If Back to the Future II has taught me anything it’s that predicting the future is difficult!
I mean, we’re now in 2015 and although, hoverboards appear to be on the horizon (Yay! Finally!), double-ties didn’t really take off, and as far as we know the Flux Capacitor hasn’t been invented yet either 🙁
However, now that 2015 is finally upon us we feel confident enough to make a few predictions on what the next twelve months will hold for email marketing.
1. Emails will be snappier
This doesn’t mean they’ll be biting your fingers off! What we mean by this is that emails will be shorter, and more to the point. We feel this is a solid prediction because last year 51% of emails were opened on mobile devices, and this number is only going to increase in 2015. Email marketers will need to adapt to this on-the-go way that consumers will glimpse at their emails by making them short, clear, and easy to digest.
2. Words will be replaced by images
We predict that 2015 will bring an increase in image-based messaging. Hubspot’s Science of Email Study found from a user survey that 2/3 people prefer emails that are mostly image-based. However, observational research showed that as images increased, email CTR decreased. With this in mind, we advise that you test your messaging strategy in order to find a happy medium between images and text for your recipients.
It also important to remember to add Alt Text to your images for people that are viewing from a platform with restrictive settings.
3. ‘Sell, Sell, Sell’ will be replaced with ‘Care, Care, Care’
Consumers have the power to hit the spam button, and that is a fact that should always be remembered. 2015 will see a rapid decline in the ‘sell, sell, sell’ attitude, and marketing emails will be more centred around providing value for the recipient. Customers like to know that you care, statistics have shown that open-rates increase by up to 22.3% with personalised subject lines. And, emails that are of value to your recipients are also valuable for increasing your brand awareness and deepening your relationships with customers.
4. Subject lines have to be stronger
Before a recipient decides to open your email all they can see is your Company Name and the subject line. And, until you create a deep enough relationship with your customers the subject line is all you have.
As mentioned above, personalised subject lines increase open-rates, and other studies have found that 64% of people open an email solely because of the subject line. So, it’s time to get inventive — the key is to say as much as you can, in as little words as possible.
5. Personalised emails will continue to outperform mass emails
If the two predictions above tell us anything it’s that when it comes to email, one size does not fit all. With Gmail’s tab feature, it’s all too easy for people to ignore email promotions. The only thing that will grab their attention is if they know that your company only sends emails that are valuable.
To make your emails more valuable you’ll have to segment your email list into small sections based on variables like gender, age, interests, occupation, and so on. It’s also vital to become more geographically aware of your email list in order to target customers by location.
6. Responsive email design IS email design
Going all the way back to prediction one, it appears that more and more emails are being opened on portable devices. Therefore, it is vital for emails to be responsive on not only desktops, but mobiles and tablets too.
Statistics have shown that 79% of people use their smartphone for reading email, and 30% do this exclusively, meaning they do not check their email on any other device. These statistics prove just how important it is to create responsive emails. To further drive the point home, 71.2% of users admitted that they will delete an email immediately if it does not display correctly on their device!
To avoid ending up in your recipients’ trash folder, check out Aqueous. Aqueous is our new, publicly available design feature. It allows anyone to create responsive email templates for free, without having to see a line of code!
7. Email volume will decline
With all of the above predictions, one this is clear, email marketing will take more time and effort this year. There is no point sending a generic email to thousands if only a couple will actually open it; instead marketers will send fewer, more tactical emails.
It can also be predicted that there will be a higher focus on quality within emails. Some may even consider hiring a professional copywriter to create their emails. So emails will be fewer, but they will have much more impact.
Final thoughts
Well that was our own little take on predicting the future. How accurate do you think our points will prove to be? Perhaps you think our crystal ball has been a little cloudy? Either way, let us know in the comments box below because we love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading 🙂