We love email! And it’s not just us: it’s incredibly popular with others, too. In 2022, 126.7 trillion emails are expected to be sent. That is A LOT of inbox action. This is why email marketing will never go out of fashion!
The digital marketing landscape tends to change year on year, but email consistently continues to be one of the most effective channels for marketeers. This is nothing new – but what is new is how email marketing can be approached.
At this time of year, there are often extensive lists of ‘email marketing trends’ for the coming year and, while each has its place – including personalisation, AI, User Generated Content and hyper-segmentation – we’re going to focus on just three… The Big 3!
Email marketing trend #1
Keep it short!
It’s been a tough couple of years and, with the upswing in working from home, being away from colleagues and office phones, our inboxes get battered these days. The thought of having to wade through scores of unnecessarily long, wordy emails can be OVERWHELMING. Also, it’s a fact that our attention spans are deteriorating. So, trend #1 – be concise with your copy. Great for those on the go, grabbing a quick glance on their phones, as well as those suffering ‘rammed inbox fatigue’. A short, well-worded email, of the storytelling variety (which has been shown to be more memorable) can be as grabby as an interactive one.
Bear in mind that a brief email linking to a 2000-word case study, for example, will always be more effective than sending a 2000-word email.
Email marketing trend #2
Keep it simple!
Plain text emails, baby. No joke! Forget the bells and whistles, and keep it plain. Minimalism is a growing trend for 2022 (our poor, frazzled brains!) and sending plain text emails has proven to be highly effective. Being keeping is super simple, it allows the reader to focus on the message. If you’ve not tested plain text, do it! You might be pleasantly surprised at the result.
Take some time to declutter unnecessary bits and bobs in your emails – minimalistic designs are the way forward. Assess your colours, fonts and layouts – and create more white space. Our eyes and brains need it!
Email marketing trend #3
Be more inclusive
This is an important one – but we’re not talking about paying lip service to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Inclusivity MUST come from a place of authenticity and a true desire to do better. Email marketing campaigns should be assessed on a continual basis – and not just be a one-off statement. Every campaign, consider how diversity is represented. Are all people being represented? Are stereotypes being promoted? The key to promoting diversity is to strike the right balance. Keep it sensible, keep it natural, keep it heartfelt and genuine – and don’t try too hard as this can cause offense.
So, to conclude, keep your marketing emails super simple and consider their inclusivity. One final consideration is adapting to the iOS 15 changes, too.
