Overview
At Etumos, we come across the question all the time: “Can we do [insert really cool idea here] in this email?” And the answer is typically, “Yes! … with a few considerations.” If you’re interested in implementing things like personalization, emojis, videos, GIFs, fonts, or interactive elements to your email marketing content, first think about whether it might be OK that your emails may not look the same to every recipient.
If that sounds like a complicated answer, that’s because it is. Developers are accustomed to cool features available on web browsers, and your graphic designer will have strict brand standards they will want to apply across all marketing content. However, developing for email is a bit different, simply because there is less standardization across email clients (I’m looking at you, Outlook 🤨).
But don’t let that stand in the way of a great email. What is possible is always evolving, and your marketing operations team has the opportunity to surprise and delight your subscribers with eye-catching emails that stand out and get people excited about your products and services.
This article will reference Marketo Engage for a few specifics but the concepts, which are foundational aspects for email marketing as a whole, will be applicable to all other marketing automation platforms (like HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE), etc.).
Who: Think about your brand
Are you a Business-to-Business (B2B) or Business-to-Consumer (B2C) company? What industries or markets does your organization serve? What is your company’s brand voice and tone?
While every email marketer is working to improve their open rates and engagement, the way you incorporate features like emojis or GIFs will depend on your organization’s relationship with the customer. Not every company like Etumos is lucky enough to have their company’s mascot in emoji form 🐐🐐🐐. Just because emojis and GIFs are used in very casual ways doesn’t mean they have no purpose in more formal settings. GIFs, for example, are used very often as video thumbnails. Get creative and see how it can apply to your business needs. Adding the slightest bit of personalization to your emails can go a long way.
Why: Think about your goals
Planning fun elements into email can be exciting, so don’t forget to look at the bigger picture. A major measure of success for B2B marketing emails involves driving your audience out of the inbox and onto your website. Would embedding a video in your email reduce click rates? Do you just want recipients to watch the video? It may not seem important at the moment, but choices made at this level will impact campaign success metrics. Do you want an increased open rate? Look at your From name, subject line, or send times. Do you want to focus on improving your total number of clicks or Click-to-Open (CTO) rates (the percentage of people who opened an email and clicked a link inside it)? If so, then focus on how to improve your Call-to-Actions (CTAs).
When: Think about your process
Set your marketing operations team up for success by incorporating new features into your Campaign Execution process thoughtfully:
- Set longer Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which are timelines for when a project should be completed, for your marketing operations or developer team to plan, build, test, and troubleshoot your email design. In some ways you’ll want your SLAs to be safe enough to under promise but potentially over perform, and not the other way around. Having an adequate amount of time will limit the likelihood of errors occurring and will allow your production process to be as smooth as possible from start to finish.
- Evaluate the pros and cons of using the feature and identify how that feature is expected to contribute to your campaign goals.
- Ensure that your Marketing Operations team has the human and product resources to support custom email builds. Some features may not be compatible with your email template and will require custom code by a developer.
- Explore feature compatibility across email clients.
How:
Introducing any new kind of content to email is an opportunity to learn more about your audience.
- A/B test and get some real data to support investment into email. Remember to test using audience sizes that will produce statistically significant results, and isolate your testing to a single variable. Check out this A/B Testing worksheet to get a breakdown of the key metrics to determine where significant differences in the performance of your campaigns may lie.
- Identify fallback solutions that allow the email to still function across all clients.
- Consider accessibility. Check to make sure that your email complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
- Keep an eye out for file size and load time.
- Keep email deliverability in mind – make sure what you are adding to your email isn’t coming off as spammy or noisy.
- Always test your email samples across email clients. Consider using tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to see how your email will render among different email platforms. Doing so may guide your marketing operations team in how your emails are designed.
What: Email Features Pros and Cons
Personalization
- How: Marketo offers many ways to personalize emails by leveraging access to prospect data. You can use tokens, dynamic content, snippets, or email scripts to pull data into your email.
- Pros: Personalizing emails with recipients’ names, locations, or past interactions can boost engagement and make subscribers feel valued.
- Cons: Requires accurate data collection and segmentation; over-personalization can feel intrusive if not done carefully. Also, it can come off as spammy or downright ignorant if the wrong information gets populated for a recipient.
Emojis
- How: Emojis can be added to Marketo emails by directly copying/pasting into the body of the email using a site like EMOJITERRA, or by creating an email script token and dropping in the html code (for subject lines, you can paste an Emoji icon into a generator like this one to retrieve the html).
- Pros: Emojis can add a playful touch to your subject lines and content, making your emails more visually appealing and relatable. They can also help convey emotions effectively.
- Cons: Overuse of emojis may appear unprofessional or confusing, especially in B2B communications. Different email clients and devices may display emojis differently, affecting consistency. Work with your email marketing developer to determine the best way to design your emails.
GIFs
- How: Import GIFs to the Marketo Design Studio. Make sure the file size is less than 1MB and that the first frame of the GIF represents your animation well. GIFs add visual appeal and can convey emotions or messages more effectively than static images.
- Pros: GIFs are perfect for injecting humor, demonstrating product features, or showcasing a quick tutorial. They grab attention and can increase click-through rates across all of your email marketing campaigns.
- Cons: GIFs may increase email size and loading times, potentially leading to compatibility issues across different email clients. They may also distract from your main message if not used judiciously.
Video
- How: Host your video, and then reference the URL using the <video> HTML tag. OR, consider using a thumbnail with a play button that links to the video on your website.
- Pros: Adding video can bring your content to life, offering a more engaging and personalized experience than static images or text alone. It’s great for product demos, customer testimonials, or behind-the-scenes footage.
- Cons: Most email clients do not support embedded videos, so recipients may not see them. Large video files can also impact load times and deliverability.
Web fonts
- How: Identify the font url, and then import in your email using the <link>, @import, or @font-face method. Use font stacks to declare preferred fallback fonts when web fonts are not supported.
- Pros: Unique fonts can help reinforce your brand identity and make your emails visually distinctive. They can also enhance readability and emphasize important points.
- Cons: Web fonts may not render correctly across all email clients, leading to inconsistent typography. They can also increase email load times and may not be universally supported. Be sure to identify acceptable web-safe and email-safe fonts as backups.
Countdown timers
- How: Timers can be set up with an email marketing third-party service, which provides a scripted animation to embed in your email.
- Pros: Countdown timers create a sense of urgency, encouraging recipients to take immediate action. They are effective for limited-time offers, flash sales, or event registrations.
- Cons: Implementing countdown timers requires dynamic content capabilities and may not be supported by all email service providers. They can also lose their effectiveness if overused or not relevant to your audience.
Forms, Surveys & Interactive email
- How: Some of these can be accomplished with HTML and CSS, and some may be best supported by a third-party tool.
- Pros: Encourages subscriber participation and feedback, making them feel involved in your brand. Interactive elements like forms and surveys allow recipients to engage directly within the email, providing feedback or participating in polls. This boosts interaction rates and provides valuable data.
- Cons: Surveys may reduce click-through rates if not relevant to all recipients, and must be used judiciously to avoid survey fatigue. Complex interactive elements may not be supported by all email clients or may require HTML coding expertise to implement properly. They can also increase email load times and may overwhelm recipients if not intuitive or user-friendly.
Conclusion
Incorporating fun features into your email marketing process can make your emails more engaging and memorable for your subscribers. However, it’s essential to balance creativity with relevance and technical considerations. Experiment with these features cautiously, measuring their impact on open rates, click-through rates, and overall campaign success. By understanding your audience and their preferences, you can create email campaigns that not only inform but also delight, forging stronger connections and driving business growth.
Remember, the key is to keep evolving and adapting based on feedback and analytics. What fun features have you tried in your email campaigns?
Resources
- Emojis: https://www.litmus.com/blog/emojis-in-subject-lines
- GIFs: https://www.litmus.com/blog/a-guide-to-animated-gifs-in-email
- Video:
- Fonts:
- Countdown Timers: https://www.litmus.com/blog/using-countdown-timers-to-boost-engagement
- Forms, Surveys & Interactive email:
- Accordion layout: https://mjml.io/compatibility/mj-accordion
- Can I Email?: https://www.caniemail.com/
