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9 Email Marketing Trends that will Influence the Future of Higher Education

Emily Santos
Emily Santos
Sep 7, 2023
9 Email Marketing Trends that will Influence the Future of Higher Education
9 Email Marketing Trends that will Influence the Future of Higher Education

To shed light on the evolving landscape of email marketing in higher education, we've gathered insights from 9 industry leaders, including CEOs, Founders, and VPs to provide. From the"Golden Goose Approach" of personalized emails to the immersive experience of virtual campus tours, here are the top trends these experts have noticed in the sector.

1. Personalized Emails Taking the “Golden Goose Approach”

" Nowadays, educational institutions are ditching the one-size-fits-all approach and crafting emails that make students feel like the campus's golden goose.By harnessing the power of data, universities are sending tailored emails based on students' interests and study programs. This nifty move not only boosts engagement but also helps students discover relevant courses, events, and extracurricular activities.Imagine a student named Sam, who shows an affinity for physics. Sam receives an email highlighting the latest breakthroughs in the field and upcoming physics workshops. Now that's email marketing done right!"Himanshu Sharma, CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing

2. Long-Term Engagement Shaping the Marketing Approach

"The higher education sector has always had the advantage of time. These institutions have years to nurture the student segments they intend to draw in and use this time well to build solid relationships with students.They provide tips on the right courses and programs to help students meet their educational goals. They share news of the happenings in their institutions to keep younger students interested in them. And when the time comes, they leverage the advantages of this relationship built over time to ensure that the students look nowhere else for their higher education needs.This continued engagement also helps them keep an eye on changing trends and generational demands, allowing them to adjust their marketing approach to suit changing sensibilities and ambitions."Ariav Cohen, VP of Marketing and Sales, Proprep

3. Multilingual Content Aiming for Diverse Audiences

"In my experience with the higher education sector, one email marketing trend I've observed is the increasing use of multilingual email content. As the student demographics are becoming more diverse, it's crucial to cater to a broader audience by communicating in their native languages. This approach not only enhances inclusivity but also increases engagement rates.For instance, our skills training business once collaborated with a university for a pan-European student enrollment drive. We implemented multi-lingual email campaigns targeting different countries. The open and conversion rates were significantly higher than our single-language campaigns, proving the effectiveness of this inclusive trend in email marketing."Derek Bruce, First Aid Training Director, Skills Training Group

4. Authentic Branding Through Personal Storytelling

"Authentic branding has become more prevalent in email marketing within the higher education sector. Universities and colleges recognize that their audiences, particularly prospective students and their families, are more discerning and seek authentic, genuine connections. They value honesty and transparency above overly polished or corporate messaging.For instance, I recently observed a university use personalized storytelling in their email campaigns, featuring real experiences of current students, alumni, and faculty. The emails were not just promotional but provided an authentic window into the university's culture and values."Ryan Steinolfson, Founder, Accelerate Marketing

Strategies Shifting from Updates to Storytelling

"In the evolving landscape of email marketing for higher education institutions, I foresee a strategic shift from disassociated updates towards an integrated, consistent storytelling mechanism. This prediction stems from my experience receiving communications from globally renowned institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, and Yale.While these institutions routinely send me information on MBA admission rounds, tips, and other updates, the emails rarely elucidate why I should consider an MBA, or what differentiates their programs.In an era where higher education faces disruption from burgeoning technologies and the changing business environment, such as the rising startup culture, they must reconfigure their communication strategies.The future of email marketing for higher education will hinge on providing captivating narratives that convincingly demonstrate the unique value and relevance of their programs amid the evolving educational landscape."Rafael Sarim Özdemir, Founder and CEO, Zendog Labs

5. Appealing to Gen Z with Trend-Conscious Emails

"Drawing from my years of experience in marketing, I foresee a significant shift in the future of email marketing for higher education institutions, especially toward becoming more trend-conscious to appeal to Generation Z.These digital natives are constantly connected and exposed to a myriad of evolving trends. For instance, sustainability has become a core value for Gen Z. Thus, incorporating green initiatives or highlighting the institution's commitment to sustainable practices in email campaigns could significantly increase engagement.Communicating in a language they understand and relate to, embedded with trends they care about, can create more resonant and effective email marketing campaigns. It's all about resonating with their values and the trends they follow."Rabea Elias, Business Head, Almowafir

6. Improving Email Deliverability

"Working toward email deliverability turned out to be one of the biggest trends of the past 12 months. Many higher education institutions realized that improving the health of their email can broaden their marketing funnel by 10-20% instantly. This means they have a shot at growing by the same percentage without diving into complex strategies or shelling out on expensive development.At Folderly, we've seen this trend play out with our own eyes. We have several clients from the higher education sector, and they are over the moon with the results. They’ve shared that their emails are reaching more inboxes than ever, which directly impacts their success.So, if you're in a higher education institution, I strongly recommend adding email deliverability software to your arsenal; it's a simple yet game-changing move for effectively reaching your audience and opening up new possibilities."Vladislav Podolyako, Founder and CEO, FolderlyFor a deeper look into Folderly's email marketing efforts, read "From Days to Hours: How Folderly Streamlined Email Campaign Production with Beefree and HubSpot."

7. AI Integration Becoming The Future of Email Marketing

At Beefree (but really all of the tech industry), AI has been a huge focus of 2023. We kicked off our first beta round of AI integration back in April allowing users to use an AI writing assistant to help create copy and beat writer's block.Since then we have been slowly making improvements and enhancements to transform the Beefree AI Assistant into a go-to solution for everyday email and page copy use.According to Khris Steven, Owner and Marketer of KhrisDigital "it is only a matter of time before higher education institutions fully embrace AI integration. With the rampant use of AI among students, universities and other learning institutions can only mitigate this by also using AI tools to detect such usage.Ariav Cohen, VP of Marketing and Sales at Proprep further supports this sentiment and shares, "the combination of AI tools, high-tech automation, the creation of dynamic content, and deep behavior analysis and adjustment to trends has already begun to transform the email marketing landscape.

Balancing Email Responses Between Speed and Quality

Francesca Fitzsimmons, Content Marketing Specialist, Keystone Education Group shares the importance of speed in email marketing. "Through our annual student surveys, we are seeing a growing need for universities to reply faster and faster. In our 2023 survey of 23,000 students, 62% of students said they expect universities to reply to them in 24 hours or less.How can universities maintain a high quality of email marketing, versus replying as quickly as possible? According to Francesca Fitzsimmons, "AI is one option, using AI to draft responses and create email templates. The other is ensuring the content of your response is good enough so that students won’t mind too much if it takes a bit longer to arrive in their inboxes.For high-quality responses, think ahead to what students will want to know. Whether it is student success stories or a link to a YouTube short showcasing your campus, pre-empt the questions that will come next."Read more: AI in Email Marketing: One Step Closer to Democratizing Content.

8. Interactive Features Boosting Engagement

"Interactive content, such as quizzes, surveys, and videos, is becoming more popular in email marketing and will continue to shape email marketing in the future. This type of content can help to engage recipients and increase click-through rates."Aquibur Rahman, CEO, Mailmodo

Virtual Campus Tours Providing an Immersive Experience

Matias Rodsevich, CEO, of PRLab shares that "adistinctive trend observed in the higher education sector's email marketing landscape is the emergence of virtual campus tours.Educational institutions are leveraging immersive technology and interactive multimedia to create virtual experiences that bring the campus to prospective students' fingertips. Students can explore campus facilities and attend virtual lectures. This provides a convenient and accessible way to showcase the campus and gets people excited."Joe Troyer, CEO and Growth Advisor, Digital Triggers shared that his very own university clients have incorporated the interactive virtual campus tour within their email campaign that Matias Rodsevich shared about above.The results?As stated by Joe Troyer "This inclusion saw an impressive improvement in click-through rates and significantly bolstered enrollment numbers. In my opinion, the trend of interactive elements will continue to revolutionize email marketing in higher education."

9. Emphasizing Career Outcomes in Emails

"As the owner of a marketing agency specializing in email marketing, I've noticed that emphasizing career outcomes has become a significant email marketing trend in the higher education sector. This is largely driven by the increasing need for a tangible return on investment in education.Prospective students and their families want assurance that the significant time, money, and effort spent on education will yield promising career prospects. A specific instance I've noted is universities highlighting alumni success stories in their email campaigns. These aren't just generic successes, but detailed narratives highlighting how the university's programs directly contributed to their alumni's career growth.This effective strategy offers concrete evidence of career outcomes, increasing the value proposition and making the university more appealing to potential students."Josh "Snow" Elizetxe, Founder, Customer Feedback

Start implementing these Trends with Beefree

Implementing new strategies and staying ahead of the trends doesn't have to be hard. Beefree offers users the latest features to ensure your higher education email campaigns are optimized for conversion, stay on brand, and never get boring. With access to 1,500+ customizable templates, AI integration, and a drag-and-drop editor that makes it easy to insert interactive elements, Beefree is the go-to email marketing tool for higher education. Don't take our word for it, watch our latest webinar with the Minnesota State University, Mankato on why Beefree has become their tool of choice.

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Now, let's be honest—you’ve likely heard about all of these rotating for the last few years. While email marketing has come a long way and is changing faster than ever, there’s only so much you can do within 600x1,500 pixels. However, there are no limits to where your creativity can take you. 

Let’s get into it.  

#1. Unique, tailored experiences 

Damian Grabarczyk, the co-founder and growth marketer of PetLab Co., says, “We faced the challenge of connecting meaningfully with an audience that expects more than one-size-fits-all communication.” 

When we speak about crafting tailored emails we mean going beyond the recipient's first name in the subject line. We’re talking about optimizing your entire email strategy to design multi-stage touchpoints to nurture leads across the customer lifecycle. As well as, leveraging data to send hyper-personalized, relevant, and engaging emails that feel less like a broadcast message and more like a conversation. 

Many are using AI machine learning algorithms and AI automation to analyze customer interactions, past purchases, browsing habits, website visits, and even social media behavior to curate engaging email content that resonates deeply with the real-time needs of recipients.

For PetLab Co this looked like including content such as an individual’s pet health history or product usage timelines. Damian Grabarzyk expands, “This approach transformed the conversion rate and strengthened customer loyalty. As we look ahead, I see brands in 2025 moving beyond generic personalization to adopt strategies that make customers feel truly understood and valued.”

On the other hand, many are leaning into user-generated content (UGC) for crafting tailored experiences. Customers today are more likely to trust the opinions of peers over branded messages. UGC like customer reviews, testimonials, videos, and photos are the best form of social proof depicting real people using and benefitting from your products or services. 

We see the benefits of using both AI and UGC to get the most out of your email conversions ;). 

#2. AI tools as an addition, not a substitution

Experts at NordPass state, "AI-powered content generation tools are not here to replace email copywriters and marketers. These tools make us more efficient. The smarter the tool is, the better equipped we are to create high-performing email content that drives results." 

AI tools can support us by significantly enhancing the speed, precision, and effectiveness of your emails. For instance while traditionally A/B testing has required a lot of time to analyze small variations with AI you quickly implement and test multiple email elements and make adjustments based on real-time engagement data. There are AI algorithms that can even predict which variations are most likely to resonate with different audience segments, leading to more accurate targeting and faster optimization.

In short, AI tools are revolutionizing the way we craft and optimize our email’s deliverability. There are many different types of AI solutions so we suggest finding the right one for your needs. 

#3. Even more transparency around data

With AI continuing to rise, folks are more and more concerned about where their data is going. That’s where zero-party data collection becomes a key strategy in email marketing, allowing you to gather data directly from customers rather than relying on third-party sources. 

Zero-party data includes information that consumers willingly share, such as preferences, interests, and purchase intentions. This data is often collected through surveys, preference centers, quizzes, or interactive content and is highly valuable because it is shared explicitly, ensuring accuracy and deeper personalization without privacy concerns associated with third-party tracking.

As privacy regulations tighten, zero-party data will empower you to deliver hyper-personalized email experiences while respecting user privacy. This approach will help you build trust, as customers feel more in control of their data, and you gain insights that lead to more relevant and engaging email content.

#4. The death of static emails

With attention span getting shorter day after day, digest-format emails are expected to rise in popularity in 2025. Presenting email content in an easy-to-scan, organized, and minimalistic layout will surely help deliver the most relevant information in a fraction of the time. 

Additionally, interactive emails will allow recipients to directly engage within the email without having to visit a landing page or website. Interactive elements like product carousels, polls, and quizzes create a dynamic experience that keeps subscribers engaged, especially in visually driven industries like fashion brands

So what now? 

You’ve heard these strategies before, but now it’s time to actually put them into action. The brands that win at email marketing in 2025 won’t just be sending emails—they’ll be creating experiences. Whether it’s hyper-personalized content, AI-driven efficiency, zero-party data collection, or interactive emails that break the mold, the key is to stay ahead of the curve.

So, what’s the first strategy you’ll finally implement? Your inbox (and your audience) are waiting.

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Email makes gathering authentic product reviews quick and easy. By collecting sincere feedback, you can build trust, increase sales, boost loyalty, and innovate product improvements. 

That said, requesting reviews via email requires precise timing, personalized messaging, and lots of engagement optimizations. But don’t worry—we’ll walk you through some key steps to create email campaigns that deliver the valuable feedback you need.

Why product reviews matter

Product reviews do more than confirm that you're meeting customers’ needs. Sincere feedback drives loyalty and sales, offers valuable customer insights, and helps you develop a strategic product development roadmap.

  • Fosters customer loyalty: Requesting and listening to feedback makes your customers feel valued and heard. It demonstrates that you prioritize customer satisfaction, which helps you build stronger, long-term relationships. Review requests also act as re-engagement emails by starting new conversations with customers.
  • Increases sales: Social proof drives sales. According to a recent survey by Power Reviews, 90% of potential customers use online reviews to make purchasing decisions. In fact, reviews have more influence over purchasing decisions than product prices. Turning product reviews into customer testimonials and encouraging reviews on third-party sites can significantly boost sales.
Image sourced from powerreviews.com
  • Builds Customer 360 insights: Customer feedback delivers insights into customer needs and sentiments, enriching Customer 360. Exactly what is Customer 360? It’s a unified, 360-degree view of customer data. It empowers you to tailor products and customer experiences to meet individual needs and preferences. 
  • Drives product improvements: Sincere customer feedback reveals what target customers like/dislike about your products. It provides key insight into their value, functionality, and usability, unlocking large-scale development opportunities.

How to create an email campaign to collect product reviews

Want to unlock the power of product reviews? Let’s explore how to create email campaigns that encourage customers to share their feedback.

Segment your audience

Like promotional emails, product review requests shouldn’t be sent to every subscriber.

If subscribers haven’t had the chance to try your product, product review requests will feel irrelevant and may trigger unsubscriptions. So, only send review email requests to customers recently trying your product.

You can do this by segmenting your email list based on where customers are in the buying cycle. Target loyal customers, recent purchasers, and first-time buyers with tailored email campaigns. This ensures that you’re sending emails to customers most likely to respond with insightful feedback.

Write a compelling email subject line

According to Superoffice, 33% of people open an email based on the subject line. 

Image sourced from superoffice.com

To get the click-through rates you want, your email subject lines should be personalized, relevant, and engaging. Here are some examples:

  • Did you love [product]? Or hate it? Let us know!
  • We value your opinion — help us improve!
  • We want YOU to help us make our product better!
  • Up for a discount? Share your feedback for 10% off! 

Learn more > Tips for writing open worthy subject lines.

Optimize for customer engagement

A successful email marketing strategy relies on customer engagement. Here are some key email elements you need to encourage interactions.

  • An attractive email design: With the right layout, color scheme, typography, and images, you ensure easy readability and promote interaction. Use these engagement-boosting email design best practices to help you create a design that boosts conversion rates.
  • Gratitude and value: Thank customers for reading the email and explaining why their feedback is so important. Also, consider including a personalized Gmail email signature with your content details to build trust and encourage customers to engage with your review request. 
  • Personalized, relevant content: Personalized email content motivates engagement. Use customer data platform (CDP) data to tailor messages to individual customers. What is a CDP? It’s a centralized platform that collects and unifies customer information, building comprehensive customer profiles. 
  • Incentives: Offering a small discount can motivate customers to leave reviews, especially first-time buyers. That said, incentives can (sometimes) generate insincere reviews, so stress the importance of honesty. 
  • A strong call-to-action (CTA): Your CTA should direct readers straight to the reviews submission page. Use clear CTAs with bold buttons and typography to make it stand out.
  • Mobile responsiveness: If your emails are slow to load or don’t display correctly on mobile devices, your bounce rate will spike. Leverage solutions that offer advanced mobile optimization features — such as Beefree— to create responsive emails every single time.

Ask specific, concise questions

Complex, drawn-out questions that are too open-ended can disengage customers. So, get straight to the point with concise, direct questions. Here are some examples:

  • What did you think of [specific product feature]?
  • How often do you use our product?
  • What are your favorite/least favorite features?
  • How likely are you to recommend this product?
  • What could we do to improve our product?

Use a mixture of closed and open-ended questions to increase your chances of receiving meaningful responses.

Make it easy to respond

The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more responses you’ll receive. So, make the process as seamless and convenient as possible. One way to do this is with survey emails.

Email surveys have high response rates. They can be completed within the email with minimal effort, which is a big plus for busy customers. And, they can generate a wealth of quantitative data and metrics that are quick to analyze, leading to faster improvements. BeeFree has an extensive collection of email survey templates to suit every need.

For longer review requests, include a CTA that directly links to the review submission page. Review forms should use simple, clear language, be optimized for mobile, and have a progress bar. 

You could even provide your telephone contact details to allow customers to leave a review via telephone. It’s the preferred communication method for 55% of Baby Boomers according to Hubspot, so it’s worth considering. 

Leverage small business telephone services from Vonage to access call center capabilities like virtual receptionists and CRM integrations, streamlining processes.

Also consider directing customers to leave reviews on popular review sites, such as Google and Amazon.

Optimize email timings

If you send product review requests too early, there’s a chance your customers won’t have tried your product yet. But if you send them too late, your customer might have forgotten their experience. 

So, when’s the best time to request reviews? 

Aim to send review requests within 7-14 days post-purchase. This gives customers a chance to try the product a few times, leading to more sincere, meaningful reviews. Plan for seasonal surges such as Black Friday and incorporate them into your schedules.

Key takeaways

Do email campaigns work for gathering valuable product reviews that drive improvements, boost trust, and increase sales and loyalty? 

Absolutely — but they need to be strategic.

To generate sincere reviews and valuable data, ensure your marketing emails are personalized, engaging, and optimized for convenience. And, use email list segmentation and marketing automation to ensure they’re sent to the right customers at the right time.

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