2020 SUCKED (1 Star ⭐)
2020 was a year of consolidation and regurgitation in the email industry. Companies merged, were bought, and even changed names, while the industry managed to talk about the same stuff that we were talking about 10-15 years ago. The operative words in the industry were personalization, automation, and the “New Normal.”
While 2020 did suck, it quickly reminded us that pivoting our strategies was not a bad thing, and those that were quick and agile faired far better than those that just followed.
Email Marketing Trends Predictions
In 2021, more of the same will happen across the industry. Companies will consolidate, and “personalization” will be a hot topic of many posts and webcasts. With that in mind, iPost would like to share with you our top 13 predictions and trends for 2021
- PREDICTION: The most common copy phrase will be, “Now that the COVID crisis is almost over….”
- TREND: Empathy will be a common messaging theme across all types of emails from all brands.
- PREDICTION: Restaurant email marketing will come roaring back with even greater force than ever before. The post-pandemic email/loyalty programs for all restaurants will be vital and even more inviting.
- TREND: Email list hygiene will become critical for all brands from now on. The ability to match engagement data in other programs will determine an “even better” email address to send to.
- PREDICTION: AMP will die on the vine.
- TREND: Organizations (large, medium, and small) will continue to leave the “BIG” marketing clouds at a record pace for better service, lower costs, better intuitiveness, and a more open ecosystem.
- PREDICTION: A Federal law around consumer privacy and protection will be proposed and passed but will not come into law until late 2022.
- PREDICTION: All other email marketing predictions/trend posts from every other vendor will include things like personalization (hyper or 1:1), omnichannel, automation, and my favorite: AI.
- TREND: Companies will begin to put greater emphasis on intervention programs vs. re-engagement programs.
- PREDICTION: Salesforce will purchase another email provider.
- TREND: Organizations will focus more on retention programs vs. acquisition.
- PREDICTION: A new form of opt-in will emerge where the mobile number can be used as a COI channel. However, opting into SMS will be done separately.
- TREND: Capturing user sentiment will become even more popular for retention and programmatic success.
FUN TIMES AHEAD
2021 will be amazing, but we must put ’20 in our rearview mirrors and work towards perfecting our craft and improving our industry together. Predictions and trends should not dictate the email marketing strategy or the success of your email content program as you are in charge along with your subscribers. Make a memorable email newsletter experience for everyone and continue to have fun.
