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The 28 Most Promising Email Marketing Trends to Look at

Stuart Crawford

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Please take note of all the 16 email marketing trends shared above and execute them in future campaigns. Follow Inkbot Design for more tips.

The 28 Most Promising Email Marketing Trends to Look at in 2023

Emails you send are like an extension of your brand personality; just like you keep upgrading yourself to be a better version of yourself, the same holds true for your emails too. They should enhance your brand visibility and take the user experience to the next level.

Every year, email marketers try out new ideas to woo their subscribers. It helps bring freshness to the subscriber's inbox while increasing the likelihood of conversions. If we talk about 2023 and the future, email marketing will witness some avant-garde tactics that will make it all the more effective in winning sales. 

So, here are the 28 most promising email marketing trends that will be a refreshing change in the digital marketing world. 

Click, and conversion rates will be the new currency to measure email engagement.

Apple launched Mail Privacy Protection in 2021.

Apple Mail Privacy Protection

Owing to this feature, users will be able to hide their IP location. It will download the tracking pixels whether the recipient opened the email. As a result, senders cannot record the open email rate accurately. It will also mask the recipient's location and other activities on their device. So, marketers will have to switch to click, and conversion rates as open rates will no longer be a reliable metric to track. 

Segmentation will get more advanced owing to Machine Learning.

You should send relevant emails if you want your emails to bring results. That's possible through segmentation. The good news is that interest-based tags, in combination with machine learning, have made it possible to collect data on recipients' interests according to the email links they have clicked through. Marketers will segment the subscriber lists based on parameters like past purchases, previous interactions, and resources downloaded. It will facilitate advanced segmentation beyond age, geographical location, and demographics. It will, in turn, open the floodgates for better personalisation.

Another side of the story is that segmentation and personalisation increase your marketing expenditure. Segmentation will only make sense if your ESP has a dynamic content library, and automation doesn't sound like a good idea for your business. Also, consider the manual efforts it would take to build custom content for every segment.  

Marketers will send hyper-personalised emails.

Implementing hyper-personalisation with all the AI tools and predictive analytics will get easier. You can track the user's activity and behaviour on your website and app and draft tailor-made emails for them. For instance: Brands can send interesting product recommendations according to the subscriber's past purchases. It will encourage more users to purchase from you. Consequently, it will boost brand loyalty and increase the customer retention rate. 

Moreover, with the help of lead scoring models, it will be easier to create a winning lead nurture strategy and target the users with the most relevant content. 

The adoption of BIMI will be on the rise.

An email standard that allows you to add a brand logo to credible communications deployed from your domain is known as BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification). You will see the symbol beside the sender name in the email clients supporting BIMI. This technology will make the users sure about the sender, thereby preventing phishing and spoofing incidents. In 2023 and the years to come, many email clients will extend support to this technology.

Bimi Email Marketing Trends
courtesy: BIMI Group

BIMI helps build the user's trust and increase brand visibility. And the best part of BIMI is that you can only employ BIMI if you have implemented DMARC. So, it will let the users and inbox providers know that you take special care of security and that no one else is mimicking your brand. 

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Marketers will explore AMP emails.

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) has been popular in the world of website development for a long time. It has facilitated a smoother navigation experience for visitors. With its emergence in email marketing, marketers can emulate a micro-site-like experience in the subscriber's inbox. AMP emails allow the users to take action from the email itself without the need to be redirected to a landing page.

You can use AMP technology in event marketing to let the users RSVP from the email. It can also be used in cart abandonment emails so users can checkout without visiting the website or app. Travel industry marketers can allow customers to book tickets or hotel rooms from email with the help of AMP. 

The adoption rate of AMP emails will increase in the coming days as more email clients will support it. 

Interactive emails will become more mainstream.

Interactivity helps in increasing subscriber engagement by encouraging two-way communication. Most emails work like a monologue where a brand keeps talking about its products. By adding interactive elements, you can make it look like a dialogue. In 2023, emails will see more interactive features that help hold the reader's attention. Only a few brands are using this tactic. Incorporating it into your email campaigns and giving an edge over your competitors will be a great idea. 

You can also send gamification emails that further enhance the user experience and prompt them to act. It will be an excellent strategy for your Holiday emails in the coming years. 

User-generated content will be on the rise.

Email marketing trends are growing to be “of the people, by the people, and for the people”. As a result, user-generated content is being extensively used in email campaigns. Marketers will use case studies, reviews, and testimonials in their emails. It will build the subscriber's confidence and combat the competitive bottleneck. Consequently, it will increase the conversion rate and ROI from emails. 

Storytelling and an empathetic tone will be paramount in the email copy.

Your subscribers love stories. We are naturally programmed to be more receptive to the emotions portrayed in a story. So, storytelling will be an essential element in the email copy. In addition, marketers will have to weave empathy in their emails to get a better response rate. Sales pitches are passé, and only an empathetic tone with an impactful story can create a winning email campaign.  

Senders will revive long-form emails.

Almost every piece of literature that you read advocates brevity in emails. Contrarily, marketers will revive long-form emails in the days to come. Your subscribers don't repel long content; they just get frustrated with invaluable content. If your long newsletter or email template will be valuable for the readers, you can go ahead without worrying about its length. Your subscribers will scroll through it. Brands like theSkimm have nailed this tactic and added more subscribers to their list by sending long-form emails. You can be next. 

Cross-channel customer data will be put to better use.

Email Marketing Target Audience

The problem with using too many marketing channels is the enormous data distributed across several databases. With the sunsetting of third-party cookies, Apple's Mail Privacy Protection, and App Tracking Transparency, businesses have been compelled to use cross-channel customer data to build email campaigns. 

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Marketers will use customer data platforms that collate customer data in a single repository as a workaround. It also helps maintain data hygiene and gives better access to the data while making it easier to use across various channels. 

If we talk about email marketing, it will translate to better segmentation, more intelligent automation, and hyper-personalisation. 

Modular email templates will gain immense momentum.

Modular email templates are editable and reusable, increasing the template production speed by two. These are especially useful when you have too many emails to send and too little time or fewer resources. The highlight of modular emails is that they can be sliced and diced according to your requirements. More and more brands will go for modular email templates in 2023 and beyond. Without technical know-how or coding skills, you can easily use these templates in a drag-and-drop email editor. 

Whether marketing emails or transactional emails, you can use modular email templates for every type of communication you wish to send to your subscribers. Add or remove the modules per your preferences, and you are ready to go. 

Brands will strive for more innovative automation.

Like better segmentation and hyper-personalisation, smarter automation will also be a promising trend in the future. As CRM tools and ESPs are getting more powerful with each passing day, it has become possible to implement smarter automation. Welcome emails, cart abandonment emails, and re-engagement emails will get more effective because of the lead scoring model and predictive analytics. 

A/B testing will be back in form

There is sufficient literature on A/B testing available on the Internet now. So, marketers have gained expertise in how to test different versions of email campaigns. They will optimise their email campaigns by employing A/B testing and determining what resonates the most with the subscribers. Besides, the current financial situation suggests that getting more revenue from the allocated budget is cost-effective.   

There will be a boost in video email marketing.

Videos In Email Marketing

Video has entered every marketing channel, social media, email, and website. In view of this trend, video email marketing has gained immense momentum. It works wonders for event email marketing and helps in getting maximum footfall. In addition, you can use videos in emails to demonstrate your product. Some non-profit organisations have also started employing this strategy in their emails. Videos are also used in the emails sent by OTT platforms like Netflix and Hulu. It helps increase subscriber engagement and conversion rate. There will be progressive use of innovative animation and motion experiences in the inbox. 

Email platforms and third-party tools will be seamlessly integrated.

Email success depends on how well you can personalise your emails and how timely your subscribers receive them. This is possible by triggering relevant emails at the right time to the right person. Seamless integration between email platforms and third-party tools or apps has made this a breeze. As customer data platforms are in sync with the ESPs or CRM, you can send behavioural emails that sync with the user's actions within websites, products, and mobile apps. 

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It will be imperative to create accessible and inclusive emails.

Accessibility is not a buzzword anymore. Brands are trying to reach a larger audience, and that is possible by creating accessible and inclusive emails. Consider the visual and cognitive limitations and cultural differences to develop appealing emails. For example: If you are using videos in emails, include captions or subtitles to impart a pleasant experience to the subscribers.  

Marketers will have to strike a balance between promotional and educational emails.

Your subscribers are receiving hundreds of emails in their inboxes each day. Therefore, it will be imperative to balance promotional and educational emails to keep the subscribers engaged. Brands must be wary of not getting too cheeky with their emails. Avoid demanding too much of subscribers to hit your sales target. 

Brands will continue to send bulk emails.

Despite the rise of micro-segmentation and hyper-personalisation, brands will continue sending mass emails without customised content. While it is a best practice to send tailor-made emails, marketers might send bulk emails with a spray-and-pray approach every once in a while.  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will significantly impact email marketing, especially copywriting.

Ai Benefits In Marketing

Almost all the leading players in the industry have embraced AI in their email marketing strategy. Marketers will use AI to generate content for their emails with the help of GPT3-like tools. Even small businesses will be able to adopt this trend. Some brands will use tools that will let them use AI's natural language processing techniques to create tailor-made emails that sync with the user's tone and preferences. 

AI-powered technology will be used to produce exclusive images for different recipients. Such advanced customisation will enhance subscriber engagement and the overall email campaign performance. 

The latest technology, GPT Chat, will get more widely adopted by developers to fix their email code so that it renders well across different email clients. 

Email localisation will lead to better reach.

Brands are going global, so it has become essential to take localisation seriously. Google Translate won't be enough. You will have to localise email content according to the user's nationality. Add cultural nuances in your copy and use the kind of language the readers will be most familiar with. 

Dark Mode compatibility will emerge as a promising trend.

Subscribers prefer to use their devices and access emails in Dark Mode settings. It is easy on the eyes as it helps eliminate the blue light. Also, it saves battery life. So, create Dark Mode compatible emails that render well across dark and light mode settings. Choose the visuals and colour contrast so that it doesn't hamper how the email looks. You will have to hire professionals well-versed with all these latest email technologies and help you create impeccable campaigns. Staying abreast with the trends will be inevitable if you want to stay ahead. 

Social media will be used to build email lists.

With increasing competition, people are trying to build a healthy email list. So, they will use social media to create their email list in the coming days. 

Visuals in emails will be more critical than ever.

Using the right visuals aligned with the email copy will gain more impetus. Your email competes with hundreds of other emails in the subscriber's inbox. So, try to win the subscribers' hearts and drive maximum conversions through visual email marketing. Incorporate 3D images, illustrations, and animations, and bring freshness to the subscriber's inbox. Innovation will be the key to making the most out of your email marketing strategy in the future. 

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Brands will have to work on creating an effective lead-nurturing strategy.

What Is Email Retargeting

The stronger your relationship is with the customer, the higher the conversion rate. You will have to build a substantial lead-nurturing strategy that helps in enhancing brand loyalty. If you are an eCommerce brand, you must pay special attention to your transactional emails. Use upsell and cross-sell strategies in your order update emails. Share relevant product recommendations based on the previous purchases and products searched for. 

Deliverability testing will get easier with specialised kits.

With the help of deliverability kits, it will be easier to check whether a message will likely end up in the spam folder. It will allow you to test the general deliverability too. Knowing what to send and whom to send won't be enough. We got to see whether they are getting placed in the inbox, and that's possible through deliverability kits. 

Marketers will have to streamline their email production processes.

In 2023, companies will have to incorporate solutions that enable better asset management. Organising everything in a repository, including links, texts, images, HTML modules, tags, or personalisation conditions, would be best. As email volumes are expected to increase in the years, brands will need to optimise their email processes and operations. Agile email marketing will be the way forward. Rather than taking a step-by-step approach, it will be better to simultaneously work on the copy, design, and development to expedite the process. 

Data privacy technology will become more powerful.

More and more companies will be serious about implementing DMARC, an email authentication protocol. It will strengthen the privacy and security of communications. Moreover, marketers must be prepared for a world where Google launches a privacy protection policy like Apple's MPP. They will have to be more respectful of the user's privacy. If several states pass legislation to protect user privacy, it will also compel the Federal government to do so. It will help to reduce the chaos between the multiple conflicting laws. 

Customer experience will be the #1 priority

In 2023 and the years to come, companies will look forward to collecting more first-party data. They will use different tools to impart delightful experiences in the inbox. By putting customer experience in the driver's seat, small companies will be able to get more lucrative with every passing day, and email will play a prominent role in the same. 

Wrapping Up

Can you imagine the enormous volume of emails emptying your subscriber's inbox daily? That's precisely why you need to embrace the newest email marketing trends and give the subscribers something to look forward to. If you want your email marketing to work, standing out and cutting through the noise has become imperative. Please take note of all the 28 email marketing trends shared above and execute them in future campaigns. As a pro tip, employ a combination of these email marketing trends in your campaigns. 

Author Bio: Kevin George is Head of Marketing at Email Uplers, one of the fastest-growing custom email design and coding companies. He specialises in crafting professional email templates, PSD to HTML email conversion and free responsive email templates, and providing email automation, campaign management, and data integration & migration services. He loves gadgets, bikes, and jazz and eats and breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing trends and best practices on his blog.

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Written By
Stuart Crawford
Stuart Crawford is an award-winning creative director and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience building memorable and influential brands. As Creative Director at Inkbot Design, a leading branding agency, Stuart oversees all creative projects and ensures each client receives a customised brand strategy and visual identity.

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