Email marketing is one of the oldest marketing channels there are, but still one of the strongest and most effective. The key is to stick with what’s fresh and maintain the balance between functional and trendy. Marketing is not just about the words used to convince someone to patronize, it is all about tactics, details, and strategy, what day to advertise, what shoes to wear while doing it, every detail matters.  

Now when you come to email marketing, you have to work a lot with data, graphs and use these to create predictions, understand predictions in e-commerce marketing for 2020, these predictions go on to be utilized, what doesn’t work gets flushed and what does begins to trend and voila email marketing trends.  

So we have saved you the time and effort the whole process takes and expressly brought you a list of what works. So, what’s the future of email marketing? What are the email marketing trends for 2020?  

The top 10 email marketing trends:

1. Cross channel integration for Social Commerce
2. Email marketing automation 
3. Integrate AMP for a better User Experience
4. Mobile optimization and Customization
5. Give your Customers Feedback options 
6. Focus on your Copy: Less is more 
7. Brand storytelling 
8. Artificial intelligence for a Customized Experience
9. More Engaging 3D graphics 
10. Optimization for dark mode 

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1. Cross Channel Integration for Social Commerce

Cross channel integration essentially means email marketing meets social commerce. You intertwine your email marketing content and accessibility with your social media content and marketing. So one channel would lead to the other and vice versa.  

This enables you to gather data about your client and personalize your email marketing strategy, this will in turn capture your prospect’s attention and increase sales. Cross channel integration isn’t only about adding a social media network logo to the bottom of your emails to indicate that you are active there, it is steadily pushing out content that is linked 

2. Email Marketing Automation

One other way of email marketing trends is by email marketing automation. This is a method through which you create emails to be sent to a specific and right type of people with obviously the right message at specific moments. This work need not be done by you every time which is what makes it email automation. 

Normally, your website analytics should be linked with your email marketing platform. This would help you make a target list from your customers based on their behaviors, previous sales, and preferences. All you then need to do is personalize each customer’s email which in turn increases how relevant your message appears to be.  

Whether you are a marketer or a business owner, keeping in touch with your customers is always important. It is one of those very important things an entrepreneur or business personnel should do. Email marketing automation is the perfect way through which you can stay connected to your numerous customers with the right message and at the right time.

(Looking for an email marketing automation platform? Read our checklist: Does Your Email Marketing Platform Have These 10 Essential Features?)

3. Integrate AMP for a better User Experience

We are always looking for some new ways to help us improve our user experience. We always try to change or switch up a thing or two to make sure we find the perfect experience. Now there is just one other method, Integrating an AMP. The AMP stands for, Accelerated Mobile Pages and it’s a key email marketing trend for 2020.

It is a new tech that allows you to add some interactive features to your email. With this style, your customers do not need to click to be redirected back to your webpage. All they need can be done through their inbox which is a smooth and less stressful method for them. It is just about perfect.  

With the aid of the AMP, you can make use of interactive content like animations, product carousels, accordion features, and others in your email. 

4. Mobile Optimization and Customization

Now on a regular, mobile optimization is usually that process of adjusting your website content to ensure it is visible by users on their mobile phone. Not only should it be visible but also certain UI and navigation elements should be customized to how users ingest content on their phone.

The same here goes for your email marketing campaigns. Your email should have mobile optimization and should be accessible by mobile devices and customized to its view. This would give your customers a better experience when reading your emails and make it less stressful.  

People tend to downplay why mobile optimization is important, but the use of mobile devices to open emails and messages is greatly on the rise, it would be plain bad business for your email to look bad or be unreadable on a phone.

(Learn more about mobile marketing in our blog: 5 reasons why you should make mobile marketing your priority)

5. Give your Customers Feedback Options

Email marketing trends are not just about new marketing technologies or features. They are also about your customers. And their feedback.

Feedback is the key to overcoming hurdles you may not even know you face. You always need your customers to give you a report on how things are, what they want, how they feel, any possible change needed, and things like that. After all, the product and services rendered are to them and for them.  

You have to make sure you keep them happy and that can only be done by listening to them. A feedback option should be made available on your email which would make it possible for them to get through to you or even reply to your email if it needs replying. 

6. Focus on your copy: Less is More

Less is more is not just a phrase, in the past decade we’ve seen minimalism become a common trend among the most successful businesses and marketing agencies. Your marketing email should not be 2 or 3 pages long. Short, brief, and concise paragraphs  are enough as long as it tells a lot and the main points. Your customers know time is money and value vendors who respect their precious time.

When opening a mail, don’t think your customer would be at an obligation to read it. If the content isn’t “skim-able” they would not bother. One of those ways is by making it brief and catchy, bolding the most important messages or hooks to entice them to read more at a glance. 

This is why we say, less is more. The lesser it is, it can go quite a long way in helping you market your business. 

7. Brand Storytelling

Every brand has a story and every story should be told but this goes beyond that. It is a way of using narratives to connect both your brand and your customers: it is just the right tool for connecting that bridge between the customers and the company. And it helps give your customers more insight into your company which goes way beyond just what your offer.

Your story doesn’t have to be long and include every detail of your companies history. Short, refined stories often stick best in a customer’s mind. For example, when we think Amazon we might often think a marketplace that has everything from A to Z delivered in 2 days or less. Short, concise, relatable.

Every customer wants to feel connected. Every customer carries the potential become an advocate acting as an extension of your sales and marketing team through referrals. Ensure they can give the elevator pitch of your company, service and product.

8. Artificial Intelligence for a Customized Experience 

This is 2020 and it is an era where everything is smart. From mobile phones and devices, electronics and all. You also need your email to do the same.

One of the most interesting email marketing trends is about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. It helps in providing a more personalized email content (dynamic content) to your customers. We all know that clean and accurate data is at the heart of what makes AI actually intelligent.

If you’re not collecting data about your audience, it’s time to start. If you are collecting data about your audience, ensure it’s going to use and improving your business strategy with AI. This technology can better your email experience by sending emails at the perfect time for each recipient, with the best subject line and the most relevant content. 

This would be done either by the customer’s previous activity or by demographics. Don’t feel discourage or feel like AI is too complex, a beginners guide to AI will take you a long way. 

9. More Engaging 3D Graphics 

Images are very important in our email marketing trends analysis. They currently pose to be a very integral part. You need to freshen and tighten up your email design to make it more attractive to the eye. Like we all know, the human eyes are always captivated by beauty.

The use of 3D graphics can help display your product on a whole different level and depth giving it more life.  You can also use it in highlighting a part of your email that stands out and should be noticed by your readers. In 2020, there are various ways through which you can use 3D graphics in your email.

We have modeling software like Post, Blender and so much more. Integrate 3D graphics in your emails and watch the change. 

10. Optimization for Dark Mode

In 2020, dark mode happens to be the new big thing. So of course it made it into the top 10 of our Email Marketing Trends roundup. Most apps have already gone for this style and it is now taking the world by storm. This is majorly because it is seen to be better for late-night internet usage and also the best view for people with conditions like Keratoconus, Photophobia, etc.  

Aside from that, the look is quite exceptional and a beauty to behold most times. The dark mode feels catchier and pleasing to the eye than the classic type and this has made a big difference. Almost everyone turns this feature on in their various apps; why not give it a chance on your email. Give your subscribers and customers the chance to enjoy the dark mode on theirs as well.