Email Marketing RulesThe AI Standing Between You and Your Subscribers
The rate of change among inbox providers has never been faster or more impactful. That creates lots of challenges for marketers, particular for publishers. I join Chris Miquel, the host of the Audience Bridge Insights podcast, to talk about all of the biggest changes, as well as some that are less threatening…
Owned Audiences and the Inbox as a Search Platform
Google has become the world’s largest publisher—and for brands that relied on organic search, that’s a crisis. In this episode of the Beyond the Search Bar podcast, I chat with host Russ Macumber about how search is changing and the role that email marketing can play as the Google Search monolith crumbles….
Adapting to the Most Active Inbox Provider Environment Ever
The launch of Mail Privacy Protection by Apple in 2021 kicked off the largest wave of inbox changes in more than a decade. Hide My Email, Link Tracking Protection, Deal Annotations, Deal Cards, AI Summaries, Brand Message Groupings, Branded Mail … It’s a wave of innovation that continues strong to this day….
Which Email Marketing Trends Are Truly Worth It?
Is the juice worth the squeeze? That was the central question in the session by Scott Cohen and Ryan Phelan at the ANA’s The Next Chapter of Email Evolution event in Chicago last month. The duo asked the audience to give a variety of trends a thumbs up or thumbs down, and…
Email Marketing Underperforming? Let’s Troubleshoot It
While no one has claimed email marketing is dying for many, many years, some marketers have become increasingly concerned with performance declines, despite the channel generating returns on investment that are often at least twice as high as most other channels. If your organization is concerned about your email marketing performance, here…
How Marketers Can Adapt to Gmail’s ‘Manage Subscriptions’
“Received too many emails” has perennially been one of the top reasons consumers unsubscribe. Google is clearly trying to address this complaint with the “Manage Subscriptions” functionality it launched in Gmail last year and rolled out over the course of subsequent months. However, the functionality is hampered by flaws that limit its…
How Ethical Are Your Digital Marketing Tactics?
The issue of ethics in digital marketing is being supercharged by advancements in data management, machine learning, generative AI, and AI agents. In particular, that last one is ringing alarm bells for brands. According to an EMarketer survey, 71% of national brands say that marketers need to establish ethical and privacy standards…
Fourth Quarter 2025 Email Marketing Benchmark Report
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…
Is Email the Best Path to AI Commerce Dominance?
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…
The Trends Shaping 2026 for Channel Marketers
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. >> Read the predictions on the Zeta Blog
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
