Email Marketing Trends in 2023

In 2023, a looming crisis continues to threaten, leaving companies in limbo. Many brands have started to save their budgets and form a "safety cushion". Others are mastering new tools and searching for email marketing trends and technologies that can support their business in difficult times.

Whether to choose a wait-and-see strategy or to bet on development under crisis is still an open question. In any case, it is high time to strengthen your position and get ready for changes.

Email is the most effective channel during the crisis

At the top of the list stands the analysis of the effectiveness of your promotional channels. If you reallocate resources to the most promising channels, your marketing will be far ahead of the competition when the recession is over.

There's no magic: it's just email that allows you to set up targeting with personalized offers for users. A personalized approach increases loyalty and boosts sales, which are key factors during an economic downturn.

Open Rate is not enough for reliable analysis

The top marketers began 2023 with a review of key metrics: they go well beyond Open rate.

“There are several metrics that email marketers can use in addition to open rates to measure the effectiveness of their email marketing campaigns, including click-through rates, conversion rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. In addition to these metrics, you should also consider factors such as the quality of the email content and the relevance of the messages to the recipients. By looking at a combination of different metrics, you can get a more complete picture of the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.”

Zero-party data lead to hyper-personalization

Personalization is possible through the collection of customer data. It's always been a challenge, and with the changes in customer privacy rules, it's become even more difficult. Writing a really thoughtful, a personalized letter is a serious job. The more modest the set of customer data a company has at its disposal, the more impossible the task gets.

That's why hyper-personalization and hyper-segmentation are the trend in 2023. In order to comply with all legal requirements for the security of personal data, companies are turning to zero-party data, which is data that users share with the company themselves.

Particular attention should be paid to application forms: the more unobtrusive the collection of information about customers is, the more enjoyable it is to continue to communicate with them.

Interactivity is the key to increasing customer engagement

Over the past few years, interactivity has become a commonplace. But in 2023, brands will have to maximize their creativity in email to get users' attention.

There's a fierce war for customers in the users' inbox. Link clickability gets increased by creating a user experience within the email. Interactivity in emails means, for instance, the possibility to do a survey without leaving the email. It's great when you can make an appointment to see a doctor right away, or specify where and when a package should be delivered.

“In 2023, it will be more important than ever to leverage interactive email. Marketers can utilize technologies like AMP for Email to create dynamic updates for shipping notifications, appointment reminders, and more. This will allow recipients to take action directly within their inbox, and it will help marketers to differentiate their brands from competitors and create a stronger relationship with their customers overall."

Email marketing is getting smarter with the rise of AI

Some specialists are very frightened by this prospect. But we believe that there is no need to be afraid: AI is an excellent tool in the hands of a competent marketer. It is possible to apply its capabilities to the sphere of email newsletters and get far ahead of the competition.

Artificial Intelligence improves the speed and quality of management decisions and optimizes the newsletter management process. AI is able to generate relevant email headers, search for inactive email addresses in the mailing list, and more.

Anyway, progress is unstoppable, and AI will become even more popular in 2023. If you lack the skills and abilities to work with this extremely powerful tool, you still have time to catch up.

These are the images generated by Craiyon, AI image generator, based on the “email marketing” query:

Mail deliverability increases if you check email when registering

What is a good email database? Some would say that the most important thing is a rich mailing list base. That's probably what beginners would say. Seasoned marketers know that the secret to a good base is engagement. The main thing is to have the email open and read by the recipient, otherwise there's no point in a newsletter.

Double opt-in at the stage of registration saves you from a lot of problems. It's an effective way to keep your contacts organized and active.

User data security comes first in 2023

There's a lot you can see on the Internet, for instance, scammers. In the past, the most common scam scheme involved scammers introducing themselves as distant relatives and reassuring you of a large inheritance. Or you'd get emails from an unknown address saying that your email address had taken part in a raffle and won an iPhone. People no longer believe such tricks. Now scammers are claiming to be banks or famous brands.

The entire customer journey should become omni-channel

Customers often communicate with a brand by engaging multiple channels at once. Realizing the importance of this communication, businesses have begun to incorporate an omni-channel approach into their marketing campaigns. However, having multiple channels does not guarantee a consistent experience. And that's very important.

A truly omni-channel approach is characterized by consistency and coherence of messages.

“Consistency is key when building out an omnichannel experience for your customers. It’s not about incorporating channels just to check a box - additional communication channels should add value for your customers and not distract them from their journey. You must take their communication preferences into account, and ensure your messaging stays consistent so the customer experience remains the same regardless of the touchpoint.”

Customers like brand authenticity most

It's impossible to raise customer loyalty without establishing strong connections with your customers, especially in times of crisis. It's not just about finding effective communication channels or creating a personalized experience: customers remember authentic brands. These are companies that stand out for their values, they are unique and recognizable. Such companies are more successful in promoting their services and products because they are heard and trusted by consumers.

Undoubtedly, there are risks. Stock photos and template email designs are now a thing of the past. To bring authenticity to the company, you need to move to personal communication.

“An easy way to show you're an approachable brand is to change your From Name to something like "Julia at Mailjet." I get way more responses when I send from me than when I send from The Mailjet Team. A/B test this to see how it works for your audience and make it a gradual change so that your subscribers learn to recognize the name. Then, you can start carrying it through to your email copy. When a company does this, or swaps out stock imagery for something more unique, it really shows how much time and effort they’ve put into their emails, which leads to more loyalty and engagement.”

Conclusion

How can you prepare for the challenges of 2023 in email marketing? Companies should consider new metrics for evaluating email effectiveness, personalize content, and add interactive elements to it. At the same time, they need to comply thoroughly with all legal requirements for personal data security and take full advantage of omnichannel and AI capabilities.

Meeting the challenges of our ever-changing world is not always easy. But the good news is that you don't have to apply everything at once. Don't try to be perfect in every trend. A lot depends on having reliable partners around you. Stay curious: test, experiment, and find effective tools for your company. With this approach, your email marketing will smoothly move forward.