Email marketing is an essential part of any business, and it’s also a reliable way to generate sales. However, as this channel becomes more competitive and saturated with brands, it’s more important than ever to keep your strategy up-to-date. In this article, we’ll explore how email marketing will change in the coming year, what that means for you as a marketer, and how you can adapt your approach accordingly.
1. AI, machine learning, and cloud-based technologies completely change email marketing
The email marketing automation industry is now making a revolution. As machine learning and artificial intelligence become more sophisticated, they will be able to take over some of the tasks that were previously done by humans, such as creating personalized emails and serving them up to the right recipients at the right times.
The shift is happening now because email marketing automation is becoming increasingly important for businesses to compete in a digital world. In fact, email marketing automation has become so popular that it’s estimated to account for nearly 80% of all digital marketing campaigns.
Now that there are more advanced systems available, companies can rely on them for all sorts of tasks including email campaigns and newsletters among other things! This is a trend that has already begun to take off thanks to improved technology and increased demand for this type of service among small businesses looking for ways to lower costs without sacrificing quality or effectiveness.
2. Personalization is the future of email marketing
If you’re not using hyper-personalized emails, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with your customers on a deeper level. In fact, it’s estimated that personalized emails have a 200% higher open rate and a 50% higher click-through rate than non-personalized emails.
So what is hyper-personalization? It’s the ability to use data about your customers’ behavior and preferences to create highly relevant communications that speak directly to them. This can include anything from specific offers or discounts to personalized product recommendations based on past purchases, to automated messages based on customer lifecycle (e.g., welcome emails after a purchase).
The personalization approach has been proven effective in both B2B and B2C contexts, and it’s easy to implement with just a few simple steps:
- Start with a list of customers who have purchased from you in the past.
- Add relevant information about these customers to your database, such as their names and address as well as what they’ve purchased from you.
- Use this data to create a segmented list of customers who will receive personalized emails based on what they’ve bought before.
- Send out these personalized messages and track how well they perform compared to regular email blasts.
3. Interactive emails sell better
An interactive email is any email campaign that makes use of interactive components including:Â
- Videos
- SurveysÂ
- QuizzesÂ
- Polls
- Downloads
- Social sharing buttons
All of these features allow the user to engage with your content in some way – and when your customers do so on their own terms, it increases their level of engagement with your brand and improves their overall experience as well.
Creating an interactive email isn’t difficult at all. All you need is some basic HTML knowledge and a few images that you want to be included in your message. You can also use email marketing platforms if you don’t have any coding experience at all – they’ll help you create beautiful, engaging emails without ever having to write code yourself.
Interactive emails can be used for everything from promotions to newsletters and even sending people their orders. They’re just one more way that you can make your business stand out in the crowd and get noticed by your customers.
4. User-generated content is the holy grail of marketing
Marketers have long known that user-generated content is powerful. It’s cheap, it’s authentic and it’s incredibly effective. It also helps build brand loyalty. When customers see that other people are happy with your company, they become more likely to continue doing business with you. User-generated content gives them that reassurance they need before making a purchase decision.
To start incorporating user-generated content into your marketing emails:Â
- Try asking customers to leave reviews on your website with photos attached;
- If you have a customer base that’s active on social media, ask people to share photos of themselves using your products or services.Â
It’s also important that you give customers creative freedom so they feel comfortable sharing their stories and experiences with others!
5. Storytelling in emails captures customers’ interest
Storytelling can be used to drive email marketing in a number of ways, and it’s worth considering when you’re crafting your next email campaign.
- Storytelling helps you connect with customers on a personal level. When you share a story that brings them into your world, they feel like they know you. They see themselves in your story and feel like they can trust you as a result.
- Storytelling makes customers more likely to take action on the content in your emails because they feel more invested in what you have to say. They want to see how things turn out for your characters!
- Storytelling helps establish an emotional connection with customers by making them feel something when they read about your brand or product.Â
This can help drive loyalty and repeat purchases down the line – as long as the emotions are positive ones!
Wrapping up
With the right tools, it is possible to increase your email leads in a cost-effective way in 2023. Email marketing automation will allow you to plan, analyze and send targeted emails at scale to the people you need to reach. And personalized emails will keep people engaged and interested in what you have to offer.
In fact, the possibilities for marketers now seem endless, as we continue to learn how to use this unique tool in more effective ways. By defining our expectations, we can ensure that email marketing only improves as the years go on and it becomes something even greater.