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Why Engagement Matters In Email

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In a world full of data, marketers have plenty of stats to choose from. But for email marketing, there might just be one number to rule them all: engagement.

While engagement might seem like a fancy buzzword that can have a somewhat nebulous meaning, the truth is it matters.

A lot.

And we’re not just talking about in terms of open and click-through rates — though you can bet your bottom line those are important. Engagement also makes a difference when it comes to email filters and deliverability too.

Poor or non-existent engagement rates can be a death knell for your email campaigns. So, you want to do everything you can to always keep engagement top of mind in everything you send out.

Here’s why it really matters.

Emails filters and deliverability issues

Email service providers are increasingly putting a lot of effort into delivering a more tailored experience for their users. A big part of that is collecting data.

Just like you’re looking at the data from people who open and click your emails, they’re doing the same.

And when there’s a pattern of a lot of users not actively engaging with emails (meaning opening, clicking, forwarding, reading, or replying) it’s a negative mark against your brand.

That negative mark is going to impact your deliverability.

Now couple that with actual complains. Some readers might mark your email as SPAM or just click delete without ever even taking a glance. For email service providers, all those behaviors hurt your email engagement scores, which can impact your total sender reputation.

Remember, email matters for more than just the sake of it. Solid emails that are entertaining, informative, and engaging also drive traffic to your website. For most marketers, more traffic means more opportunities to convert, which is a great thing. So if your emails aren't even hitting your reader's inboxes, you've got more than just an email problem on your hands.That's why engagement matters so much.

Google is just one example of an email provider that has gotten serious about protecting the inbox.

They are now using machine learning to track and trace bad emails and SPAM before it ever hits people’s inboxes. As you can see, in 2018 they removed 10 million malicious and SPAM emails every minute.

Don’t let one of your emails accidentally fall into that bucket.

Interactive content

If you’re feeling nervous about those dire deliverability warnings, don’t lose hope. There’s plenty you can do to win the inbox wars and make sure your emails are getting opened and clicked whenever you send them out.

Your best bet?

Interactive content.

More and more brands are seeing the value and potential of including interactive content in their email marketing campaigns.

Check out some of the most popular reasons for interactive content cited by marketers from this study:

Notice how engagement is one of the prominent answers?

Now if you really want to level up your engagement using interactive content consider creating kinetic emails.

These types of emails offer the next step when it comes to getting readers to actively engage with content. These emails are coded to have cool features like expanding content or sliding carousels within the email itself that encourages users to click.

You can see a few examples of kinetic emails in action here.

The above example is another kinetic email. When a reader taps their mouse or finger on the red buttons, additional information appears.

That simple extra motion of tapping can make all the difference in getting your readers excited for what else you have to offer. Not to mention it can help keep your emails in a place of prominence in their inbox.

Always think engagement first

Remember, email matters for more than just the sake of it. Solid emails that are entertaining, informative, and engaging also drive traffic to your website too.

That’s why email should play a vital role in your overall marketing strategy.

For most marketers, more traffic means more opportunities to convert, which is a great thing. So if your emails aren’t even hitting your reader’s inboxes, you’ve got more than just an email problem on your hands.

That’s why engagement matters so much.

So as you dive more into improving your email marketing and creating new campaigns, always keep engagement top of mind. Anything you can do to make your emails more interesting to your readers will pay off in the long run.

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