7 Effective Email Marketing Trends for 2021

Yes, it’s time to start thinking about 2021, and we’ve got all the tools you’ll need. Need assistance determining the marketing plan for 2021?

We’ve got you covered! Are you looking for a Marketing Calendar for 2021 that includes all of the critical dates? That’s also something we’ve got!

And now comes the crowning glory: ‘Email Marketing Trends’ is back, and we’ve got a new edition.

It’s no secret that the year 2020 brought some unexpected trends in the way we market goods and services, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of Email to brands worldwide.

Do you want to know what Email will look like in 2021? Take out your pen and paper – and let’s talk about how you’re going to improve your email strategy in 2021.

What are the email marketing trends for 2021?

Let’s take this out of the way: the last year has been challenging. It has altered the way we develop client relationships and the way we communicate via Email. So, after such a tumultuous year, how can the email world change in the coming year?

Follow these email marketing trends to bring more engagement.

More email accessibility

If the ongoing health scare has taught us something, Email is the most powerful way to communicate with our audience.

You may think we’re biased, but Email remains the most effective marketing medium – in reality, email marketing has a 4400 per cent average ROI – and it should be the first move for any company looking to communicate with its customers.

Brands required more connection than ever in 2020, and this was particularly true for small businesses with limited communication channels. Companies like Facebook and Shopify launched their email products last year, giving these businesses even more choices.

Email is one of the most efficient and powerful ways to reach a vast audience, and its usage will undoubtedly increase as we head into 2021 and beyond.

However, we believe that hiring a reputable email provider who can provide the best functionality and deliverability services is the best way to go with Email.

Human-centric lifecycle emails

Suppose there’s one thing that most experts in our Marketing Trends blog post agreed on. In that case, this year, we’ll put a greater emphasis on incorporating empathy and creating human connections.

It’s also not shocking. The pandemic has affected us all, changing the way we connect and interact with one another and brands.

Brands have had to change their communications, platforms, and timeliness of their messages due to this massive shift in relationships, which includes the way we email.

The days of marketing emails consisting solely of product pitches and unnecessarily promotional copy are long gone.

Email marketing must now play a part to create a transparent user experience. Understanding our customers’ expectations and what they expect from our brand and sending them messages that add value and place the customer at the centre of the plan is key to developing good customer relationships.

Mindfulness of recipients’ inboxes

During the lockdown, it seemed like everybody was sending Email. Our inboxes were much more clogged with messages, making it difficult to distinguish between those that were important and blatant attempts to profit from the pandemic.

However, keeping up with all that was going on in the digital world became more difficult. All moved online – work, schooling, and social gatherings – resulting in a long time sitting in front of the computers.

The combination of both of these factors – a rise in the number of emails in contacts’ inboxes, screen exhaustion, and new computer behaviors – has altered how people communicate with their inboxes and has influenced certain brands’ interaction rates.

And if you didn’t succeed in navigating the shifting world, you’ll need to be ready to hit 2021 because things aren’t going to be the same. Follow these email marketing trends to bring more engagement.

Renewed social consciousness

However, not everything about 2020 has been negative. The growth of social consciousness had a direct effect on society as a whole, inspiring us to look beyond ourselves and play our part in making the world a better place.

This year, social topics have dominated the debate and altered how customers communicate with businesses.

Although price and deal may have sufficed in the past to keep customers coming back, today’s consumers want brands to agree with their beliefs and endorse causes they care about.

Advanced sending capabilities to maximize engagement

Emails are the best way to communicate with consumers, sending campaigns is useless if the messages aren’t read.

Inboxes are becoming more competitive, and advertisers find it more challenging to capture users’ attention now that they must compete with advertisements and adapt to the various ways inboxes organize content.

That’s why we’re all trying to find out the right time to send out a newsletter. While I’m at the gym, send me an email about Starbucks’ latest Eggnog Latte, and I’ll ignore it.

If you tempt me when I’m out in the cold, I’m likely to buy them all.

The latest pandemic has ushered in a whole new way of thinking about timeliness. Because of the confusion and rapid change, marketers have had to find reliable ways to connect with their customers, but there’s no denying that our computer use habits have shifted dramatically.

Complex space in interactive design

At times, it seems as if our contacts’ inbox has turned into a muddy battleground. Shining through is more complex than ever, and transitioning from an open to conversion now takes a lot more imagination than before.

We’ve been discussing the possibilities of interactive email design for email marketers as a way to make emails more memorable and shoppable for years.

Interactive features reduce friction between Email and onsite conversion by allowing you to begin the purchasing process without leaving your inbox.

Sending interactive emails that enable users to convert without leaving their inbox has been a possibility for a while, but it’s far from commonplace.

Although email developers can use various resources to add these features, the lack of a standard has made life more difficult for email senders, which is likely slowing the trend’s adoption.

Simplified design for increased authenticity

We’ve already discussed the fight to stand out in a user’s inbox, but in 2021, flashier will not always equal better.

This year, email designers will also be looking for ways to strengthen customer relationships, including stepping away from complicated emails with beautiful images and vibrant CTAs and instead opting for more straightforward templates where the layout doesn’t overpower the content.

Brands will rediscover their passion for simple designs and plain-text emails in 2021 to make important messages feel more personal and authentic. Our content will come through if we move away from overused stock photos and product pictures.

Often, flashy graphics aren’t necessary to establish a connection; a good copy that feels original and authentic will suffice.

Wrapping up

The world has changed, and Email marketing trends have changed with it, but we’re optimistic that these latest email marketing trends will help us form stronger bonds with our customers, so get out your notebook and make a list of which are to be done.

For more details on email marketing trends, connect with our expert team of Optimite.