Google Inbox - Email Marketing Considerations
At the time of writing, Google Inbox is a new email client open to Gmail users by invitation*. It goes one step further from when Gmail introduced tabs to filter promotions, updates and other email categories out of the main email list view - the inbox. This is all part of a guided effort by Google; to reduce spam and make sure emails are of interest to the end user.
This new service provides some useful insight into the way people may receive email in the future, certainly for Gmail users and potentially for everyone else if it is wildly successful - with other email providers seeking to produce a similar experience for their users.
For this article I will explain a bit of the user experience and then go onto any implications to bear in mind for future email marketing campaigns.
A different feel to managing emails
I’ve been using Inbox for a couple of months now on my personal Gmail account so I have a little authority to comment on the process of receiving and dealing with emails. There are some nifty features alongside the improved automatic categorisation of emails, which makes for a different feel and frame of mind when coming to check your inbox.
The biggest change that stands out is that users have greater control, or at least a 'feeling' of control you have over what gets put in front of you. This starts with being able to snooze, remind and pin emails to your liking. The ‘pin’ feature is one I have found myself using the most. This is essentially the same as ‘flagging’ or ‘starring’ in other email clients, but much more intuitive, staying in tune with a minimalist design style.
It is worth elaborating on the automatic categorisation I mentioned above. These categories are called ‘bundles’ with two of default ones being ‘Travel’ and ‘Finance’. So for instance, it will recognise if you have been sent a statement from your bank, and pop it in the relevant folder. What this does mean, is that if you receive a large amount of promotional offers then you can bulk remove them from your inbox in one fell swoop. This also reminds me that your emails are not deleted once you have swiped them away, they are merely hidden from view.
These features may already be replicable with other email clients, but Google Inbox stands out by making it really simple for users to manage their inbox and push them to keep their inbox clutter free.
Is a different approach to email marketing needed?
Not particularly. Nothing has changed from a technical standpoint, with emails rendering the same as it would in Gmail. So some (relatively) good news for email designers out there!
There are some subtleties you may want to consider for future email campaigns, bearing in mind categorisation is pretty much unavoidable. If your email campaign is promotional in nature then you will be sharing the same space with other promotional material. In this case greater care should be taken in choosing the subject line, so that it sufficiently ‘hooks’ the recipient to open and click through on the contents. Here is a great resource to learn about subject line best practice.
It is also worth noting that being categorised isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns. When a recipient sees a bundle of promotional emails, they may well be in ‘consumer’ frame of mind when sorting through them. This could be a blessing in disguise, as it pushes them to make a decision on whether they are interested in whatever your email campaign is promoting.
With great power comes great responsibility…sort of
In the grand scheme of things this probably affects a small proportion of your email list, with Gmail usage being at 20% compared to all the rest of the clients out there. In the very long term Google hopes that it will replace Gmail, and odds are this will come to fruition to some degree - with Gmail implementing the best features.
Ultimately, this model of receiving email gives the user greater control over their inbox, so it is up to email marketers to ensure their campaigns are of a high enough standard so that recipients continue to receive relevant content and offers for which they initially signed up for.
*For any interested Gmail users who can’t wait to try this service out, pop a message to the Studio44 twitter account, as we may be able to sort you out an invitation! If you are patient you can request access directly from Google by emailing inbox@google.com.
