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Take a deep breath…
The holidays are coming to an end and the year is coming to an end. It's time to reflect on 2021 and see how far we've come.
The last 12 months have been quite a whirlwind for the Email on Acid brand. Whether you read our blog occasionally, subscribe to our newsletter, or use our email testing and optimization tools daily, it was great to have you.
Here's a look back at Email on Acid's history in 2021, including some news, events and projects you may have missed.
Email in the next/new normal
Whether you call it the “next normal” or the “new normal,” it seems like we’re still waiting to find out what “normal” actually means.
While 2020 will go down in history as the year that changed everything, 2021 also brought with it a whole host of disruptions. If you expected life and work to return to “normal,” you probably didn’t expect that we would still be in the middle of a pandemic at this point.
Email continues to prove its relevance as a crucial communication channel.
But that doesn't mean email stays the same while everything changes. The events of 2020 also meant email marketers had to adapt in 2021.
We've written about many of these changes in an exclusive eBook: Email Marketing and the Next Normal. The special report includes a list of action items as well as insights into:
- The role of email in public safety and crisis communications during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- How email engagement metrics and consumer behavior changed in 2020.
- Why economic recovery requires different email strategies for different industries.
- What current issues like politics, social justice and climate change mean for email marketers.
Even though it has been nearly two years since COVID-19 emerged, much of the information and advice in this report remains useful for marketers who understand that the status quo is not the way forward.
We celebrate the history of email
2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the invention of email… supposedly.
Email on Acid celebrated the occasion with an interactive timeline of email history. We also examined the controversy over who really invented email. It turns out that some email geeks are pretty passionate about whether the credit should go to Ray Tomlinson or Shiva Ayyadurai.
(Check out the comments on the article to see what we mean)
Ray Tomlinson (left), Shiva Ayyadurai (right)
Both men have interesting stories and it's easy to see how one of them could earn the nickname “inventor of email.” History is a strange thing.
A personal highlight of our exploration of email history was when marketing pioneer, best-selling author, and all-around generous guy Seth Godin responded to my email and asked me for his thoughts. Find out what Seth has to say about the future of email, more than 20 years after he wrote Permission Marketing.
The future of email is now
Email on Acid hosted a series of webinars for email marketers in the first half of 2021. The most popular was a series of webinars on the future of email, hosted in collaboration with Emfluence.
We picked up some style tips from Marty McFly and Doc Brown and got some great feedback on our email marketing trilogy, which you can watch on-demand now:
Dealing with stress and the team
Email marketing can be stressful. We know this for sure because we asked email marketers directly. Our 2021 Email Marketing and Stress Survey found that more than 70% of email geeks think their work is stressful. (Afraid of the send button, anyone?)
Communication breakdowns can cause stress, which is why a supportive, cohesive team is a huge relief. But how do you achieve this, especially when your entire team is working remotely?
While we updated the list of supported customers and kept our email preview engine running, the Email on Acid product team also refined and relaunched our email team management tools in 2021.
These features make it much easier for remote marketing teams to collaborate and communicate during email design and development before launching a new campaign. This means you are more likely to maintain your zen state.
Check out these articles to learn more about the benefits of Email on Acid's team management tools:
We recently heard some practical advice about email team communication from developers and designers with a lot of real-world experience. For more information, see How email developers and designers can work better together.
The Splat Fest virtual event
The email geek community is full of smart people with ideas to share. That's why Email on Acid launched the virtual event Splat Fest in June 2021.
Whether you focus on email strategy, email design, or email development, there was something for everyone. Splat Fest included themes such as:
- BIMI logos
- Experimenting with AMP emails
- Email accessibility and integration
- Marketing automation
- Interactive emails with dynamic content
- And much more!
All Splat Fest virtual sessions are now live and available to watch.
The acquisition was a double whammy
By far the biggest news for Email on Acid in 2021 was a change in ownership and leadership for the first time in the company's history.
In June, we said goodbye to co-founder and CEO John Thies as the brand was acquired by Pathwire – the parent company of Mailgun and its powerful email API and intuitive email builder Mailjet. CEO Will Conway took the reins, and now our three combined brands can help companies build, send, test and deliver all their email communications.
But that wasn't enough!
In late September, we announced that global communications company Sinch plans to acquire Pathwire along with all three email brands. The takeover became official in December. We are currently getting to know our colleagues in Sweden (where Sinch's headquarters are located) and around the world.
Sinch specializes in mobile and voice messaging and the acquisition of Pathwire means customers have a complete suite of communications solutions.
“If you're thinking about adding new channels to your communications strategy, we think you'll be excited to hear about the opportunities this new chapter presents…
“When you expand your email experience to include mobile messaging, voice and video services, you’re not just focusing on the present moment of customer communication – you’re also preparing to deliver the experience the next generation demands.”
~ Will Conway, Pathwire CEO
Oh, and did we mention we're really looking forward to our first fika break?
Dark Mode: Part Two
Dark mode email was a big topic for Email on Acid in 2020, and we revisited the topic in 2021 with Pathwire.
First, we conducted a survey in collaboration with Ascend2 and identified the biggest challenges with email in dark mode. Top of the list was dealing with dark mode logo issues in emails.
Be sure to check out all the survey results in our dark mode email infographic.
Megan Boshuyzen, Sr. Developer at Email on Acid, also spoke about dark mode and coding during Pathwire's Nightmare at Email Camp in October 2021. Hear from Megan when you watch all the email developer sessions from Day 2 of the virtual event. It also includes coding tips from ActionRocket's Jay Oram and email accessibility insights from Paul Airy.
What's new in 2022?
So what’s in store for the new year? Too much to talk about in this blog post, my friend. And the truth is… who knows!
If there's one thing we've learned in the last few years, it's to be ready for almost anything. However, one thing won't change…
Email on Acid continues to provide marketers with a reliable way to test, preview, and optimize their emails before hitting the send button.
As part of a much larger organization with a holistic view of digital communications, we are extremely excited to find out where we go next. So stay tuned!
Author: Kasey Steinbrinck
Kasey Steinbrinck is Senior Content Marketing Manager for Sinch Email, which includes the Email on Acid, InboxReady, Mailgun and Mailjet brands. He understands how email and content work hand in hand to create a strong strategy. Kasey has also spent time working in traditional media, e-commerce marketing and for a digital agency.
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