Email marketing is one of the most dynamic fields that has continued to evolve into an effective marketing channel for marketers. Every year, there are some exciting trends that emerge in the realms of email marketing and 2021 is no different.

Since 2020 saw grim circumstances, there were drastic changes in customer behavior. New trends emerged in the world of email marketing to cater to these changes.

Let’s take a look at the hottest email marketing trends that are all set to gain popularity in 2021 and beyond.

1. AMP in emails

AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is an advanced technology that has picked up pace since 2018. By employing AMP in emails, you can create interactive emails that allow users to complete an action from the email itself. Whether they want to buy a ticket, proceed with the checkout process, or RSVP to an event, everything is possible without switching to a browser or app.

For example, Booking.com sends out a beautiful AMP email that lets the user view deals and complete a booking from the email itself. Apart from that, they also include a preference center in the email footer with the help of AMP.

2. Emotional and empathetic messaging

Sending out considerate emails that reflect sensitivity is the need of the hour. Most brands have adopted this approach and adjusted the tone of their email communications according to the current situation. Individuals and businesses are still facing tough times. Therefore, businesses have even revamped their email automation strategy and removed some emails from their automation workflows.

Take a look at this email from Really Good Emails. They have sent out an emotional email extending support to all those people who have been a victim of racism and persuaded everyone to stop the hate.

3. Visuals in email marketing

Visual email marketing is getting more and more popular with each passing day. Marketers want their emails to stand out in the subscriber’s inbox. So, they are trying to make them as visually attractive as possible.

Besides static images, they have started using more animations, cinemagraphs, animated illustrations, and 3D images to leave an impact and yield conversions. Furthermore, some brands have also gone retro and tried out a monochrome layout and gradients in their email marketing communications.

Note that this does not mean that plain text emails have gone obsolete. Text-only emails are still effective when you want to add a personal touch to the emails and make the emails look like they are exclusively written for the recipient.

4. Agile email marketing

With the help of the agile methodology, email professionals will be able to reduce the turnaround time for every email template. According to this concept, small steps facilitate remarkable achievements. It endorses a process-driven approach and helps to send out more relevant messages to subscribers. Rather than batch and blast emails, agile email marketing is all about reaching out to users with informative and useful content.

5. Consent-first email marketing

CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CCPA have got the ball rolling and encouraged people to adhere to privacy policies. It is likely that there will be an implementation of stricter opt-in and consent policies in the days to come. Marketers will have to be wary about more powerful spam filters and technical traps that automatically filter emails for users. The double opt-in method will become a standard best practice instead of being an optional trend.

6. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in email automation

Employing the principles of AI in email marketing, especially automation, has paved new avenues to send hyper-personalized triggered emails to subscribers. For example, Amazon and Netflix send out triggered automated emails based on previous purchases and shows watched, respectively.

Take a look at the email examples from these brands:

AI works on predictive models that foretell how users will interact with the messages and what will resonate the most with them. 

This technology is even used to draft better subject lines that will enhance the email open rate. Phrasee is the leading player in this technology.

7. Accessible emails

Creating accessible emails will become the norm as there will be bigger advancements in email technology to support people with hearing disabilities and visual impairment. Also, email marketers will strive to create an inclusive experience by applying micro-segmentation.

Apart from problems in rendering, email tools will also detect accessibility issues in the email so that email developers can work on it and create emails that are accessible by everyone irrespective of any disability that they might have.

8. Augmented reality technology

Augmented reality allows shoppers to try on and browse for products in a virtual showroom. With the help of smart email programs, marketers will be able to send out follow-up emails displaying the shortlisted items. This will impart a pleasant experience to customers and they will be more likely to complete a purchase.

9. A/B split testing

As your customers’ preferences are changing, the need for A/B testing has become more pronounced than ever. What appealed to your customers a year back may not appeal to them anymore. Therefore, you must perform A/B tests to learn more about the changed preferences of your customers. As a result, you will be able to send out more customer-centric messages that will bring results.

Here’s an example to demonstrate how to A/B test your email subject lines.

Wrapping up

Barring all these interesting trends, there are some ongoing trends like micro-segmentation and hyper-personalization that will continue to reign supreme in the days to come.

To understand more about these email marketing trends, Email Uplers approached 29 industry stalwarts and asked them about the future trends they were looking forward to. They shared some great insights with us and if you want to get access to all those actionable pointers, check out this interactive infographic: 29 Email Experts on Email Marketing Trends to Watch For in 2021.

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