Email marketing is changing fast, opening up opportunities for savvy brands to turn emails into revenue drivers.
As inboxes become more competitive, staying ahead of emerging trends is the key to better engagement and stronger customer relationships.
In this article, you’ll learn the top five email marketing trends of 2025. You’ll also get practical strategies to improve deliverability and drive conversions.
5 email marketing trends for 2025
Email marketing is evolving in line with providers, customer expectations and new technologies. Keeping up with trends helps you create more effective marketing strategies to attract leads.
Here are the top five latest trends in email marketing to stay ahead.
1. People (and regulators) are more concerned about privacy
Privacy concerns are reshaping sales and marketing. Regulators and consumers demand more control over personal data, pushing companies to rethink how they collect and use information.
Regulations like GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California have strengthened data privacy, giving consumers more control over their information. Now, tech giants are changing how you send and track emails.
Here are a few recent privacy protection changes to keep your eye on.
Apple’s privacy updates limit email tracking
Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) blocks email senders from seeing when a recipient opens an email.
This feature preloads email content before a user opens it. The email gets marked as “opened” even if the recipient hasn’t read it yet, making open rate data unreliable.
Here’s how to stay ahead of this trend:
What to do | Why it helps |
Track clicks and conversions instead of open rates. Use email analytics to measure email marketing KPIs such as link clicks. Monitor user actions – like signing up or downloading a resource – which count as conversions. | Email click-through rates (CTRs) show user engagement, while conversions track valuable actions like purchases or sign-ups even when you can’t track opens. |
Encourage users to move emails to their primary inbox. Add a short call-to-action asking them to drag the message into their primary tab and mark it as important. | With open tracking less reliable, inbox placement becomes more critical for maximizing user interactions. People are more likely to read emails in primary inboxes, improving visibility and customer engagement. |
Use Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters. Add UTM tags to links using Google’s Campaign URL Builder. | UTM parameters are tags that track website traffic from email marketing campaigns. UTM tracking lets you measure user behavior after the click, providing insight into email performance when opens can’t be trusted. |
Focus on click-throughs and conversions to measure email performance more accurately as open rates become more unreliable.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s email tracking tools let you see when a recipient clicks a link, giving you clear engagement insights. You can track which emails drive the most interaction and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Using Pipedrive’s marketing automation features, you can set up follow-up emails based on recipient actions. If a lead clicks a link but doesn’t respond, an automated follow-up can send additional information or a reminder email.
Google and Yahoo are cracking down on spam
As of February 2024, Google and Yahoo require mass email senders to authenticate emails using SPF, DKIM and DMARC. These authentication protocols verify your emails and help email service providers prevent spam, phishing and spoofing.
Google and Yahoo also require you to offer easy unsubscribe options and maintain spam complaint rates below 0.3%.
Here’s how to ensure email deliverability with these new rules:
What to do | Why it helps |
Authenticate emails with SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Set up these protocols in your domain’s DNS settings and use Google Postmaster Tools to check compliance. | Using these protocols reduces the chance of Google or Yahoo flagging your emails as spam. |
Provide clear and simple unsubscribe options. Include a one-click unsubscribe link in every email to comply with regulations and reduce spam complaints. | It makes it easy for users to opt out rather than marking emails as spam, protecting your sender reputation. |
Monitor spam complaint rates. Use feedback loops from email providers and monitor metrics on your email platform to identify and address deliverability issues. | A high complaint rate can lead to lower deliverability and blocked emails. Regular monitoring helps minimize complaints. |
Authenticate emails, simplify unsubscribes and keep spam complaints low to meet new sender rules.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s email features support SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication. Configure these protocols through your email provider (e.g., Gmail, Outlook) to ensure emails sent via Pipedrive meet security standards.
To enable this, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC in your domain’s DNS settings. Once configured, Pipedrive will send authenticated emails, reducing the risk of spam filtering.
Note: Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is another email standard to watch. It shows your verified logo next to emails in supported inboxes, boosting brand visibility.
Pipedrive’s Campaigns add-on also provides built-in email analytics. Track deliverability, bounce rates and unsubscribes from the tool’s dashboard:
If engagement drops or unsubscribes rise, adjust your approach for better results.
Customers are demanding more transparency
Consumers are becoming more selective about the brands they engage with. With 86% of US buyers increasingly concerned with data privacy, communicating how you collect and use data builds customer trust.
Here are some actionable steps to stay ahead of this trend:
What to do | Why it helps |
Clearly communicate how you use customer data. Include a brief privacy statement in emails and link to a detailed privacy policy. | Shows customers you value transparency, nurturing trust and leading to stronger customer relationships. |
Offer easy opt-in and preference settings. Use a preference center where subscribers can choose email frequency and content types. | Gives customers control over the content they receive, reducing unsubscribes and improving engagement. |
Highlight privacy commitments in messaging. Mention data protection measures where appropriate in welcome emails, footers or dedicated privacy posts. | Differentiates your brand from competitors and reassures customers about data security. |
Prioritizing transparency and privacy strengthens long-term customer loyalty.
How Pipedrive can help
With Pipedrive’s Campaigns add-on, you can create double opt-ins so your recipients can confirm their subscription.
Double opt-ins make it less likely for your contacts to mark your campaigns as spam.
Pipedrive also lets you collect customer data in a CCPA- and GDPR-compliant way. Alongside automated double opt-ins, it offers consent tracking to make it easier to follow privacy regulations.
Third-party cookies are disappearing
Google is phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome, following Apple and Mozilla’s lead.
This change limits your ability to track users across websites, making traditional retargeting – showing people ads based on their browsing behavior on other sites – less effective.
Here are some actionable steps to stay ahead of this trend:
What to do | Why it helps |
Focus on first-party data (data your company collects itself). Collect data through sign-ups (like newsletter or account registrations), purchase history or engagement scoring (tracking actions like email opens). | Helps build a reliable, long-term email strategy that doesn’t rely on external tracking through third-party cookies. |
Use interactive content like surveys and quizzes. Add engaging web forms to emails or on website landing pages to gather preferences. | Encourages users to share data willingly in exchange for personalized user experiences. (More on this later) |
Explore contextual and interest-based advertising. Track user behavior and on-site activity to deliver relevant ads without relying on third-party tracking. | Targets users based on the content they engage with rather than their browsing history. |
Shifting to first-party data and contextual targeting keeps your marketing effective in a cookieless future.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s sales CRM helps you build a first-party customer database by tracking leads, logging interactions and organizing customer information.
Pipedrive’s LeadBooster add-on offers customizable Web Forms that feed directly into your CRM to collect first-party data automatically.
These forms capture email sign-ups and customer preferences, allowing for better audience segmentation.
Also, use Pipedrive’s Web Visitors add-on to track where your web traffic comes from and how often they visit.
With these features, Pipedrive helps businesses stay ahead of privacy changes while keeping their email marketing strategy effective.
2. Artificial intelligence is making email marketing smarter
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming email marketing, improving content creation and data analysis. According to Pipedrive’s state of AI in business 2024 report, 35% of companies already use AI.
Marketers can now generate copy, personalize messages at scale and predict customer behavior more accurately.
Here are some recent AI email marketing industry trends worth noting.
Generative AI content goes mainstream
AI-powered tools are helping marketers create high-quality email content faster. These apps can generate subject lines, body copy and calls to action (CTAs) in seconds, allowing you to brainstorm marketing ideas and test variations.
Generative AI uses large language models (LLMs) to create human-like text based on patterns in vast datasets.
These models, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, predict the next word in a sequence so they can craft coherent email content.
Here’s how to leverage AI in your email marketing campaigns:
What to do | Why it helps |
Use AI to generate subject lines and email copy. Leverage AI tools like Pipedrive’s AI CRM email features to create engaging messaging. | AI produces compelling content fast, freeing up your time for strategy and testing. |
A/B test AI-generated variations. Test different subject lines and email content to identify which versions drive the highest open and email marketing conversion rates. | Quickly create multiple versions of an email, helping you test and identify the most effective messaging. |
Double-check AI outputs. Combine AI’s speed with human creativity to refine messaging and ensure high-quality content. | AI can still make mistakes. Human input ensures accuracy, brand alignment and natural-sounding messaging. |
Use AI to speed up email creation, but combine it with human input to ensure quality and brand consistency.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s AI email writer generates engaging subject lines and email copy directly within your CRM.
Open the email composer tool and tell the AI writer what content, tone and length you’d like for your email.
Pipedrive quickly creates a content suggestion you can manually edit and finalize. Keep in mind that customers are wary of overly automated interactions.
To avoid skepticism, make sure your emails sound authentic and provide value – it’ll keep customers engaged.
AI makes hyper-personalization possible at scale
AI enables marketers to deliver highly personalized email content to large audiences. It analyzes customer data and customizes subject lines, product recommendations and email timing based on individual preferences.
This level of email personalization boosts engagement and conversion rates. Rather than sending generic messages, AI ensures each recipient gets content tailored to their interests, behaviors and past interactions with your brand.
Here are some actionable steps to stay ahead of this trend:
What to do | Why it helps |
Use AI to personalize recommendations. Use AI-powered recommendation engines to suggest products or content customers are interested in. | AI analyzes past purchases, website activity and email interactions to craft more relevant messaging and offers. |
Segment audiences based on AI-driven insights. Use AI marketing tools to group your subscribers automatically based on behavior and predicted interests. | AI segmentation software detects segments that manual analysis might miss. |
Automate send times based on recipient behavior. Schedule emails when each recipient is most likely to open and engage. | Some email marketing software can predict when recipients are most likely to interact based on past activity, improving delivery effectiveness. |
AI-powered personalization drives higher engagement by delivering the right content to the right people at the right time.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s Campaigns add-on organizes and segments customer interaction data. Using its no-code filtering tool, you can target email subscribers based on deals, leads, activities and product type.
You can also use Pipedrive’s email tracking capabilities to determine the best send times for your audience.
Before you send out a new campaign, split test different days and times. For example, you might send the same email to different segments every morning for a week.
Set Pipedrive to track clicks, then wait for the data. You’ll be able to identify patterns and find the optimal send times.
The more campaigns you track, the more precise these insights will be.
Predictive analytics uncovers ready-to-convert prospects
AI tools use predictive analytics to spot patterns in email interactions. They analyze customer demographics like job title or company size and identify common traits among past buyers. Using these insights, AI assigns lead scores based on the likelihood of conversion.
This approach marks a shift from sending everyone the same emails to using AI to target leads more intelligently.
Instead of relying on guesswork, use real-time data to identify and act on the most promising leads.
Here’s how to make the most out of predictive analytics:
What to do | Why it helps |
Use AI to predict which leads are ready to convert. Leverage AI-powered scoring tools to assign lead scores and prioritize hot leads. | Ranks leads by buying intent, helping sales teams target high-value opportunities first. |
Identify leads at risk of disengagement. Set up alerts in your CRM software to flag leads that show fewer email opens or reduced website visits. | Detects inactive leads, prompting timely re-engagement emails. |
Trigger automated outreach based on predicted behavior. Automate personalized follow-ups when AI detects buying signals. | Can predict when a lead is most expected to engage, helping you send follow-ups and promotions at the best time. |
In 2025, predictive AI helps you focus on the leads most likely to convert, boosting email efficiency and sales performance.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s Pulse feature gives insight into lead activity trends and flags early signs of customer churn. With AI lead scoring, Pipedrive Pulse automatically ranks sales opportunities based on engagement levels.
Pulse highlights recommendations based on conversion potential so you can focus on converting the best leads.
3. Email marketing is becoming more interactive and visual
Customers prefer dynamic, engaging emails over static, text-heavy ones. With interactive emails driving a 520% higher user response rate, it’s no wonder marketers are increasingly embracing interactivity, visuals and gamification to grow their content success rates.
Here’s how to ensure interactive email marketing that drives results.
Interactive emails increase engagement
Interactive emails use built-in features that allow recipients to interact without leaving their inboxes.
Interactive content reduces friction and makes emails feel more like an experience than just a message.
Here’s how to make the most of interactive email elements:
What to do | Why it helps |
Add widgets like surveys, quizzes or polls to emails. Use tools like Google Forms to embed elements that collect customer feedback and preferences within emails. | Interactive elements boost engagement and encourage data sharing. |
Use product carousels or expandable sections. Use Google’s AMP for Email (a framework that brings app-like functionality to emails) to let users browse new products, content or features. | Clickable sections let users browse options within the email, keeping them engaged longer. |
Include real-time content. Use apps like MailTimers or CountdownMail to create live countdown timers to add to your emails. | Drives urgency for limited-time sales promotions, speeding up and boosting conversions. |
Interactive emails turn passive reading into active engagement, making your campaigns more memorable and effective.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive offers customizable templates for interactive emails. It also supports survey building by integrating with Typeform and Google Forms to create them for you.
If you use Mailmodo (which supports AMP for Email), you can create AMP-powered elements. Then, integrate Mailmodo with Pipedrive via Zapier to track responses.
Alternatively, you can create interactive emails with an AMP-powered app like Stripo. Export the AMP email content as an HTML file and upload it to Pipedrive’s built-in email editor.
People now prefer visuals over text-heavy messages
Consumers scroll past text-heavy emails, but eye-catching visuals make them stop and engage. As inboxes get more crowded, visually striking emails help your content stand out and get better results.
People process images and videos faster than text, meaning you can communicate messages quickly. Short-form video marketing, custom illustrations and GIFs add movement and personality, resulting in more engaging and memorable emails.
Here’s how to make the most of this trend:
What to do | Why it helps |
Use high-quality images and branded graphics. Web apps like Canva (which integrates with Pipedrive via Zapier) help you design images with brand colors, fonts and logos. | Reinforces brand identity and makes your emails more recognizable, trustworthy and easy to scan. |
Embed short-form video content. Use Vidyard or Loom to create short videos, then embed a link and display the video thumbnail within the email. | Short video emails boost engagement and conversion rates by delivering key messages more effectively. |
Add GIFs for movement and personality. Use Giphy or Canva to create eye-catching GIFs like flashing discount codes. | Captures attention and makes emails feel more dynamic without slowing load times. |
Visual-first emails grab attention faster, increasing engagement in crowded inboxes.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s built-in email builder allows you to create visually compelling emails with an easy drag-and-drop interface. Create images, videos or GIFs using third-party tools, then simply embed the visuals into your emails.
Resize and align the visual content to ensure it displays correctly on different devices. You may need to upload GIFs and videos to hosting services (like Vimeo) before you can embed them in your emails.
Gamified content is changing how brands engage customers
Gamification, like scratch-off discounts, spin-to-win wheels and progress trackers, is growing in popularity. It makes marketing more engaging by tapping into customers’ curiosity and offering rewards.
Here’s how to leverage gamification in your email marketing strategy:
What to do | Why it helps |
Use scratch-off discounts or spin-to-win games. Create interactive reward mechanics using tools like Wheelio or Gamify, then embed them in your emails. | Encourages immediate action by making promotions more engaging and fun. |
Add progress bars for rewards programs. Use an email marketing platform like LoyaltyLion to display loyalty status or progress toward their next reward. | Progress bars create a sense of achievement and encourage repeat purchases and customer loyalty. |
Send emails with rewards for key loyalty milestones. Automate emails in Pipedrive to celebrate customer achievements (like personalized discounts). | Strengthens customer relationships and increases loyalty. |
Gamified emails generate curiosity and make interactions more loyalty-focused.
How Pipedrive can help
You can add gamified content using the CRM’s intuitive email builder. Pipedrive integrates with email marketing tools that offer gamification features, making it easy to add interactive elements to your campaigns.
For example, Pipedrive integrates with Referral Factory to create customer referral programs. You can use it to track referrals, automate rewards and engage customers with interactive elements.
4. Marketers are focused on mobile-friendly and accessible emails
Most people check emails on phones, so emails must be readable and interactive on smaller screens. At the same time, accessibility is becoming a bigger priority – 62% of consumers reportedly will switch to a competitor offering better accessibility features.
Optimizing for accessibility and mobile-friendliness improves readability, reach and engagement.
Here are two key shifts happening in mobile-friendly and accessible email design:
Mobile optimization is now essential
According to ZeroBounce, people open 64% of emails primarily on mobile devices. Focus on designing emails that look great and function smoothly on any screen to keep customers engaged.
Mobile-optimized emails with responsive layouts, clear fonts and tap-friendly buttons improve mobile engagement.
Here’s how to optimize your mobile email marketing:
What to do | Why it helps |
Use responsive email design. Choose mobile-friendly email templates in your email software. | Responsive emails adjust automatically to different screen sizes, keeping content readable and well-formatted. |
Keep subject lines and preview text short. Limit subject lines to around 40 characters and preview text to between 50 and 100 characters to prevent truncation on mobile screens. | Helps readers quickly understand the message, increasing engagement on mobile. |
Optimize images for fast loading. Compress images using TinyPNG or Squoosh to reduce file sizes before embedding them in your emails. | Ensures emails load quickly, preventing delays that could cause users to abandon the message. |
Mobile-friendly emails boost engagement by ensuring your content loads fast, looks great and reads easily on any device.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s email builder ensures emails automatically adjust to any device. It helps you create emails that look professional on a desktop, tablet or phone.
Pipedrive also lets you preview emails on various screen sizes to catch formatting issues before sending.
Note: Since some users prefer dark mode, use colors, images and logos that work in both light and dark settings across all email clients.
Accessibility is a new priority for email marketers
More businesses prioritize accessibility to make emails readable for all, ensuring a wider reach and a consistent experience.
Here’s how to make your emails more accessible:
What to do | Why it helps |
Add alt text to email images. Use the HTML “alt” attribute or your email builder’s settings to describe images, so all your readers know what you included. | Enables screen readers to describe your visuals, giving visually impaired readers a better customer experience. |
Use high-contrast colors and readable fonts. Choose dark text on a light background and use sans-serif fonts like Arial or Roboto to improve readability. | Enhances visibility and readability across devices and lighting conditions. |
Include key information in text, not just images. Place important details like offers and CTAs in the email body so they remain visible even if images aren’t. | Ensures your entire email list can access important content even if images don’t load. |
Accessible emails create a better experience for all users, expanding your reach.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s email builder supports accessible designs. You can adjust text size, font choices and colors to improve readability.
Its formatting tools ensure emails reach all recipients, including those with visual impairments or image-blocking email clients.
Pipedrive’s HTML email editor lets you add alt text to images by inserting the “alt” attribute directly into the image code.
5. Brands are shifting to niche, interest-based newsletters
As inboxes become more crowded, generic email blasts are losing effectiveness. Businesses are focusing on niche content and personalized email newsletters for better audience engagement.
Download Your Sales and Marketing Strategy Guide
Readers expect content that matches their behavior and needs, making targeted email and social media messaging essential. SmarterHQ reports that 72% of consumers engage only with relevant marketing messages.
Here’s how to make the most of this digital marketing trend:
What to do | Why it helps |
Send dynamic content blocks tailored to different segments. Use your email platform’s personalization features to display dynamic content blocks – different content depending on the recipient. | Makes emails feel more relevant to each subscriber, increasing open rates and conversions. |
Create separate newsletters for different audience groups. Develop unique content streams for different customer types, industries or interests. | Provides specialized insights that build credibility and establish your brand as a thought leader. |
Include exclusive content or early access for engaged newsletter subscribers. Reward loyal readers with first access to products, special reports or invite-only events. | Increases subscriber retention and builds a sense of exclusivity, encouraging long-term engagement. |
Personalizing content by audience boosts relevance, increasing your email engagement potential.
How Pipedrive can help
Pipedrive’s email campaign automation and segmentation tools help you create highly personalized newsletters.
Categorize your contacts using custom fields and smart filters so that each recipient only receives relevant content.
Pipedrive also integrates with email marketing platforms like Brevo, which can create dynamic content blocks. These blocks display different types of content to different readers, allowing you to personalize each campaign at scale.
Final thoughts
The future of email marketing is shifting toward more personalized, dynamic and data-driven strategies. Businesses are moving away from generic campaigns and focusing on relevant, interactive content and AI-powered marketing automation.
With email marketing changing fast, Pipedrive’s email features ensure you don’t fall behind. Try Pipedrive free for 14 days and see how it helps you build smarter campaigns, reach the right audience and track what actually converts.
