From Static to Interactive: Design Emails That Convert

By Junaid Imdad, Email Marketing Specialist & Content Strategist.

Let's face it, email has come a long way since its invention.

Not too long ago, email marketing felt similar to sending digital flyers - static and one-sided with text blocks and maybe an image or two; click-through rates were acceptable but conversions varied widely depending on the recipient.

Now fast forward to 2025 and we live in an entirely different era: email is no longer used simply as a medium for broadcasting messages--it offers opportunities for interaction.

As someone who's worked in email marketing for five years, I have witnessed how shifting from static to interactive emails has revolutionized this field. Engagement rates have skyrocketed, conversion rates improved significantly and brands finally feel more personable even within an inbox.

If your newsletters from 2018 remain the same, this blog post is for you.

Let's examine what interactive emails are, why they work and how you can start designing them to increase conversions.

What Is an Interactive Email? 

In essence, interactive emails allow the recipient to engage directly within the email itself and don't require them to click through to your website in order to take action. This means your subscribers don't have to spend extra time clicking back out just for action to take place!

These interactions may include:

Image carousels, polls, surveys, product sliders, live countdown timers, embedded forms or quizzes, accordion-style content and click-to-reveal offers (click-to-reveal offers are like mini websites inside email inboxes), add-to-cart buttons - interactive emails act just like mini websites inside one's mailbox!

• And the best part? They don't just look cool - they convert.

• Why Interactive Emails Are More Successful Allow me to tell a short tale.

• One of my clients, an e-commerce brand selling wellness products, opted to switch their promotional email into an interactive one that featured product sliders, embedded reviews, and quizzes to help users select their ideal supplement. The result? A much greater response from recipients!

• Click-Through Rate of +38%; Conversion Rate of 21% and Unsubscribing rate is at 15%

• Why make the leap? Engaging emails tap into engagement psychology, encouraging users to take micro-actions. The more your target audience interacts within an email, the higher their likelihood is of taking larger steps like purchasing or subscribing.

Interactive content creates an experience that feels tailored, dynamic and unexpectedly fun.

Key Elements of High-Converting Interactive Emails

It doesn't have to be all or nothing with regard to interactivity - in fact, restraint may often be better in this instance. What matters is whether your interactivity supports your goal in creating this email message.

Let's examine some key components that increase conversion:

1 Personalized Product 

Recommendations with Clickable Tabs By gathering data on past purchases or browsing behavior, you can provide users with multiple relevant product options. By including tab-based navigation in their emails, they can click through to view different categories without ever leaving their inbox!

Why it Works: Reduces friction for users - they don't have to navigate endlessly through your site to locate what they're searching for!

2. Interactive Quizzes

An email containing an "What's Your Style?" or "Find Your Perfect Skincare Routine" quiz helps users identify their individual needs while subtly leading them towards the product of choice.

Why it works: People love quizzes! They create an intimate experience for participants while providing an efficient method for collecting zero-party data.

3. Live Countdowns and Inventory Meters

Create urgency by including real-time countdown timers or low stock alerts in emails that automatically update themselves every time someone opens them. These will be updated each time an email is opened as well.

Why it works: FOMO (fear of missing out) can be powerfully effective. Limited-time offers increase conversion rates significantly in retail and event marketing environments.

4. Email Polls or Feedback Sliders

Rather than asking users to rate their experience on another page, try giving them the ability to rate it directly within an email message by using polls or feedback sliders - they could click a smiley face, thumbs up/down button or scale from 1-5 for immediate feedback!

Why it works: Rapid engagement leads to more feedback--making users feel heard and engaged.

5. Integrating "Add to Cart" Buttons

If your platform supports it (and many do now), enable customers to easily add products directly into their cart from within an email message and combine this feature with one-click checkout links for maximum effectiveness.

Why it works: Reducing resistance means more sales opportunities.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself: This sounds great; how can I design one myself?" So here are a few key design tips for interactive emails that actually convert:

Here are my tried-and-tested solutions from years of experimentation:

Lighten Up:

Interactive elements can significantly increase file sizes. Avoid overloading your emails with animations and JavaScript that may fail in certain inboxes (like Outlook).

Pro Tip: Use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) when emailing or creating interactive HTML5 features compatible with Gmail and Yahoo mail systems; fallback designs will ensure your message looks great anywhere else too.

As You Start Out Don't overwhelm your readers; start small by adding one interactive element like a poll, carousel or quiz to one section of your email and build upon that base.

Always Provide a Fallback:

Email clients don't always support complex interactivity. To ensure a positive user experience, always include fallback text or links such as: "Can't see this? View in browser." to provide an easier experience.

Make Your CTA Stick Out All interactivity should lead to something: clicks or conversions. Create call-to-action (CTAs) with contrast, whitespace and clear copy that stand out.

Conduct A Test-Across Devices:

Interactive features can appear differently across desktop and mobile platforms. Use tools such as Litmus or Email on Acid to see how your email appears across inboxes.

Tools That Will Enable You to Craft Interactive Emails Without Coding

No one needs to be a programmer in order to craft effective and interactive emails; here are tools I and other marketers have used:

• Stripo - Drag-and-Drop Builder with AMP Support

• Mailmodo - Mailmodo is great for creating interactive emails such as forms and polls.

• BeeFree Email Editor provides an intuitive email editing solution with dynamic content blocks for effortless email communications.

• Klaviyo + AMP for Shopify Brands

• ActiveCampaign - Automation-friendly campaign with personalization and conditional blocks

Common Mistakes to Avoid

I made these errors so you won't have to:

• Too Many Moving Parts: If your email appears too complex for recipients to engage, they are likely to click away before reading further.

• Failing to address accessibility: Use appropriate contrast levels, alt text and button labels when designing interactive experiences; being interactive does not automatically mean inaccessible.

• Failing to track behavior: Interactive emails generate valuable engagement data that you can use to refine future campaigns.

• One-size-fits-all design: Always consider mobile users when creating designs that accommodate them. Most people check email on their phones; plan your designs accordingly.

Future Emails that Feel Like Apps

Looking ahead, email is becoming the new generation micro-app. Already we're seeing newsletters offering users the ability to browse products, shop them directly from within their inboxes and book appointments as well as give feedback without ever leaving their inboxes.

As AI and AMP become more prominent, we will see further convergence between websites and email.

Final Thoughts: 

Ensure Your Emails Are Worth Clicking

Here's my advice, after five years of trial-and-error: "Make Your Emails Worth the Click".

Instead of designing emails to simply look impressive, craft them to benefit the recipient and make engaging with your brand easier, faster, and more pleasurable for them.

Interactive emails don't just involve cool features; they create connections. The more personalized, intuitive, and engaging your emails are for subscribers, the greater their trust will be in you--and in turn their purchase from you.

No matter if you run a small Shopify store or manage email strategy for an established brand, now is the time to transition from static to interactive content.

Start small, stay consistent, and always conduct tests.

Interactive emails offer you a chance to start conversations instead of just sending a message.

Need help crafting emails that engage? It’s time to talk. I specialize in crafting engaging, non-pushy messages that deliver real results for brands.