14 Challenges Faced When Introducing Interactive Elements in Emails
In the intricate world of email marketing, CEOs and directors have shared their firsthand challenges and innovative solutions. From ensuring cross-platform email compatibility to bypassing platform limitations with basic HTML/CSS, explore the diverse experiences and adaptations of fourteen experts in our latest Q&A feature.
- Ensure Cross-Platform Email Compatibility
- Host Videos on Third-Party Services
- Optimize Interactive Content for Speed
- Guide Users to Primary Email CTA
- Optimize Media for Faster Email Load
- Make Interactive Elements Intuitive
- Combine Server-Side Rendering with Conditional Blocks
- Balance User Experience with Interactivity
- Design HTML Fallbacks for AMP Emails
- Simplify Design for Non-Tech-Savvy Users
- Optimize for Better Load Time and Deliverability
- Use Progressive Enhancement for Compatibility
- Provide Fallbacks for Unsupported Email Clients
- Bypass Platform Limitations with Basic HTML/CSS
Ensure Cross-Platform Email Compatibility
One major challenge was ensuring the emails worked across various email clients. Adding interactivity with features such as polls and quizzes, or product carousels, might work perfectly in some but look broken or unresponsive in others, which would annoy the subscriber and potentially harm the brand.
To counteract this, we had a multifaceted approach. We would test for compatibility across major email clients. If an interactive element wouldn’t work on a given platform, we would have a fallback strategy. The user might see a clear call-to-action to view that same content on our website. An animated quiz about vitamin deficiencies might not render properly on all platforms. A user might then see a message to take that quiz on our website.
It worked: An interactive product recommendation tool featured in our latest email campaign suggested tailored supplement combinations, based on each email subscriber’s previous purchase and preference history. Because the tool showed only compatible recommendations and provided clear fallbacks, the campaign garnered a 22% click-through rate, far outpacing industry benchmarks. Done well, thoughtfully, and with the appropriate attention to cross-platform compatibility, interactive elements offer a potent new way to drive engagement and sales.
James Wilkinson
CEO, Balance One Supplements
Host Videos on Third-Party Services
Interactive video elements are especially hard to adapt to multiple platforms, especially if you’re hosting them yourself. They don’t always work well on mobile, they don’t play nice with all browsers, and they’re clunky on weak connections. One of the ways around this is to leave hosting to a third-party service like YouTube. They’re experts at optimizing video for multiple platforms. While their interactivity options are a bit more limited than we’d like, they’re definitely reliable, and that’s a huge bonus.
Nick Valentino
VP of Market Operations, Bellhop
Optimize Interactive Content for Speed
A major challenge we encountered with interactive email elements was ensuring fast load times, especially for mobile users. Heavy graphics and interactive features often slowed down email loading, causing frustration and potential loss of engagement from our audience.
We addressed this by optimizing all interactive content for speed. This involved compressing images, using lightweight code, and pre-loading key elements to enhance performance. For instance, in a recent campaign, we included an interactive poll but kept the visuals minimal and preloaded the core script to ensure swift interaction. The results were fantastic: the email loaded almost instantly, even on mobile devices, and we saw a 40% increase in user participation compared to previous campaigns. This experience taught us that simplicity and optimization are key to successful interactive email marketing.
Vaibhav Kakkar
CEO, Digital Web Solutions
Guide Users to Primary Email CTA
One of the challenges we encountered was the potential for interactive elements to distract from the main call to action (CTA) in our emails. With multiple points of engagement within a single email, we noticed that some recipients were engaging with the interactive content but not following through to the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a webinar.
We overcame this by strategically designing the email layout to guide users toward the primary CTA after they interacted with the content. In one campaign, we successfully used an interactive poll at the top of the email to engage users, followed by a clear CTA button that capitalized on the momentum created by the poll, resulting in a significant increase in conversions.
Marc Bishop
Director, Wytlabs
Optimize Media for Faster Email Load
One challenge I faced with interactive elements in email campaigns was slow load times. Animations and videos can make emails take longer to load, which frustrates users. To tackle this, I optimized all images and videos for the web. I also used a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to deliver media files more quickly.
Another issue was email size limits. Some email clients restrict the size of attachments and embedded media, affecting how interactive elements appear. To solve this, I kept email sizes as small as possible and used dynamic HTML. This allowed me to include interactive features without increasing the email size too much.
Khunshan Ahmad
CEO, InsideTechWorld
Make Interactive Elements Intuitive
One challenge that we encountered was a low level of engagement. Users often did not recognize these elements as being clickable or interactive, and thus we saw fewer interactions than anticipated.
To achieve this, we reworked our design philosophy to ensure everything interactive was well-labeled and quick to notice. For instance, adding animations like hover effects over buttons, making CTA buttons bolder, and embedding small tutorials within those emails that would show them how to do something; well, after all those adjustments, we started to see a great increase in engagement. Click-through rates for our emails rose 25% during the next campaign cycle.
It was all about making interactive elements intuitive and recognizable at once, providing users with seamless experiences.
Lucas Botzen
Founder, Rivermate
Combine Server-Side Rendering with Conditional Blocks
A significant challenge we encountered was ensuring the functionality of live content feeds within the email itself. We wanted to display live social media updates directly in the email, which involved integrating JavaScript—something most email clients don’t support. Initially, we attempted a workaround using GIFs that updated every few seconds, mimicking the live feed. However, this approach led to performance issues, particularly with image loading times, which negatively impacted user experience, especially on mobile devices.
To address this, we pivoted to using a combination of server-side rendering and conditional content blocks. Instead of embedding live content, we pre-rendered the most recent social media updates at the time of sending, creating a near-real-time experience. For users with clients that couldn’t support these elements, we included a clear call-to-action that led to a live version on our website. This improved the email’s performance and increased user engagement by directing traffic to our more interactive web platform, providing a smoother overall experience.
Dinesh Agarwal
Founder, CEO, RecurPost
Balance User Experience with Interactivity
One challenge I’ve definitely faced when adding interactive bits to my email campaigns is finding the right balance between user experience and interactivity. It’s like this: Imagine stepping into a shop where every corner screams a different sale—it’s overwhelming. That’s the last thing I want my subscribers to feel when they open an email from me. My main focus has always been to keep the user experience clean and engaging, so that every interactive element feels natural and useful, not just there for the flash of it.
To tackle this, I’ve learned to integrate interactive elements that are intuitive and actually add value to the message. For instance, I once revamped a campaign that initially had too many bells and whistles, which confused readers. I streamlined the design, focusing on smoother, simpler interactions like a single quiz or a straightforward clickable slider. This approach not only made the emails easier to navigate but also boosted our engagement rates significantly. More importantly, it helped gather direct feedback from users through simple embedded forms, giving us precious insights to fine-tune future emails. This strategy has been a win for us, enhancing both user satisfaction and our campaign performance.
Anders Bill
Cofounder/CPO, Superfiliate
Design HTML Fallbacks for AMP Emails
One challenge I’ve come across when implementing interactive elements in email campaigns is that some email clients don’t support AMP emails. As frustrating as it is, some clients just can’t handle AMP, so you need an HTML fallback to make sure the email still works. If a client can’t support AMP, the interactive elements just get replaced with the fallback HTML version.
A couple of other things to keep in mind: when an email with AMP elements is forwarded, all major clients will strip out the AMP-dependent interactivity. Also, while interactive email clients cover a good chunk of today’s audience, Apple Mail still doesn’t support AMP content. So, to adapt, I make sure the HTML fallback is designed well enough to deliver a good experience, even without the interactive features.
Kyle Kozlowski
Co-Founder, Eco Temp HVAC
Simplify Design for Non-Tech-Savvy Users
One challenge I faced when implementing interactive elements in my email campaigns was ensuring that the links and buttons worked seamlessly for all my clients, particularly since many of them aren’t very tech-savvy. I found that some were struggling with clicking through to my booking page for Reiki sessions, which was frustrating for both them and me.
To overcome this, I simplified the design by making the buttons larger and using clear, straightforward language. I also included a brief video tutorial on how to navigate the booking process, which I embedded right within the email. After making these adjustments, I saw a significant increase in bookings—up by 30% in just a month!
Hajnalka Nagy
Business Owner | Reiki Healer, Cosmic Self
Optimize for Better Load Time and Deliverability
One challenge I faced when implementing interactive elements in email campaigns was the increased load time and deliverability issues. Some interactive features, like carousels or embedded videos, caused the emails to load slowly or be flagged as spam by certain email providers. This negatively impacted our open rates and overall campaign performance.
To overcome this, the team and I focused on optimizing the interactive elements by using lightweight coding and compressing media files. Additionally, I worked closely with the design and development teams to ensure that all interactive components were built with efficiency in mind, using HTML and CSS animations instead of heavy JavaScript. I also ran extensive A/B testing to ensure the emails were deliverable and functional across various email clients.
An example of that would be a campaign I had some years ago where we used a gamified scratch-off element to reveal a discount code. Initially, this feature slowed down the email and affected deliverability. After optimizing the code and reducing file sizes, the interactive email loaded faster and reached inboxes without issue. The result was a significant increase in user engagement, with a 25% higher click-through rate compared to previous, non-interactive campaigns.
Dan Tabaran
Head of Marketing, Influencity
Use Progressive Enhancement for Compatibility
When introducing interactive elements into email campaigns, we experienced issues with cross-platform and device support. Some media support HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript in ways that differ from others, and therefore, some elements may appear different and function differently.
The approach used to resolve this was progressive enhancement. This means designing an email that will look good and work with any email client, and then building upon that basic layout by inserting fancy bits of code when the client accepts it.
In a campaign carried out with the intention of promoting new products, we aimed to incorporate a clickable image gallery. We first developed a plain version of the email with “web links” for the images used in the body of the email. For mail clients that supported HTML5, we included a JavaScript-based image gallery with hover and zoom features. This way, everybody could view the content in the simplest layout possible; at the same time, those with more sophisticated mail clients could enjoy the full set of linked states and other interactive elements.
Balram Maharjan
CEO, International Hotel Training School
Provide Fallbacks for Unsupported Email Clients
I faced the issue of some email clients not supporting interactive elements like videos. To fix this, I provided a fallback option with a static image and a link to the content. This approach ensured that everyone could still engage with the email, leading to a successful campaign.
Marta Romaniak
VP of Global Branding / Vice President of Global Branding, Avenga
Bypass Platform Limitations with Basic HTML/CSS
We encountered a challenge when trying to integrate interactive elements with our email marketing platform’s limited capabilities. Our initial attempt to include interactive elements like polls and interactive image galleries didn’t work as smoothly as we hoped due to the constraints of the platform.
To address this, we decided to take a more creative approach. We switched to using basic HTML and CSS for interactive features, such as clickable image hotspots and simple hover effects. For instance, in one campaign, we created a visually appealing email that featured a static image with clickable hotspots that revealed additional information when hovered over. This method bypassed the limitations of our email platform and still delivered a visually engaging experience to our subscribers. This adjustment not only solved the compatibility issue but also resulted in higher engagement and better feedback from our audience.
JD Lloyd
Business Development Manager and Project Manager, Bella Virtual Staging
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