Email will always be a marketeers staple. This doesn’t mean that it never evolves or changes. 
On the contrary, people want to see different things landing in their inbox in 2016. Gone should be the outdated templates & lack of interactivity. In will come an even more modern approach for people to embrace. Below are 5 things that will be apparent throughout email marketing in 2016.
More opens on mobile & tablet
At the back end of 2015, the number of emails opened on mobiles & tablets hit an all time high. In the fourth quarter, 66% of email opens were on one of these platforms, 58% of which were on Apple devices. It is predicted that this gap will continue to grow.
The fact that mobiles and tablets are now substantially outnumbering desktops means they have to be given focus. Whilst the idea of gearing an email to look okay on a mobile or tablet has been around for a good while, this is often a “because you have to” thing.
Email Marketing & Social media will continue to compliment each other
Both platforms compliment each other and this will not change in 2016. Whilst social media is seen as quite transient at times, this can be countered with emails. Messages being pushed through social media can reach the next level in emails, by being more focused and landing right in a target’s inbox. This works in the other direction too. Social media is a great way of extending an emails reach. Simply by adding share buttons to emails and articles within them, a story that was in an inbox one minute, can be on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn the next.
Interactive Emails will become common place
Emails that require the user to interact and do something deliver higher engagement. Too often, emails are purely text based, require nothing but reading and so the reader gets bored. Whilst text based content should always be the majority, interactive features should crop up now and again. By getting the reader involved, they are more likely to engage your emails in future. It doesn’t even have to be anything complicated. Simple additions such as animated imagery or graphics work, as well as the usual videos, surveys etc.
The call for originality in email templates will increase
As more and more people look to increase their focus on email marketing, more and more templates come to the fore. These days, a template will often be modern and clean looking with an emphasis away from dark colours and filled backgrounds. However, there are still these sorts of templates about. Like websites, your emails should be regularly improved and this includes the template. Branding should be consistent throughout your website, your social media and your emails. Got a new website? Get a new email template.
Personalisation will go up a level
Personalisation was once just putting someone’s name at the top of the email. A simple salutation one went a long way. Gone are those days! Now, users are interested in seeing messages that are tailored to their personal interests and preferences as opposed to just their name. Much like supermarkets send coupons depending on what you buy, content in emails should be delivered depending on what people read. If you are offering products to people, they need to have shown an interest in that particular area, otherwise it’s likely to be a waste of time. More focused personalisation will result in more engagement.
To conclude…
These 5 things will have varying levels of importance and relevance to different people. That’s only normal. What is important, is that you don’t stand still with any aspect of your marketing, especially emails.
