An optimized email strategy produces impressive ROI: $42 for every $1 spent.

However, being so effective, elements in email have remained relatively unchanged for decades.

I’m not talking about dynamic content elements or AI-powered emails. On the front end, email layout components didn’t change at all.

We still have the same layout components split into one, two, or three columns, with a few images and eye-catching text.

That could be the reason, as a marketing channel, promotional emails have long been obsolete in China.

Only 22% of users rely on this medium in their daily communication, while 88% use WeChat & other IMs to do just about everything imaginable, including business communication.

In North America, email marketing is cementing its position as the highest-performing channel.

About 90% of adults check their emails at least once a day.

However, in 2018, Google dropped a bomb when the company announced AMP-powered email content.

AMP campaigns allow users to interact with content in emails without leaving their inbox as if it were a regular website.

And this is exactly what we’re going to talk about in today’s article.

Table of contents

What does AMP mean in emails?

AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, a technology that enables web pages to load faster on mobile devices.

Google developed it in 2015 as an open-source project to improve the user experience of mobile webpages.

AMP email uses this technology to load content faster, provide interactive features on mobile devices and offer a rich inbox experience.

Where AMP email is being used?

Adaptation of dynamic emails through AMP technology is growing stronger every year, as mobile traffic accounts for 60.28% of all website traffic.

WARC estimates that approximately 2 billion people currently access the Internet via only their mobile devices, which equates to 51% of the global 3.9 billion mobile users.

It only makes sense that email clients have to provide delivery of interactive email formats to keep this medium relevant.

Can AMP email technology change the marketing landscape?

Google’s AMP technology supports a new set of dynamic content elements which contain interactive features, like polls, messages, payments and image carousels or accordions.

This technology has the potential to transform the marketing landscape by allowing businesses to create more engaging customer experiences.

Such rich inbox experiences could lead to higher conversion rates and more effective email marketing efforts. Who knows, maybe this is the new evolution for email marketing that we’ve been waiting for so long?

However, AMP-powered emails are still a relatively new technology, and we need to see if it has any impact on businesses.

Modern app-like functionality for email

Since AMP version of an email is still relatively new, it still needs to be widely supported by email providers.

As of today, only Gmail and Outlook.com support AMP email content.

Given many rich interactive features that could significantly improve user experience, AMP emails will become a widely accepted email format in the future.

It’s worth noting that AMP will never replace traditional HTML emails because each format is used in different scenarios.

How secure are AMP-powered emails?

On their website, Google states that to ensure the sender of an AMP email is legitimate, emails containing AMP components should adhere to the following checks:

• The email components must pass Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) authentication.
• The DKIM-authenticated signing domain must be aligned with the email domain in the From field. See DKIM Alignment below.
• The email must pass Sender Policy Framework (SPF) authentication.

As for the popular myth that AMP technology allows users to collect payments inside an email, this is false.

The payment gateway must comply with standard security protocols to collect sensitive payment information to prevent fraud and security breaches.

One way around this limitation is collecting product information inside the email and then using deeplinking to redirect the user to the checkout page.

In the distant future, some email editors will add integration with e-commerce platforms, making it possible to create a dynamic product carousel inside the email based on customer history.

Key benefits of AMP emails

Faster loading times:

Optimized, interactive and responsive emails can load quickly on mobile devices. This can improve the user experience and make recipients more likely to engage with your email.

Improved deliverability:

Improved deliverability can reduce the risk of your emails being marked as spam. This is because AMP emails are designed to be lightweight and load quickly, which can help prevent them from being flagged as spam by email clients.

Enhanced interactivity by offering a richer inbox experience:

Rich inbox experience comes from interactive elements, such as image carousels, accordions and forms.

More interactive email content increases not only engagement rates but also conversions.

Greater mobile compatibility:

Because AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, it’s designed with mobile users in mind, so your emails will look great and function appropriately on a wide range of mobile devices.

Dynamic content creates a better user experience:

More interactive and responsive email content improves the overall user experience for your recipients.

Increased conversion rates:

By creating more engaging and interactive emails, you can increase the chances that recipients will take a desired action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to your services.

Enhanced tracking and analysis:

AMP technology also allows you to analyze data in real time. This can help you optimize your email marketing efforts and increase the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Improved email design:

The variety to create more visually appealing emails is sure to catch the attention of your recipients.

Enhanced functionality:

AMP for email allows you to add additional functionality, such as updating content in real-time, adding clickable buttons, and embedding videos.

Increased engagement:

Interactive content increases email ROI and engagement as users click on carousels and, for example, respond to survey questions directly inside the email.

Better personalization:

Personalize email campaigns more dynamically, using personal and transactional data about your recipients.

Greater flexibility:

More flexible and adaptable emails allow you to serve your recipients’ needs and preferences better.

Enhanced accessibility:

With this technology, you can create emails that are more accessible to users with disabilities, which can help you reach a wider audience and improve the overall user experience.

AMP emails vs HTML emails

AMP and HTML emails are both technologies used to create and send emails. However, there are a few key differences between the two:

1. Interactive elements: AMP allows you to run interactive email campaigns using image carousels, polls or direct message boxes. HTML emails are limited to static content that users cannot interact with except by viewing and clicking.
2. Loading times: AMP emails are designed to load quickly, while HTML emails can sometimes be slower, especially on mobile devices.
3. Mobile compatibility: AMP is explicitly designed to work on mobile devices. HTML emails may not always display correctly on mobile devices. I still receive many unoptimized emails.
4. Email client support: HTML is a widely supported format, while AMP is new and thus not supported by all providers.
5. Codebase: AMP emails use a separate codebase from HTML emails. They’re built using AMP HTML, which is a subset of HTML that has been optimized for performance. On the other hand, HTML emails are built using standard HTML code.

9 AMP email case studies with examples

There are a lot of potential use scenarios for AMP emails, and below are just a few:

01. AMP email forms

Receive product feedback from customers when users provide it directly in the email via an embedded interactive form. Also, using interactive forms, you can collect additional user data.

02. AMP email survey

Use interactive surveys to allow recipients to provide feedback and complete the survey directly inside the email. It speeds up the feedback loop and creates a better user experience.

03. Interactive calendars

For businesses that serve customers through an appointment system, booking services inside the email opens up opportunities to convert more users and generate better customer response.

04. Recovering abandoned carts

Barilliance conducted a study that found the average cart abandonment rate was 78.65%.

So recovery cart abandonment email series is an effective tactic, with open rates between 40-46% and conversion rates between 8-10%.

Ecwid, an ecommerce platform, offers its merchants the ability to send AMP-powered emails to recover lost sales opportunities.

In their article on the AMP website, across 171,000 AMP emails, they boosted sales by 82% using AMP for email for abandoned shopping carts. Some merchants like Salon Xtensions saw an increase of over 300% because of this automatic tool by Ecwid.

05. Event Invitations

RSVP forms collect contact details and other relevant information from people interested in attending an event.

So allow recipients to view event details, RSVP and add the event to their calendar directly inside the email.

06. Product launches & promotions

Create interactive promotions that allow recipients to browse various products in a carousel, view additional product information, and use pre-filled product information for quick checkout.

07. Customer service

Help your customers resolve product-related issues using AMP technology. Recipients can view their account details, track their orders and request assistance directly inside the email.

Immediate assistance is critical for 90% of customers, so AMP technology can significantly help businesses improve customer service.

08. Traditional newsletter

Interactive features of the AMP-powered newsletter allow readers to browse through different articles and click on any relevant one to read more.

By embedding carousels and dropdown menus with content, you reduce the email length and create a better user experience.

09. Business model and industry-specific use cases

One compelling use case could be in the beauty or dental industry. Imagine using interactive emails that allow customers to schedule appointments right in the email.

One obvious benefit comes to time savings and ease of scheduling appointments.

Combined with personalized content, interactive emails offer the opportunity to get very high conversion rates for businesses.

12 top AMP email elements

AMP technology provides a variety of interactive elements that you can use to create truly engaging experiences. Below are just a few:

01. Carousels:

A carousel allows you to display multiple pieces of content in a slideshow format. Recipients can swipe through the content or click on arrows to navigate between different items.

02. Accordions:

An accordion allows you to display a large amount of content in a compact space by enabling users to toggle between different content sections.

03. Forms:

Forms can collect information from recipients or allow them to take a specific action, such as signing up for an event or booking an appointment.

04. Buttons:

You can place a button inside each interactive element to direct users to different web pages.

05. Embedded content:

One of the most exciting elements is the ability to embed video or social media posts directly into emails. You no longer have to create images with playback buttons.

06. Dynamic content:

AMP also allows you to update the content of your emails in real time based on data and information about your recipients.

07. Carousel of Images:

Add multiple images to display product images, illustrations, or other visuals.

08. Tables:

Display data or other information in a structured format using AMP technology.

09. Maps:

Embed maps directly into your emails to display locations or provide directions to your store.

10. Social media feeds:

Another great feature of AMP technology is the ability to embed social media feeds directly into emails, which can be used to display relevant updates.

11. Countdown timers:

This feature is effective when you’re promoting a time-limited offer. Create a sense of urgency or countdown to a specific event.

12. Ratings and reviews:

Dynamically display ratings and reviews to showcase customer feedback or highlight the best-rated products.

How well do AMP emails convert?

Although AMP is a relatively new technology and there’s no benchmark data available online, we found examples on the Stripo website with solid numbers from companies that pioneered this technology:

01. Mailmodo:

Increased user response rate by 833%. Interactive emails generated 8.33X times more responses compared to regular HTML emails.

02. Stripo + Cally.ru:

Stripo sent out a demo invitation email to its users. Recipients were able to schedule an appointment directly inside the email. Every 6th user scheduled an appointment, and the CTOR was 17%.

More: https://stripo.email/blog/amp-emails-fresh-statistics-or-how-companies-earn-with-amp-for-email/

03. AWeber:

User engagement increased by 225% after implementing polls, surveys, feedback forms, and an image carousel in their emails.

More: https://stripo.email/blog/amp-emails-fresh-statistics-or-how-companies-earn-with-amp-for-email/

04. Ecwid:

We mentioned earlier in this article how Ecwid increased conversion by 82% for abandoned carts.

More: https://stripo.email/blog/amp-emails-fresh-statistics-or-how-companies-earn-with-amp-for-email/

05. Stripo:

Interactive forms increased the user response rate by 520%. The forms allowed users to leave a comment / share their feedback in emails.

We thought it could be interesting to provide a few general statistics about traditional email marketing to draw a contrast between AMP & HTML emails:

1. The average open rate for emails is around 20% (Source: Hubspot)
2. The average click-through rate for emails is about 3% (Source: Hubspot)
3. Mobile devices account for around half of all email opens (Source: Campaign Monitor)
4. Personalized emails have an open rate that is 29% higher and a click-through rate that is 41% higher than non-personalized emails (Source: Epsilon)
5. Email marketing has an average ROI of 122%, which is 4 times higher than other digital marketing channels (Source: Campaign Monitor)

How to create AMP emails?

1. Familiarize yourself with AMP HTML: AMP emails are built using a subset of HTML optimized for performance.
2. Create a development environment: You will need a development environment to write and test your AMP emails. This can be a simple text editor or a more advanced code editor such as Visual Studio Code. All of these tools are free.
3. Create a basic email structure: Start by creating a basic email structure using AMP HTML. This will include the header, body, and footer of your email.
4. Add interactive elements: Once you’ve created the basic email structure, you can begin adding interactive features such as carousels, accordions, and forms.
5. Test: It’s essential to test the email to ensure it works correctly and is optimized on different devices.
6. Send the campaign: Once satisfied with your email, you can send out the AMP email campaign.

Tools and platforms to design AMP emails

BEE:

BEE is a popular email editor that allows you to design and build responsive emails, including AMP emails. It offers a range of pre-designed templates and a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create professional-looking emails without any coding knowledge.

Litmus:

Litmus is a comprehensive email design and testing platform that allows you to create, test, and analyze AMP emails. It offers a range of design and testing tools, including a visual email editor and real-time email previews on various devices.

Stripo

An intuitive and simple yet flexible email template creator. Speed up production, test and export emails to any email management tools.

Use drag and drop editor to create both AMP & HTML email templates.

Stripo offers 1200+ free HTML templates for different purposes.

Mailmodo

Another excellent service for designing and distributing flexible and optimized newsletters is Mailmodo. Create, send and automate AMP and HTML email campaigns without coding knowledge.

AMP for developers

A native platform for all your AMP content development needs, including AMP websites, AMP stories, AMP ads and AMP emails. They offer plenty of documentation on development, so if you’re familiar with web development, their resources will help you develop AMP-optimized email campaigns.

Visit the official website for AMP sender guidelines.

AMP email FAQs

Which email clients support AMP for Email?

Currently, the following email clients support AMP for Email: Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook.com.

Who is using AMP for email?

Various organizations and individuals, including email marketers, news organizations, and e-commerce companies, are using AMP for email.

What will my customers see if they don’t use an AMP-supported email client?

Customers who use an email client that does not support AMP will see a static email version.

How do I preview and test AMP emails?

You can use the AMP Email Playground to preview and test AMP emails.

Are there any pre-made AMP email templates available?

Yes, you can find pre-made AMP email templates on site like Stripo, Unlayer and others.

Will email marketers adopt AMP for email?

Email marketers may adopt AMP for email, as it enables interactive and engaging email experiences.

Is it difficult to track AMP email performance?

It is relatively easy to track email performance with AMP emails, as you can use analytics tags to track email opens, clicks, and other actions.

Emails can be updated post-deployment.

Yes, AMP emails can be updated post-deployment using the update-action feature.

Are AMP emails time-consuming to create?

It may take some time to create AMP emails, as they require coding knowledge and the use of AMP components. However, there are also tools available that can make the process easier.