Every January email marketing pundits try to make predictions of what the industry will bring for the upcoming year. They range from the career conservative to off the wall reckless. Some self-serving predictions blur the line between editorial and advertising so much so only a New Year's hangover can help you tell the difference between the two. With that being said, here are my four bold predictions for 2009, prefaced by the fact that I have a short-term 50% accuracy rate and an 80% long-term rate. So I'm usually right, eventually.

The Retail Email Index, which is a measure of the promotional email volume generated by 100 of the top online retailers, hit an all-time record of 391 during the week ending Dec. 19. That means that retailers were sending about 3.9 emails each that week. This was an increase in volume of 76% vs. the pre-holiday norm. Last year the peak weekly volume was up only 71% over the pre-holiday norm.

One of the top questions I'm asked from both colleagues and clients is, "Why doesn't our html email render properly on my mobile phone?"

Is it just me -- or is it time again to pull out the time management videos, newfangled task management systems and motivational tapes that have been gathering dust in the center console of our automobiles? Every Jan. 1, I get the urge to "refocus and realign" my personal and professional goals. I think the self-inspection is healthy and helps set the tone for a productive start to the New Year. Not surprisingly, some of my reflections applied to email marketing, so I'm presenting them here to help you get your programs on the right track in 2009.

This year, my lone resolution is to invest in relationships with people that I believe will tell me the truth I need to know as an email marketer -- relationships that will provide the type of insights needed to help build brands that stand out among the competition. Here are three groups of people I will spend more time with in 2009

Preheaders have received a lot of industry love throughout 2008. We're thrilled to see more email marketers begin to optimize this small but valuable real estate snippet and excited to watch and participate in the evolution of preheader best practices. With 2009 just starting, this seems like a good time to reflect on where the Preheader Express has been stopping, and to begin mapping its future itinerary.

It's that time again when we look back at the past year and plan for the coming one. As we do that as an industry I thought I'd put together a few thoughts. So in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, here are some dos and don'ts I hope you'll consider.