“They might miss your call, but they’ll never miss your email”. Email unequivocally has become the most dependable form of communication in the world in this Internet age. The impact is even more in corporate communication where SaaS and eCommerce and many other product based firms are using emails to convert prospects into customers. For all the things the year 2020 has been, it has transformed the business landscape in terms of operation and management. Email marketing campaigns have now joined the foray as the mainstay for most kinds of advertisements.

As the number of people shifting their daily operations online are increasing, email has become very effective in terms of being able to connect digitally and engage. Compared to other sources of advertising, email marketing is relatively cheap, so that speaks for the cost-effectiveness. You can use the right blend of personalization and automation to connect with the millions of people who look for a particular service every day.

mails can be used to promote products, launch new ones, make public statements on your brand, and send newsletters. Just a click of a button and your voice has reached millions. Especially for small businesses, having a good mailing list can be a big boost for getting traction. This way you can increase the organic traffic on your product. As we move ahead and approach a clinical phase of the internet age, emails are predicted to become even more relevant and for seasoned campaigners, open rates are set to skyrocket.

So, this makes creating a sophisticated and consistent email marketing strategy ever so important. We have compiled some of the latest trends in the email marketing space which you can use to create your own custom strategy aligning with the vibe, ethics and the target persona of your brand.

Personalization in Emails:

Your customers (Current and Future) like to feel that they define a singular value for the company. They don’t want to feel that they are just another bolt in the wheel, they want to feel their existence matters and this sentiment can be targeted to create email copies which speak to your customers. With the advent of automation, personalization can be difficult, but there are ways around it.

You can segment groups of people by their browsing habits, as to how they interact with your product. Then you can create different email copies for different segments hence achieving personalization.

For instance, consider that a portion of your customer base looks at a particular product but doesn’t buy it. Here you can analyze this behaviour and create email copy which would mention ways to tackle that behaviour, by giving them discounts, various colour options, faster delivery, etc.

If the name of your customer is mentioned along with the name of the sender then the performance of the email increases considerably. “Sincerely, Ashley from Team Adcrux” is a much better ending note than the simple “Sincerely, Adcrux Support”. Similarly, “Dear John/Jane” would score more points than “Dear Customer”.

Using AI to Optimize Strategy:

Artificial Intelligence just can’t seem to leave any field untouched. In email marketing, we can use AI-based tools to analyze patterns of customer behaviour. This data can be used to segment usage patterns with time of use, time-on-page, on-screen time, engagement styles, most popular pages, and more. Through such segmentation, you can target specific groups for behaviour based marketing.

Furthermore, AI can be used to optimize your keywords for better SEO. It can help writing subject lines, optimize sending times, cleaning up lists (off the emails which are unresponsive to your emails), etc.

Add Customer Feedback to your Advertising Strategy:

Sending emails with testimonials and reviews from your previous customers sends a great impression down to the user. It installs a feeling that the product is trusted in a consumer base and thus can provide the security and legitimacy that every new customer hopes to get whenever signing up for a service.

Adding social media surveys, quotes from your direct customers, photos of influential B2B personalities advocating your product can work wonders in developing a good faith towards your company. Your campaigns will experience increased engagement which would reflect in eventual sales. This content is free and this kind of advertisement doesn’t cost much either, but it is extremely effective. So, this should definitely be a major part of your 2021 strategy.

Interactive Adverts:

This is one of the newer techniques in email marketing. It challenges the proposition that emails are only texts going from point A to point B. It explores possibilities where emails don’t only need to be text-based. Gamification, so to speak, is emerging and many firms are adopting this strategy to give something new and exciting to their customers.

There are a number of ways in which you can make your email advertisement interactive. Some of which are listed here:

• 1. Adding GIFs and images which change and get active when you hover your cursor over them.
• 2. CTA (Call-to-Action) buttons to give a quick action availability to the customers.
• 3. Options to view the email in different modes (light and dark)
• 4. In-window surveys
• 5. Interactive tests and quizzes
• 6. Holiday Cards and more

Another way of making your emails interactive is by linking the email to an external lottery or a game where customers can enter and win prizes, coupons, etc. This is a great way to drive engagement. Making your emails interactive and interesting therefore can increase performance of your campaigns massively.

Incorporate Legally Compliant Emails:

People are now becoming more aware than ever of their rights in the world of the internet. While there is a substantial population of gullible people, they are outnumbered by those who understand the legal frameworks which govern information exchange over the internet. They want to know how you are using their data and whether your organization complies with various data protection laws. Adding notes in your email about CAN-SPAM and GDPR compliance, etc can help you a lot in the long run.

Adding a clear unsubscribe button would also go a long way in developing a righteous communal thought about your company in the minds of both legal bodies and your customers. Make sure you make it easy for your customer to opt-out of receiving your emails. Recently, Amazon faced severe legal consequences as they allegedly made the unsubscribe option complicated and tiresome.

You must avoid such happenings at all costs. Adding a swift channel for opt-out would help you automatically update your mailing list, keeping only those prospects which are engaged.

Cross-Platform Optimization:

It is integral to your click through rate performance that you optimize your email for all the kind of hardware that your users might be viewing your emails on. As mobile usage is increasing amongst the internet populace, an email which is not optimized for viewing on the smallest size of public domain computers, then your subscribers will start losing interest in your emails.

It is worth looking out for options which could optimize the cross-platform experience of your emails to your viewers. It will reflect on your sales, eventually, as the user experience improves.

Subscriber Appreciation:

Every business in this world involves customers. A good business which wants to sustain will always appreciate its customers. People need to feel a sense of association and that their relationship with the business is integral to its sustenance. Personalised birthday wishes with special discount offers, Early access privileges for special events and products, a simple thank you email are some ways in which you can show appreciation towards subscribers in your mailing list.

Developing a connection with your brand, you would score genuine loyalty points with your subscribers!