If you’ve been in email marketing long enough to remember the “You’ve Got Mail” chime, you know just how far the channel has come. From plain-text newsletters with clip art to today’s hyper-personalized, AI-powered campaigns, email continues to reinvent itself and still drives some of the best ROI in digital marketing.
At this year’s Guru Virtual Email Marketing Conference, we leaned into our 90s roots and built our session like a true throwback: a mixtape of data, creativity, and strategy. Think of it as your new playlist for successful email marketing, packed with the tracks, trends, and tactics that drive conversions today.
In the 90s, a good mixtape was made with care. You chose every song intentionally, to make someone feel something. Data works the same way; it’s the foundation for every message that resonates.
Your best “tracks” are the data points you already own:
Data writes the music, but creative makes it sing. Persona development transforms raw attributes into relatable human characters, so your messages feel personal, not programmed.
For example:
When your personas are clear, every message hits the right note.
Sometimes your mixtape needs a few bonus tracks. By layering on third-party attributes such as shopping behavior, income, household composition, lifestyle, you get richer context and more ways to connect. It’s how you turn a single hit into a full album.
Email is having another renaissance moment. Here are the trends that keep campaigns “fly” in 2025 (with a wink to our 90s nostalgia).
Lean teams are thriving through automation, repurposed content, and smart outsourcing. One creative idea can spin into an entire cross-channel setlist.
AI is the Napster of today; disruptive and unstoppable. At Data Axle, we custom-train our AI engines on brand guidelines, campaign data, and creative briefs to ensure the output is on-brand, secure, and strategic, not just noise.
Examples:
Keyword stuffing is out. Content value is in. Create for your audience first, then optimize.
They’re topping out at 28, online constantly, and expect authentic, conversational content. Corporate tone = instant bounce.
Forget polished production; authenticity wins. Use short clips to showcase personality and brand voice.
Give your fans the mic. Contests, hashtags, and collabs amplify engagement, just always get permission before featuring content.
Like radio in the 90s, podcasts are today’s platform for storytelling and authority-building—with 160M+ listeners.
Emotions drive action. Good stories turn data into connection.
Your analytics hold the gold—especially when shared across strategy and creative teams. That’s how campaigns evolve from one-hit wonders to legends.
“Hey [FirstName]” doesn’t cut it anymore. True personalization recognizes behavior, preferences, and context, like “Hey Jen, ready for another beach trip?”
Still experimental, but worth watching. Immersive experiences could redefine engagement.
Despite every new channel, email remains the mixtape that never dies, consistently delivering the highest personalization and conversion rates in the game.
Here’s the formula for campaigns that perform like chart-toppers:
HP’s “Low on Ink” series
Triggered by real printer data and personalized by ink color, these clever, animated emails drove 2.5x higher conversions than average.
See’s Candies “Replenishment” emails
Hyper-personalized by purchase history and product type, these campaigns delivered 2x conversions and half the typical unsubscribe rate—proof that relevance is the sweetest ingredient.
Marriott Bonvoy “Year in Review”
A personalized storytelling email featuring trips, points, and destinations. Results: 2x click-through rate and 3x revenue per delivered email, even though it wasn’t meant to sell. That’s emotional connection in action.
Email marketing may feel vintage next to social media, but it’s still the highest-performing channel out there. The secret to keeping it fresh? Keep remixing; pair data with creativity, test new ideas, and never stop learning.
At Data Axle, that’s how we’ve stayed in tune for over five decades. From first-party data to AI-powered insights, our mission is simple: help marketers make every message sing.
So dust off your Walkman, or, you know, open your inbox, and remember: Email is the mixtape that never goes out of style. Watch the full presentation here.
Jen Tabbal, Vice President of Content Marketing for Data Axle, has spent her 20+ year career creating and implementing multi-channel, data-driven content for clients including Marriott International, Hewlett-Packard, Logitech, US Bank, and Discovery Channel - as well as numerous startups, small business and nonprofits.