In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I discussed the introduction, evolution, and benchmarks for email; in Part 3, I covered Email 2.0 and Hooked Score, two of the many innovations that make email cool again. This part continues with AMP emails and Ems (Microns).
AMP (Interactive Emails)
AMP is a technology introduced by Google for making emails interactive. It enables the creation of microsites in emails and is a big leap forward. It eliminates a click to the website or app for a wide range of use cases:
- Filling a form
- Gathering feedback
- Scheduling appointments
- Showing live content
- Creating interactive games and collecting zero-party data
There have been two challenges so far which have limited AMP adoption. First, AMP emails are complex to create because of software that has to be written, meaning marketers need to add new skills besides creativity and design. Second, AMP is not yet supported by Apple. As a result, in the developed markets, over half of recipients cannot view AMP emails. (A fallback design does exist in every AMP email for non-AMP mail clients.) The situation is very different in countries like India, where Gmail accounts for 85-90% of email lists.
The creation problem can be solved by the use of AMP editors. (Netcore has already launched one.) AMPlets, which can be easily inserted into emails, are another innovative solution. In fact, brands should consider creating an AMP-based interactive footer with multiple AMPlets. The client problem is much harder to address – but whether it is 50% or 90% of their base, brands should make use of AMP because the benefits in terms of attention and engagement are big.
Here are some of my past writings on AMP:
Microns and AMP – A Powerful Combo:
“AMP gives email marketers the opportunity to transform the user experience. Emails can carry so much more – forms, image galleries, product cards, games, dynamic data, and of course, quizzes. One has to really experience it to feel the possibilities and imagine a new future for emails… For the mission of ‘No Email Unopened’, AMP-enabled emails can be a huge enabler.”
Email2 – Energizing Engagement:
“AMP was introduced by Google a few years ago to make emails interactive. Think of web pages in the late 1990s, and you will get the idea! Actions can be taken within emails without having to click through to a web page or an app. The challenge in AMP is the cost of design and coding; the solution is to create that marketers can use with limited friction.”
Ems (Microcontent and Stories)
Ems are short, informative emails that tell stories. They fit on a single mobile screen, so customers know they don’t have to see an endless scroll. They offer something useful rather than just the usual promotional content. Ems can also tell continuing stories to keep recipients engaged. Above all, Ems ensure something new daily – thus increasing the brand’s mental availability.
Media companies have perfected this:
Their emails reach our inboxes at the same time daily to the extent that we start expecting them. Imagine if brand emails could elicit that same feeling!
Brands send 7-10 campaigns a month. Imagine if a brand could send an email daily which is delivered at the same time. Days when there is no campaign can become the days when Ems are sent. They can be identified in the subject line with a special character (an epsilon, perhaps) that lets the customer know this is a short, informative email and will not need more than 15-30 seconds to consume. For every brand, it is possible to create relevant microcontent. Ems could also be games that help recall brand attributes.
Here are some of my past writings on Ems (in the early writings, I had termed Ems as Microns):
Microns and Brands – Made for Each Other:
“Think of all the moments when we would like to get something and which are not leveraged by brands. A book I showed an interest in, a product I want to buy, an article I read, a movie that piqued my interest, a habit I want to develop, a person or idea I am keen to know more about, a concept I want to dig deeper into, a smartphone I just bought and whose features I want to understand.
All of these are what I think of as ‘micron moments’ – when a short duration micron subscription could be triggered to create a win-win for both brand and consumer, publisher and subscriber, sender and receiver.”
Microns – Theory and Economics:
“Less can be more. Small can be big. Signal can and must overwhelm noise. That’s why microns, which can be fully consumed in 15-30 seconds. Information-rich, permission-led microns can transform email communication. Think of microns as driving the minimalism revolution in brand-customer interactions.
Microns can open up a new, unexplored world for marketers – long-term relationship building with informational content, going beyond the transactional and promotional mails with a focus on branding, and leveraging moments to trigger short-duration enriching engagements.”
Microns – Making B2C Emails Better:
“Microns, by their very nature of being short and info-rich, are likely to have extremely high engagement – they will be read on arrival into the inbox. Every micron opened will lead to subsequent microns being delivered into the inbox because of how the algorithms work. Microns can thus be used for something that email has not been used for – branding. By having emails delivered at a near-zero cost into the inbox, brands have an infinitely scalable opportunity to be in front of their current and prospective customers every day.”
Email2 – Energizing Engagement:
“Ems can become a utility in our lives – coming into the inbox at the same time, like emails from media sites. Most emails today are hard sells – buy this, see that.
Ems, on the other hand, focus on attention and habit creation rather than the immediacy of pushing for a transaction. Ems can be the way brands build hotlines to their customers. They can be a great asset for reinforcing branding for existing customers. Ems create ‘email moments’.”
Continued in Part 5
