Email marketing campaigns to become more intelligent

The email marketing industry looks set to deliver more intelligent campaigns in 2012, according to a business writer.

Freelance writer Ayo Oyedotun wrote on Business 2 Community that the sophistication of content will be one of the major points of interest in the coming year if current trends continue.

He explained that marketers are keen to develop this area after seeing consumer approval ratings improve in 2011 when emails were targeted effectively and the content was relevant.

"Aspects of emails previously paid less attention like email signatures, order confirmations, and subscription notifications will become more sophisticated and intelligently actioned. More emails will be treated as marketing channels than ever before," remarked Mr Oyedotun.

Reflecting on the previous year, the digital marketing commentator suggested it had been a successful period for email marketers in general; demonstrated by the increasing number of consumers signing up to such services.

However, the importance of effectively managing email lists was shown in a case reported by Reuters just before the end of 2011. The New York Times had intended to send a message to just 300 consumers offering discounted subscription and instead sent it to eight million.

The publication admitted that human error caused the problem, stressing that it was not a hacking issue or technical fault.