Four billion email users receive 306 billion emails daily (Statista) — that’s about 77 emails per user. So with such staggering numbers, how do email marketing experts avoid being left unread or tagged as spam?
Let’s uncover their secrets, a.k.a. email marketing best practices, and their basis. Here’s a look at the top email marketing trends 2023.
#1 Micro Audience Segmentation
In times past, email marketers would only segment their audience by basic demographics (age, gender and location), but they have come a long way today. With customer relationship management systems (CRM) advancing in data collection and tracking, email marketing specialists now have wider access to consumer insight.
Such insight is valuable for refining your email marketing plan, paving the way for micro-segmentation. Here are some of the email marketing benefits of micro-segmentation.
• Higher email open rates
• Decreased unsubscribe rates
• Greater demand generation
• Better email deliverability
Email marketing tips: To fine-tune your targeting, segment your audience with a combination of traits, from buyer persona to stage in the sales funnel or past purchase history. And consider investing in advanced CRM systems if you haven’t already.
#2 Artificial Intelligence
Data is foundational to modern email marketing. However, humans can only process so much information at once. Therefore artificial intelligence (AI) effectively fills in disparities. However, while AI can collect, track and use a variety of client data to improve personalized email marketing campaigns, it shouldn’t replace the human touch of your email marketing service.
For instance, email marketing best practices with AI includes:
• Creating customized mailing lists from hundreds, if not thousands, of databases.
• Determining optimal times to send email campaigns.
• Updating customer information without manually sifting through data.
• Tracking every single valuable customer response.
Following a global survey among marketers in February 2022, 32% of participants indicated they were employing automation and artificial intelligence (AI) with paid advertising while personalizing messages in emails and offers (Statista).
So as one of our email marketing tips: Rather than using technology to replace people, email marketing specialists should continue to harness it to make their jobs more straightforward and productive while also giving users a better experience.
#3 User-Generated Content
Everyone wants to express their opinions in the era of social media. Fortunately, this can yield valuable user-generated content (UGC) that email marketing specialists can freely utilize to furnish their campaigns. Any original content created by an external individual concerning your company is considered UGC — an excellent social proof for consumers today.
Such priceless resources come in several forms, including:
• Reviews
• Comments
• Social media posts
• Videos
• Blog posts
Out of the many email marketing ideas circling UGC, including customer testimonials for the goods and services you’re attempting to promote in your emails is a smart move. With this, customers get a sense of what fellow customers think of your goods and services.
To further the case of UGC, Shopify reveals that ads based on UGC have a 400% higher click-through rate (CTR) than traditional ads. Incorporating UGC in your email helps pique consumer interest and build trust, encouraging clicks. For example, you could add a straightforward banner at the bottom of your email featuring a couple of reviews and a link to more on your website.
#4 Mobile Optimization
Per Adobe, 81% use smartphones to check their emails regularly. Still, many businesses only focus on desktops and laptops, failing to optimize their emails for the countless mobile users. Therefore, keeping up with the rising email marketing ideas and mobile technology developments is crucial.
Take the rise of dark mode, for instance. Emails must be responsive to dark and light modes without affecting essential components, including the company logo. Other factors to think about are font type and size. To help you, here are some mobile-friendly email marketing best practices:
• Watch the length of your subject line.
• Employ pre-header text.
• Think about the pictures you use.
• Keep CTAs in the spotlight.
• Leave space for breathing and clicking.
• Test your emails on different mobile devices.
• Keep your writing concise, but don’t be afraid to play with words if on-brand.
Statista also reports that around 55% of global online traffic is generated from smartphones. So consider the above email marketing tips as a checklist before launching your campaign to ensure your content is optimized.
#5 Email Marketing Laws on Privacy
Email marketing trends 2023 have significantly emphasized protecting and preserving user data and rights. Accordingly, asking for double-opt-ins is advantageous since it demonstrates that the user opting in is genuinely interested and wants to engage with you.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act limit what businesses may do with customer data, giving users more control over their data. A harbinger of things set in place this year is the removal of third-party cookies and the debut of Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection features. As such, email marketing experts stress reevaluating data collection and usage practices.
Here is a subject summary of GDPR’s email marketing laws or requirements:
• Lawful and transparent processing of personal data
• Limited purpose of data storage
• Data subject rights
• Consent
• Personal data breaches
• Privacy by design
• Data protection impact assessment (DPIA)
• Data transfers
• Data protection officer
• Awareness and training
Therefore, it’s essential to inform users to foster consumer trust. You can either send an entire email or include a footnote to one of your campaigns highlighting the security measures your company upholds for their privacy. Address factors such as legislative compliance, data collection and storage, website cookie options and third-party involvements. However, this part could be complex for some. If that’s the case for you, consider working with an email marketing agency to ensure you’ve covered your bases.
#6 Personalization
Previous analysis revealed that retailers who employ personalized email marketing services had a 142% increase in revenue (Bluecore). Plus, another consumer research found 71% of buyers feel frustrated when brands do not offer personalized shopping experiences (Twilio Segment).
Here are email marketing ideas for personalization:
• Name usage is straightforward but paramount. Customer names in emails make them seem more personal than generic ones and, thus, more effective.
• Personalized suggestions are fundamental. In the age of Netflix and Spotify, customers appreciate it when brands make informed suggestions. Brands or email marketers can choose the best product recommendations using abandoned shopping carts, order history and demographic data.
• Momentous occasions are marketing opportunities. An immediate morale boost can stem from personalized emails that mark customer birthdays, subscriptions, member milestones, or any holiday. Offer privilege discounts with these personalized notes as a kind of unique reward.
The email marketing benefits of personalized emails include higher returns, with 90% of U.S. shoppers finding personalized marketing appealing (Statista). As a supplement to email marketing, you could explore SMS marketing for time-sensitive and personalized notifications.
Thrive Email Marketing Experts: Your Next Best Email Marketing Plan
To recap, the email marketing trends 2023 puts the spotlight on micro-segmentation, automation, UGC, responsiveness, privacy and personalization. By the end of 2023, email marketing revenue is projected to reach $11 billion virtually (Statista). To savor the numerous email marketing benefits, devising your next email marketing campaign with respect to these trends is the right approach.
If you’re intrigued about how exactly to put these trends into action and create a personalized email marketing campaign, Thrive can help.
Thrive is an email marketing agency that fully embraces proven data and new trends for optimal results. On top of email marketing, we also offer search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing for a cohesive digital strategy. So let’s get to work and pitch your next best email marketing campaign.
