Email marketing…that’s still a thing, right? The answer is yes. Although email has been thought to be an older medium, it’s still used so frequently that some might say it’s overused. If you look at your inbox and see the hundreds of emails you’ve subscribed to all stacked up, you would agree it’s a bit overused. However, it’s a huge driving factor when reaching your target audience. Especially in times like today, email is one of the biggest forms of widespread communication. Since this is the case, here is a list of the growing email marketing trends of 2020 that give you the business results you desire.
Responsiveness: Mobile is Everything
When it comes to email, responsiveness is key. An email is considered responsive when it looks good on any device, including desktop, tablet, or mobile. In reality, the number of mobile phone users is increasing daily and according to Business2community.com, the number of mobile phone users is predicted to reach 7.26 billion in 2020. Checking emails on your cell phone is quick and easy, and most people do this. Constant Contact, an online email marketing company, released the statistic that 61% of all emails are opened and read on mobile devices. Not only is the statistic very high, but it was also found that 79% of these mobile users have made purchases online with their device. Email responsiveness is very important when it comes to marketing and increasing sales. Optimizing your email for mobile gets you the open and click-through rates your company wants and needs. We are seeing that approximately 25% of candidates are applying to jobs online through their phone.
Automation + Personalization = Success
Mail Chimp, another email marketing platform, defines email automation as “the use of predefined rules to trigger email messages based on specific actions customers take – or don’t take”. Email automation is a great way to send the right message, at the right time, to the right clients. A perk of email automation is the opportunity to personalize messages and gear them toward specific clients. Research shows that 91% of clients are more likely to support businesses that provide them with individualized and personal recommendations and offers. Automating and personalizing your email messages not only helps you gain business, but also grow relationships.
When it comes to automated emails, it’s also very important to track them. We have mentioned in previous articles that Yesware is a great tool for this. Yesware allows you to see, real time, if and when your emails have been opened and if items within that email were clicked on. This tool also informs you if the email was opened from a desktop, tablet, or mobile device. This specific tool increases your success in reaching more prospects, and personalization and automation helps you get those numbers.
Call-to-Action!
The biggest point of sending emails is to get the attention of your target audience. This is where your call-to-action comes in. The call-to-action in an email should be a button or a hyperlinked line of text that directs your prospects to your website or something you are advertising. Examples include Learn More, Read More, Download Now, Register Now, Read the Full Story, Check It Out, etc. Your call-to-action is a quick and easy way to direct your audience back to your website.
Be Interactive
Your call-to-action is very important, but the email marketing trends also includes interactivity. If your email has interactive features, you are promoting engagement which allows the recipients to look at your email for longer. Some of the biggest interactive email marketing trends includes animated buttons (this is your call-to-action); interactive images, videos, or GIFS; surveys and polls; and fun features like carousels or rollover effects that are controlled by the user. Once you’ve made your emails interactive, use Yesware to discover how many users engaged with the email elements.
Design, Design, Design
Everyone wants to see a well-designed email that catches your eye. If you are sending out boring and bland emails, odds are it won’t grab anyone’s attention. The average business email account receives over 250 emails a day, so it’s important for yours to stand out amongst the crowd. Bright and colorful text and images are a great way to catch user’s attention, however, one of the latest email marketing trends is to take a minimalist approach. A straight-forward, simple, minimalist design that isn’t too busy helps to humanize your brand and establish a personal and emotional connection with your audience. You want your email to focus on what you’re offering and not necessarily the overwhelming design. This approach polishes your brand message and offers a clear focus for the user’s receiving the email.
Email isn’t over yet, in fact, it’s flourishing more than ever. We hope that these new email marketing trends of 2020 help with your sales efforts. If you have any questions about email marketing, feel free to reach out.
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations. www.sjhemleymarketing.com