The State of Email Marketing

While many would say email marketing is a relic of the past, the truth is marketers are not in a hurry to wave it goodbye just yet. In fact, the rise of AI and programmatic technologies in 2017 helped us rediscover email as a powerful marketing tool and a valuable business asset. 

Reports state that the overwhelming majority of marketers considered email marketing to be the most powerful digital marketing channel nowadays, with social media and SEO following close behind. This fact can be partially explained by the growing popularity of mobile since almost a third of all emails were opened on iPhones (according to the study by Litmus). Emails are especially effective in generating leads and improving sales, so 58% of marketers plan to increase their email marketing budgets in 2017. 

Undoubtedly, this old school tactic most people believed was dead is gaining momentum again. But how exactly did email marketing change and what makes it so rewarding? Here are the hottest email marketing trends of 2017:

?? 1. Email marketing becomes AI-powered and dynamic

The so-called “renaissance” of email marketing happened mostly thanks to the increasing popularity and availability of programmatic technologies. The time of characterless, templated emails is long gone. Modern customers will be enjoying relevant content directly related to their interest, based on what pages they visited on a website. According to AdRoll report, 70% of marketers are already running dynamic email campaigns. A half of these sends are loyalty programs, another 46% aim at generating new leads. So far the results are fascinating: open rates rise by 50%, CTR – by 100%, CTR – by 556%.

?? 2. Emails get interactive

Hamburger menus, sliders, quizzes, footer questions, and other interactive elements were widely used by email marketers this year. Needless to say, it is a great way to boost engagement since when people get a chance to not only read the text, but also interact with it, they gladly do so. There are certain challenges, though. For example, it is hard to implement interactivity technically since not all email clients support it. Hopefully, this will change soon and interactivity will become even more widespread.  

?? 3. Email automation is gaining momentum

A study by Sumo revealed that an average welcome email gets delivered to a subscriber in approximately 1 minute 7 seconds. This is how much time marketers have to shape customers’ opinion about a brand or a product. It is important to send your first message while their interest is still stirred; that is why the question of automation is especially acute. Most big brands already send automated confirmation emails, cart abandonment emails, unsubscribe emails, and so on. According to Wishpond, they see a 10% or greater increase in revenue. 

?? 4. Segmentation becomes critically important

Another technique widely adopted by marketers is advanced segmentation. Not all customers are the same, and dividing them into groups based on criteria such as age, gender, stage of the sales cycle, etc., is a must-have for a successful marketing campaign. According to MailChimp, with the help of segmentation, you can approach every group differently, increase open rates by 14% through delivering personalized content, decrease unsubscribe rates by almost 10% thanks to greater email relevance, generate more leads. 

Even though the industry landscapes are shifting without warning, email marketing is not going to lose ground anytime soon. The use of modern technologies such as machine learning and big data analysis will make emails even more engaging, relevant, and easily accessible. So, jump at the opportunity, adjust your email marketing program to the requirements of the modern world, and enjoy the advantages!