It is good to know where you are and where you are headed. Let’s have a look at the future of e-mailmarketing and what trends emerged in 2010. I’ve took some time to find the best 2011 e-mail marketing insight / predictions, here they are:

(if you a looking for the latest trends and future gazing, they are in the 2023 email marketing trends and predictions.)

Email Trends For 2011 And Beyond
Loren McDonald shares his view about the übertrends and implications for e-mailmarketeers in 2011. From the multichannel inbox and channel-choosy customers to de-emphasize email a focus on retention some great point over at Email Insider.

How Email Marketing Will Evolve In 2011
Chad White from retailemailblog looks at the evolution of e-mail from a practical standpoint. Plain text will get a revival, SWYN linkage increases and your average message will adapt to the mobile width.

The anti-prediction post – trends
Trends are the new predictions are the new black. Andrew Kordek writes about Simplicity, (gr)oupons & day deals and consumer inbox control. Even adds a wild-card prediction. Check it out over at the Trendline blog.

The future of email: less segmented and less personal (in internet archieve)
With a bit of a twist, this post from Jordie van Rijn (yes, it’s me), shows that the inbox will be a battle field of value. With a fork in the road that dividing email sophistication.

Email Industry 2011: Three key trends
Three key tends by Fred Tabsharani of Port 25. Real time value, Niche verticals and reaping the benefits on marketing automation. Show where the email ecosystem is headed.

Email  marketing and the state of Mobile marketing in 2011
Email Expert takes a good look at two reports by eRoi and lists one of the trends much mentioned. Mobile & social marketing and Email. Some insight and very graphs here.

Online Marketing, e-mail, digital, branding

The online marketing world isn’t all about e-mail, even the lines are blurring between on- and offline. So lets see what some of the broader world has to offer us.

11 digital marketing trends trends for 2011
Dave Chafey has a some interesting thoughts and an early bird view in this October post. Googlization, digital marketing = marketing & the resurge of display ads. Including his DMA presentation.

10 Disruptive Trends That Will Shape Our World in 2011
On the AdAge blog we see a different take on the disruption that is marketing. Will social media take a chill pill? Will mobile be a huge opt-in generator for e-mail programs? Also see the comments about QR codes.

11 Branding And Marketing Trends For 2011
Branding trends aren’t about e-mail marketing, right? Wrong! Take a look at these trends for 2011 and see how many of them apply to your e-mail programs. A tale about Zappos-ification, Friendtelligence, Prolifetition.

7 experts’ predictions for 2011 
A giant post over at imediaconnection, not specifically about e-mail, but certainly worth the read. Learn about agencies behaviour, 2D barcodes and what technology didn’t man up to the expectations. (click on “view single page” to see the actual article)

Looking back

Does email marketing need something ‘new’ in 2011
Kara Trivunovic sr director of strategic services for StrongMail, takes a step back (to basics) and asks, ‘do we need something new?’, ‘Is email really an ever changing channel?’. Good questions Kara.

Looking back on 2010, what a wild year
2010; yes we can say it was a wild year for e-mailmarketeers. George Bilbrey, the president of Return Path, looks back and lists some of these wild trends.

Lets make a good start

So what to do in 2011? Take some of these advices and get your e-mail marketing of to a good start in 2011.

Are You Ready? Preparing Your 2011 Email Marketing Plan
Campaigner shares some good thoughts about your email marketing plans. Take a look at the presentation included.


Five ways to win with e-mail marketing in 2011
Mark Brownlow starts with stating some of the trends and gives you 5 ways to win. You can ignore or seek state-of-the-art technological solutions…data-driven, multichannel, integrated, one-to-one marketing solutions for the dawning digital challenge. What a sentence.

The First 5 Things to Do in 2011 (no longer online)
Making a good start? Again five things to do. Like syndication and focus on like-ability. This could be a start for a to-do list.

Final thought

2010 was a wild year for e-mailmarketeers. A lot of things changed, but the  game stayed the same. Prediction is a good excuses to take a serious look around and see what is happening already, a thing we should all do more often. If you read all of the articles above, you will surely find one or two gems of insight. And even if none of the predictions comes true, let’s make 2011 the best year in e-mailmarketing ever.

— Jordie van Rijn

More future of emailmarketing insights:
The Future of email marketing – 2023 edition