Well as we approach the end of another fantastic growth year for email It’s time for a quick wrap-up on the things we liked, the things we disliked, hottest posts of the year and a what’s coming next year prediction.

So many good things happened this yeah I don’t even know where to start…

    First up – the increased use of Share to Social – This is the new hot toy for marketer’s, there are no better advocates then your subscribers, and a greater level of trust when you see a brand referral from a friend/associate then a complete stranger.

    Second – we saw the emergence of video in email – While I’m not sold on the technology as a subscriber, I’m highly intrigued in the effectiveness of this solution. Video as a relationship tool can convey so much more then just text in your email communications, but beware not all consumers will appreciate this new medium.

    Lastly – the total 180 turn around on a Canadian Anti-spam bill, we went from nothing at the beginning of the year to something that will be an international standard for combating unsolicited and setting the bar at new levels for how email, privacy and online trust will mesh in 2010.

Where we failed in 2009:

    Blasting – Still a commonly refereed to term in the industry… stinking of un-targeted, mass communications with only the idea of brand awareness in mind. Where is the 1:1 idea of email communication that showcase a subscribers true interests.

    Over-mailing – still commonly seen, resulting in mass list fatigue and higher complaint and unsubscribes. Email should focus more on a long term life cycle relationship building and less on short term profits.

    Us vs. Them – With the down turn in the economy and many industries hurting for business, some of the legitimate email marketers took a bit of a slide this year and opt-ed to use less then desirable methods of email communications to help the bottom line (ex: list purchase/rental, mailing old names, over-mailing, etc…), causing some ISPs and Anti-spam solutions to review and reconsider exactly how legitimate can the mail be when more and more people are complaining about it.

Top 10 posts for 2009:

2010 Predictions:

    Canada to get an effective Anti-spam law – this is a bit of a given but we may still see some changes as it the bill makes it way through the Canadian senate.

    Continued use of “less then desirable practices” – Sadly marketers are not out of the water yet as far as the economy is concerned, but lets (as an industry) try and raise the bar and do more with less by being more effective in how we communicate with list members.

    Consolidation in the ESP/email space – Having seen a number of acquisitions this year I would expect this to be a continuing trend in 2010… Who will it be – any predictions?

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season (which ever your choosing to celebrate) and a safe New Years.

Until Next year – Thanks for reading.

Matt Vernhout and Matthew Hill