Email open rates have increased by over 20% since the start of the pandemic. So, going into 2021, email marketing is more important than ever. These 8 trends are a must for your 2021 strategy:

Hyper-Personalization.

Fact: personalization can increase your open rates by up to 26%, and helps keep your emails out of the spam folder. Hyper-personalization starts with segmenting your audience to send better-suited campaigns to each customer, and then using merge tags to include each customer’s name. For easy personalization, try Smart Segments with ahoy!

Interactivity.

Interactive emails are guaranteed to boost engagement. Elements such as animated CTA buttons, product carousels, rollover effects, and surveys/polls will make your emails stand out in the inbox!

Social Consciousness.

Though there were many negative aspects of 2020, one positive thing was the rise of social consciousness throughout society. Today, consumers want the brands they purchase from to align with their values and support causes they care about. Make sure to humanize your brand and include this information in your emails.

Simplified Design and Text-Only Emails.

Minimalism is one of the most predicted trends for 2021. This includes clean text, muted colors, and lots of empty space. Try sending text-only emails as well– they are less distracting and much quicker to load!

Awareness of Customer Inboxes.

If a customer is on your subscriber list, it’s likely that they are receiving promotional emails from tons of other companies as well. Be mindful of how many emails you are sending each week, and also check your spam complaints. If you’re receiving a spam complaint for every 1,000 emails, it’s time to adjust your email frequency.

Focus on Privacy.

Fact: only 8% of consumers trust brands to keep their personal information safe. So, make sure your customers know their data is safe and give them the option to unsubscribe from your mailing list. This creates trust!

Automation.

Email automation will never go out of style. Not all of your emails should be automated, but for starters, welcome emails, abandoned cart emails, win-back campaigns, related product emails, and order confirmations should always be on auto-pilot. These automated campaigns will keep your customers engaged!

Authenticity.

In 2021, keep it real. Let your personality shine through in your emails and connect with your customers on a more personal level.\

Want the easiest way to incorporate these trends into your email strategy? Get started with ahoy! today!