A new year means new digital marketing trends, and email marketing is no exception. You might be asking yourself: is email marketing even still relevant in 2023? The answer is a resounding yes! Email marketing has been around for decades, and unlike many other digital marketing channels, it has proven to stand the test of time in an ever-changing online landscape. Email is your most direct line of communication with your customers, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest email marketing trends.
Fortunately, that’s what we’re here for! To help you get ahead of the competition, we’ve compiled a list of 15 emerging email marketing trends for 2023. From incorporating AI into your strategy to embracing interactive emails, here are the top email marketing trends you need to know to stand out in even the most cluttered inbox in the new year:
Hyper-Personalization
When you think of personalized messaging in emails, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Probably your name in the subject line, or a product recommendation based on your past purchase history. In 2022, we saw brands take personalization to new heights—and we only expect this trend to continue in the coming year.
One of the best examples of hyper-personalization is the send time optimization tool from Amazon. Using data from past customer behavior, Amazon knows when each individual customer is most likely to open an email or make a purchase. This allows them to send emails at specific times for each customer, and increases their chances of engaging with those emails. Brands that embrace this trend in the new year will be able to target their customers more effectively and provide a better overall customer experience.
Interactive Elements
Interactive elements have been a consistent digital marketing trend to watch in 2023, and this includes email marketing. By incorporating interactive elements into emails, brands can create an engaging and immersive customer experience without the need for customers to click through and leave the email. Of course, the ultimate goal is to drive traffic to your website, but interactive elements can still be utilized to capture customer attention and make them more likely to do so.
In addition, interactive emails have the potential to produce useful customer data for email marketers. For example, when customers hover over certain interactive elements, you can track their engagement and use that data to tailor your emails in the future. This allows brands to create an even more tailored experience for their customers. If you’re looking to stand out in a crowded inbox full of static messaging, consider incorporating interactive elements like polls, surveys, and quizzes into your 2023 email marketing strategy.
Privacy Proofing
Data privacy and security have become increasingly important topics in the digital marketing world, and email marketing is no exception. As the GDPR and CCPA regulations continue to evolve, it’s essential that brands stay ahead of the curve when it comes to ensuring compliance with these laws.
One of the best ways to do this is by privacy-proofing your emails. This should include steps like ensuring you only use an opt-in list, using clear and concise language when describing data privacy policies and including a link to unsubscribe from future emails. Following these critical email marketing practices will help ensure that you are in compliance with all necessary laws, as well as protect consumer data.
Mobile-First Design
Did you know 60% of all emails are opened on mobile devices? On top of that, up to 79% of people say they delete emails that aren’t mobile-optimized! These statistics are only expected to increase over the next several years, so having a mobile-first design for your email marketing campaigns is essential if you want to remain competitive.
When designing for mobile, focus on elements like font size, call-to-action placement, and image sizing. You should also consider implementing responsive design, which automatically converts emails to a format that is optimized for the device being used. By designing your emails with mobile-friendliness in mind, you can ensure that your customers have a positive user experience regardless of what device they’re using.
Dark Mode
Much like with web design, dark mode is an increasingly popular email marketing trend. As the name would suggest, dark mode emails are designed in a darker color palette and can provide a more positive, less strenuous experience for users. Not only does it make the text easier to read by reducing eye strain, but it also helps save battery life on mobile devices.
Many of today’s smart devices come equipped with a dark mode or night mode setting, which makes it even more important to design with dark mode in mind. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all of your emails should be created using only a dark palette, but incorporating dark mode-optimized emails into your email marketing strategy can give you an edge in the inbox. Test each of your email designs using both light mode and dark mode to ensure that your campaigns look great and are easy to read for all users, regardless of their preferences.
Animation
A email subject line may catch your eye, but motion graphics hold your attention. Animation is a great way to add movement and dynamism to an email, ranging from subtle movements like hover effects to full-on animated GIFs. Studies have shown that emails with animation can increase engagement by up to 60%, making this trend one that should not be ignored in the coming year.
Animation also offers the added benefit of being able to communicate complex concepts in a simple way, making it an effective tool for email marketing. If you’re introducing a new product, for example, animation can help illustrate the features and benefits in an easy-to-digest format – something that can be difficult to demonstrate with static images. It’s important that the animations you use in your emails are used sparingly and strategically – use too many, and you could run the risk of slowing down the loading time or making the email look cluttered.
Strong Branding
Strong and consistent branding is key to a successful digital marketing strategy, and email marketing is no exception. With so much competition in the space, it’s essential to make sure your emails have a distinct look and voice that customers can recognize immediately in their inbox. This means using a consistent color palette, fonts, images and logo throughout all of your email campaigns.
Creating unique and recognizable brand templates for each campaign is also important. This will help ensure that everything you send has a unified look and feel, no matter your email content. This will also make it easier to measure email performance, as you’ll be able to track which branded templates generate the highest click-through rates with your audience and adjust your campaign accordingly.
Audience Segmentation
Speaking of tracking email performance, audience segmentation is an essential tool for making sure your emails are reaching the subscribers who will find them most relevant. Audience segmentation is the process of grouping subscribers based on specific criteria, such as geographic location or past purchase history. This enables you to send more targeted emailsmthat are tailored to the needs and interests of each group, rather than sending a single email blast that may be irrelevant to a large portion of your subscriber base.
The goal of your email campaigns should be to craft messages that will resonate with your readers and guide them towards taking a desired action, and audience segmentation is a powerful tool for achieving this. Segmenting your audience based on their place in your sales funnel or their interests can help ensure that your emails are sending the right message to the right person at the right time. This leads to higher engagement levels, more conversions and increased ROI.
Video
Video isn’t just for social media platforms – it’s become an increasingly popular tool in the email marketing space. Not only does incorporating video into your email marketing strategy help keep your audience engaged and entertained, but it also allows you to demonstrate products or services more effectively than written descriptions. Statistically, emails with video content have been shown to increase click-through rates by up to 96%, meaning that including videos in your campaigns can significantly boost engagement and conversions.
What types of email marketing videos should you use? Fortunately, video marketing is highly versatile, so you can tailor it to your specific needs. This could include product demonstrations, customer testimonials, explainer videos or even a simple hello in a welcome email. No matter how you choose to use it, including video in your emails can be a great way to grab your subscribers’ attention and make a lasting impression.
Infographics
Much like video, infographics are a great way to illustrate complex data in an easy-to-understand format. They can be used to show statistics, trends or patterns, or to simply add an interesting visual to your email campaign. Additionally, infographics can be used to break up long blocks of text, making them more visually appealing and helping to keep your readers’ attention.
When it comes to creating an effective infographic, the key is to keep it simple and make sure all of the information is easy to find. Instead of cluttering your infographic with too many facts and figures, focus on a few key points and use visuals to illustrate them. Of course, make sure the infographic you create aligns with your branding and the overall marketing message of your email campaign.
Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most powerful psychological tools available to marketers. People have been using stories to communicate and entertain for thousands of years, so it makes sense that this would also be an effective way to capture your audience’s attention in email marketing. Crafting a compelling story within your emails can help you connect with your readers on a personal level, which will ultimately lead to greater engagement.
The key to successful storytelling in email marketing is finding the right stories for your audience. Get creative and think of ways you can use storytelling to illustrate why your product or service is important, how it has helped others, or why customers should choose yours over a competitor’s. By weaving stories into your emails, you can create a deeper connection with your subscribers and increase engagement.
User-Generated Content
User-generated content is the gift that keeps giving across your entire digital marketing strategy, email included. Not only can it be used to increase brand awareness, but it’s also an effective way to build trust and loyalty among your readers. People are more likely to make a purchase or take action when they see that other people have already done so, making user-generated content an invaluable tool for email marketers.
One clever way to incorporate user-generated content into your emails is to send a “customer spotlight” email highlighting a customer who has had success with your product or service. This could include a testimonial, an interview, or even just a few photos of them using your product. No matter how you choose to use it, user-generated content can be a powerful way to show your readers that your product or service works.
Shorter Subject Lines
Sometimes less is more, and that’s certainly true when it comes to email subject lines. In 2023, it’s expected that more marketers will be using shorter subject lines to grab their readers’ attention. This means trading lengthy phrases for catchy one-liners or clever questions. In fact, a recent study revealed that subject lines with 16 characters or less yielded the highest open rates!
Shorter subject lines are also more likely to fit within the character limits of mobile devices, ensuring that your messages can be seen in their entirety no matter what device your readers are using. Adding an emoji to your subject line is also a great way to add a bit of personality and grab your subscriber’s attention without using too many characters.
Omnichannel Marketing Campaigns
Omnichannel marketing is a term used to describe a unified customer experience across multiple channels. This means that your customers should have a consistent experience no matter which marketing channel they use to interact with your brand — whether it’s through email, social media, or even in person. In 2023, it’s expected that more marketers will be taking advantage of omnichannel campaigns to ensure their messages reach their intended targets and make a lasting impression.
An omnichannel marketing campaign allows you to reach your customers through multiple channels and tailor your message to their individual needs. For example, if a customer signs up for an email newsletter, you can customize their experience by sending them targeted emails based on their interests or previous purchases. You can also use omnichannel marketing to drive customers to other channels, such as social media, where they can find more information or interact with your brand. By creating a unified experience across all channels, you’ll be able to build better relationships with your customers and foster greater engagement while boosting your brand recognition.
Newsletters
Newsletters are one of the oldest digital marketing tactics, but there’s a reason for that: they work! By sending email newsletters, you can keep your readers informed and up-to-date on the latest news and happenings related to your brand. This could include upcoming events or product launches, customer spotlights, company updates, new blog posts, and more.
Don’t just take our word for it – research shows that newsletters can be an effective tool for driving engagement and conversions. In fact, a recent survey found that 78% of consumers said they would purchase from a brand after receiving their newsletter. So if you want to stay top-of-mind with your readers in 2023, investing in a well-crafted email newsletter strategy could be the bona fide lead machine you need to stay competitive in the new year.
You’ve Got Mail, We’ve Got Email Marketing Trends
Email marketing is an ever-evolving industry, and the trends discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s crucial that you’re able to stay on top of the latest developments if you want to ensure your email marketing campaigns are designed to get results. Of course, this is easier said than done when you have a business of your own to run!
That’s where we come in.
Creative Click Media’s team of digital marketing experts specializes in crafting email campaigns that get increase your open rate, drive traffic and boost your bottom line. From strategic content creation to detailed analytics and reporting, our team of experts is here to help you maximize your ROI. Your winning email marketing strategy is only a click away – contact us to get started.
Looking for even more digital marketing trends for 2023? Check out our picks for the top content marketing trends, web design trends, SEO trends and social media trends to keep an eye on in the new year!
