Looking to take your marketing to the next level this year? If so, don’t overlook email marketing.
Why? Because email marketing can yield a return on investment (ROI) of about $36 for every single dollar spent.
A great email marketing strategy can generate leads, strengthen relationships with existing clients, and build your brand’s credibility. Plus, you can reach a huge audience via email.
Staying on top of the latest marketing trends can make all the difference. Let’s take a look at five email marketing trends to explore this year.
Email Marketing Trends to Consider
Long gone are the days of boring email blasts. To be truly effective, today’s marketing emails must be engaging and eye-catching. Only time will tell what the new year will mean for email marketing, but there are a few trends we’re already seeing.
1. Interactive Emails
According to Litmus, 91% of consumers prefer an interactive email experience compared to a traditional or static message. However, only 17% of marketers are creating interactive elements.
There are plenty of ways to give your subscribers what they want. Here are several interactive elements you can start including today:
Quizzes
Quizzes are a great way to get your subscribers to interact with your message. Wellness Coach Jessie Golden, for example, brings in 100 new leads each week with her well-written quiz. It also achieves a 56.9% conversion rate.
Gamification
Want to get your audience truly engaged with your brand’s message? Find a way to gamify your emails. The possibilities here are endless, so brainstorm an idea that will resonate with your unique audience.
Consider, for example, an interactive scratch-off game that reveals a special offer or discount.
GIFs
Who doesn’t love a good GIF? A great GIF can showcase your brand’s unique personality while grabbing your recipient’s attention.
GIFs allow you to get a little more creative than stationary images do.
Countdown Timers
A live countdown timer inside an email is a great way to capture readers’ attention. They create a sense of urgency for your audience to take action.
You can use a countdown timer nested inside an email to encourage recipients to act on a special sale or promotion.
AMP for email
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) for Email allows your customers to interact with your email as if they were interacting with your website. With AMP, your emails can include real-time information, making this the next evolution of emails.
AMP for emails turns your static emails into a truly dynamic and interactive experience.
Your customers can book appointments, RSVP to events, get up-to-date inventory, answer survey questions (and see the responses) all within an email. Without AMP, you would need to send your customers to a separate landing page.
2. Dark Mode
More email users are making the switch to “dark mode,” ditching more traditional white backgrounds. When an email campaign is designed in dark mode, it uses a black (or near-black) background with lighter text and graphics.
Aside from its growing popularity, there are many other reasons to start designing emails using dark mode. For example, dark-mode emails stand out from other messages in a person’s inbox, and they can be used to highlight colors, making particular products or images pop.
Sending emails in dark mode also helps to “set the mood” with a greater sense of mystery and sophistication.
Not sure how to design an email in dark mode? Platforms like AWeber have plenty of templates you can use. Specifically, AWeber’s “Fresh” template comes with a dark background and seven different color variations, making it easy for users to find a color scheme that suits their brand and unique message.
3. Videos
Embedding videos into your email messages is another option to consider. Check out this data from BombBomb, a video embedding platform:
- 69% of subscribers prefer to learn about a product or service through a video
- Videos in emails increase click-through rates as much as 300%
There are many ways to incorporate videos into your emails. The simplest way is to include a link to a video within your messaging.
For the best results, though, you should embed your video into your text. If you know how to copy and paste, you can embed your video into your email campaign. First, upload your video to a hosting service and then use HTML coding to add the video directly.
4. Indexing
Another email marketing trend to get on board with is indexing your emails. This essentially means creating a curated “hub” of your past emails for your readers to access at their leisure.
You can include a link or other call-out to the index with each email you send, inviting readers to visit your site for more information.
Why is indexing great for your email marketing strategy?
For starters, it’s an effective way to get people to your website. This, in turn, can create conversions and boost SEO.
AWeber makes indexing and monetizing your content easy with its Newsletter Hub feature. Using this feature, you can seamlessly curate your past content. You can also add a custom logo and previews of your past emails for readers to see. You can even add a “subscribe” button with just a few clicks.
5. Visuals
Never underestimate the power of eye-catching visuals in an email. If you’re not already using images in your email marketing campaigns, now is the time to start. A well-placed image can catch your recipient’s attention and encourage them to read on.
The key is to know how to use images effectively for the best results. In general, you’ll want to follow the “60/40 rule” of image use in email, which means that your emails should consist of about 60% text and 40% visuals. This way, your emails will be readable and skimmable and you’ll avoid overwhelming your readers with too much text or too many images at once.
How to Take Advantage of Email Marketing Trends
So, how can you take full advantage of these trends as you implement them into your marketing strategy?
For starters, make sure that your current email service provider (ESP) can send the previously noted emails. For example, not every ESP can send AMP for emails or a Newsletter Hub, so do your research.
Regardless of your current ESP, you may also want to explore direct integrations. Direct integrations make it possible for anybody to create eye-catching emails without a lot of technical experience. For example, platforms like AWeber and Interact are designed to work together to carry out your marketing seamlessly.
Will 2022 be the year you transform your email marketing? You can start by trying some (or all) of these marketing strategies to make email your biggest source of success this year and beyond.