Back in 2018, interactivity was among the hottest email marketing trends. But trends tend to change. According to forecasts, its popularity had to reduce in 2019.
But in fact, the situation is different – the popularity of interactive elements is growing. Why did analysts fail?
You’re right. It was caused by the brand-new essence of interactivity itself. Let’s figure out these qualitative changes.
Interactive email content: what does it mean?
Captain Obvious to the Rescue: interactive elements are embedded elements that require the recipient’s interaction.
Interactivity significantly boosts the performance of email campaigns. According to Upland Kapost and Martech Advisor stats, interactive content increases CTOR by 73% and brings x2 higher conversion. Impressive results, right?
Interactivity before…
Until March 2019, entertainment was the primary mission of interactive elements. Everyone has a child inside, so making email a toy with bells and whistles is a flawless practice. Of course, gimmicks are inappropriate in triggered messages like notifications or confirmations… But when it comes to promo, welcome, or digest emails, why not gamify them?
…and now
This spring, everything has changed. It’s all about Google AMP 4 Gmail. We won’t go into technical details, what matters is a new essence of interactivity. Email becomes a “website lite version” with extended functionality.
This technology allows clients to do different things in a convenient and catchy way—preview products from different angles, add them to carts and make orders, vote and comment, order tickets and places, confirm meetings, etc. All that is done in real time right in the email!
Top 3 types of interactive content
Let’s proceed with our top 3 types of interactive content. Our choice is based on practical reasons: as AMP is still not supported by some ESPs and email clients, we’ll pay attention not only to AMP-powered elements. But you can keep your campaigns up-to-date using them.
Image carousel
There are two types – a regular interactive carousel and an AMP-powered one. Both types are stylish ways to display several images in one scroll. Moreover, you can add prices and descriptions — and your snippets will be informative.
Where do you craft these elements? A regular carousel is built via Freshinbox, while an AMP-powered one is crafted manually (geek solution) or via Gmail AMP for Email Playground. However, it’s much easier to use predesigned templates.
Static images are the best web-safe fallback solution. Remember that AMP elements are displayed only on desktop devices, so don’t forget all those who open emails on mobiles!
Image rollover
This type is not AMP. But rollover still attracts attention. This element is an option to look at pics from different angles, hide details or even arrange games.
We recommend using a websafe Stripo rollover template, it works correctly with most email clients. All you need to do – is add the image, then turn the “Rollover effect” on, and add the second image.
Embedded survey
We chose this third type because feedback is mandatory for all businesses growth. We should make it convenient to share an opinion. This is an optimal solution when the survey is embedded in the email.
Notice that single-question and multi-question surveys are technically different. Strictly speaking, a single-question survey is not interactivity but it looks interactive anyway when arranged properly. It is typically done by adding images (each of them is response option) and attaching separate links. Then, ESP will provide you stats on the number of clicks.
As for multi-question surveys, we create a questionnaire via Google Forms (or other tools) and then embed it. This time, interactivity is real – and totally web-safe.
Summing up
Of course, we do not need the full set. We could add CSS animations, videos, etc., but let’s postpone them for future posts.
The last but not least thing to mention is that you should always care about all your customers! The display of Interactive Content still depends on ESPs, email clients, and devices and their combinations. Some recipients may see interactive content as static images or not see it at all. So always provide fallback alternatives! and test your messages before sending them.
We sincerely wish you the best of luck!
