In 2025, consumers are swamped with brands vying for their attention in every digital space imaginable – but email remains a powerful marketing channel.
In the next two years, global email users will grow to nearly five billion. That equates to a gazillion ‘I trust this finds you well’ and ‘just circling back’ salutations, combined.
Since 1971, when super-nerd Ray Tomlinson developed a system for sending messages between computers that used the @ symbol to identify addresses, we’ve been passive-aggressive with co-workers and cc-ing people who should never have been cc’ed in the first place.
There’s more to email than forgetting to add attachments and creative out-of-office messages (although this one gets bonus points):
For digital marketers, the power of email goes far beyond all of this. Email is still the best way to add value that builds trust – minus the whims of algorithms, search engines, and social media. Email also continues to deliver the highest ROI out of any other marketing channel, including social, paid search, and video.
In 2025, the key to standing out in a crowded inbox hasn’t really changed much. It still lies in understanding what works, like meaningful personalisation and content that’s compelling, relevant, solves problems, and adds real value.
If you’re a digital marketing decision-maker, here’s what you need to know.
Find out why email is still alive and kicking
To rise above the unopened noise, get the basics right
Email marketing 101 still stands – streamline that mailing list, optimise for mobile, and use great visuals with catchy copy.
- Lose the bloat for better engagement
A survey found that the top three reasons respondents unsubscribed were due to too many emails, loss of interest, or irrelevant content.
A sunset policy – which removes unengaged subscribers or reduces their email frequency – can help brands maintain a cleaner, leaner, and more engaged audience. The easiest way to do this is via segmentation (see further down) or to send an on-brand re-engagement email, asking the recipient whether they still want to receive your mailers (we know you can handle the rejection).
- Mobile-first is a must
With basically everyone on the planet accessing the internet via mobile, ensuring your emails are mobile-friendly is non-negotiable. This extends to images, layout, font size, and subject line length.
The latter plays a crucial role in open rates – research found that emails with subject lines under 20 characters had a 37.6% open rate, while longer subject lines (80+ characters) dropped to 28.68%. Keeping subject lines concise and content formatted for smaller screens improves readability and engagement
- Consider compelling visuals and copy that prompt action
High-quality images, GIFs, emojis, and interactive elements enhance engagement and encourage action. However, accessibility matters – many major email clients like Outlook and Apple Mail disable image downloads by default, making alt text essential when visuals don’t load.
Additionally, clear copywriting that prompts action ensures readers absorb your messaging and take the next step without feeling overwhelmed. Combining great visuals (don’t forget the alt text if they don’t load) with to-the-point, engaging writing keeps them coming back for more.
Hyper-personalisation – your email marketing superpower
Personalisation boosts engagement, with 72% of consumers interacting only with messages tailored to their interests.
However, in 2025, ‘Hi [FirstName]’ is the default. Marketers must dig into their enriched mailing list data (keyword: enriched, as not all data is equal) to hyper-personalise an email marketing experience.
How do you do this? Leverage behavioural data, purchase history, and browsing patterns to craft content that resonates with an individual.
Dynamic content is an effective personalisation tool more marketers should be utilising. Dynamic content is any part of an email, like an image, paragraph, or CTA, that changes depending on who receives the message. It makes an email appear as if it was uniquely crafted to be read by a specific person. It achieves this by swapping out elements of the email, not by sending separate mails (because ain’t nobody got time for that).
Segmentation, which can also be based on behavioural data, engagement level, and demographics, is another great way to hyper-target your audience. In fact, segmented email marketing campaigns can result in up to a 760% increase in email revenue. Automation, which helps maintain consistent communication without manual intervention, is useful here. It can trigger email sequences like drip marketing campaigns, a welcome series, or re-engagement campaigns based on who you want to specifically target.
Read about how personalisation builds brand loyalty
Why email marketing is still the best way to build trust
It’s simple: email fosters direct, personal connections with your audience.
Instead of pushing a hard sell, focus on adding value from the start – offering insights, solutions, or meaningful interactions that make recipients want to engage.
This leads to what we all want – conversions.
Newsletters form a big part of email marketing and are increasingly popular. Whether you opt for closed ecosystems such as LinkedIn or Substack or your own (we recommend your own), newsletters provide a platform for consistent, valuable content that keeps your brand top of mind.
Research suggests only 5% of B2B customers are ready to buy right now. This means newsletters, and email marketing in general, help keep up engagement with the other 95% until they’re ready to buy your product or service.
📢PSA: With stricter mailbox filtering from the likes of Google and Apple, metrics like open rates are becoming sketchy. Mailbox providers now use image pre-fetching, which can distort engagement tracking. To stay ahead in 2025, shift focus to more meaningful metrics like deliverability and click-through rates. Regular A/B testing of subject lines, visuals, and content also ensures continued optimisation.
The bottom line? Unlike social media or search algorithms, email marketing allows brands to truly know and connect with their audience, making it an indispensable tool for building lasting relationships.
Enjoyed this article? Share it with your peers so you look clever. Want to know how to nail your email marketing strategy this year? Contact us; we’ll show you how.
