The epidemic had a huge impact on the way businesses interact with their customers. More and more companies stake on digital marketing, which results in a bunch of new trends and tendencies. For example, email marketing has never been more popular and has already become a part of the daily routine.
While this is surely great news, businesses face a few challenges. They want to know how to surpass the competitors with the help of an effective email marketing strategy. And that is exactly what we are going to discuss in this article.
13 Powerful Stuff to Embed in Your Email
Visual storytelling is a clear trend that will take an increasing share of content. Plain text is no longer enough – photos and dynamic content are much better perceived. But what else to include in the email so that it is not ignored?
User-generated content
One of the simplest and the most effective ways to take your email marketing to a completely new level is user-generated content. Plus, it is free and can be used in your letters without any effort. It is a proven way of converting new customers and boosting organic traffic.
When including poll results, pictures of happy customers, and positive reviews, you increase the trust and loyalty of the audience and make awesome content at the same time. Encourage users to post photos and reviews on social media and insert them into your emails.
Artificial intelligence
Many businesses still don’t implement artificial intelligence (AI) into their routine. But experts know that it is one of the best email marketing strategies at the moment. Even with the latest tools and lots of free time, you won’t be able to collect and analyze data the way AI will. Here’s what you can use it for:
- Forecasting user reaction,
- Survey optimization,
- Adding keywords,
- Improvement of sending times,
- Creating subject lines,
- Deleting clients who don’t respond to the letters, and much more.
Pictures, videos, and animation
The next instrument is email design. Plain texts are in the past and if you want to achieve high conversion, make sure to create engaging visual content. The simplest option is pictures related to your campaign, message, or newly launched product.
You can also include videos with educational clips, explanations, reviews, and so on. In case you promote some software, feel free to record a tutorial on how to use it using a screen recorder for your Mac or Windows PC. Then do some video editing to fix the imperfections and add stickers, titles, and other elements to your file. A great idea is to use animated backdrops, GIFs, and moving icons to bring the emails to life. But be careful because these elements impact the loading time.
From time to time send simple text emails
While modern emails with all the colors, pictures, and videos catch the eye of the reader, sometimes they are too much. Marketing experts say that minimalistic design and plain texts are in trend, so if you just need to convey a message in a clear manner, use this advice.
A simple text with bullet points is easy on the eye, straight to the point, and persuasive. And it will surely be like a grasp of fresh air among messages with all the bells and whistles.
Clear subject lines
Knowing how to embed video, images, and GIFs to the content is half of success. The text itself should be interesting and engaging and start with a great subject line. Remember, your emails must be focused and target a certain problem, need, or user category. And the best way to highlight it is to create a great subject line.
We recommend writing it only when the email is created. Thus, you’ll already have the key points and will only need to fit them into 65 – 70 characters. The subject line should be clear, interesting, and straight to the point.
Personalization
If you want to boost conversion, always keep the personalization of the emails in mind. You all want to feel appreciated and taken into account, so use this craving to your advance. The simplest way to personalize emails is to put names in subject lines. But if you want something more sophisticated, try the following tools:
- Send emails depending on location for a perfect timing,
- Feature goods similar to those which the users have searched for or ordered,
- Recommend related goods and services,
- Remind of the items left in the cart,
- Send personalized promotions based on nationality, gender, and age.
Include incentives
If you want your email campaign to be a success, don’t forget to create incentives. Find out what the target audience wants and suggest it. The most efficient strategies include time-limited offers, scarcity of certain products, freebies, refunds, trial periods, loyalty promotions, VIP managers, and so on.
Dark mode
One of the hottest 2021 trends in digital marketing is the dark color scheme. You can notice this mode in Slack, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, and other popular products. The dark mode is also used in hundreds of email templates, not depending on the topic and design. Here are some of the reasons why users love it:
- The darker interface creates a more personalized and intimate experience
- It is easier on the eyes
- It improves content readability
- Dark mode reduces screen brightness which leads to longer battery life
Make the most of your newsletters
The marketing strategy has greatly evolved over years. Nowadays, emails are used not only for business correspondence but for telling stories, communicating with the audience, and sharing observations. They are blending with newsletters and become the basis of any marketing plan.
Providing the audience with industry-related news, updates, and tips is a great way to bring value. Add several trustworthy sources and a personal story, and the readers will be thrilled!
Here are a few tips on how to create attractive newsletters:
- Provide unique information that can’t be found on your website, blog, or social media,
- Know your focus, i.e. the target audience you are writing for,
- The content should be simple but memorable,
- Add a snippet on social media to attract attention,
- Use third-party content like links and quotes,
- Discuss trending topics.
Show appreciation
Showing customers that you are on their side and appreciate them is one of the best ways to increase loyalty and trust. Don’t forget to send thank-you emails after a purchase, birthday greetings, and other gratitude messages. In times of the pandemic, many businesses create unique emails for front-line workers and doctors to show appreciation. This is a great example of an Inverted Pyramid Method where personalization makes readers want to click straight away.
Choose the right builders and templates
There is no need to create all emails from scratch. Thankfully, there are lots of builders and template databases even if you have never worked on email marketing before. But remember that you should have written content before using any template. Trying to squeeze the text into a selected layout will eventually end up in a disaster.
With the help of email builders, you can customize the letters in any possible way and render your message in a clear and appealing manner. And the best part is that you don’t need any coding skills because most builders require only dragging and dropping the elements.
Privacy and security
To make email campaigns shine, it is not enough to use appealing templates, track your KPI’s, and purchase the latest software. You should also convince users that their data is protected. Tell them how you are using the collected information and what encryption technologies are applied. Don’t forget to inform the customers if any data privacy changes are considered in the future. Plus, make sure that it is easy to unsubscribe from the newsletters.
Work on the CTAs
Above we have already discussed why subject lines are so important. Now is the right time to talk about another crucial element – call-to-action or CTA. We recommend using it in every single email not depending on whether you are providing a news summary or introducing readers to a new product.
When working on your calls to action, consider the following:
- They should be placed in full width and aligned in the center
- Make the CTA text and button stand out from the rest of the text
- The CTA should be big enough to notice
- Add a secondary call-to-action for readers who have missed the first one
Final Thoughts
2021 is a year of numerous challenges and opportunities, and businesses need to keep up with the times not only to stay afloat but to overcome the competition. If you want to get into the customer’s inbox and boost conversion, use the tips discussed above. We also recommend using email marketing software for creating newsletters and including polls to the letters. Remember, a good strategy is a strategy that consists of multiple instruments and approaches.
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