Boost Your Marketing Plan with Interactive Email Experience 

In an era where email inboxes are flooded, standing out is more critical than ever. You can’t just send a plain email to your customers when you wish to market your products, services, or brand. This is where interactive email experience comes into play where it provides you the boost of clarity and confidence to showcase why you’re the company to go for in your customers’ point of view.  

This article will delve into how incorporating interactive elements like quizzes, polls, and videos can transform passive readers into active participants, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates. 

So, let’s get started.  

Why Should Marketers Care About Interactive Email? 

To start, let’s first define what interactive email experience is. This marketing tool is a way to boost engagement by involving the recipient or receiving customers directly. This could be in ways of filling out surveys, clicking through a carousel, or even watching embedded videos attached to the email itself.  

Also, interactive emails can help you get involved with the customers directly which could be beneficial in terms of garnering feedback that could help you as a marketer. Some information is just not available through research and would be best to get from the actual audience itself.  

Speaking of research, it shows that interactive leads to incremental improvements in engagement metrics which could be substantial if you send multiple sets of emails at once. For instance, adding videos or interactive content may lead to increases in click-to-open rate by 73%, and interactive emails have always been preferred by many recipients over this span of studies.  

Wendy’s Approach to Interactive Email 

To give you a small example, popular restaurant chain Wendy’s provides email campaigns that use countdown timers to create a sense of urgency surrounding this promotion. This simple interactive element shows that encouraging immediate action from recipients is a worthwhile venture for marketers all over the globe—evident in Wendy’s case as being one of the more prominent restaurant chains in the market.  

Actionable Strategy #1: Implementing Embedded Polls and Surveys 

How to Embed Polls and Surveys 

One of many interactive strategies you can do that also happens to be immensely easy and effective is embedding polls or surveys. For starters, these warrant customer engagement through answering questions and thus educating you with what’s on the mind of your audience. 

It also helps create rapport in that customers will feel valued by their word. Answering questions will help them assess the products or services you are providing.  

To create and embed polls and surveys in emails, marketers can use HTML or AMP formats to include interactive forms directly within the email body. This allows recipients to respond without leaving their inbox, which can greatly enhance response rates and data collection​​. 

Benefits of Embedded Polls and Surveys 

By embedding polls and surveys directly in emails, marketers can capture real-time feedback and valuable data directly from their audience.  

This immediate interaction not only boosts engagement but also provides marketers with actionable insights based on user responses. The convenience of in-email interaction can lead to higher completion rates and more accurate data​  

Example and Visual Guide 

A practical example of this strategy in action is Mailmodo’s use of AMP technology to embed forms within emails.  

This approach allows users to, for instance, book appointments or answer surveys directly within the email, simplifying the process and enhancing user compliance. Screenshots or step-by-step guides on setting these up typically illustrate how these elements appear in an email and guide users on how to interact with them​​. 

But how exactly do we embed polls in a practical way? Below are the steps to do so: 

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown for creating an embedded survey in an email: 

• Design the Survey: Use a simple design tool or software that supports AMP to create the survey. 
• Integrate with Email: Embed the survey into the email using AMP-specific tags such as <amp-form> which allows for interactive elements within the email body. 
• Test Across Email Clients: Ensure the functionality works across different email platforms, with fallback options for email clients that do not support AMP. 
• Send and Analyze: Deploy the email to your target audience and use built-in analytics to track interaction and completion rates. 

Actionable Strategy #2: Using Animated GIFs and Videos 

Have you ever sent a friend a funny GIF out of a reaction from a chat, tweet, or email? Engaging with your customers can be the same way, and it helps form closer bonds—especially in this Gen-Z-dominant world we live in.  

Incorporating animated GIFs and videos in your email marketing can transform the way subscribers engage with your content. Videos offer a dynamic way to present detailed information and stories, making complex ideas more accessible and memorable.  

They increase email open rates by capturing interest with a rich, visual experience that stands out in a crowded inbox​​. Animated GIFs provide a lighter, quicker visual punch, effectively illustrating points or showcasing products without requiring the same commitment or bandwidth as videos​. 

Benefits 

Videos increase understanding and retention of information, which can lead to higher conversion rates. They allow for storytelling that connects emotionally with viewers, giving a face and voice to your brand​​. 

GIFs are excellent for grabbing attention quickly. They can convey emotions or demonstrate product features effectively in a format that’s easy to consume. GIFs work well across all email platforms, ensuring your message gets delivered as intended. 

To start incorporating these amazing benefits, here are some of the tips you can follow:  

• Select appropriate content: Choose GIFs and videos that align with the message and tone of your email. Ensure they enhance rather than distract from your main message. 
• Optimize for email clients: Not all email clients support advanced interactivity like videos. Use fallback images for videos and ensure the first frame of your GIF communicates the essential message in case it doesn’t animate. 
• Monitor file sizes: Keep your email load times quick by compressing videos and GIFs to avoid slow downloads that could lead to subscriber drop-off​. 

Conclusion 

As a marketer, you don’t want your audience to view you as “just that company”. Most will simply do the conventional marketing strategies without considering that the market desires to connect with you more. 

It’s your job to secure that connection and ensure that the strategies implemented are sound and effective. With all the right tools and theories, it shouldn’t be too hard engaging with your audience as we already do so on a day to day basis—all we need to do is implement them in our current marketing plans!