don’t even want to be receiving these emails. The fact of the matter is, while you have subscribers; there’s an opportunity for something effective. You simply need to know what to do and put in the effort to achieve more opens. People are constantly checking their emails. People of all ages have email accounts, teenagers in school who had to create an email to sign up for social media or grown business men and women using email as a form of necessary communication. The point is; email marketing has the potential for major reach. But you need to keep up with trends and know what no longer works and what does. From the fact that the everyday email user now mostly uses their mobile device to keep up with notifications to the fact that there are artificial intelligences available to cater to email needs with automated and personalised emails. Read on to find out about the top 4 trends to be mindful of in your 2020 email marketing strategy.
Time To Go Mobile
Not only are businesses simply optimizing emails for mobile devices but now is the time that they are in fact prioritizing the mobile display. In a day and age where the majority of society has a mobile device with their email attached, email marketing is more effective than ever. With a steady stream of notifications popping up on our screens, emails are constantly being seen, whether they’re opened or not, they are at the very least being glanced at. This creates the need for optimization in terms of the specific tactics required to grab your readers’ attention. With the level of time we spend on our mobile phones, it only makes sense that everything is going mobile, and so should your email marketing strategy. This means thin column displays, short, effective headings and subject lines to get your point across and much more.
AI / Automation
When people first hear about artificial intelligence, they sometimes get terrified and don’t fully understand what it entails and what it can do for their field of work. In reality it is simply a technological advancement created to, in fact, lessen your workload and assist you. It has been intertwined in our daily lives, with the use of text predictions, Siri, customised ads and product suggestions. These tools are all made possible to use through AI. When it comes to email marketing and AI, we’re referring to features such as smart recipient segmentation, the scheduling of emails, predictive personalisation and customized subject lines and headings. Heading into 2020 it’s important to implement AI and Automation into you
User Generated Content
When we talk about user generated content we’re referring to any type of content that is spurred on or created by the receiver/user. A great way to include this in your email marketing is providing easily navigated feedback modules such as surveys and questionnaires, allowing a place for feedback and reviews. Be mindful to send these at the right time; to subscribers that have already tried or tested your product. For those who haven’t; first encourage them to try with promotional emails that include offers and incentives for taking action. These reviews and results will be the first thing people look at to see whether your product is worth purchasing, creating original content and instantly improving conversion rates.
Interaction and Engagement
Long gone are the days where it’s acceptable to have a do not respond handle as your email address, or an automated response email discouraging engagement. Nowadays it’s clear that you need to nurture your subscribers or subscribers they will no longer be. The more you interact, respond to queries and suggestions, the more loyal your readers will be and the more confidence they will instil in your brand. But no longer is interactivity there for the sole purpose of entertaining your recipients, it’s now becoming apparently functional and is being used to purposefully increase conversion and engagement. Popular interactive email feats include GIFs, videos, simulated buttons with calls to action, animated images and anything that will bring your email to life, making it stand out from the sea of standard uninspiring emails, all the while being mindful to optimize for mobile use! All of this will help your emails remain relevant, prevent unsubscribing, and promote purchases.
To conclude; email marketing isn’t going anywhere, so optimizing and updating your strategy for 2020 is the best move to make as we enter this new decade. Technical advancements are allowing for the more valuable, efficient use of email marketing and we strongly believe it’s here to stay as one of the most useful forms of marketing and communication.
