A Wrapup of 2020 Email Marketing Trends & 2021 Email Marketing Predictions. The usual flurry of the year-ahead type crystal ball predictions did not come to pass as we saw 2020 draw to a close, with more of a fizzle than a bang on the most part for many. Perhaps predictably the posts are a little sparse. I did however search around the usual suspects and found some stellar content.
There are posts offering guidance on how to approach 2021, reflections on 2020 and popular this year was collections of the “best of 2020 posts”. Who can blame the bloggers, influencers and others in the email community about being shy to post predictions after the experience we had this year. If nothing else everyone will agree 2020 was a year like no other.
It was not entirely doom and gloom, for many of it was the year of the pivot, some more successfully than others. However there were those who were simply best placed to succeed in in the melee that was 2020. With that said you will find the reflections and advice is as varied as our experiences of 2020.
In absolutely no particular order some of the best reflections of 2020 I could find.
Gavin Laugenie, DotDigital
A look back at the year that was 2020 email marketing
With a particularly British flavour Gavin brough us his reflections on the year that was 2020 for email and as opposed to making any predictions for 2021 he shared his marketing resolutions for the coming year. Learn Gavins take on how tech should play an integral role in your marketing efforts in the year ahead, here on emailexpert.
Tania Blake, Knak
Email Marketing in 2021: The Pros Weigh In
Not every emailgeek was shy to come forward with their predictions and Tania Blake from Knak did a great job of collating thoughts and reflections on 2020 and predictions for the year ahead from a wide number of thought leaders in the space. Many of the on my personal list of faves in the space including Dr. Ada Barlatt, Joi Brooks, Jen Capstraw and Matthew Smith. Moreover insights from marketing leaders I have not had the opportunity to know in 2020 but look forward to correcting in 2021.
Check out a varied collection of thoughts on the Knak blog:
https://knak.com/blog/email-marketing/the-pros-weigh-in-on-email-marketing-in-2021/
Ryan Phelan, Origin Email
2020 – The year we unlearned everything we learned
Eschewing any idea of providing email marketing predictions for 2021 Ryan Phelan chooses to provide us his 5 facts that email marketers need to take on board for successful 2021. A great article packed with real world practical advice and email marketing strategy you can take away and apply to your 2021 marketing plans.
Also do have to say at emailexpert we really appreciate the multiple shout outs and references to our final email conference of 2020 the inagural Deliverability Summit. Check out Ryans post on Marketing Land.
https://marketingland.com/2020-the-year-we-unlearned-everything-we-learned-283636
Jennifer Cannon & April Mullen on Women of Email
2020 Predictions and Trends, What is here to stay?
Rather than publishing a set of predictions at the end of the year Jennifer Cannon chose to review the predictions that April Mullen of SparkPost and herself made when entering 2020. What did they get right? What was a miss? What will we see more of in 2021?
You will need to check it out on the Women of Email blog to find out more. https://womenofemail.org/Blog/9399268
Matt Parsloe, Taxi for Email
How should email marketers prepare for an uncertain 2021?
Full of practical tips and advice this is a fantastic post packed with learnings from 2020 and real take aways you can apply to your 2021 email marketing strategy.
https://taxiforemail.com/blog/how-should-email-marketers-prepare-for-an-uncertain-2021/
Erica Weiss, SparkPost
Best SparkPost Content of 2020
A collection of the 20 best posts from the SparkPost blog in 2020 as chosen by Erica Weiss. This includes some links to great resources like the SparkPost benchmark report, their most comprehensive report to date and essential reading for all serious email strategists.
https://www.sparkpost.com/blog/best-sparkpost-content-2020/
Jeanne Jennings, Only Influencers
ICYMI: Top OI Blog Posts from 2020
Another ‘best of 2020 posts’ and this one from Jeanne Jennings definitely deserves a mention in my wrap up of favorite posts wrapping up the year. It features a selection of incredible content from the likes of John Caldwell, Chaitanya Chinta, Nick Crawford, Matthew Dunn, Jenna Devinney, Chris Marriott, Loren McDonald, Tejas Pitkar, Dela Quist, George Schlossnagle and of course Jeanne Jennings herself.
Catch-up on the great content you might have missed whilst busy trying to pivot (or not) your 2020 marketing plans, now on the Only Influencers blog.
https://onlyinfluencers.com/email-marketing-blog-posts/entry/icymi-top-oi-blog-posts-from-2020
Tanishq Juneja, Pepipost Netcore
Email Marketing Trends 2021 that nobody is talking about
From one of the Pepipost co-founders we have have a unique take on the trends to look out for in the year ahead based on data processed and analysed over the past 6 to 9 months across the Netcore stable of products.
George Schlossnagle, SparkPost
2021 Email Predictions
There are a few who went all out and provided their predictions for 2020 including Samantha Iodice, Ryan Phelan, April Mullen, Massimo Arrigoni, Dr. Ada Y. Barlatt, Ph.D. and other favorite emailgeeks.
You will need to provide your details to access the content but some worthwhile predictions available for your efforts.
https://www.sparkpost.com/resources/white-papers-guides/2021-email-predictions/
Team Phrasee
10 unexpected ways to change up your marketing in 2021
An ‘orange paper’ is how this deck of great advice and actionable tips from Phrasee is presented. Not what you might expect in your forward thinking tips for marketing in 2021, however if nothing else 2020 should have taught you to experiment and that sometimes change is absolutely necessary and/or inevitable. You may not agree with all the advice but at the very least it will make you think and read beyond the headlines for real insight into how you can make changes that could drive real impact in your 2021 email marketing efforts.
https://phrasee.co/futureaihub/10-unexpected-ways-to-change-up-your-marketing-in-2021/
Jordie Van Rijn, Email Monday
The Future of Email Marketing & Marketing Automation | 2021 edition
Every year Jordie brings us his predictions and analysis. It is always detailed post and represents a significant amount of research. I would be remiss for not including a link.
The Future of Email Marketing & Marketing Automation | 2021 edition
