Improve your email engagement rates and stand out from the crowd.

Okay, so we realize nearly every company is already using email marketing. So we’re not here to sell you why email is so important for your business — you already know this.

We’re here to talk about how you can improve your email marketing and make your emails stand out against the crowd. Your customers are receiving hundreds of emails every day from a number of different companies.

Maybe some of those emails are from your direct competitors, while others may not be. Either way, they are adding to the clutter and you need to find a way to stand out.

Chances are good your everyday email tactics might have hit a plateau, or maybe you’re seeing a decrease across the board. But no need to worry, there are a number of things you can start doing to help reverse those numbers.

In this article, we’ll take a look at 5 ideas to help your emails stand out and get opened.

Here’s a quick look at what we’ll cover:

• Use GIFs to grab the attention of your readers
• Send surveys and polls to get customer feedback
• Incorporate user-generated content
• Take personalization to the next level

Include GIFs

Spice up your emails by including GIFs to up the visual appeal. Animated GIFs can add an extra design flare and create an eye-catching piece to grab your reader’s attention.

GIFs can help your emails stand out because they’re still something new and exciting in the email marketing world. While they have been around for a while, in the grand scheme of things, GIFs in emails are a fairly new technology.

You’ve probably seen GIFs land in your email inbox but not that long ago they simply were not supported by email clients. Now that more clients support technology, GIFs are a great way to share your message.

They also provide you with more space to get your point across.

For example, the email example below shows you various ways you can wear a single dress with multiple different options. If this were a static image, it wouldn’t get the point across as well and the other items may have simply been listed below the main dress. But with the GIF, you can actually see the outfits come together.

Using GIFs is a great way to show customers how products can be used together and promote more than just one static image. This is a perfect example of how GIFs can be used to share multiple products at once. Image courtesy of Blue Fountain Media.

Ask For Customer Feedback

Another way to help make your brand stand out is to ask your customers for feedback.

Whether you’re looking to improve your experience or learn more about their interests — asking for feedback can make your customers feel involved. Why is it important to get your customers involved? People like to share their thoughts and opinions.

Asking your customers for their feedback is a great way to engage with them via email. It also gives them an opportunity to voice their opinion and feel like they are involved in helping your company improve. Image courtesy of Hero Themes.

So by sending emails to participate in providing feedback will be well received and you’ll learn tons of information. Here are a few things you can ask your customers to improve your current process and learn more about their interests:

• How did they like the quality of your products
• Did their items arrive in a timely manner
• What has their customer service interaction been like
• What types of content do they want to see from your company in the future
• Do they have any specific products they’d like to learn more about

The learning possibilities are endless for companies and the emails will stand out to customers. Mixing it up and sending something other than your everyday sales promotion or coupon code will help your email stand out in your customer’s busy inbox.

Create Interactive Emails

Interactive emails are another great way to make your emails stand out. Adding interactive components to your emails may include using GIFs and polling options, but it can go beyond that as well.

There are tons of ways to create interactive content for your emails. All you need to do is get a little creative and the emails will stand out on their own. Image courtesy of Fresh Inbox.

Here are a few examples of how you can make your emails interactive:

• Add videos and GIFs
• Include surveys and polls
• Use imagery that changes when clicked on
• Add games to your emails

With the help of coding and a good imagination — you can create some wildly unique interactive emails. When your emails leave a lasting impression on your customers, they are much more likely to open your next message to see what the next cool thing is.

Incorporate User-Generated Content

User-generated content is a great way to make your emails stand out to your customers. It takes content that your community is already sharing and pulls it into the email world.

Why is it so powerful? People trust what others have to say about products and services. It’s been said that 91% of young consumers trust reviews. That means that by sending user-generated content, such as rating and reviews you’re helping them trust your brand.

User-generated content is also a great option because you’re using content that is already created and adding it to your marketing tactics. That means it saves you time and money on developing new campaigns, shooting new product shots, and getting the word out.

Your customers will appreciate the realness of user-generated content and you’ll enjoy a lighter lift when creating these emails.

The example below shows a simple way that you can incorporate user-generated content into your email marketing. It can be as simple as sharing photos your customers have already shared on Instagram wearing your brand or using your service.

User-generated content doesn’t have to be hard to pull together. In fact, it should make your email marketing a little easier! Image courtesy of Top Dog Social Media.

Use Hyper-Personalization

Last but not least, adding hyper-personalization to your email marketing can take your emails to the next level. This means going above and beyond traditional personalization tactics such as including a customer’s name in the subject line.

It means understanding their interests and behaviors on a much deeper level. It means using predictive analytics to know exactly what your customers want to receive from you and then sending it to them at the exact moment they need it.

Here are a few examples of how you can use hyper-personalization in your email marketing:

• Optimize send times by learning when your customers are most likely to open an email
• Know what customers wait for a coupon before making a purchase
• Track browse activity to send customers product reminder emails
• Recommend products based on previous purchase and browse behavior
• Segment your customer list to provide the most relevant information

Upping your personalization will improve the experience of your customers and provide them with the information they didn’t even know they needed yet. With the data to back up your decisions, hyper-personalization truly has the ability to take your emails to the next level.

The email example below is a perfect example of tracking customer browsing behavior to repromote items down the road. They knew that a customer looked at this item multiple times and didn’t complete the purchase.

So once there was a sale, they shared this product again hoping that the discount would entice them to complete the purchase of the item they were checking out before.

It’s much more likely that this customer will make a purchase if the item they were recently browsing is the first product that they see in their inbox. Hyper-personalization will help you increase sales by knowing what your customers want. Image courtesy of Keds Marketing.

So there you have it! 5 ways to make your emails stand out in the busy inboxes of your customers. You just have to get a little creative, but there are tons of ways to stand out and get your voice heard.

Maybe you’re not ready to dive into all 5 of these tactics, but even just adding one to your current process will provide you with positive results. Get started today and see those email metrics improve!