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Creating Interactive Email Experiences in 2024

By: Holly Kindzierski, Copywriter | Oct 15, 2024 | 4 Minute Read

As digital communication evolves, interactive email experiences are becoming increasingly important for engaging modern audiences. By incorporating interactive content into your email campaigns, you can really encourage people to interact with what you’re sending, therefore producing more sales. Today, we'll explore why using an interactive approach in 2024 is essential and provide practical strategies for implementing them effectively!

The Evolution of Email Marketing

Like the rest of the technological world, email marketing has changed significantly over the years. Initially, it relied on generic, mass-mailed messages, but the landscape has since shifted towards more personalized and interactive approaches. This transformation was driven by the need to stand out in crowded inboxes and speak to increasingly discerning recipients. Of course, technological developments have helped this progress as well.

Today, creating immersion through interactive email design has become a cornerstone of effective digital communication strategies, allowing you to captivate your subscribers and get those oh-so-important clicks. This shift towards interactivity marks a notable moment in the evolution of email marketing, promising stronger loyalty and more sales. 

Black f Highlight

Interactive emails can drive engagement and boost sales for a standout Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Consider these strategies: Create emails with embedded polls to gauge interest in upcoming deals and quizzes that lead to personalized discounts. Use dynamic content like product carousels to showcase multiple offers in a single email. Add videos or GIFs to highlight limited-time promotions and capture attention. For example, an interactive email could feature a quiz about preferred holiday gifts, leading to a tailored offer based on responses. This approach not only captures interest but also encourages clicks, setting your BFCM campaigns apart from the competition.

Understanding Interactive Email Design

With the rise of smartphones, attention spans are short and competition for attention is fierce. Interactive email design allows your emails to actually be seen and interacted with. Here are some options to get you started:

  1. Clickable Buttons and CTAs: Use buttons with clear, compelling calls to action. Ensure they stand out visually and are easy to tap on mobile devices. Examples include “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” and “Get Started.”
  2. Quizzes: Integrate short, fun quizzes using tools like Typeform or SurveyMonkey to create them, and link the results to personalized product recommendations or content.
  3. Polls: Embed quick polls within your emails to gather feedback or opinions. This not only engages your customers but also provides valuable insights into their preferences. Tools like Google Forms or Pollfish can be useful here.
  4. Dynamic Content: Use carousels and sliders to showcase multiple products or pieces of content within a single email. This keeps the email visually interesting and interactive. Platforms like Mailchimp or Litmus can help you here.
  5. Embedded Videos and GIFs: Add videos and GIFs to make your emails more dynamic. Keep videos short so that they convey your message quickly. Use tools like Wistia or Giphy to find and embed relevant videos and GIFs.

By utilizing these features, you’ll improve user satisfaction and encourage your subscribers to support your business! It’s a win for you and it’s a win for your customers.


The Brass Tacks of Interactive Email Marketing

When it comes down to it, we all like to see the results. The percentages. The statistic. So we’re going to share those with you as they pertain to interactive emails. 

According to Streetbees, 65% of users follow social media accounts for interesting content. You may think this is obvious, but there are plenty of other reasons to follow businesses, such as providing feedback, checking in on company news, and receiving offers and discounts. While offers and discounts were the number one reason to follow accounts (75%), the fact that interesting content ranks second is a positive note for interactive marketing in general. Your followers likely want to engage with your brand, you just need to give them a way to do so.

Emails with multimedia such as images and/or videos have the highest performance, with 44% of survey responders in a Hubspot study reporting this information.

Now, let’s talk about money and how interactive emails led to a 10% increase in Welcome Flow revenue and 3X ROI for Immi. Kevin Lee transitioned from tech to the $42 billion food industry by founding Immi, a healthier Asian American food brand. Immi aimed to boost revenue by simplifying their email process. Embedding a Shopify widget in their Welcome Flow increased revenue by 10%, allowing customers to browse and purchase without leaving the email. This change greatly increased Immi's email-driven sales and improved customer engagement.

Last but not least, for those of you who might be thinking of switching your tactics, especially your interactive efforts to social media, think again. The world is not moving away from email. In fact, Millennials and Gen X-ers rely on email more than any other generation, at 98%!

Key Strategies for Creating Interactive Email Experiences

When designing interactive emails, there are a few key practices you should follow to ensure your campaigns are successful. 

  1. Make sure your emails look good and work well on mobile devices. With more people checking their emails on phones than ever before, you don't want to miss out on connecting with your customers just because your email doesn't display properly.
  2. Personalize! Tailoring your emails to the preferences and behaviors of individual subscribers can make a big difference in how they're received. Segmenting your audience based on factors like demographics or past interactions can help you send more relevant interactive content to each group. 
  3. Don't forget to test different sections of your emails to see what works best. A/B testing subject lines, layouts, and calls-to-action can give you valuable insights into what your subscribers respond to, and help you refine your approach over time.

Implementing Interactive Elements

Incorporating interactive elements into your email campaigns can significantly boost engagement for better results. Start by leveraging reliable tools and platforms tailored for creating interactive emails, such as Survey Monkey’s integration with Klaviyo or Litmus’ catalog of interactive email features. These platforms offer intuitive interfaces and diverse interactive features, enabling you to build the interactive email marketing plan of your dreams without advanced coding skills.

When assessing the performance of your interactive emails, prioritize key metrics like: 

Utilize analytics tools provided by your email marketing platform or third-party services to monitor subscriber interactions and identify areas for enhancement. Additionally, conduct A/B tests to compare interactive elements and determine which resonates most effectively with your list. Through continuous analysis and refinement, you can optimize your interactive email campaigns for maximum impact.

Conclusion

To sum it up, emails with interactive content will help you get through 2024 successfully. They’ll not only help you stand out in a world where 361.6 billion emails are sent per day, but they'll convert curious customers to loyal ones, making your brand shine. As we move forward in 2024, interactive emails are a must-have tool in your marketing arsenal.

Our team at Arctic Leaf has extensive experience integrating interactive elements into both drip and scheduled campaigns, helping brands achieve their goals. Using tools like SurveyMonkey’s integration with Klaviyo or Litmus’ catalog of interactive features, we can help you create compelling emails without needing advanced coding skills.

Best of all, we don’t just send and forget. We’ll track key metrics and continue testing and iterating to refine your strategy. Ready to boost your revenue and captivate your audience? Reach out to Arctic Leaf, and let’s make it happen together!