Evolving email marketing trends

Abe Dearmer

Sep 30, 2019

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6 min read

Email-Marketing

Email marketing has come a long way since marketers starting using it, and it is constantly evolving over time. Every year we see new trends that help change the way we interact with customers through email and this is why using old approaches and tactics wouldn't work any more.

We all receive numerous emails every day and most of them end up in the trash box because they seem like blatant sales pitches that aren't interesting. A couple of years back, sending out 'one size fits all' emails was ok and many marketers believed in quantity over quality, thus sending multiple emails to random people each week - but this wouldn't work any more.

Consumer needs are changing and they are now more aware of what they want. Sending emails to people who didn't subscribe to them will only reduce your engagement levels, as well as increase the unsubscribe rate and spam reports.

Marketers need to evolve their strategies to what the consumers are looking for right now - if they want to really leverage the power of email marketing and see results.

Here are the top email marketing trends we see emerging in 2019.

Inbound marketing strategies

Newer trends seem to favor including inbound marketing strategies as well as outbound ones. Inbound marketing means sending out value adding and educational content to your customers so that they look to you for advice when they need it. This allows for leads to naturally come to you, who are a good fit and ready to make a purchase.

Outbound marketing, on the other hand, means sending out emails that showcase your product or service's benefits and is a sales pitch, meaning it's either a hit or a miss, hooking only some leads and reeling them in.

As customers are getting more and more tired of unasked for emails cluttering their inbox, receiving educational content will be a refreshing change.

Purchase email lists with care

As well as the reputable companies, there are also a lot of unscrupulous people selling email lists. Purchasing email lists from the unscrupulous people is never a good idea because you don't know what kind of email data you are getting. They could be old and inactive, as well as of people who are not interested in your product or service at all. Plus, as per the GDPR it is against the law to email people who have not asked to be contacted by you. To know more about GDPR, read our blog here.

Always do some due diligence into data providers, data is not cheap so if you see what looks to be a fantastic offer - don't do it!

Another option is to create ways for customers and prospective leads to opt in to your emails. This will also allow you to email an audience that is looking forward to the information you send them, and increase your click through rates.

Customers take back control

No one likes to see a bunch of spam emails in their inbox that requires them to sort through multiple emails just to find important ones. There's no doubt they will unsubscribe if you send them information they don't care about.

Emerging trends in email marketing show that customers are now more aware of their preferences and want to be sent only what they signed up for. This would require websites to provide more options instead of a blanket 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' button.

By providing more categories to choose from, you can customize the customers' experience, helping in reducing the unsubscribe rate and spam reports.

Special attention to mobile responsiveness

As more and more smartphones and tablets are created, people now prefer to get everything done on their phones itself instead of the laptop, including reading emails. This is why it is critical to take into account how your emails are viewed when opened on a phone or tablet screen.

They need to be optimized to fit all screen sizes and doesn't require the reader to scroll and zoom excessively just to read a sentence. Reports show that by 2020, there will be more than 2.8 billion smartphone users, so it is imperative to make the necessary changes if you haven't already.

More personalization

Before, personalization simply meant adding the name of the recipient in the email, but now it's much more than that. With the help of Marketing Automation Systems, you have much more data saved about customers. This allows you to segment them into different categories, targeting only a certain category when you want to.

Let's say, for example, you are an e-commerce website that sells a variety of household, fashion and lifestyle products. If you are having a sale on home décor items, sending that information to just those who are interested in that category will be more successful. People not looking for décor items may just unsubscribe from the email newsletter altogether.

More casual, less formal

While a couple of years back marketers would maintain a formal tone of voice with prospects and customers, trends now show that they have started to use a less formal tone in their emails and this will continue in the coming years as well.

Millennials are about to become the largest consumer demographic and they are more laid back than the people before them, making this a trend that isn't going anywhere. Marketers will have to adapt to their new audience and use an informal approach.

Using trigger based emails

Trigger based emails are ones that are sent out as soon as a person takes an action on your website. For instance, if a prospect signs up for your newsletter, sending them a welcoming emailing as soon as they do, would count as a trigger based email. In fact, research by Inbox Army says that welcome emails have 4 times higher open rates than normal emails!

These are a great way to maintain engagement with your customers as you are engaging with them just as when they are. Marketing Automation Systems are a great way to set up these kinds of automated workflows to engage with your customer instantly.

It is very important to stay up to date with marketing trends so that you can capture your market the right way. Marketers have to adapt to the shifting consumer generations as well as leverage the benefits of Marketing Automation to create a high ROI for your email marketing strategies.

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Try FIVE CRM, and find out the benefits of using a CRM platform for email marketing!

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