Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key part of modern marketing. Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 61.4% of marketers use AI to support their marketing efforts. Companies that wish to remain competitive in the future must stay abreast of the latest AI developments.
Email marketing is one of the many areas in which we can see AI being used. This is not a new phenomenon. But technology has slowly advanced to the point where AI is now a part of all email marketing strategies.
We’ll cover everything from the definition of AI and email marketing, to the benefits of AI and how to use AI to improve the results of your email marketing. You’ll find everything you need here to boost your email campaigns and use AI. Let’s get started.
What is AI in email marketing?
Artificial intelligence (AI) in email marketing refers to the use of AI technologies for email campaign creation, personalization, automation, testing, analysis, and optimization.
Statista reports that 32% of marketers use artificial intelligence (AI) and marketing automation to personalize emails and offers. When it comes to personalizing email subject lines and product recommendations, 22% of marketers combine AI with marketing automation.
This is only the tip of a very large iceberg. Let’s look at the benefits of AI before diving into the many different use cases.
What are the advantages of AI for email marketing?
The benefits of including AI in your email marketing strategies are not just theoretical statements but are backed by evidence. Instead of adopting AI for email marketing because other companies are doing it you should understand its benefits and compare results to industry benchmarks.
The following are the main benefits of AI for email marketing. (Data from Statista).
- Increase revenue The use of AI can have a positive effect on the bottom line. Marketers using AI for email personalization said their Revenue increased by 41%.
- Save Time– Businesses strive to save time and resources. Here’s where AI can be useful. For, 33% of marketers who use artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) in their marketing program, the main benefit is the time they save.
- Understand the customer’s preferences and behaviors– Understanding your customers is essential to improving results and fueling your business. According to 31% of professionals who use AI and ML, the tools have helped them gain insights into audience preferences, trends, and behaviors.
- Optimize Content– Marketers face constant pressure to produce more content. AI can assist them in their endeavor. 26 % of American marketers said that AI or ML had helped them optimize content.
AI can be used in email marketing campaigns.
Email marketing is a powerful tool that every marketer should use. Businesses are forced to compete for the attention of customers. Artificial intelligence can make you stand out from a crowded email inbox. Here’s how.
1. Improve subject lines
The subject line of your email can make or break the success of an email campaign. Your email subject line will be the first thing your customers see. If it isn’t attention-grabbing, they’ll ignore your email along with the thousands of others in their inbox.
AI can be of great assistance if you find yourself struggling to create compelling subject lines. Copy.ai offers features that allow you to generate subject lines for your emails by simply filling out a few simple forms.
How do you use it?
Test different subject lines and see which ones work best. You can use the email open rate to measure the results and identify patterns. This will help you develop email subject lines which are clicked.
2: Refine your email lists
It’s a full-time task to keep your email database up to date. Manually cleaning your email database can be a tedious process. It can be particularly challenging for small teams or businesses that have large email databases.
Using AI technology, you can update subscribers’ information, such as their job titles, phone number, or email address. It will improve deliverability and ensure that your email list is healthy.
How do you use it?
You can use an AI-based email validation tool to ensure that subscribers are providing the correct information at the time of subscription by removing typos and informing them about invalid emails. You can also detect and prevent invalid emails before you launch your campaign using real-time API scanning. This will lead to better deliverability and a lower bounce.
3. Create highly personalized emails
Unpersonalized emails are low-engagement because no one wants to be treated like a number. According to McKinsey, 71% of consumers demand personalized interactions from companies. Personalization can be difficult without the right tools.
Businesses can now create personalized emails using AI email assistants like Lavender, thanks to technological advancements. This type of tool allows companies to view social media updates, company information, funding announcements, and more based on a prospect’s email. These insights allow sellers to write emails in half the amount of time and receive twice as many responses.
How do you use it?
To improve your response rate, personalize your outreach emails. Congratulate the person you are contacting if they have recently been promoted. Include in your email if the company has received an award. You must personalize your outreach if you want to create a strong relationship and get people to take action.
4. Discover new segments by analyzing customer behavior
According to studies, sending personalized content could result in six times higher conversion rates. You can deliver content to your audience that is relevant and resonates by using email segmentation. What if you could go beyond basic segments based on demographic data? No, you do not need a clairvoyant to do this.
AI allows you to use customer behavior and purchase history to segment your lists and send personalized emails. It takes the guesswork and uncertainty out of email marketing.
How do you use it?
It is impossible to handle hundreds of newsletters without artificial intelligence. It’s easier than ever to do what was a nightmare a few years ago. AI can be used to create personalized content for your newsletter based on the interests of your subscribers and increase engagement.
5. Send emails at the right times
Email marketers also face the challenge of sending emails at the correct time. There are guidelines for the best times and days to send your emails. However, if you want the maximum results, and more clicks and opens, then you should optimize the sending time at an individual level.
AI can be used to analyze the email recipient’s activity history and determine based on that behavior when it is best to send out your email marketing campaign.
How do you use it?
Use AI-powered tools for sending email campaigns that are based on the location and time zone of your subscribers. You can avoid having your email end up in the trash even before a click.
6: Generate various email ideas
Marketers face the constant pressure of creating new email campaigns, newsletters, and offers every week. This can lead to a creative slump, where you run out of ideas.
Instead of staring at an empty screen and letting your imagination run wild, AI can help you generate new ideas. Alycia McFarlin was worried that she wouldn’t be able to give her readers something interesting to read. She decided to use ChatGPT, an AI-powered writing program, to help her come up with topic ideas.
She noticed that the click-through rate increased from 1.9% up to 11.2%, a nearly 500% increase.
How do you use it?
Use AI to come up with different copy and topic ideas when brainstorming for your next campaign. Do not rely on AI alone. Analyze, test, and improve the suggestions you receive.
7. Improve customer experience by analyzing the lifecycle stage
Context is essential for a successful email marketing campaign. You can’t understand the context without knowing the customer journey. Customers behave differently and have different demands depending on where they are in their journey.
You can maximize your email marketing by using AI and predictive analytics to generate insights. These insights will allow you to understand the lifecycle of customers and send them contextual campaigns.
How do you use it?
Your e-commerce customers who have made 50 purchases won’t behave the same way as new buyers. Personalizing email campaigns manually based on the lifecycle stage may seem like an easy task, but it is not. You can optimize your campaigns by using AI and predictive analytics.
8. Create retargeting campaigns using personalized product recommendations
Not all visitors to your website will make a purchase. You must create a retargeting campaign and guide people to the “add-to-cart” button. You won’t get the same results with generic, random product recommendations. AI can help.
AI allows businesses to track site activity and provide personalized product recommendations within email campaigns. Email marketers who have these insights can use them to create effective browse and cart abandonment email campaigns.
How do you use it?
Some customers may need a little nudge before they make a final decision. Cart abandonment emails can be created using AI technology and include the exact products that customers have left in their carts. This will boost sales.
9: Run automated multivariate tests
You are only scratching the surface if you A/B test different subject lines in your email campaigns. AI allows you to perform multivariate testing and compares a more significant number of variables to reveal more information.
Instead of testing only subject lines, add other variables like email body, offers, and design elements. You can even test calls to action. You’ll know which variation performs best based on its performance.
How do you use it?
AI allows you to determine the most effective email campaign by analyzing the results of a small sample of your list. You can then test out different subject lines, calls-to-action, visuals, or offers. Based on the results of these tests, AI will decide on the final version sent to your entire list.
Are you ready to launch your next email marketing campaign?
AI-powered email is the next chapter. To stay ahead of the curve, you will need to have unique insights and test, analyze, and optimize your email marketing campaigns. Email marketing will remain one of the most effective ways to reach your audience. Thanks to AI, this will continue.
There’s no better time than now to transform your company with the power of email marketing.