For email marketers, the future is bright -- if you take advantage of the following tactics.
Embrace mobile, but don’t abandon the desktop. More than half of emails are now
read on mobile, but desktop email is far from dead. While 59% of people check personal email on a smartphone, only 35% check work email on mobile devices, according to Adobe’s Consumer Email
Survey Report,
Mobile is best for things that can be dealt with in real time. If a message requires more thought, most people will open it again later on their desktop to write a longer
reply.
For email marketers, this means embracing a multi-device approach using calls to action that carefully take into account how audiences behave.
Keep it simple.
Most things work best if kept simple. Email marketing campaigns are no different.
Many users actually prefer plain text over graphic-heavy emails because they feel more like personal
messages and are less sales-oriented.
Plain text messages have also been found to have higher delivery and open rates. This is great for event- and transaction-triggered emails, where clear
messages are important.
Engage more with interactivity. Interactive content provides value and can significantly increase engagement. A Zembula survey found that 82% percent
of participants were more likely to respond to interactive emails than traditional static campaigns.
Try creating app-like or microsite-inspired experiences inside your emails. Entice viewers
and encourage involvement through quizzes, surveys, or contests. Include call-to-action messaging where people can do things like shop, edit an order, or update a wish list from within the email
itself.
Send fewer — but smarter — emails. Email will remain a valuable marketing tool -- as long as you develop smart campaigns. This year, smarter means
emails that are more relevant and engaging.
This requires not only leveraging better segmentation and targeting, but also sending timely, non-intrusive emails that keep your business
top-of-mind.
One approach is to leverage stories. Personal stories feel genuine and can engage with people on an emotional level. They are also memorable, which is key as people tend to forget
facts but remember them in the context of stories.
Get real with artificial intelligence. Many organizations lack the knowledge and experience to fully understand, evaluate
and act on all of their available marketing and customer data.
The tipping point is here when technology can reduce these bottlenecks by making sophisticated analytics capabilities more
accessible and providing actionable recommendations to help teams execute.
Companies are now using artificial intelligence to strengthen their email marketing strategies and make them both
more personalized and more effective. Marketers can now use AI to create more effective subject lines and images and predict how audiences will respond to each email.
Best of all, AI is only
getting better. As it does, the door opens for more personalized content at the right times to the right people.
By understanding less is sometimes more, offering more ways to engage
audiences, and using AI to make your team smarter, you too can improve email marketing performance in 2019.