Interactive Email: The Secret Weapon to Boosting Engagement and Sales
An interactive email includes dynamic elements to provide an engaging customer experience.
Perhaps you recently introduced a new product, or you’re running a special offer and are eager to share the news with your subscribers. Let’s face it: static emails can make your brand look similar to every other email customers receive, increasing the likelihood of fewer responses.
But what if you could inject some life into your emails and allow subscribers to participate in your brand journey?
Let’s enter the world of interactive emails, the secret to boosting engagement and sales.
What is Interactive Email?
An interactive email contains elements that allow customers to take action within the email, instead of being redirected to a separate webpage. It can include dynamic elements to increase user engagement and improve personalization. This allows the recipients to take action within their inbox, leading to a higher click-through rate for your email campaigns.
Instead of recipients viewing your messages, interactive elements give them a chance to become a part of your brand experience. For example, you can let them add products to the cart, rate their experience, participate in surveys, or play a game inside their inbox.
Let’s review the key features of interactive emails.
| Key Feature | Examples/Use cases |
|---|---|
| Clickable elements | ButtonsPollsSurveysProduct carousels |
| Dynamic content | Emails displaying products based on customer preferences or previous purchase history |
| Accordions or dropdowns | They help customers read information inside the email instead of scrolling or visiting another page |
| Embedded videos or Gifs | They add appeal and increase recipient engagement |
The Benefits of Interactive Email Marketing
Customers have a need and seek brands that satisfy their requirements. This could mean they receive a lot of similar brand communication, minimizing their attention span.
Interactive email marketing can offer hands-on email experiences, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
Here are the key benefits of sending interactive emails:
- Higher engagement: Recipients are likelier to engage with visually appealing and interactive emails than static and text-heavy ones.
- Increased click-through rates: Interactive elements capture recipient attention, increasing open and click-through rates.
- Enhanced user experience: Email gamification, such as quizzes and mini-games, can make the email experience more enjoyable. Additionally, it improves personalization based on previous client interactions.
- Access to real-time data: Interactive pieces such as quizzes and polls can provide real-time data, helping you understand audiences better.
- Improved behavioral tracking: Gamified elements can lead to better email engagement, providing in-depth customer journey behavior data.
- Reduced bounce rates: Engaging and unique email content can improve open rates and reduce bounce rates.
- Innovative brand image: Including interactive elements can position your brand as customer-focused.
- Enhanced social sharing: Unique experiences encourage people to share them with friends and family, increasing brand exposure.
Buyers, when given too many options, are generally frustrated and unable to make a decision. Consider including highly relevant interactive elements in your emails to make their decision-making easier.
Let’s analyze the different interactive elements below.
Types of Interactive Email Elements
The right interactive element will help recipients engage with your email content instead of passively reading it. They can tap, scratch, or click on your emails for a more enjoyable and educative experience.
You can include the following types of interactive elements in your email campaigns.
| Types of Interactive Elements | What They does |
|---|---|
| Polls and surveys | They gather feedback and opinions from recipients from within the email |
| Carousel and sliders | They showcase multiple products within the email |
| Quizzes and games | They engage users with fun and engaging content that can also gather immediate feedback |
| Hover effects | They reveal additional information when clients hover over an image or button |
| Interactive infographics | They present data in a way customers can engage and learn from |
| Videos and animation | Provide a rich user experience |
| Forms and RSVP | Encourage user action while helping you collect in-depth customer information |
| Clickable images | Enable users to click on parts of an image to help them navigate to specific sections or third-party platforms |
| Interactive maps | They provide an engaging way to showcase locations and directions |
| Product configurations | Allow customers to interact with a product before making a purchase |
Let’s look at a brief explanation of the major interactive element types.
1. Polls and Surveys
Polls and surveys are fine ways to gather customer insights right from your email. Real-time feedback helps improve aspects that customers prioritize, such as quicker product delivery or better customer service.
You can use the following types of polls:
- Single-choice polls: Recipients select one option from a list of choices.
- Multiple-choice polls: Customers can choose more than one option from the list.
- Rating scales: Allows users to rate a product or service on a scale (e.g., 1 to 5 stars)
- Yes/No questions: Users choose from yes or no options.
- Preference ranking: Customers rank a list of options in order of preference.
Virgin Atlantic uses a simple rating system from 1-10 to understand customers’ experience with them. The email copy is straightforward and immediately asks for the recipient’s feedback.
2. Carousels and Sliders
Carousels help showcase information in a single slide, eliminating unnecessary back and forth. Customers can access the next slide by clicking arrows or swiping (on touch devices).
This interactive element maximizes the space and keeps users engaged by allowing them to explore the pieces at their own pace.
In the example above, users can click on the arrows to access the next section.
3. Hover Effects
Hover effects are usually used to emphasize CTA or links. These elements quickly swap images, revealing additional information.
Hover effects can be used in the following ways:
- Image swap,
- Text reveals,
- Zoom in/out,
- Color change,
- Shadow effect,
- Glow effect,
- underline/overline.
B&Q uses hover effects to change screens immediately. The brand neatly sidelines the options, allowing users to hover over any to view information.
4. Videos and Animation
44% of people spend time watching videos in emails. Using videos as interactive elements can maximize lead-generation efforts since they convey professionalism.
However, be mindful of the video length and quality. With a lower attention span, shorter videos with captions help build positive customer relationships.
Warner Bros. combines videos and images to introduce their new arrival, Justice League. By clearly mentioning “Watch now” below the video, they eliminate viewers’ doubts.
5. Gamification Elements
Whether scratch-off discounts or spinning the wheel, gamification elements raise customers’ curiosity and competitive spirit.
Gamification can be:
- Quizzes,
- Simple games embedded in emails,
- Spin-to-win wheels,
- Point systems,
- Leaderboards,
- Treasure hunts,
- Badges and achievements,
- Progress bars.
Jarrang includes a twelve-day Christmas calendar, urging customers to click and explore each of them.
Pro Tip: Using Campaign Refinery’s Engagement Rewards feature, clients can set up a point system for every action subscribers take on their emails. The points can then be redeemed for mini-courses, PDF downloads, access to VIP content, and similar.
Interactive Email Best Practices
Interactive emails can be exciting to create, but going overboard can overwhelm readers.
Remember these interactive email best practices:
- Maintain a clear goal: Ensure each interactive email has a purpose and ties back with the overall email content.
- Create a fallback version: Always create a fallback version for users of email clients that do not support interactive elements.
- Provide alternative text: Include alternative text descriptions for interactive elements to help people with disabilities and improve email accessibility.
- Balance interactive elements: Too many interactive elements can distract users. To maintain balance, use a maximum of 2-3 elements.
- Test on multiple devices: Test your interactive elements on different devices and email clients to ensure they display correctly.
- Re-check file sizes: Larger interactive elements can slow users’ loading time. Verify the file size and keep it simple.
As we move on to the technical aspect of building an interactive email, you’ll see there are two ways to create an interactive email.
How to Create an Interactive Email?
There are two main ways to create interactive emails:
- Using email design tools,
- Custom coding with HTML and CSS
Email Design Tools
Many email marketing platforms offer built-in interactive elements and email campaign templates that allow you to create one without coding.
These tools typically use a drag-and-drop interface to design emails.
Here’s the usual workflow for creating an interactive email in an ESP:
- Select an email template,
- Use the drag-and-drop interface to add interactive elements,
- Customize the appearance and behavior of each component,
- Preview your email to ensure it functions well across email clients,
- Send your interactive email campaign to your subscribers.
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) technology, an open-source framework developed by Google, helps you create interactive emails with faster-loading pages. This is how you can send interactive emails from popular email clients and ESPs. It also improves user experience and overall email marketing results.
AMP may be more complex than it sounds; review the security requirements to understand your eligibility.
Custom Coding With HTML and CSS
Complex interactive experiences require you to code emails using HTML, CSS, or Javascript. This method offers more flexibility if you possess sufficient email client compatibility and coding knowledge.
You can develop the email structure using HTML and style it with CSS. Before coding, ensure you plan the interactivity and design visual elements using design software.
If you are torn between using HTML vs. plain text email, read our exhaustive guide to find out the best solution.
Best Tools for Use in Interactive Email Campaigns
With people attuned to unique digital encounters, making someone feel special takes much more than gamified emails. An interactive email is a cohesive experience that must consistently align with your brand goals.
For this, choosing a reliable tool to build it becomes a priority.
Surf through our list of the best tools for creating interactive email campaigns.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Campaign Refinery | Offers engagement gamification and integration with third-party countdown timers for higher email engagement |
| Litmus | Provides tools to create, test, and analyze interactive emails over different email clients |
| Mailchimp | Offers a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop interactive elements or import custom HTML templates |
| Stripo | Allows creating professional AMP emails without HTML coding knowledge |
| BEE Free | Provides drag-and-drop email builder with forms and surveys |
| Chamaileon | Features a collaborative email builder with interactive elements and advanced design capabilities |
| Movable Ink | Focuses on creating interactive elements within emails |
The above platforms help you with AMP-ready email templates, allowing you to create interactive emails quickly and efficiently without coding. But while you focus on email aesthetics, ensuring they reach recipient inboxes is equally essential.
Email deliverability is a critical component in determining your interactive email success rate. With stiff market competition, you want to be the first to make people experience unique email interactivity. This is possible by using a reliable email marketing service that adopts clean-sending practices and security protocols to ensure a higher inbox placement rate.
Streamline Email Deliverability for Your Interactive Emails
Campaign Refinery has mastered the art of inbox placement. Our clients consistently noticed a 6x increase in email deliverability rates after working with us.
Here’s why Campaign Refinery can be a valuable asset to your interactive email marketing:
- Increases focus on email deliverability: We prioritize getting your emails to customers’ inboxes by verifying your email domain to reduce bounces and improve deliverability. Our automatic email list cleaning tool eliminates invalid and harmful email addresses to enhance sender reputation.
- Provides seamless integration: Campaign Refinery integrates over 800 tools, including third-party countdown timers, providing a seamless experience.
- Helps gamify your emails: Our Engagement Rewards feature has improved email campaign metrics and allowed clients’ subscribers access to unique resources.
- Allows you to focus: By handling the deliverability side of things, Campaign Refinery allows you to focus on creating compelling content and interactive elements for your email campaigns.
- Provides robust analytics and tracking: Our platform offers a comprehensive view of engagement metrics alongside deliverability data to understand audience behavior and areas for improvement.
Create impactful interactive emails with the highest deliverability rate on the market.
