At a meet‑up last spring, a veteran marketer told me, “Email is old tech—yet it still prints money.” She wasn’t wrong. For every dollar spent, email still returns about $36 on average. But the tactics that earned those results in 2022 are already shifting. As inboxes grow smarter and privacy rules tighten, success in 2023 will belong to teams who experiment early and adapt quickly.
1. Interactive emails become mainstream
Readers expect more than static newsletters. Polls, surveys, and light shopping experiences inside the inbox are no longer gimmicks. When a retailer we advise embedded a one‑question poll about winter styles, 41% of respondents completed it without leaving their email client. The data fed straight into a follow‑up segment in b2booster, triggering personalized recommendations.
2. Hyper‑personalization at scale
Sending everyone the same offer won’t cut it. With cookie windows shrinking, first‑party data is gold. Brands are blending purchase history, on‑site behavior, and support tickets to create micro‑segments. In b2booster, one outdoor brand built 24 dynamic content blocks. Subscribers who recently browsed hiking gear saw trail tips, while campers received pack‑list checklists. The campaign lifted revenue per recipient by 19% compared to last year’s blast.
3. Automation moves from “nice to have” to “table stakes”
Automated flows are nothing new, but 2023 will see deeper branching and real‑time triggers. Picture a cart‑abandon series that pivots based on whether the shopper viewed a sizing chart or added accessories. b2booster’s workflow builder now supports conditional splits and time‑zone aware delays. One beta customer shaved two hours off their weekly send prep after migrating six manual campaigns into automated journeys.
4. Respect for privacy earns loyalty
With GDPR, CCPA, and new state laws, subscribers are wary of how their data is used. Transparency isn’t just a legal checkbox—it’s a brand advantage. Clear consent flows and preference centers keep people in control. Our own list cleanup last quarter—prompted by new Swedish regulations—saw 7% of contacts self‑select interests rather than opt out. b2booster’s compliance dashboard tracked the confirmations in real time, letting the team prove consent during an audit.
5. Inbox providers reward engagement
The battle against spam continues, and providers like Gmail increasingly filter based on engagement. Low opens and deletes signal that your messages may not belong in the inbox. Keep lists current and suppress subscribers who haven’t interacted in six months. b2booster flags unengaged contacts automatically; after pruning 12,000 dormant addresses for a client, deliverability rebounded within two campaigns.
6. Design for dark mode
More than one third of opens now happen in dark mode. If your brand colors rely on dark text over light backgrounds, flipping the scheme can leave buttons invisible. Audit every module and test across clients. b2booster’s preview tool shows both versions side by side, saving countless screenshot swaps.
7. Plain‑text makes a comeback
Not every message needs design flourishes. Some of the year’s highest reply rates came from simple plain‑text notes. They look personal because they are. Use them for event reminders, quick surveys, or messages from leadership. In b2booster you can switch any campaign to plain text with one click, preserving tracking without adding code.
8. Metrics get smarter
Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection skewed open rates, forcing marketers to find new north stars. Click‑through rate, purchase data, and on‑site actions are filling the gap. A SaaS company using b2booster now tracks trial‑to‑paid conversions per campaign. When a “pro tips” series drove a 14% lift, they shifted budget from ads to lifecycle emails, cutting acquisition cost by 9%.
Positioning your team for the year ahead
The future isn’t about chasing every shiny tactic. It’s about laying a flexible foundation. Focus on the trends that align with your audience and resources. Test one new element each quarter and document the results. When we introduced interactive content, we only rolled it out to our newsletter. After tracking a 22% increase in time on site, we expanded it to onboarding flows.
No platform can predict every shift, but the right one should help you adapt. b2booster’s roadmap includes AMP support and inbox‑level analytics, features shaped by feedback from small teams like yours.