Email Marketing Design Trends To Follow In 2020

With over 99% of users checking their emails daily, email marketing is far from dead. However, not every e-message out of the 290-billion sent every day is opened or clicked on. With 49% of SMBs rating visual graphics ‘very important’ to their marketing success, the defining factor of successful campaigns is design. 

The following article will teach you the best ways to skyrocket your email results using animation, 3D, dynamic content, and other top design tools. 

Designs Suited For The Dark Mode

Currently, 8.7% of marketers are focused on optimizing email for the dark mode. It’s an accessibility setting that lets the reader switch to a dark background on the email interface. It’s growing in preference because dark mode reduces eye strain by cutting out the blue light. 

Typically, people reading e-messages on devices enabled with a dark mode. Apple Mail, Outlook, and Gmail can use this feature. 

Here are a few tips to use this mode without hassles: 

• Ensure the color of images doesn’t include white or black backgrounds
• Use a contrasting color like blue, yellow or orange for the CTA button
• Outline your black fonts, images, and icons to stand out 
• Maintain transparency of images by using PNG or SVG 

Use of 3D Visuals

While a 2D image conveys a nearly-clear idea about a product, a 3D image makes it perfectly clear. That’s why incorporating 3D images can enhance the appearance of your emails. Additionally, it’ll uplift your brand quality. 

Moreover, 3D rendered images improve customer satisfaction because users can see what they’re paying for. A three-dimensional image improves trust by guaranteeing an immersive experience.

If you’re not ready to include 3D in your marketing, then make use of shading and texture on your 2D images. This will bring an oomph-factor. 

Rise of Interactive Designs 

Since 2019, the second-highest priority for marketers is interactivity. AMP is one of the best ways to offer an interactive experience within the inbox. Marketers can create a quiz for subscribers to complete from their email interface or through checkout. Brands like Doodle and Pinterest are already using this technique.

Gamification is yet another way to improve interactivity with your contacts. For example, instead of uploading a discount coupon, design a game where users can win freebies or coupons. 

More Animation 

With 22.8% of marketers using animations in email campaigns since last year, 2020 will likely see more. 

Truth be told, GIFs are common now. However, animated PNGs are starting to steal the spotlight this year. These are a collection of PNGs that animates smoothly across devices. The best part is that when you add it to emails, it’ll use the complete depth of colors, unlike GIFs. 

While APNGs are transparent, they might still inflate in size if you’re not careful. Use this feature if you have a majority of Apple Mail, iOS, Outlook, Samsung Mail, and Yahoo Mail users. 

Minimalist And Clean Layouts 

Users take less than 15 seconds to read commercial messages. Therefore, it’s important to keep your emails easy-to-access. 

Here are the best practices to keep in mind: 

• Always ensure your layout is attractive yet organized
• Go for broken grids or card layout instead of the generic column layout
• Use white space sufficiently to keep the message clean 
• Divide subtitles by borders to make the content easy to skim
• Make use of bold typography since the majority of email users can access web fonts now

Use of Dynamic Content 

Litmus research found that during last year, personalization paired with dynamic content was the highest priority of 40% of marketers. Moreover, personalizing email content alone can improve open rates by 26%. 

Admins can use AI to segment and target readers effortlessly these days. Dynamic content improves relevance, which ultimately improves your campaign results. 

Here are some important tips to take note of:

• Use demographics like age, location, job title, income, education, and so on 
• Make use of the preferences shared by subscribers such as interests, industry, and so forth
• Track the analytics from campaigns and then use the results to improve engagement 

Bottom Line 

Scannability, accessibility, and readability are the main targets of 2020. Marketers can start embracing new design features such as dark mode, 3D, or even 2D with textures.

Keeping it clean and minimal is a trend continuing from last year. Interactive designs that use AMP and gamification can also improve the impact of your marketing messages. If you’re focused on engagement, then it’s important that you utilize animation and dynamic content.