We’re a couple of weeks into 2019 now, which means it’s that time of year again, and it’s time to start scribbling down our email marketing resolutions.  The start of a brand new year is the perfect time to set some marketing goals.

Hopefully, you’ve already seen the impact that an effective email marketing strategy can have.  Somehow, you survived 2018, which saw the introduction of GDPR.  It was predicted to kill off email marketing once and for all.  Instead, however, email marketers embraced the changes to create more effective – although smaller – email lists.  The subscriber has the power, so getting them to read and engage with your email campaigns is pivotal.

With 2018 behind us, it will help to take a look at the results of the email campaigns that you sent last year.  What worked well, and what can you improve on?  In 2019, it’s all about retention, retention, retention.

You can wave goodbye to the traditional marketing funnel.  Marketing is now about so much more than just getting customers to convert.  You need to be creating more nurturing campaigns – especially post-purchase – that make your customers never want to leave.  And if they love you that much that they want to tell all their friends about you, then even better.

The funnel is becoming more of an ongoing journey.  More and more businesses are working on building more authentic relationships with their customers.  They’re prioritising continuous engagement throughout the buyer’s journey.  This year’s Email Marketing Trends are all about creating captivating and unique digital experiences.

Not sure where to start with revamping your emails for better results?  Take a look at the top email marketing trends that you should be focusing on this year:

Personalisation Will Get More Personal

Blast emails are a thing of the past.  Your subscribers now expect you to treat them as individuals.  As one of the biggest email marketing trends this year, personalisation is no longer just about using custom fields so that your subscribers can see their names at the top of your emails.  Improved segmentation and targeting are as much a part of the process.

Adding advanced personalisation to your email marketing strategy is key to making genuine connections with your contacts.  By using a marketing automation platform, you can now trigger your email marketing to something specific, such as browsing history, links clicked and consumer behaviour.

Dynamic content plays an important role in offering a unique experience to each of your readers.  Take Netflix, for example.  Netflix now uses the behavioural data they have to predict what kind of content each of their users might like.  They then use this to send bespoke recommendations and alerts to them.

Artificial Intelligence Will Continue to Push Boundaries

Artificial intelligence was one of the biggest email marketing trends last year, and it’s not set to stop in 2019.  It has the potential to offer what humans simply can’t.  Fear not – that doesn’t mean your marketing job will become irrelevant, it just means your marketing will be more powerful.

Artificial intelligence can provide predictive insights into the behaviour of your audience.  It can save you loads of time by creating high-converting subject lines, showing you what kind of content performs better and determining the ideal time and frequency of sending emails.

Although artificial intelligence has been a hot topic for the last couple of years, 2019 will see it become an expected part of marketing technology.

More Interactive Emails

More and more businesses have started getting more creative with their email campaigns.  People are getting bored of the same old email formats.  Things like games, quizzes and GIFs will be a hit.  They provide subscribers with new ways to engage with a business without leaving the email.  The more engaged a subscriber is, the readier to purchase they will be.

The use of interactive content can help boost sales, or they can simply educate or entertain.  Gamification is a great way to encourage your subscribers to get into the habit of opening your emails.

The key to using interactive elements is knowing when to use them.  Don’t overwhelm your readers with copious amounts of animations and games.  Use them sparingly to have maximum impact.

The Use of User-Generated Content to Promote Brand Advocacy

User-generated content – or social proof – provides a great way to increase engagement and interact with your customers.  It’s a digital word-of-mouth marketing tactic.  The content is authentic, credible, and free.

Again, this isn’t one of the new email marketing trends, but it is still one that few brands are utilising.  Make an effort to share user-generated content in your emails.  Consumers are more likely to trust content created by another consumer than content created by a brand.

Authenticity is what consumers are expecting from brands in 2019, so it’s safe to say that user-generated content will be taking off in the next year.  To find out how you can use social proof in your email campaigns, click here.

Marketing Automation Will Be as Important as Ever

Looking at these biggest email marketing trends of 2019, it’s easy to see that the focus is on improving the customer’s experience.  Marketing automation can help you provide a personalised, authentic experience to make a true connection with your audience.  Get in touch with us to find out more.

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