Artwork by Hank Ewbank , Brandon Lord , MadeByStudioJQ and SALU With the trend of off- grid and abstract designs in emails over the past year, brands have harnessed the power of compositions that stray from conventional formatting to grab attention and keep subscribers engaged with their content. As 2020 approaches, we expect to see this style evolve, with abstractions becoming more extreme, bringing distortion to layouts, images, and animation. Taking the abstractions to the extreme pushes the audience to try to make sense of the elements presented to them. They force the eye and generate intrigue, which has a positive impact on engagement. Abstract , a version control and collaboration app, distorts the typography of the hero image in this newsletter with a glitchy gif: View this email in Litmus Builder 7. Take animation to the next level Animation was undeniably a major trend in 2019, and it should be big in 2020 as well. We expect this trend to evolve in several ways: Animated PNGs (APNGs), which bring transparency and more color to animation than the trusty GIF, are likely to grow in popularity. With better email client support than CSS animation - and the Image Masking Service ability to use a GIF fallback - APNG's popularity is expected to grow. Our October newsletter featured a number of APNGs, allowing us to hide and show animations with a switch. Micro-interactions have been making waves in the user experience design world for several years. Last year we started to see them becoming a popular form of visual content in emails and we expect this trend to continue. A micro-interaction can be small, like a prompt to swipe or tap, or an example of how a feature or process works. Digital businesses often use this style of animation to highlight product launches and new features, helping customers understand the process and the benefits. Vimeo highlights accessibility updates to its embeddable player with this animated hero image: View this email in Litmus Builder Cheerful animations have also been making waves in the messaging world recently and will only become more popular in our inboxes as brands embrace this uplifting form of storytelling. With emails likely to become simpler to help get key messages across quickly

With 2020 just around the corner, we're about to enter a new decade of email design. But what visual design trends will shape the look of email in the 2020s? The trends that dominated designs in 2019 will still be popular in the coming year. We'll continue to see bold colors , bold typography , and off-the-grid designs . But new digital design trends will make their way into the world of email design over the next few months. Here are 10 email design trends that will hit your inboxes in 2020. 1. More image depth with 3D imaging Artwork by Peter Tarka and Leo Natsume Major brands are adopting 3D to make images more realistic and intriguing. Compared to traditional flat images, 3D effects can help bring products or characters to life, make elements of the composition stand out and highlight key messages. Since creating 3D images can be a lot of work, they don't often show up Image Masking Service in email designs…yet. But when it does, it's incredibly powerful. Designmodo , which offers a range of web and email resources, brings a bit of 3D to the hero of this Black Friday campaign, making their discount stand out: View full email in Litmus Builder 2. Isometric illustrations Artwork by Dmitrii Kharchenko , Tanner Wayment , Maya Ealey and Muti The defining characteristic of an isometric drawing - and what distinguishes it from 3D illustration - is that it is built around equal 30 degree angles, ensuring that an image is not distorted. What makes isometric illustrations so popular is that they combine a 3D feel with the simplicity of a flat design. This approach to visual content can help convey more complexity than is possible in 2D form. Additionally, exploded isometric images can really dig deeper into detail by showing layers and showing parts of a product or process that might otherwise be hidden. Isometric designs have become increasingly popular on the web in 2019, and we expect more of them to hit our inboxes in 2020.

We've all heard the stats that it costs more to attract a customer than to retain them, but what makes this ongoing relationship so lucrative? Obviously, trust, a great customer experience, and quality service or product are the foundation of customer loyalty. Ideally, however, your customer's relationship with your business will grow over time, rather than stagnate. As you learn more about your customer and their needs change, you have the opportunity to present upsells. However, you need to tread lightly or you risk damaging your reputation with customers. When to use upsell emails There is never a shortage of terms and jargon in marketing, so let's look at some words associated with upselling. Upselling encourages a customer to purchase a more expensive version of your product or upgrade their account. Cross-selling suggests related products or services to complement what the customer has. The differences between upselling and cross-selling in SaaS emails have to do with what you suggest and when. However, the best practices we'll discuss below apply to both strategies. Are cart abandonment emails a form of upselling? Although the main action of encouraging a customer to buy more than they were going to is similar between these emails, they are not the same. The upsell emails we're going to talk about here are for existing customers or trial users . When E-Commerce Photo Editing Service trying to focus on upsell emails, it helps to consider them in context. Here are some scenarios where you would use an upsell email. After a purchase. "Would you like fries with that?" is a classic upsell just before the sale closes. While you can choose to recommend upsells or cross-sells when someone completes a purchase on your site, upsell emails will come immediately after the sale. At the end of a free trial. Upsell SaaS emails come to the end of a free trial when it's time for a user to make the decision to upgrade to a paid plan. Likewise, upsell emails are useful to send when a user is approaching their account limits. When a user reaches a milestone. Sending upsell emails isn't just a money grab: you're presenting the best solution for customers. If a customer has reached a particular milestone or anniversary, it might be time to invite them to offer a more advanced solution. When you launch a new product. I already own an iPhone, but Apple sends me emails about their latest devices, hoping to upgrade me. You can do the same! 4 Ideas for Upselling Emails Deciding when to send an upsell email is only part of the equation for achieving maximum conversions. You also need to know what to sell and how to present it. Here are some email upselling best practices to add to your mental toolbox.

Can you review this email for me? I'm sending you a quick test! » "Hey, could you review the email I sent you the other day?" Thank you!" "Wait, where are Tom's comments?" » If you've used any of these phrases in the last month, you've probably got the email review blues. Symptoms include scattered comments, contradictory comments, hours of bouncing between comments and editing, and increased headaches. Unfortunately, this is a trend that our community is experiencing more and more. Over the past few years, our State of Email Workflows report has revealed a declining percentage of marketers who believe their email review process is fair. For some, the email approval process is too cumbersome. On average, marketers spend 4.2 hours collecting reviews and approvals for a single email, which is usually longer than it took to code it. Others may struggle with an overly lax email review workflow, resulting in errors falling through the cracks. Does it really have to be like this? Let's explore. What Can Ruin Email Reviews and Approvals In theory, you Image Masking Service should be able to welcome the email review process with open arms. Anyone who has ever pointed out to a team member an obvious flaw that you completely ignored understands how nice it is to have a fresh perspective on your work. So what is the cause of this terrible revision epidemic? There are three main culprits. Problem #1: Scattered comments Imagine you want to make yourself a sandwich for lunch, but the bread is in the bathroom, the vegetables are in the garage, and the cheese is in your closet. Walking around gathering ingredients and ending up in the kitchen would be time consuming and boring. It might sound like a ridiculous scenario, but it's what email marketers have to deal with when they need to get feedback from different stakeholders. We asked our community how they receive feedback via email, and many marketers reported that they use multiple channels to collect feedback on a single email . The most common way to receive feedback was by email.

In this episode of Delivering, host Jason Rodriguez explains how Gmail classifies messages as spam before looking at a potentially disruptive new email service and the state of email investigations in 2020. Episode Transcript Welcome to Delivering, a podcast about design, strategy, copywriting, development, and the email marketing industry. I'm your host, Jason Rodriguez. Delivery is brought to you by Litmus, the only platform professionals trust to help you email with confidence, every time. Over 600,000 marketers use Litmus tools to create, test and analyze better email campaigns faster. Visit litmus.com to start your 7-day free trial of Litmus and start sending better emails today. Be sure to subscribe to Delivering on iTunes or Spotify to listen to future episodes and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag . The other week, someone on Twitter—sorry, can't remember who—linked to a Google article that shed some light on how Gmail detects and categorizes spam. In fact, the title of the article is Prevent blocking or spamming Gmail users . Catchy, right? The article was previously called the Bulk Sender Guidelines and is in a Help section on Bulk Emailing. Since most email marketers consider what they do as "marketing" and not "bulk mailing", it's no surprise that I'm not E-Commerce Photo Editing Service familiar with this article or its previous version. I'd bet most email marketers don't know that. Which is a shame, because it's an interesting read. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to skim through the article to get an overview of how Gmail classifies messages as spam. It sounds good ? Cool, let's go. The first thing email users should note is that Gmail makes it very clear from the start that even if you follow all of the recommendations in the guide, there's no guarantee that your messages will get delivered to a subscriber's inbox. It's also worth noting that Gmail distinguishes between the different levels of action it will take on suspicious messages. It's not just about marking a message as spam. While Google may do this, in which case the message will go to a subscriber's spam folder, Gmail may slow message delivery over time or block delivery of your message altogether. This probably sounds scary to most subscribers, which is all the more reason to follow Gmail's guidelines. dvice is golden:

Jason: As with other types of emails, just try to be respectful and honest. Understanding that you need to take advantage of the low demand that still exists to make money, try to start a conversation with these companies to see if they really need your products right now . If not, try to hold back a bit so you don't seem insensitive. There might be other resources you can provide aside from your products that are more useful to them today, even if they are free. If you're genuinely helpful, they're more likely to remember that help when demand increases again and buy from you rather than a competitor. From a very practical standpoint, use the people you're stuck with at home to help you check your email. If you send something, read the copy aloud to them and watch their reactions. Ask them if it sounds dull or actually helpful. Don't worry if they're not part of the email industry: feedback from non-marketers is almost always much more valuable than feedback from our own industry bubble. What imagery is appropriate to use in email campaigns right now? Bettina: Empathy is crucial when deciding what to send and how to craft your copy, and the same goes for other email creatives. When looking at your existing emails, carefully review the images you use to make sure they are still appropriate. Be careful with images showing crowds or people holding hands - images that were absolutely perfect just a few weeks ago might Image Masking Service look insensitive today. When sending notifications directly related to the outbreak, it can be difficult to find the right image to support your message. That's why you'll see many brands go for a letter-like, text-based approach. Check out some examples at Really Good Emails . Is a COVID-19 announcement a transactional email I need to send to my entire list? Kristin: As always, you should only send an email as transactional if it meets the legal classifications of a transactional email . Chances are your COVID-19 announcement email isn't a transactional email that you should be sending out to your entire list. If you need to send a message specifically about a transaction a customer has made with your business, you can send it as a transactional email to the relevant customer(s) . Examples may be event cancellations or postponements, or other service-relevant changes such as shipping delays. I don't think general retail store closures warrant a transactional email, but could be sent as a commercial email or posted on social media.