email marketing trends

6 Email Marketing Trends to Watch in 2013

Bylori

Year after year, email marketing has remained one of the most reliable ways to nurture profitable customer relationships. Like any other online marketing method, though, email marketing is rapidly evolving. To keep your competitive edge in 2013, you’ll want to stay on top of these six email marketing trends.

  1. Mobile-friendly email – Recent statistics suggest nearly 40 percent of emails are opened on mobile devices. As more devices enter the market, that percentage stands to grow. This year, more businesses will be focusing on mobile-compatible email to avoid being left behind.
  2. Video in email  – Research has shown video in email can dramatically increase click-through rates. With an increasing number of email clients supporting HTML5 video, more businesses will take advantage of the opportunity to embed videos in email.
  3. Triggered email – Broadcasting the same message to all your subscribers is no longer enough. You must include inviting messages and a way to generate leads that is convenient for the customer. Today’s consumers expect a personalized experience, something a triggered email system can help you create. These systems send email automatically based on customer preferences. Their profit-boosting potential makes them one of the most important email marketing trends this year.
  4. Continued social media integration – As social media gains power to drive sales, more businesses are seeing the value of including social media icons in emails. Running a drawing or contest on your Facebook page is a great way to get a conversation going with prospects.
  5. Email gift cards  – Coupons and free shipping offers will never disappear, but their effectiveness is waning. In their place, we’ll be seeing more email gift cards. Gift cards are a great idea for closing gifts.
  6. Smarter subject lines – Special characters in subject lines were popular last year, but the novelty is wearing off. In the coming year, we’ll see the savvy use of special characters that are more in tune with each email’s message. This might mean stars to highlight a gift card offer or flowers to announce a spring sale.

Feel like you’re caught up on all this year’s email marketing trends? Concerned you’re not where you should be? Wherever you stand, how do you see these trends affecting your business?

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