Email marketing strategies that work in 2023

In the age of COVID-19, the marketing landscape has dramatically shifted. Customer behaviors and preferences have changed, requiring businesses to adapt their marketing strategies, including email marketing. Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective channels, with a high return on investment. In this article, we will discuss the exciting trends that email marketers can expect in 2023 and beyond.

1. Use an empathetic tone in your emails

Maintaining a considerate and empathetic tone in emails is crucial in 2023. With the ongoing challenges faced by individuals and businesses, it is important to adjust your messaging and strategy accordingly. This is especially true for automated emails that may have been set up prior to the pandemic. Take the time to review and optimize your email workflows to align with the changing times. You may even choose to pause automated emails temporarily.

Emotionally intelligent messaging will become more important, and email marketers must be prepared to pivot their messaging in response to regional emergencies or sensitive situations. Here’s an example from Charity: Water that effectively uses emotional messaging and imagery to convey their message.

2. Be the early adopters of agile email marketing

Email marketing can be a slow process, with many brands taking two weeks or more to create a single email. To overcome this inefficiency, consider adopting agile email marketing. This approach involves taking small steps to achieve bigger goals. Instead of focusing solely on conversions, shift your email marketing strategy towards educating and engaging users.

Information, innovation, and inclusivity are the three key principles of agile email marketing for small businesses. By going agile, you can reduce the time required to create emails while producing more effective and engaging content.

3. Invest in an omnichannel marketing approach

While email marketing is effective, it should not be relied upon as the sole channel for conversions. In 2023, it is important to take an omnichannel approach, incorporating social media marketing, in-app notifications, push notifications, and text messages to provide a consistent experience to subscribers. For example, if you want to send a cart abandonment reminder to lost customers, consider sending a text message, push notification, and in-app notification in addition to the cart recovery email. However, be mindful of overwhelming the customer. If your customers prefer emails, you can skip other channels. The goal is to ensure your communication stands out amidst the digital noise.

4. Focus on Email Automation

Email automation is becoming a best practice rather than a trend. This tactic is particularly effective for the eCommerce industry, with automated email workflows contributing to a 29.5% conversion rate in 2020. Whether it’s welcome emails, product recommendations, cart abandonment emails, or browse abandonment emails, automation can be a major growth engine for eCommerce businesses. However, email automation can also benefit travel agencies, real estate companies, and B2B businesses, driving faster growth.

5. Incorporate BIMI in your email marketing strategy

In 2023 and beyond, implementing Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) can be an effective approach to build brand credibility. BIMI allows you to display your brand logo alongside the message in the email inbox. This helps build trust, protect your brand from phishing attempts, boost visibility, and ensure email deliverability. By implementing BIMI, you can increase your conversion rate.

6. Make some noise for AMP in emails

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a trend that can enhance subscriber engagement and improve customer experience. With AMP, users can take action directly from the email, such as adding events to the calendar, RSVPing to an event, booking tickets, or filling out a contact form. eCommerce stores can even allow customers to complete purchases directly from the email. AMP eliminates the need for users to be redirected to landing pages, streamlining the customer journey. Consider incorporating AMP into your email marketing strategy to provide a seamless and interactive experience.

7. Create Dark Mode compatible emails

As Dark Mode adoption rises, it is important to create emails that look good in both Dark Mode and light theme settings. Dark Mode compatibility is essential to maintain optimal email deliverability rates. Emails that do not render well in Dark Mode may trigger spam filters or result in a poor subscriber experience. To avoid these issues, design emails that work well in both settings.

8. Make your emails visually appealing

Visual appeal is crucial in email marketing. Many brands are investing in HTML emails with attractive visuals, such as images, GIFs, cinemagraphs, embedded videos, and animated illustrations. Some brands opt for minimalistic, monochrome designs, while others use gradients to add a vintage feel. Get creative and think outside the box to create visually appealing emails that resonate with your target audience.

9. A/B testing will be more important than ever

Customer preferences have changed, making A/B testing essential to determine what resonates with your audience. Test elements such as emojis in subject lines, persuasive copy, GIFs or animations, and the position of your call-to-action. Send two versions of an email campaign to different sets of subscribers, analyze the performance, and send the winning variant to the remaining subscribers. Test one element at a time to obtain reliable results.

In conclusion, these email marketing strategies for 2023 and beyond will help businesses adapt to changing customer behaviors and preferences. By incorporating empathy, agility, omnichannel approaches, automation, BIMI, AMP, Dark Mode compatibility, visually appealing designs, and A/B testing, you can create effective email campaigns that drive results. Stay ahead of the curve and embrace these trends to maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts in the post-COVID era.