Remember your last order confirmation email from any of the eCommerce sites you shopped on? Chances are, you read through the entire email because it had the information you needed – product details, billed amount, shipping information, expected delivery date, etc.
Emails like these, called transactional emails, carry vital information and have high open rates of 40-50% and click rates of around 20-30%. It is definitely not a channel to ignore to communicate and engage with people further.
With a transactional email you already have users’ attention; why not leverage it to make them interact further, i.e., convert them for a purchase/sign-up, or just inform them about something new? In fact, transactional emails are the most overlooked user engagement opportunity.
Why do transactional emails get such high attention?
Businesses send transactional emails with the express intent of conveying 100% relevant information. They entail notifications about an action a customer takes. A few common examples of transactional emails are:
- Notifications about the successful acceptance of an order
- Notifications about the confirmation of hotel/flight bookings
- Notifications about the performance of your investment portfolio
Customers almost always read them from beginning to end. There is an element of pre-built trust in their minds to open and go through transactional emails.
Naturally, transactional emails are ideal for reaching customers in a non-expectant, open-minded setting. When customers are more likely to read and engage with your marketing messages, you need to interestingly weave in the message without turning it into an “in-your-face” sales pitch.
That’s where you need AMPlets.
What are AMPlets, and why do they matter?
Let’s start with AMP emails – they are interactive and dynamic emails that perform as good as a website or app. Customers can take all actions within the AMP email – no CTA buttons that redirect to a website page or app interface. They allow users to search and buy products/services, book flights and hotels, get dynamic updates on deliveries, alerts on stocks/investments, and more—everything right inside the email.
In an ideal world, you would create and launch a series of such AMP emails that would push marketing messages most engagingly. But immediate and widespread adoption of AMP emails still faces a couple of bottlenecks:
- AMP emails are somewhat complex to create, meaning marketers need to add new skills besides creativity and design.
- AMP is limited to a few email clients – Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Mail.ru. Apple does not support AMP email; in specific geographies with high Apple iOS email client users, it means almost half the recipients cannot view AMP emails.
Of course, you could always bypass the complex creation bit by using AMP editors, such as the one provided by Netcore. However, if you don’t have the time to source, assess, and select an AMP editor that meets your needs, you can go for the quick-and-easy AMPlets.
A Netcore innovation, AMPlets enable you to bring the capabilities of AMP emails into regular HTML emails but on a smaller and more focused scale. Be it filling forms, searching for/purchasing products, booking appointments, getting real-time updates, etc., AMPlets provide these features, but as part of an HTML email.
AMPlets can be inserted into an HTML email, often at the footer, allowing recipients to take the desired action (based on the marketing objective) from within that email. We provide select examples of exactly how they work.
AMPlets also enable you to leverage transactional emails and boost ROI in a non-obtrusive and innovative manner.
Examples of AMPlets within transactional emails
Send real-time updates
Let’s say that a customer of your investment app has made their first payment into a fund. In the transactional email acknowledging the payment, you could add an AMPlet that provides performance information that gets updated in real-time as per market conditions.
Since the AMPlet extracts live data from the system backend, the recipient can open the same email anytime and get an update on how their fund is doing at that very moment. It allows them to conveniently keep up with their investment without having to log on to a website or app every time.
Allow instant bookings
Now, let’s take the example of someone booking flight tickets to, say, Berlin from your app. When you shoot off the “Your Tickets Have Been Booked” email, why not add an AMPlet that also lets them book hotels/cars/buses/trains in Berlin? Not only will this make your customers’ travel planning easy, but it will also help you stand out as a brand that actively works to predict customer needs and provide seamless fulfillment.
Deliver content that adds value
Continuing with the previous example, you could also add an AMPlet that provides information on popular sightseeing spots in Berlin, notable events occurring on the days between their arrival and departure (if it’s a round trip), tips on local culture, and maintaining safety in a foreign nation.
Ensure that you immediately provide relevant information—something people can use in the context of their transaction with your brand. AMPlets help you provide information in varying formats that save screen space while maintaining visual allure. Get creative with telling your customers what they need to know.
Insert a customized calculator
Let’s go back to the investment app. A customer has delayed their monthly payments to a mutual fund. You don’t know why, but if it is due to re-budgeting on their end, you can use it in your favor.
Along with the transactional email that confirms that automatic payments to that fund have been delayed/stopped, you can use AMPlets to add an in-email calculator. Why? Customers can do a quick math to check if they can readjust investments in a different fund, perhaps at a lower monthly amount.
For example, you can also use in-email calculators in transactional emails to promote discounts. If customers can calculate precisely how much a 10% discount on a product saves them, they will be far more likely to click “Buy Now.”
Encourage purchases with rewards/discounts
Using AMPlets to promote rewards (Buy 2, Get 1 Free) or discounts is a no-brainer. No matter the kind of transactional email, you can also present these enticements in attractive ways within the email. A GIF with the right copy and imagery nudges people to claim the discount or prize.
Harness the power of AMP but make it easier
Of course, in the best possible timeline, you would use AMP emails from the start of your email marketing campaigns. But since we must play with the cards we’re dealt, consider AMPlets a functional and effective alternative. They enable you to leverage the benefits and ROI of AMP emails without going through complex setup protocols, budgetary approvals etc.
AMPlets cost less, are easier to set up and catch your customers’ eye. While they cannot be as extensive as AMP emails (AMP emails transform the entire email inbox experience), they are the perfect quick-and-easy application of AMP in email.
Use AMPlets to dip your toe into the “dynamic email” waters. See the increase in customer engagement and conversion for yourself. They’ll give you a glimpse of what AMP emails can do for your marketing goals at a much larger, more expansive scale.
If you need a little help with AMPlets, why not let us do the heavy lifting? We created AMPlets in the first place and we can tailor them to perfectly meet the demands of your goals and your customer base.
50+ top-notch brands, such as MoneyTap, MakeMyTrip, and CaratLane, across industries, partner with the Netcore AI-powered email platform to roll out AMP emails and boost their ROI.
We have sent more than a billion AMP emails across 200+ highly successful campaigns. It’s safe to say we know what we are doing.
Connect with us to understand how you can benefit from our expertise and experience – we send over 20 billion emails a month on behalf of 6500+ businesses across 40 countries.
