If You’re Not Using Kinetic Email, You’re Missing Out — Here’s Why

When it comes to thinking about interactive content — especially in email, the focus usually goes to two areas.

The first is what’s called dynamic features. These are closely linked up with things like segmentation and personalization. The easiest way to think about it is your email can go from Hi |%Name%| to Hi Diego.

Dynamic features are the things that allow your email to change based on the data you input.

Where interactive content in emails really gets kicked up a notch is through kinetic features.

This is where your emails are asking readers to actively engage with them, not just through viewing, but by moving your fingers, tapping, clicking, scratching, and smashing.

Where kinetic emails stand out

We cover more on the basics of kinetic emails here but check out this example first to get a sense of what we mean with kinetic action.

Interacting with this type of content involves way more than simply clicking.

Your readers will have to click and hold to ‘tear’ the guesses away in order to reveal the correct answer. That simple action is enough to start triggering responses in people’s brains.

A lot of this is what drives the success of reveal marketing. ‘Hiding’ information and asking people to participate to find the answer hits all sorts of psychological triggers.

Remember, kinetic email helps to bring interactive content to a new level. It’s not just about checking out a gif or watching a video. Kinetic emails go beyond that which is just one reason why they are so powerful.

Here’s another example from Nike that uses kinetic and a subtle type of reveal in a super simple format.

An email like this has a couple of things going for it.

First, it’s visually appealing. For the segmented audience that it’s speaking to — women who want professional level workout gear — this has a great image up front.

Then you get to the kinetic part of the email. All of those plus signs are calling for you to click on them and see what’s revealed.

In this case, each plus sign corresponds directly with an item of clothing. So, in an ideal world, the reader is going to open the email and think ‘wow that sports bra could be perfect for my workout needs.’

That’s exactly what Nike is hoping for. So, with the kinetic format of the email, they can take things a step further.

When the reader clicks on the plus sign they are given the name of the item, a mini description, and most importantly, a link to buy it directly from the email.

For the readers who are ready and excited to buy, it’s simple. All they have to do is click on the link in the revealed box, and they’re brought directly to the product they want, not just the store.

See how this type of email directly engages with the reader and makes it much easier for them to buy?

What you’re missing out on not using interactive emails

Our own research has shown that brands that use interactive content in their emails have seen a 4x increase in top-line click-through rates.

That’s a huge lift when so many industries are already struggling with getting readers to even open emails in the first place. But with kinetic emails. you’re showing your readers that you’re willing to do something special in their inbox.

That stands out when so many emails are, well let’s face it, kind of boring.

And readers are rewarding it by spending more time engaging with these types of emails and clicking on them too.

All those extra clicks make a real impact when it comes to the success of your brand and growing your customer base.

Those extra clicks also mean you can gather even more information about your readers and customer base. You can see what products are jumping out to them or what kind of interactive games or quizzes are driving the most clicks.

And as every marketer knows, the more information you can gather from your customers the easier it is to create email marketing campaigns that really knocks their socks off.

So think about where you can start adding kinetic emails into your marketing mix.