Inbox Insider: A lot has changed in e-mail marketing

DMNews launched the Inbox Insider column in 2007, and since then, we have addressed the range of issues facing e-mail marketers.

From pieces on spam, subject lines, behavioral targeting, relevance and deliverability, this column has aimed to give e-mail marketers a place to learn and read about the biggest issues facing the e-mail marketing industry. A lot has changed since it launched three years ago.

In the column's early days, marketers were just beginning to talk about the integration of mobile and social media with e-mail, but there weren't a lot of e-mail campaigns tied to mobile phones or social networks. However, with the popularity of the smartphone and the rise of Facebook as a marketing channel, we are now seeing e-mail marketers take a more integrated approach.

Despite the hype surrounding newer channels, e-mail did not die. In fact, e-mail is still one of the primary ways consumers communicate online or through their phones.

What DMNews has seen a lot this year is expansion. E-mail marketing service providers are more often seeing themselves as digital marketing service providers, and many are offering an integrated suite of services that let marketers run e-mail, mobile, social and direct mail campaigns through one platform. They've expanded through in-house technology and services development, as well as from acquisition. More acquisitions are likely.

As marketers hurry to finish marketing plans for the holiday season, expect to see more integrated campaigns, as well as more vendors and agencies setting themselves up as one-stop shops.