Three essentials for 2024 email marketing: AI, adapt, and learn

Greetings from 2024! Like a brand-new automobile, a new year has an incredible scent of promise that is untarnished by past experiences. Let's examine our options to extend the fresh scent of the new year into our email marketing campaigns.

Setting objectives, forming aspirations, and determining what needs to be done are the main focus of this new year. For example, how are we going to hit the seemingly insurmountable sales target that our employer given us because we exceeded our target in 2023?

Do as I do if you end up in the front seat of the battle bus. I can only think of three words to describe my priorities or personal objectives for the upcoming year.

This is not my own exercise. It originates with speaker and author Chris Brogan, who made this method well-known almost two decades ago. The fact that I can frame three words for a larger audience—in this case, the email industry—is another reason why I like this exercise.

Three phrases for 2024

I gave my opinions on the patterns and lessons learned from 2023 before approving it, and I also discussed how we could apply those insights to guide our strategy for 2024.

After reading this essay, perhaps during your next break or commute, I'd like you to put down your own three words. This isn't simply another school assignment, so give it some thought. There isn't a class today!

Additionally, after you have your three words, don't store them in a desktop document or on your phone. Put your intentions down on a sticky note and tape it wherever you can see it every day, like your computer, cubicle, office wall, or any other visible spot. This will help you remember what you set out to do. Allow them to serve as your compass for the coming year.

My three predictions for the email sector in 2024 are as follows.

1. AI

I think it's time for marketers to start taking artificial intelligence seriously after following and working with various versions of AI over the years. This isn't a passing trend.

AI is now a significant tool for transformation. It has also produced two distinct groups of people: those who have actively embraced it and those who continue to live in denial, believing they can get by without it.

The fact that AI is my first word for 2024 also speaks to its significance. My organization searched for AI tools in 2023 to aid us in running our business. We persisted. We talked to several who had started the same quest but gave up since they were having trouble with it at that point.

You're merely kicking the can down the road with that, even though it might seem wise in the near term. While many in the marketing and related fields have come to firmly believe in AI, we must keep in mind that AI-driven technologies such as generative AI are still in their infancy.

Let's resist the temptation to push AI farther and wait until the data and tools are reliable enough to maximize the return on our investment.

We don't learn how to utilize it correctly or tell authentic AI from glitzy imposters when we give up too quickly. The only way to acquire the necessary level of competence in AI is to give it a go, fail, and try again.

One option is to find the money in your budget to upgrade to a paid service and make room for it in your workflow if the free version of a broad language model, such as ChatGPT, has worked well for you. That's what my company does, and it works really well. We email marketers need to investigate how our present toolkit can assist us in reaching our company objectives. No, if all you utilize ChatGPT for is creating and testing topic lines, you haven't achieved AI nirvana. Acquiring proficiency requires effort. It is similar to how I exercise with my trainer. I haven't worked hard enough if at the end of a session I'm not out of breath. Try again if you don't become frustrated or experience visions with AI.

2. Adapt

I would say that we should make all the changes in 2024. Nothing ought to be forbidden. Everything would be on the table, including our email strategy and opinions about our clients, vendors, tech stacks, work procedures, and testing schedules.

Since it is never a viable corporate approach to say, "We've always done it that way," we should be upfront and forceful about change.

But that doesn't imply making changes impulsively or just for the purpose of making changes. Look at your plan instead. Determine what needs to change, why you should change it, and your goals.

It will require some consideration. That will necessitate a change in your business practices. The first step is to abandon the "just get it done" mentality that prioritizes expediency over planning. When the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in 2020, we were in dire need of this tactical technique. It's time to embrace a change-oriented mindset, nevertheless.

Why the change in direction? Because you won't be considering how you're going to accomplish that if your only concentration is on finishing tasks. A shift in perspective forces you to examine your processes and look for methods to improve them.

I urge you to approach your business with this attitude of transformation. Furthermore, there is no denying that email marketers are company owners. You run a program that generates income, hence you are the owner of that company. It is your duty to manage email and be knowledgeable about its best practices. I recognize that there is a need to pause. We assist executives and marketers who are afraid of change and are hesitant to make changes. Though we are unsure of what is beyond, we are aware that something is wrong and that there is a better way to do things. You may prolong the scent of the new year by being aggressive about change!

3. Learn

I've been in the email business for 26 years, but this is my first year leading my email digital agency, RPE Origin, as CEO. During those years, I've listened to folks and taken notes. I still need to learn new things even after 26 years of experience.

You're mistaken if you believe that you've attained the status of the "god of marketing" and that others must pay attention to and learn from you.

Everyone ought to be modest enough to admit that they have things to learn. Nobody can pretend to be an expert in the email sector since it is changing more quickly than ever due to governmental rules, technology, privacy concerns, and customer expectations. Additionally, self-learning is made simple by the email community, whether it is through customer learning or consulting with the people you pay to operate your business. We learn, talk, teach, and share information in my organization. In order to find and share expertise, we join forums and industry organizations, go to conferences, read and write blog posts and articles, and host or participate in webinars.

Keep learning about new workflows, platforms, and procedures. But start with the humility of saying, "I need to learn."

My agency made some important hires in 2023, and part of their duties entailed educating me about subjects I was ignorant of and directing me toward information I should have learned. It's difficult for some managers to admit when they don't know something. That is only the initial stage.

In 2024, be a sponge. Take in everything to gain a deeper understanding of what you need to learn, and then apply that understanding to recognize and promote change.