Email marketing has been around for 40 years and it doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. In fact, emails received the highest ROI in 2016 compared to any other marketing tactic. Many futuristic trends are already on the rise from both analytical and creative qualities.
Interactive Emails
What if you could click, swipe, and tap on email content without ever leaving the page? This is one of the most influential new age movements in email marketing. You can already click on links or view quirky GIFs in email, but what if immediate CTAs were possible?
Google’s AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) are on the brink of making this trend possible. “With AMP for Email, you’ll be able to quickly take actions like submit an RSVP to an event, schedule an appointment or fill out a questionnaire – right from the email message,” says Gmail product manager Askash Sahney.
More Visuals
Emails will begin to show visual previews of links, PDFs, and documents so users don’t have to click to download attachments. With more color theory tests (62-90% of users base their email assessment solely on color!) and graphic enhancements coming to the forefront of creative strategy, the overall image of an email is also proving to be very valuable. For the remaining text left on an email, the voice is becoming more personalized and conversational with less promotional tones.
User Controlled Personalization
You, yes you, can control what you want to see in your email inbox. Emails are becoming highly personalized thanks to marketing automation tactics implemented by businesses, but this still doesn’t give the consumer control on what they want to see the most.
Future inboxes will allow you to rank which unopened emails you want listed at the top of your inbox. Smartphones already have 3D interaction options, which means emails will begin to let users pick up, toss, drag, and group emails within a 3D inbox space.
Mobile Friendly Everything
Creating mobile-friendly emails is no longer an option it’s a necessity. 80 percent of subscribers say they delete emails incompatible with mobile, and 67% of emails are opened on mobile devices. This means links must be thumb-friendly (make sure the white space around a link is clickable), designs must be optimal for a narrow screen, and subject lines should stay within 25-30 characters.
Artificial Intelligence Metrics
AI has proven to be a valuable asset across key metrics for email data and analytics. Marketers using AI averaged two points higher in click-through and open rates compared to businesses without this technology. AI users also noticed a higher ROI on email marketing, improved deliverability rates, and more revenue per subscriber. As AI becomes more accessible and affordable, its effects on the marketing world will be appreciated by businesses of all sizes.
Only time can tell if these trends become as prominent as predicted. Either way, you should begin applying these features to your marketing automation strategies if you want to grow your conversation rates!
