The 8 Types of Emails That Get the Most (And Least) Engagement, According to Marketers

How does your email engagement measure up? We asked 1,000 email marketers which types of emails perform best. The results may surprise you.

📧 On average, the surveyed marketers had email open rates of 18.1% and click-through rates of 2.6%.

However, top performers achieved open rates over 25% and click-through rates above 5% by leveraging the most engaging email types.

In this article, we‘ll dive into the 4 most engaging email types our research uncovered, along with the 4 types that fail to impress. Plus, see real-world examples and get tips to maximize your own email engagement.

Inside Our Email Engagement Survey

We partnered with the research firm Ascend2 to survey 1,000 B2B and B2C email marketers in February 2023. Respondents encompassed a range of company sizes and industries.

The survey asked marketers to select the email types that generate the highest engagement rates (e.g. opens, clicks) with their audience. Here‘s a high-level summary of the results:

Email Type	% of Marketers Selecting
Multimedia Emails	44%
Basic Text Emails	39%
Promotional Emails	31%
Re-Engagement Emails	27%
Product Announcement Emails	24%
Blog Post/Article Emails	23%
Contest/Giveaway Emails	18%
Educational Emails	17%

Now let‘s take a closer look at the top 4 email types voted most engaging, including best practices and examples to inspire your own sends.

The 4 Most Engaging Types of Emails

1. Multimedia Emails

Emails featuring compelling visuals like videos, GIFs, and interactive elements earned the top spot, with 44% of marketers choosing them as most engaging.

It‘s no wonder — visuals are processed 60,000x faster than text. Our brains are wired to notice images, faces, and movement. Multimedia makes emails much more eye-catching and memorable.

Consider these statistics:

• Emails with videos have a 96% higher click-through rate compared to text-only (Eloqua)
• Adding GIFs to email can increase click rates by 42% and conversion rates by 103% (Email Institute)
• Interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73% (Martech Advisor)

To create highly engaging multimedia emails:

• Incorporate product demo videos, customer testimonials, animated announcements, etc.
• Use GIFs to add humor and draw the eye to key messaging
• Embed interactive elements like quizzes, calculators, polls, and add-to-calendar buttons

For example, this email from Litmus uses eye-catching animation to announce their annual conference:

[Insert Litmus email screenshot]

The flashing "Live!" text and moving logo instantly captures attention and emphasizes the event‘s excitement.

2. Basic Text Emails

With 39% of the vote, basic text-based emails featuring clear messaging and minimal imagery came in second for engagement.

Why do basic emails work so well? They‘re:

• Easy to read and navigate, especially on mobile devices
• Quick to scan and understand the key points
• Focused on a single message or call-to-action
• More personal and letter-like in appearance

Of course, "basic" doesn‘t mean boring. The most effective text emails use:

• Compelling, benefit-focused headlines
• Short paragraphs and bullet points
• Bolded key phrases and linked text
• Ample white space

For a masterclass in basic email, look to copywriting expert Laura Belgray. Her engaging personality shines through pithy, action-driving text:

[Insert Laura Belgray email screenshot]

Subjected "It‘s like I‘m sitting backwards on a chair," her casual yet clever copy makes you want to keep reading. The bright call-to-action button stands out and makes it obvious what to do next.

3. Promotional Emails

Everyone loves a great deal. 31% of marketers said emails featuring discounts, free shipping, gifts with purchase, and other offers achieve the highest engagement.

Some compelling stats on promo emails:

• 53% of consumers say they‘ve made a purchase because of an email voucher or discount code (EmailOctopus)
• Birthday emails containing special offers can lift conversion rates 60% over non-birthday email messages (Experian)
• Emails with "free" in the subject line were opened 10% more than those without (Mailchimp)

The keys to high-performing promo emails:

• Highlight the savings value (e.g. "40% Off")
• Create urgency with a limited time frame
• Use active, instructional CTAs like "Get My Discount"
• Make any exclusions or terms clear

This email from beauty brand Soko Glam combines several promotional elements for maximum effect:

[Insert Soko Glam email screenshot]

Promising 15% off (with a clearly stated minimum), plus limited-edition gifts, free samples, and a charity donation, the email packs a lot of value into one attractive package. The time-stamped "48 Hours Only" headline drives immediate action.

4. Re-Engagement Emails

Over a quarter (27%) of marketers voted re-engagement campaigns as one of their top performers. Also called reactivation or win-back emails, these target inactive subscribers in an effort to regain their interest and involvement.

Why bother? Because disengaged subscribers drag down your overall metrics and sender reputation. One study found that marketers lose $15,000 per month for every 100,000 inactive subscribers.

However, 45% of recipients who receive win-back emails read subsequent messages (ReturnPath). Considering that acquiring a new email address can cost up to 5x more than retaining an existing one, investing in re-engagement is well worth it.

Common types of win-back emails include:

• "We Miss You" messages acknowledging their absence
• Special "Come Back" discounts or freebies
• Polls/surveys asking for feedback on email content
• Requests to update email preferences
• "Last Chance" warnings before unsubscribing them

Wedding planning app Joy found that a single re-engagement email recovered 8-10% of churned users:

[Insert Joy re-engagement email]

After reminding the user what they‘re missing, the email presents three options: a login link, an "unsubscribe" button, and a clever "Nah, I‘m good with spreadsheets" opt-out. This approach saves customers while cleaning the list of unengaged users, a win-win.

The 4 Least Engaging Email Types

What about the email types on the opposite end of the engagement spectrum? Here are the 4 voted least engaging by our respondents:

Product Announcement Emails

Just 24% of marketers chose emails hyping new product launches or updates as top engagement-generators.

A possible reason: Product-centric content often feels salesy and impersonal. Without a strong value proposition that speaks to the reader‘s needs and desires, product announcement emails fall flat.

To make your product emails more clickable:

1. Segment by attributes like persona, past purchases, and email engagement to ensure high relevance
2. Focus on benefits over features, highlighting what‘s in it for the user
3. Provide social proof like customer reviews, testimonials, or user-generated content

Blog Post/Article Emails

Long-form newsletter content underperformed for 77% of respondents. With decreasing attention spans and overflowing inboxes, emails featuring full articles struggle to keep readers engaged.

Instead of bombarding subscribers with walls of text:

• Limit article excerpts to 1-2 brief paragraphs
• Use curiosity-provoking headlines that entice clicks
• Balance text with attractive visuals
• Place prominent "Read More" buttons linking to the full article on your blog or site

E-commerce platform PrestaShop found article excerpt emails generated a 17% higher click-through rate compared to full-length article emails.

Contest/Giveaway Emails

A mere 18% of marketers crowned contest emails as an engagement winner.

Why the poor results? Many contests suffer from lackluster prizes, overcomplicated entry rules, and generic messaging that gets lost in the inbox shuffle.

To create contest emails subscribers can‘t resist:

• Choose prizes your specific audience craves
• Make entry a snap, like replying with a one-word answer
• Play up exclusivity and scarcity to spur action
• Promote across multiple channels for maximum reach

Educational Emails

Only 17% of marketers ranked purely educational emails as most engaging.

This doesn‘t mean subscribers don‘t want to learn from your emails. They just need to clearly understand how that knowledge benefits them and ties into your product or service.

For example, Moz sells SEO software. Rather than simply teaching SEO best practices, their emails highlight the impressive results customers achieve using Moz, and invite readers to start a free trial.

7 Principles of Highly Engaging Emails

No matter what type of email you‘re sending, following these research-backed best practices can significantly boost engagement:

1. Nail the subject line. 47% of people open emails based on the subject line alone. Pique curiosity, convey value, and keep it under 9 words for optimal open rates.

2. Personalize everything. Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened, and personalized CTAs convert 202% better than default ones. Use segmentation and dynamic content to tailor messaging.

3. Prioritize clarity and scannability. Ensure key information is communicated within 3 seconds through descriptive headers, short paragraphs, and ample white space. Use a 14-16px font size for body copy.

4. Keep CTAs prominent and singular. Make buttons large, bright, and above the fold. Include just one main CTA per email to focus attention and decision-making.

5. Optimize for mobile. 81% of people read emails on smartphones, so use a mobile-responsive template that looks great on any device. Aim for a 500-650px width and tap-friendly elements.

6. Be human. Write like you speak for a warm, authentic tone. Address readers in the second person ("you") and sign emails from a real person. Avoid overly clever or gimmicky language.

7. Test and iterate. Regularly A/B test subject lines, imagery, layouts, CTAs, and timing. Use engagement data to learn what content, cadence and design choices resonate best with your audience.

Take Your Email Engagement to New Heights

Email may be a decades-old channel, but it continues to drive outsized results for marketers who know how to capture and sustain subscriber attention.

By focusing on the email approaches proven to engage, like multimedia elements, concise text, valuable offers, and personalized re-engagement, you can achieve open and click-through rates that leave your competition in the dust.

Remember, there‘s no universal formula for email success. Regularly review your engagement metrics and subscriber feedback to uncover opportunities to optimize your strategy.

The key is providing content people actually want in their inboxes. Deliver that, and your subscribers will keep coming back for more.

How will you put these hard-won insights to work in your own email marketing?