So you’ve selected your email marketing platform and are ready to reach out to your customers. Almost every platform provides you with tools that can help your campaigns run efficiently. But, with cluttered inboxes and constant changes to email clients, what can you do to help your message stand out?

PERSONALIZATION

One helpful way to write an email is to think of it as a face-to-face conversation with your customer. In this case, you want to address your customers by name and include important details, such as where they work or which products interest them most.

Many email marketing platforms offer ways to personalize emails, including the subject line. In fact, personalization on subject lines has shown to increase open rates by 26%.1 But don’t stop at just personalizing subject lines—platforms can offer an even more powerful way to customize your email.

DYNAMIC CONTENT

Customers can become frustrated when they receive irrelevant content or can’t find the information they’re looking for. Fortunately, email marketing platforms have options for featuring dynamic content based on your audience’s interests.

Dynamic content allows you to craft email copy using information about your customers, including anything from greeting your customers by name to displaying or hiding entire paragraphs or sections of content. When you’re sending out newsletters or promotions, you can segment your audience based on product area and then prioritize their interests. For example, take the emails below, sent to Sam and Jess, two customers who are interested in hiking and skiing, respectively. Notice how the layout of the email and the overall content is the same, but the content caters to their interests.

ANIMATION

Emails are typically static, partly due to a lack of support for videos. However, marketers have two options to liven up their messages: GIFs and CSS animation. While CSS animation requires a level of coding knowledge, embedding GIFs is a relatively simple process that can make a big impression. GIFs can create more user engagement, grab a user’s attention, and add personality to your emails.

One thing that is important to consider when embedding a GIF is to make sure the file size is small, to maintain a fast load time for your message. While a well-placed GIF can surprise your audience, using too many throughout your email can be off-putting, so make sure to use them in meaningful way.

If you have a working knowledge of CSS animation, it can be an effective way to increase user engagement as well, using simple improvements to interactivity such as button hover animations.

Any one of these strategies can help you boost open rates and clicks while creating a memorable experience for your users. Even more advanced email marketing tactics are emerging, from machine learning, to interactive emails, to harnessing the power of Google’s new framework, AMP. Staying up-to-date with these trends can help you set your emails apart from your competitors. Also, although they have standalone impact, remember to integrate emails into your other marketing campaigns. If you align your messaging across all marketing channels, you can create a seamless brand experience that gives your customer a strong, consistent impression of your business and mission.

1 https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/infographics/everything-thats-wrong-with-your-email/