There is no denying the value of email marketing to a business. Depending on which analyst projection you read, the return on investment for email marketing can be as high as 57:1. But email as a marketing tool has expanded from the promotional email and email newsletter to a more widely used function of the business. By using it to facilitate interactions with your website, customer support, shopping cart, event and partner channels, email has become an enterprise asset, and managing these programs can be even more of a challenge.

There are several trends in the email space, but only a few have helped drive the evolution of the channel. One is the emergence of the publisher business. Marketers have realized that an opt-in email address has value to a business, outside of a pure transactional measure. Many in the space have sought out creative ways to monetize their email newsletters through advertising and/or built out their email portfolio to support new email advertising products.

As such, the business has evolved and so have the standards of how you put value on your email database, how you protect it, and how you build loyalty and value through relevant communications. Engagement has new meaning.

Take a look at your email marketing checklist.