Email Content in the AI Era

This year, 2025, feels like a turning point in the internet era.

Artificial intelligence tools have become ubiquitous. Every app or software tool now advertises itself as AI.

Moreover, the AI is getting good, really good. And it’s only going to get better.

AI tools can now create quality content in any form - words, sounds, images, videos, etc.

Is this the start of a utopian existence where we learn to integrate this new technology into our lives in harmonious productive bliss, or are we doomed to a world of distrust and fear because nothing is real anymore?

Compounding the problem is the continued improvement of AI, which makes the fake stuff appear all the more real. We can’t tell the difference anymore.

Why is AI relevant to email marketing?

First - AI tools are extremely useful for researching ideas and writing emails. I personally use AI tools for nearly all my emails now. AI makes the work of email marketing much easier and it should be utilized.

Second - Email marketing is the primary way a business or person maintains relationships in the digital age. Relationships depend on trust and authenticity. So in a world of fake AI, how will AI change the dynamics of relationships built and maintained via email?

Journalists aren’t just for newspapers

I came across this article from Avenue Z mentioning that NVIDIA hired a former Wall Street Journal editor. Other big companies have also hired journalists.

This is interesting. Why are the biggest companies in the world hiring journalists onto their communications teams?

Journalists (good ones) use trusted sources to report a story in a relatable manner.

We believe stories of journalists to be true and authentic. So we value them.

Clearly, large businesses see journalistic skills as essential to their communication strategies in the future. In a world of fake AI, we’re going to need more truth.

Why does this matter for email marketing?

AWeber writes that the average email open rate is about 21.5% across industries.

This means if you’re writing an email, the vast majority of people won’t read it. You’ve got to be trustworthy, authentic, and provide value.

How do you do this? Especially in the era of AI?

Write like a normal person.

For example -

There’s a minor league baseball team called The Savannah Bananas that uses email to build relationships with fans.

They have 5 million fans. How can you retain the personal touch with that many people?

They write a handwritten note, and put it into an email.

From the article:

The marketing team for this baseball team focuses on how the fans feel, and that’s what makes them successful.

It’s a cool case study in relationship building at scale, so read the full article here.

AI vs. Human Touch

Can AI tools come up with emotional tear-jerking stories that connect with people and build relationships? Yes, they absolutely can.

Can AI tools replicate what the team at The Savannah Bananas are doing with their email marketing? Yes, certainly a large part of it.

So why is the human element still needed and how can it prevail over AI?

Because telling a story or building a relationship still depends on connecting moments of authenticity and truthful events. You could call these human moments.

For now, we still have the ability and perception to tell when a story doesn’t add up, when it feels off. So, while the AI tools are helpful and useful, the robots don’t replace the humans - yet.

Personalization Tactics

That stat above of the average email open rate being 21.5% can be improved when the email sent is more relevant to the recipient.

Increasing relevance is part of the magic of email marketing for building relationships at scale.

How do you do this? Make it personal!

• Collect data when people sign up for your list via survey, questionnaire, etc.

• Send emails to the relevant people via list segmentation

• Send the right content at the right time - these are all those “you left this in your shopping cart” emails

• Try different subject lines and email content, to see what works best

Examples if I was on The Savannah Bananas marketing team:

1. Happy birthday email to come to the game early to meet the players

2. Email automation series after a fan’s first game to share favorite moments and bloopers from past games in order to entertain

3. Email after a fan hasn’t been to a game in 60 days to ask them where they are and give them a special prize if they come back to a game

4. Email to bring a new fan to a game and get a special treat

5. Monthly giveaway for free tickets (the most expensive seats in the house of course!)

The ideas here are endless.

But the idea is to be a real person, be entertaining or educational or valuable, and be both time and content relevant.

Check out more personalization tips here from AWeber.

That’s all I got for you today (and week) in terms of my thoughts on email marketing. In a world going crazy of AI, don’t lose the human touch - it’s valuable!

This is a different format of other emails I’ve sent in the past, so let me know if you like this by voting in the poll below.

Talk soon,

Bryan and The Email Update Team