Email marketing today is a very different beast from ten or even five years ago. In the past, marketers had a "pot luck" approach that would involve simply sending general email to their entire list and hoping for the best. Today's subscribers are different, and they expect content to be tailored to them and to not receive the same thing twice.

New stats from SaleCycle show that the best time to reconnect with shoppers is one hour after they have abandoned their basket. From the conversion rates of 500 global brands, an average conversion of 6.33% was seen after one hour, compared with just 3.14% when sent before one hour and 3.41% one to two hours after.

An Oxford University college has apologised after sending rejected potential undergraduates details of all their fellow unsuccessful applicants. Hertford College sent out rejection emails, but included copies of letters with the names, addresses and subjects of all the failed candidates. The college was quickly told, Principal Will Hutton said, and asked recipients to delete the original email.

In our hyper-connected digital environment, you have a huge opportunity to take action on the valuable data stored in your CRM. That's where email marketing comes in. An all-in-one sales and marketing platform that integrates CRM with email marketing can transform your data into personalised, relevant messaging that will enhance your ability to generate more leads.

Unified communications platforms will see chat replace email in 2017, VoIP and collaboration firm Fuze has audaciously claimed. With the message coming through marketing director for EMEA Tom Pressley, the vision Fuze is laying out for the coming year is that of a "significant shift" in instant messaging, with email finally becoming a less dominant form of communication.

The United States has not satisfied concerns about Yahoo's scanning of all customers' incoming emails for intelligence purposes. The European Commission asked the U.S. in November for clarifications on the secret court order served to Yahoo as part of its monitoring of a new transatlantic pact facilitating the exchange of personal data by businesses.

Simple name personalisation and catchy subject lines won't cut it anymore -- customers want more from email marketers. That's where interactive email comes in. Interactive email means adding things like tabbed menus, collapsible content, image carousels, rollovers and reveals -- you name it. Email will behave more like a Web site in the inbox, removing steps that lead to conversion.

UK ISPs are to start sending "educational letters" to customers identified as downloading copyright material without paying for it. It is part of the UK government's attempt to crack down on piracy. BT, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Sky have agreed to send the missives, which will be emailed rather than posted. The controversial move has been years in the planning.

If your copy isn't up to scratch, your click-through rate is going to sink way down. So it's very important to hire copywriters that are capable of creating expert copy for your marketing emails. Consumers are used to receiving marketing emails, in fact, they're sick of receiving so many. In order to stand out , your copy has to be clever, engaging and persuasive.

The Commission's final text has moved away from its previous draconian position and now does not require opt-in consent for B2B email marketing, although consent will be required for sending electronic marketing to consumers. Instead of requiring consent for B2B electronic marketing, there is a provision for member states to ensure that companies' legitimate interests are protected.