The Latest Email Marketing Trends: Summer 2024
Episode 867: Show Notes
From the incredible potential of generative AI to the allure of fully customized experiences, there are numerous innovative ways to elevate your email strategy. While I can’t predict the future, I can share what I’m seeing in the world of email marketing to help you stay ahead of the curve! By leveraging industry research, inbox analysis, and deep reflection on my own business, I’ve compiled some of the hottest trends for 2024. These insights will help you harness the power of email marketing and take your campaigns to the next level.
If you haven’t yet considered email marketing as an opportunity for your business, this is your sign to start! Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started, these trends will guide you in creating engaging, relevant content for 2024 and beyond. Don't miss this opportunity to revolutionize your email marketing strategy and stand out in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Download our free Email Case Study for even more tips!
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Why Email Marketing Matters for Your Business, Even If It's Not Your Core Focus
I recently attended a creator conference where I met numerous people who consider their email newsletter to be their entire business. I was fascinated by this! It took me back to the early days of Boss Project when I used to publish five blog posts a week. That’s right; five a week! I’m certainly no stranger to creating content and there was a period in Boss Project’s history when I strongly considered being a media-only company.
Many of us divide our attention between serving clients, building membership programs, creating courses, offering agency-style services, and more. Regardless of what you’re selling, you’re probably bouncing between several different offerings. While communication as a primary service can be highly lucrative (digital media startup Morning Brew was acquired by Insider for $75 million!), it probably doesn’t make sense for the majority of us. However, I want you to place more value on the email list you already have. The people who have subscribed to your newsletter trust you, and that is worth a lot! Whether you’re monetizing your list by selling products and services or doing affiliate marketing, your email subscribers have inherent value.
Unlocking the Power of Email Content
Often, we think of email marketing as a tool to drive traffic to the content on our website, but emails ARE content in their own right! I learned this from Future Social's Jack Appleby (formerly a writer at Morning Brew), who shared his most recent newsletter with me. Reading it, I was confused. It looked like a blog post! It turns out that there is a whole world of people publishing long-form content, calling it a newsletter, and sending it out to their subscriber base. I hadn’t considered email BEING the content!
We spend so much time writing and developing content for our email marketing campaigns, but then it feels like it disappears into the ether. There’s something wonderful about the idea that the content we create for our emails can live on for people to discover. Now, your blog and your newsletter needn’t be one and the same thing, but you can shift the way you think about writing email content and even repurpose it by publishing it to your website. Thoughtful content not only builds your brand, it can also generate leads and drive traffic directly to your other marketing channels, leading to short-term wins and long-term gains.
Harnessing AI Innovation while Maintaining Your Personal Touch
There is a lot of controversy about AI-generated content. I’m not here to tell you that content written by AI is good or bad. I believe that AI is a great tool that enables creators to develop content more quickly and efficiently. It can also be used as a brainstorming tool to flesh out ideas and concepts you might be stuck on. Personally, I would hesitate to lean too heavily into using it to replace yourself completely. Writing your own content is so powerful! Your subscribers opted in because they respect your opinion on the topics in your particular niche.
More and more, people are craving human connection. They want to feel like they’re part of something. What is increasingly lacking in our AI-driven world is a human touch, which isn’t possible without infusing your personal experiences into your content. AI hasn’t lived your life. AI doesn’t know your funny anecdotes. All of those personal touches can be intertwined into engaging content that is entertaining, educational, and adds value for your audience.
Trends in Mobile-First Email Design (and Why It’s So Important)
One of the email marketing trends that has reached a precipice we can no longer ignore is designing for mobile first. We’ve been on this accessibility train for a while now, and we went from designing exclusively for desktop to starting to think about devices a number of years ago. Responsiveness was a necessary evolution. That being said, emails are now being consumed predominantly on mobile devices.
When that happens, the way that you write and layout your content simply has to be different. Even if your email is responsive, large, text-heavy content blocks can be difficult to read on your phone. You need to think about how to break up your text blocks more efficiently. Consider including more headers or bullet points, for example. How can you make your newsletter easier to consume? What would you do differently if you knew someone was simply scanning it and swiping by? It’s important to make your emails as accessible to as many people as possible.
Boosting List Growth Through Recommendations
I’ve noticed a recent movement in newsletter lists growing via recommendations. This means that the moment someone opts into an email list, a list of other suggested newsletters they might be interested in pops up. Do I think this is a good idea? Well, I definitely see it as an opportunity to gain exposure to new audiences and get fresh eyeballs on the content you’re working so hard to create. My concern is that this isn’t necessarily ideal growth. Sure, you might be able to grow your numbers quite quickly. But are those ideal subscribers who are going to go on to purchase your other offers and services? The likelihood is that the conversion rates in this group are going to be smaller, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
How to Leverage Customization in Your Email Campaigns
Consumers today have come to expect personalized content and experiences, both online and offline. To meet those demands, marketers are leveraging email personalization to move toward more tailored 1:1 experiences that are relevant to an individual customer’s interests. Instead of using highly sophisticated systems that employ AI to create variations in your emails based on customer-specific data, you can simulate this in a way that feels more personal and allows you to stay in charge. If you haven’t thought about using something like link actions to add or remove subscribers from email segments based on their behavior with just a click of a button, now is the time!
Download our free Email Case Study For even more tips!
Stay in the Loop
I have a lot more email content planned for you in the coming weeks. I’ve been really focused on growing my audience this year and I hope to help you do the same. Believe it or not, I added more than 10,000 subscribers to my email list in the first six months of 2024! Stay tuned as I break down all of the strategies I used and share how they can benefit you and your business.
To ensure that you don’t miss any of my future announcements, subscribe to my newsletter.
Quote This
Whether you’re monetizing your email list and selling your own products and services or you’re doing affiliate marketing– ultimately, those subscribers have inherent value.
Highlights
Why Email Marketing Matters for Your Business, Even If It's Not Your Core Focus. [0:02:01]
Unlocking the Power of Email Content. [0:08:58]
Harnessing AI Innovation while Maintaining Your Personal Touch. [0:11:58]
Trends in Mobile-First Email Design (and Why It’s So Important). [0:14:46]
Boosting List Growth Through Recommendations. [0:19:30]
How to Leverage Customization in Your Email Campaigns. [0:23:24]
OUR HOST:
Abagail Pumphrey
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:
Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Trends, Automation, AI
