We all get emails from our favorite brands or businesses we frequent, whether they are talking about their next big promotion, trying to get you to schedule your next haircut, or telling you the new big industry updates.

But how often do you actually click on the link? 

And get to the place they’re trying to guide you to? 

And buy the thing they want you to buy? 

All of us have a lot of things to do and going that deep within an email takes time—something a lot of us lack.

What if we told you that there was a potential way to have consumers do things like answer surveys, add items to your shopping cart, and even book your next haircut without leaving your inbox? 

Those are just some of the capabilities of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for Emails.

 

What is an AMP Email?

Back in 2018, Google launched an initiative for AMP for email in hopes of creating a more interactive and engaging email experience. This particular form of HTML email has the ability to include a limited amount of JavaScript that helps to create elements/sections of an email that give it a website-like experience in your inbox. 

In a nutshell, AMP has the ability to take what used to be flat or static content and turn it into more interactive forms of contact—enhancing the consumer experience and potentially helping businesses reach conversions earlier in the funnel.

 

Why AMP emails could be great

At MAKE, we think that this is an amazing development for email marketing. With its different capabilities, here’s how we think AMP emails can bring your marketing to the next level.

Interactivity

GIFs and videos are usually what you think of as an interactive element in an email, which have been shown to increase engagement by upwards of 300%. 

With AMP for email, you can do all of that and more. 

Not only can you use GIFs and videos, you can create surveys, form fills and browse catalogs, submit RSVPs to events, and provide reviews directly in your inbox. 

And with AMP for emails, these things are done in an efficient manner that allows for better deliverability. AMP helps reduce load time for the content provided and can help reduce the chances of your email bouncing from consumer inboxes. 

And the more emails that make it into the inbox, the more opportunities there are to reach your customers.

Personalization

One of the most important factors in email marketing is personalization. It has been reported that if you personalize your emails, you can increase your email open rate by 26%. 

AMP allows for emails to bring live data to provide the most up-to-date information possible. For example, you could provide up-to-date pricing, weather information, or product information based on previous purchase history.

 

 

Creativity

AMP emails also provide new ways to layout information and new design capabilities. 

Unlike general HTML emails, you can add design elements like accordions and carousels to provide clean and simple ways to provide a lot of information without being overwhelming.

Accordions

This structure allows you to provide a lot of content or information without overwhelming the user. Accordions allow the user to click into what information they believe pertains to them. 

For example, let’s say you’re an electronics store and you’re looking to sell phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google. 

With an accordion, you could create an interactive menu that allows the consumer to click on one of those three brands. 

 

 

Once they click on the brand they would like to view, it can provide information about various phones under that brand all without leaving your email.

Carousels

A carousel element allows users to view live products or listings for the most updated information when they open the email. AMP carousels help to ensure that the products or listing you show aren’t out of stock—meaning easier conversions and a more seamless user experience. 

Carousels can also be used to provide imagery in an interactive way. Whether you’re selling shoes and want to show the product at different angles or you’re a leasing agency that wants to show off pictures of an apartment unit, you can do that all in one place.

 

AMP email limitations

You’re probably wondering, “Well if this is so great, why don’t I see this from everyone?”

Although we think this is a major improvement on how email marketing can be done and create an even better experience for consumers, there are a few hurdles that can keep companies from adopting this particular form of email marketing.

Lack of email client support 

Back when AMP for email launched, it had the backing of the majority of email clients (think Google, Outlook, Yahoo, and Mail.ru). 

However, in late 2020, Microsoft officially announced that it would no longer be supporting AMP for email in favor of support of Actionable Messages. 

Although two of the bigger email clients (Outlook and Apple Mail) aren’t supporting the technology, there is plenty of opportunity for users in Gmail and Yahoo accounts. Companies can still send AMP emails to other email clients using backup HTML files that won’t be as interactive.

Without the acceptance from all email clients, many businesses are wary of moving forward with AMP emails as their primary email code because they want to maintain a high delivery rate and still have a great customer experience on all platforms.

Lack of ESP support 

To go along with that, not all email service providers recognize or support AMP for email. Some of the top ESPs (like MailChimp and Constant Contact) don’t support AMP emails—but there are plenty of ESPs that do. You can find the list on AMP’s Support page. 

With some of the more well-known ESPs being hesitant in their support of the technology, that creates some hesitancy in businesses as well because they would have to think about the cost-benefit of moving platforms to use that functionality or whether or not they have the right people in place to use that technology to the fullest potential. 

 

Final thoughts

AMP for email could be the next big thing in email marketing with the wealth of opportunities that it can provide for a better customer experience. 

Being an early adopter could help you stand out from the competition, but you have to weigh the pros and cons of this new technology for your business.

Email marketing can be a powerful tool in your toolbox as you find new ways to grow your business. If you think you are ready to start your email marketing journey, MAKE would love to discuss how we can help facilitate that transition. 

Our dedicated team can help you navigate and find success in an ever-evolving industry, business innovation, and changes in user behavior. 

We create and activate brands in innovative ways by combining business goals with digital strategy and trends. Click here to schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you with your marketing needs.