As a new year unfolds, so do new opportunities and innovations that can transform the way we work. But these are only opportunities if we know about them in advance. Being caught off guard can leave us playing catch up while our competitors sprint ahead, leaving us to start the new year on the back foot.
Understanding what trends are on the horizon and how they can elevate your brand is crucial as you shape your strategy for 2024. At Conesso, we make it our mission to stay ahead of the curve, so you don't have to. In this blog, we've curated the key trends that should be on your radar as you plan and execute your campaigns in the year ahead.
Take a read of the top email marketing trends for 2024:
1. Hyper-personalisation
Personalised email marketing is by no means a new thing. By now, at the very least you should be including the recipient's name at the start of the email. But your personalisation efforts should go way beyond that.
Long before 2024, marketers have been implementing personalisation into their email efforts, aiming to send the right email to the right person at the perfect time. Using email marketing software, you can create tailored messages based on your customers' data to ensure they're receiving emails that they believe have been made for them.
You can expect 2024 to take this to the next level, with hyper-personalisation tools like dynamic content and advanced segmentation empowering you to display relevant content to each recipient, every time you send.
2. Privacy and security
Security and privacy have been essential considerations for a long time now, particularly since the arrival of GDPR. As with personalisation, there’s no excuse for failing to meet the basic requirements of consent before sending out marketing emails. You should already have a privacy policy in place and make it easy for people to opt out of receiving your emails.
In 2024, security will continue to be a non-negotiable, and by using an email marketing tool you can rest easy knowing your email campaigns and contact data are in safe hands. Conesso boasts enhanced built-in measures including CAPTCHA and multi-factor authentication, so you don't have to worry. Our commitment to excellence is underlined by our G-Cloud 13 certification, assuring you that we not only meet but exceed the latest industry best practices and regulations.
3. Accessibility
When sending out your emails, are you considering how accessible they are?
Email marketing isn't just about reaching more people, it's about making sure everyone who receives your messages can easily read and engage with them. Move beyond basic personalisation techniques and embrace true customer-centricity in 2024.
How do you create accessible emails? We recommend tagging images with descriptive text, providing transcripts for videos, and structuring your emails logically.
Steer clear of storytelling tricks and ambiguous subject lines or calls to action. While they might be effective, clarity is key.
4. Mobile-first
Mobile-first isn't a trend as such, but it's not something you can ignore - it's a necessity. With 66 percent of users reading their emails on their mobile phones, the era of responsive emails that merely "display okay" on both phones and computers is behind us.
While many B2B emails may still be viewed on computer screens, the focus for B2C should undeniably be on optimising for phone screens. Mobile-first isn't just about ensuring proper display, it’s about how you plan and create the content in the first place. You need clean, clear designs with minimal text that make an impact without the customer needing to scroll too much.
5. AI
This wouldn’t be a ‘2024 trends’ article if it didn’t include AI, would it? Artificial intelligence has been the buzzword for 2023 and there’s no sign of the excitement around it dying down any time soon. But what role will AI play in the evolution of email marketing automation?
Maybe an obvious one, but you can leverage tools like ChatGPT to generate copy or subject line ideas, although make sure you use them carefully and tweak the content to give it a human touch and ensure it fits your brand. Taking it a step further, tools like DALL-E can generate captivating images from your text prompts.
As we dive into 2024, expect to see revolutionary strides in how AI transforms automation. Machine learning will empower marketers to work smarter - cleaning up subscriber lists, analysing data in less time, and improving the flow of campaigns.
Which brings us to our final trend...
6. Smarter automation
While automation has become the norm in the last few years, the real question is, are you using it intelligently?
With a new year on the horizon, it's the perfect time to take a moment to reflect. Are you delivering targeted welcome emails, crafting compelling content for your transactional emails, and delighting your customers with personalised birthday offers? Do you have triggers set up to automatically send emails based on actions on your website?
Don't overlook the goldmine of data generated from these campaigns. In 2024, automation isn't just about doing more, it's about harnessing the insights to make better, data-driven decisions and send the hyper-personalised emails that we mentioned earlier.
If 2023 was the year you got acquainted with email marketing automation, make 2024 the year you master it. To revolutionise the way automation works for your business, contact us today and let's make 2024 the year you work smarter, not harder.
