Interactivity is taking emails to a whole new level. Why do we need interactive emails? According to the research by US consumer device report, customers decide whether your emails are attention-worthy or not in just 0 to 3 seconds. This is a very short period of time to attract a customer and engage them in your email. This is where interactivity plays a major role. But how?
Well, interactivity in emails leads to better engagement, which means more customer satisfaction with the brand and which leads to better conversions, which is the ultimate goal of any marketing strategy.
Why do customers like interactive emails? Because they are more fun than plain emails! To grab the attention of your customers and to keep them coming back to you, you need to engage them in your emails. According to the study by Martech Advisor, “interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73% and adding videos to your email content can boost click rates up to 300%.” These numbers speak volumes!
So how to create interactive emails? Well, we have some tips for you:
1. Provide a real-time experience
How about engaging customers in your emails by providing them real-time information? We all prefer real-time information over just “information or facts”. For example, selecting a seat in the movie theatre or an airplane. Or how about reminding your customers about the countdown for the discount which your e-commerce brand has planned. Another way of using real- time marketing in your email can be by including bookings for local hotels or reservation for travel agency.
2. Incorporate polls, surveys, and reviews
This strategy works well with almost all brands. The feedback which you receive is not only valuable but also help your brand to overcome loopholes if there are any. This strategy allows you to connect with your customer on a personal level.
3. Adding scratch cards in your emails
Who does not like surprises? And scratch cards which reveal surprises are even better. Including this technique in your email, you will know if customers are interested in your brand’s offers/ discounts.
4. Adding menus
For curious customers, you can add hamburger menus and engaging navigation in your emails which will help them to know more about the offerings of your brand. You can navigate customers within their inbox instead of taking them to your site. This simply means that you create a mini version of your site in the customer’s inbox.
5. Using accordions
Using accordions in emails enables you to include a huge amount of information in less space. Accordions or collapsable emails are trending because according to the survey by TechCrunch, 75% of Gmail users access their emails on smartphones.
6. Utilize videos in emails
What can be more engaging than including short videos in your emails? According to CopyPress, 51.9% of marketers consider video as having one of the best ROI. How about sending personalized videos in your email campaigns in order to better connect with your customers? It allows brands to engage with their audiences with highly customized content which is related to them.
7. Adding GIFs
One of the trends that is getting popular these days is adding GIFs in your email. These GIFs can be funny or informative. According to MailCharts, the percentage of emails containing GIFs rose from 5.4% to 10.3% within a year.
8. Adding personalization
Personalization works every time. Sending relevant emails at the right time to customers is the technique that never fails to impress and engage customers.
9. Using live shopping carts
You receive an email from your favorite brand and you like a product in the email which you wish to buy. What do you do? Go to the site/app, search for the product, then add to cart and checkout. What if you can add it to cart then and there in your inbox? It will not only save time but also lead to more conversions as it converts many on-spot buyers too!
10. Including “add to calendar” options
You are hosting a big event or are inaugurating your brand’s new outlet and you send an email to all your customer to invite them to this special occasion. On the day of the event, you see only a one-fourth of your customers arrive and this dejects you. Let’s be honest, we all are busy with our schedules and we forget some events. In this case, what if you send an email which says- save the date and add an option which says add an event to your calendar? This would help everyone in managing their tasks.
11. Using interactive photos
Including interactive product images in emails which are based on your customer’s wishlist or sending them an abandon cart email which portraits their product, influences the customer to buy it. You can do this by including product carousels, image galleries or sliders in your emails. How about this email –
Interactive email is one of the design trend this year which will be explored more by marketers for making email a more personalized and engaging experience.
Interactivity is the blend of interaction, engagement and engagement rate. Interactive emails will develop more as we dive more into the integration of artificial intelligence and email marketing. If done correctly, interactive emails can give you the desired results. For this, you need to know which technique best suits your brand.