4 Email Marketing Trends for 2019

Email marketing has evolved exponentially since email was first invented some 50 years ago. Techniques that were once widely accepted as best practices may now be obsolete.

 

Every year, big changes shake up the world of email marketing, and this year was no exception. Here are four of the most significant trends in email marketing for 2019.

 

 

  • Interactivity

Due to public demand, many of today’s brands are already starting to include more interactive elements in their emails. According to a recent survey, 82% of people said they preferred interactivity in emails.

 

Interactive emails are those that contain elements that readers can interact with, whether it’s by clicking, hovering (the cursor), tapping (on mobile), or swiping. These elements come in a wide range of forms which can include the following:

 

  • GIFs
  • Cinemagraphs (still images with one or two elements in a perpetual loop)
  • Videos
  • Social media sharing buttons
  • Feedback forms and links

 

Data suggests that brands that add interactive elements to their emails can increase their click-to-open rates by 73%.

 

 

  • Gamification

Gamification is technically an offshoot of interactivity, but it’s a more complicated element than a standard video or GIF. As such, it deserves its own spot on this list.

 

Gamification is the introduction of gaming elements and principles in environments that don’t traditionally involve gaming, like email marketing. Gamification in email marketing means including elements like the scoring of points, competition among segments of subscribers, mini board games and puzzle games, and simple quizzes. 

Source: Campaign Monitor

 

Gamification may be a new technique in email marketing, but an increasing number of brands are starting to realize its benefits to engagement and revenue. Gamification also provides brands with a wealth of insight into how their email subscribers behave when presented with specific problems (in the form of puzzles or quizzes, for instance). Brands can use data from these types of emails for segmentation, AB testing, and a whole lot of other aspects of email marketing.

 

 

  • Mobile-first strategies

An IBM report states that 49.1% of all email opens occur on mobile. For some industries, this rate can be as high as 60%.

 

Mobile email usage has been on the rise for the last few years. It has become increasingly important for brands to adopt a mobile-first attitude in terms of email marketing and digital marketing as a whole.

 

The great thing is that designing mobile-optimized emails is now easier than ever. Marketers don’t need to be experts on web development, and they also don’t need to hire developers to help them design mobile emails.

 

All marketers have to do is use responsive email templates. These templates are already optimized for mobile, so marketers don’t have to worry about writing a single line of code. 

 

 

  • Loyalty programs

Loyalty programs are becoming more and more common in email marketing. This is because savvy marketers know that loyalty programs are a highly effective way to retain customers and maintain strong relationships with them.

Source: Campaign Monitor

 

These types of programs can help brands significantly improve customer experience. By incentivizing loyalty, brands give customers a good reason to keep coming back instead of choosing a different brand for future purchases.

 

With loyalty programs, businesses can turn subscribers into paying customers, VIPs, and hopefully lifelong brand ambassadors.

 

Wrap up

There you have it. These are four of the most noteworthy trends that have helped shape the current email marketing landscape. It pays to be aware of these trends as they can guide both your present and future email marketing strategies.

 

Only time will tell if these trends remain in 2020 or are swept away as new technologies and tactics start pouring in.