Email Marketing RulesDon’t Discount These Four Trends Driving Innovation in Restaurant & Hospitality
Posted on March 6, 2026
After years of margin pressure and unpredictable demand, restaurant and hospitality brands are finding smarter ways to grow. The next wave of innovation is not about bigger discounts. It is about relevance.
In 2026, data, AI, and loyalty will converge to create truly individualized guest experiences that drive measurable business impact. The leaders will capture better data, use it responsibly, and activate personalization that feels effortless for guests.
Here are the trends that will be driving that shift.
3-Year Anniversary of the 4th Edition of ‘Email Marketing Rules’
Posted on March 5, 2026
Three years ago today, the two-volume 4th Edition of Email Marketing Rules was published. Weighing in at 677 pages, many consider it the most comprehensive set of books on email marketing ever. I’m exceedingly proud I’ve been able to provide marketers with a source of trusted advice on this critical marketing channel for the past 13 years!
100% of reviewers have given Email Marketing Rules 5 or 4 stars on Amazon.com, with more than 82% giving them 5 stars. If you’re one of the email geeks who has reviewed it, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! If you’ve read either volume and haven’t left a review yet, please consider it. Every review makes a huge impact and helps guide new practitioners toward solid advice upon which to build their email marketing foundation.
Thanks again to everyone for your support. I feel exceedingly lucky to have stumbled—like so many of you—into this powerful and dynamic industry.
>> Find Email Marketing Rules on Amazon.com
Five Ways to Personalize Emails for New Subscribers
Posted on February 20, 2026
Marketers know that personalization is key to both increasing performance and boosting retention and loyalty. However, early in a new subscriber relationship, many marketers struggle to create relevant emails due to a lack of data.
However, sometimes this lack of data is due to poor integration, missed data collection opportunities, and gaps in data practices. Let’s look at several possibilities for the profiling of new email subscribers and what data opportunities are available in each case.
Fourth Quarter 2025 Email Marketing Benchmark Report
Posted on February 11, 2026
Zeta Global’s latest Email Marketing Benchmark report shares aggregated data on sends, open rates, click rates, click-to-open rates, and unsubscribe rates from Oct. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2025, including year-over-year changes. The benchmarks are broken down by industry (e.g., retail; travel, hospitality & entertainment; financial services & insurance; and media) and by email type (e.g., promotional and triggered).
The report also includes:
- Commentary and context from our digital marketing experts so you can understand these changes
- Tips on how to use benchmarks effectively
- Discussions of the latest inbox provider changes from Gmail and Yahoo Mail and how they affect marketers
To get the report via a free, no-form download…
The Last Word on January 2026
Posted on February 9, 2026
A roundup of digital marketing and email marketing articles, posts, and social buzz you might have missed last month…
Must-read articles, posts & reports
Gmail is entering the Gemini era (Google)
Gemini introduces Personal Intelligence (Google)
Operating 2026: The Great Decoupling Begins (Operating by John Brewton)
Why Creators Are Doubling Down on Email (And You Should Too) (GetResponse)
Insightful & entertaining social posts
Measurement is driving martech-adtech convergence
📊Subscribe to the Chart of the Day newsletter: https://t.co/Nxi5eQQX7B pic.twitter.com/9WkghBOoxL
— EMARKETER (@eMarketer) January 8, 2026
I don’t really care about “peak performance.”
But I do care about avoiding deep valleys.
— Jay Clouse (@jay.blog) Jan 19, 2026 at 8:51 AM
You ever try explaining to a client why the email looks different in Gmail on Chrome vs. Gmail on Safari vs. Gmail in the app vs. Gmail on Android?
By the end, I sound like a conspiracy theorist with a corkboard and red string.#EmailMarketing #htmlemail #emaildevelopment
— Anne Tomlin (@pompeii79) January 13, 2026
This is a failure in leadership, and a lack of AI education in companies.
It is literally impossible for a knowledge worker, in any industry, to not save time using generative AI if they are properly trained, and taught personalized use cases relevant to their role. https://t.co/EyHkpmoTFD
— Paul Roetzer (@paulroetzer) January 24, 2026
Noteworthy subject lines
IKEA Family, 1/10 – Your vote 🗳️ = $40,000 for one charity 💙 💛
IKEA Family, 1/1 – New year, new home goals: let’s make them happen at the IKEA Winter Sale!
Target, 1/1 – Essentials for fresh starts—step into a new year of wellness 🧘
Clinique Online, 1/6 – New Year’s goal: Healthy-looking skin ✔️
Michaels, 1/6 – Up to 50% off storage + over 180 new solutions = your most organized year yet
Duluth | Big Dam Clearance, 1/15 – Kick-Axe Flannel Savings – Up To 70% OFF
Crate & Barrel, 1/10 – Spring just landed! See our 1600+ new arrivals
Levi’s® Red Tab™, 1/27 – Football’s biggest game is coming home 🏈
adidas, 1/15 – FIFA World Cup 26™ Ready to be Repped
Fanatics, 1/13 – Homegate Like a Champion
kate spade, 1/27 – Open for gifts she’s sure to love…
Urban Outfitters, 1/17 – Swoon-worthy lingerie & lounge sets 😍
Uncommon Goods, 1/15 – Bestsellers they’ll adore this Valentine’s Day
Victoria’s Secret, 1/10 – The Perfect V-Day Gift? These Bras
Michaels Custom Framing, 1/4 – ❄️ Starting at $79: Custom frame those unforgettable moments.
vineyard vines, 1/6 – Refresh Your Resort Wardrobe🏌️🏖️🍹
Fandango, 1/19 – 🍿 Happy National Popcorn Day!
Williams Sonoma, 1/29 – The Bread Shop: mixes, tools & loaf pans
Olive Garden, 1/13 – Protein-packed plates 🍽️
Allrecipes Dinner Tonight, 1/27 – Oh My Gosh Muffins
MoMA Design Store, 1/27 – Going Somewhere? (Travel Essentials)
Crate & Barrel, 1/27 – Update your bedroom with headboards & more
LEGO® News, 1/9 – The SMART Brick is here
New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com
4 Email Design Shortcuts That Kill Performance and What to Do Instead
Spam Resource Spotlight: Chad S. White
The Trends Shaping 2026 for Channel Marketers
How AI Summaries Are Reshaping Email Deliverability
Stitching Together Email Identities Becomes More Vital after New Gmail Feature
4 Ways AI Breaks Marketing Trust — and What Comes Next for 2026
Is Email the Best Path to AI Commerce Dominance?
Posted on February 5, 2026
The majority of consumers used AI to help them make gift-buying decisions this past holiday season, according to a Zeta Global survey. But that doesn’t mean the experience was smooth. Most consumers had to enter lots of guidance about the gift recipient and preferred brands, typically over several prompts, before they got recommendations that were on target.
For AI commerce to truly take off, that barrier has to be broken down. And it has to be broken down with data about our friends and family members, but perhaps most importantly by data about what we’ve purchased. Preferably, lots of data about what we’ve purchased. Oh, plus data about deals. Preferably, including data about deals that are just for us, as well as loyalty program offers and redemption opportunities for us.
Now, where would future AI commerce leaders find this information?
4 Email Design Shortcuts That Kill Performance and What to Do Instead
Posted on January 29, 2026
Every brand is looking to squeeze ever-greater efficiencies out of their email marketing production processes. However, some gains in productivity come at the expense of hurting campaign performance to a much higher degree.
Some shortcuts look good on the surface—and then months later you realize that for every dollar you saved with the “productivity hack” cost you 10 times as much or more in lost revenue. This is especially true at larger brands, where campaigns reach much bigger audiences.
Here are four email design shortcuts that are tempting, but ultimately have huge costs in terms of hurting email campaign performance.
Spam Resource Spotlight: Chad S. White
Posted on January 21, 2026
I’ve known email deliverability expert Al Iverson for nearly two decades, so I was thrilled to be a part of his Spam Resource Spotlight series, where he interviews notable folks in the industry. In our conversation, we talk about:
- How I got started in email
- The origin of “Email Marketing Rules”
- How I determine what email marketing trends and news to cover and at what level and cadence
- Whether marketers are freaking out over the “continued erosion of senders’ control over their deliverability,” as I put it in a recent article
- How recent changes in spam filtering and deliverability requirements by inbox providers has changed my advice on the subject
- What I do for fun
- The food I despise most
- What one thing I’d like to drive broader adoption of
For the answers to those questions and more…
The Trends Shaping 2026 for Channel Marketers
Posted on January 15, 2026
Year after year, our award-winning Creative Services and Strategic Services teams help Zeta Global clients navigate the unique economic, social, and technological issues of the day across their digital marketing efforts. Here are 21 changes our experts see ahead for 2026.
How AI Summaries Are Reshaping Email Deliverability
Posted on January 14, 2026
AI summaries are impacting sender reputations in a fundamentally new way, signaling a new age of email deliverability. I speak with Jake Nathan at Lifecycle Letter about this change and what it means for marketers. He nails the key takeaway:
For the first time, inbox providers are inserting themselves between the brand and the subscriber before an email is ever opened. Subject lines, preview text, and even in-email content are being summarized, rewritten, or compressed by systems brands do not control. That creates a new asymmetry. When engagement drops or complaints rise, brands may be penalized for outcomes shaped by inbox provider decisions rather than their own messaging.
Welcome! Email Marketing Rules is your guide to understanding the best practices of this complex, often misunderstood channel as you craft the best executions for your brand. Every week, we’ll explore strategies and tactics, discuss tips and inspiration, and dig into industry news and trends.
Chad S. White
GVP of CRM Strategy
Zeta Global
Author of Email Marketing Rules and nearly 4,000 articles about digital and email marketing
