ESPs

A Curated Look at 134 Email Marketing Predictions

Email Predictions for 2017

For the second year, we have collected and curated email marketing predictions. So what’s changed in 2017? Data analysis tops the chart and knocks automation out of the top 4.

The top 4 categories for 2017 are data analysis, emails and ESPs, content and segmentation. This year data analysis includes artificial intelligence and bots with nearly half (15 of 33) of the category predictions dominated by AI and bots.  The other big winners this year are email design and improved ESP platforms followed by video in content and AI-assisted segmentation/personalization.

The chart seems to indicate a significant drop in segmentation, automation and social, but the reality is that AI and bots are predicted to redistribute the workload in 2017.

We have summarized the predictions by category here.

email-predictions2

Data Analysis

Oh data, data, data, there’s so much gold in all this information that’s been piling up and waiting to be used by marketers. Beyond the astute data scientist, much of this data has remained “piled up”. Fear not, for now technology will be doing most of the heavy lift of analyzing data and putting it to work for marketers.

AI will do the analyzing for us and quickly ferret out new marketing opportunities. The agency and brand will have more time to dedicate to the creative process to address these opportunities rather than digging into the numbers.

Predictive analytics performed by AI, our new friend or enemy (depending on who you talk to) will satiate the consumer and reduce churn. Today’s overly complex automation flows could be laid out by AI without the agency or brand having to consider possible overlap. It can all be handled in the background without the need for marketer intervention. We will see many more email & marketing automation companies adding AI to their platforms in 2017.

Bots will be the future of email marketing. Chatbots will bring customer service into the realm of AI and reduce friction in the in-app experience.

Emails and ESPs

Beyond AI, the the single biggest expectation for 2017 lies around improvement in email design. The email production process will be fixed with new email creation tools that lower email development costs. Email service providers (ESPs) will vastly improve their capabilities.

Email will be full of interactivity and design will be modular. They will also be full of images, videos, quizzes, surveys and created by drag and drop. The final product will be delivered personalized and uniquely configured for each recipient. All hail Email!

Ecomm and direct buying from the email will be the focus for 2017.

Content

Video will continue to dominate as the preferred method of content consumed. Video creation is easier than ever to create and provide in a more personalized form across all the social platforms.

Messaging will be much more contextual in nature and allow for hyper-personalization. Predictive analytics will keep content relevant and help large organizations do a much better job of delivering content that converts the best at the same time as satisfying the correct information need of each consumer. No more landing pages where one size fits all.

The seamless of content across channels will continue to be the aspirational goal of marketers.

For written content the struggle will be to be believed. Fact vs fake has taken center stage and will create issues for many marketers. Brands will need to take an active stance in monitoring the media where their ads are placed as fake news continues to pose a threat to brand credibility.

Segmentation

Hyper-personalization is the goal for 2017. One to one marketing will become the new norm. No longer will just an email address be enough for marketing. Algorithms applied to behavior of subscribers will predict what they will do next.

Mobile

Truly considering mobile, will drive real-time data and location utilization. GPS based SEO will overtake keywords as mobile dominates search. Desktop will continue to fade in favor of mobile ads and web sites will transform from a novelty in B2C to a main staple for all digital advertising.

Mobile payments will come to inboxes. First-Person marketers will focus on wearable devices and marketers will catch up to mobile-first consumers.

Automation

There will be a revolution in marketing automation. Intelligent automation will begin to rise over simple personalization and drive a clearer, more personal message with full lifecycle marketing consideration with less crossover of automation streams.

SMS takes a bigger share of the marketing arsenal, but be careful and use sparingly. Yes, text have a very high engagement rate, but if consumers get overwhelmed by brands in this channel, it will become another channel of noise to be ignored.

Ads

Independent publisher will have a tough time in the era of walled garden marketing. Social will work to refine ads to the point that it will be difficult to tell ads from viral posts. And in this environment, media agencies will be held accountable for ROI like never before.

The Rise of Madtech (confluence of Marketing, Advertising and Technology) – Expect to see the continued integration of ad tech within the email and marketing automation platforms this year. AI could take the convergence deeper by making programmatic ad buying a breeze.

With the metric issues recently divulged for Facebook ads and the revelation of the Methbot ad fraud network, brands will be extra cautious in how they spend their ad dollars in 2017.

Web

Website branding will pose a major design challenge to industry in the fight between user experience and being mobile and desktop friendly.  The Cloud will be used more extensively to support large bursts of email traffic

Social

Customers will shape the conversation. Email + Socials = A match made in heaven. Social alone may not get the job done, but if you’re doing it right and capturing sign ups to your email list through Social. Social provides the research and peer approval while email will nurture your customers and ultimately convert for the win.

Security

As global cyber security attacks continue to rise, digital marketers will struggle with keeping consumer data safe and private as e-commerce and marketing automation opens new doors for crafty cyber thugs. Global privacy comes to the forefront as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation comes nearer to its full effect date of May 2018.

List growth

Curiously, there was only one prediction about list growth and it speaks to the return to the double opt-in and the idea of quality over quantity. I’m all for quality and considering the rise in list bombing this year, I would take it one step further and include Captcha.

Summary

All predictions should be taken with a grain of salt as there is always a certain amount of self-interest and company focus involved and of course they are just that, predictions! Nonetheless, 2017 looks to be an exciting year for email and marketing automation.

About the Author:Gerald Marshall is Head of Operation at Email Industries.

The Rise and Rise of Niche Email Marketing Products

Niche Email Marketing Products

As email grows in complexity and effectiveness, so do the technologies and services that power it. But the email service providers (ESPs) and even the in-house solutions can’t be expected to provide for every need an email marketer might have. Yet the need exists, and in a game that’s sometimes measured in half a percentage point, every little detail counts.

Enter niche email marketing solutions. Nimble and savvy businesses are popping up to fill the voids others can’t, by providing hyper-focused solutions that help companies improve on even the finest points of their email marketing campaigns or operations.

BlackBox

It’s not just the email marketers who need some specialized products. Even the email service providers need a little help now and then, and niche email products can offer it. Consider BlackBox, a product we first launch nearly four years ago. BlackBox helps ESPs find potentially problematic customers, before the damage is done, by allowing ESPs to preemptively score the level of permission in their senders’ lists and manage those senders more effectively. It reduces risk, expedites new customer vetting and improves email deliverability.

FormSwell

On the other side of the fence are the email marketers, who are doing more with less as email gets more complex but budgets stay the same. Several products stand out as big solutions to little problems. Only think of all the little pieces necessary to a full-blown email marketing campaign. One niche product stands out, even though it’s still in beta: FormSwell is an easy way for email marketers to create powerful email signup forms without coding or cumbersome integrations.

EDMdesigner

Another favorite niche product of mine is EDMdesigner, for creating custom, responsive email templates without coding. Even though most people view their emails on a mobile device, not many emails work well on the small screens. It takes responsive design to make emails look good no matter the device, but that requires some special skills—and a lot of time. EDMdesigner takes away the need for the skills and makes it easy, to save you time. Best of all, like FormSwell, it’s available for integration into any SaaS system.

Subject Line Gold

This last one is defines the spirit of niche email products because subject lines are so often overlooked. Seriously, one of the most important pieces in getting your email open is usually written in a last minute, haphazard way. But Touchstone’s Subject Line Gold is may take away any excuses around bad (i.e. ineffective) subject lines by making it so easier to analyze subject lines.

ESP Integrations

In addition, ESPs are providing even easier ways to create and access niche email products, for example MailChimp’s Integration Fund. The future is bright and niches are popping!

About the Author: Scott Hardigree is Founder of Email Industries (the folks behind Indiemark,BlackBox, FormSwell and Email Critic). Connect him everywhere, here.

Introducing BlackBox, An Email Marketing Abuse Prevention Service

BlackBoxToday we announced the launch of BlackBox, a service to help email service providers (ESPs) and direct marketers prevent abuse and fraud.

Bad Data with a Heart of Gold

In essence what we are providing access to a very large volume of purchased data that is actively circulating around data aggregators so that those who are responsible for email deliverability, marketing compliance or data acquisition can perform their own analysis, in-house, in order to prevent malicious clients or partners from abusing their platforms or budgets.

How to Prevent Abuse and Fraud

Prior to BlackBox our clients never really knew what you were going to get until they pulled the trigger. Is that list old, purchased, or a ticking time-bomb? Is their customer or supplier a good guy or something else? With BlackBox they know, before the damage is done.

ESPs are not only using BlackBox to vet new customers but also to predict bad behaviors. So, depending on the sophistication of the Email Service Provider, they are leveraging the BlackBox data in different ways. For example, some ESPs already have their own in-house process they use to prevent abuse, which is typically comprised of problem data that has already pass through their platform. They in turn are using the BlackBox as a preemptive layer which helps them to be more proactive as opposed to reactive. And for those who have not yet built their own anti-abuse tool, they are using BlackBox to jumpstart their efforts.

Likewise direct marketers, specifically those who are responsible for list acquisition, are using BlackBox to successfully vet prospective data partners and conduct periodic reputation audits of their data contributions. Say, for example, a list matches against BlackBox at X% or better, this is a very strong indicator of abuse or fraud. It is at least a very good reason to investigate their client,s or data contributor’s practices more closely.

BlackBox In a Nutshell

Indiemark is acting as bridge between the underbelly and the uppercrust of the email marketing industry. We want to see this bad data being used for a good purpose, like helping our clients to protect their investments, their reputation and their organization. Learn more.

It Pays to work with MailChimp Experts, Literally

MailChimp ExpertsIt’s no secret, MailChimp is one of our preferred email marketing service providers here at Indiemark and we’re proud to say that we’re numbered among their MailChimp Experts. But that’s not the only reason why we’re huge fans.

They are one of the few email services providers that understand that a great product doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. For example, they offer features such as dynamic content and robust, yet easy to use, template language; features that are not even available at more formal and certainly more pricey ESPs.

MailChimp Expert Exchange Program – Get Paid To Outsource

Beyond pricing and features we love MailChimp’s recently launched Expert Exchange Program, in which we participate.

What’s This: Need consulting, custom MailChimp templates, API work, or someone to manage your email marketing? Hire us and MailChimp will reimburse you 50% of what you spend with us.

Do You Qualify: If you’ve got paid MailChimp Monthly Plan, you qualify!

How it Works: Once your project with Indiemark is complete,  send your paid invoice to MailChimp. Then MailChimp will take 50% off your monthly bill for six months or until they have reimbursed you for half of the cost of your project. Pretty sweet huh?!?!

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