Email has come a long way. Founded by Ray Tomlinson in 1971, what started as a way to communicate with colleagues who weren't answering their phones has become a powerhouse. The email marketing channel continues to generate incredibly high returns, with an ROI of 36:1. In October, electronic mail officially celebrates its 50th anniversary. We can't help but get a little nostalgic. That's why we decided to go back over the history of email, from the 2010s to today. We asked email experts Lily Worth, our email design and production specialist, and Brian Thies, email developer and owner of Thies Publishing, to dig into the archives and to share information about their experience over the years, especially in coding and design. Take a walk with us down memory lane as we revisit email design trends that survived the 2010s. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the most iconic design trends and how they evolved for the better. . Email grows in the 2010s The 1990s to 2000s were a renaissance period for email design. Around 1991, the Internet as we know it today Image Masking Service was born. Then, in the late 90s, email experienced a renaissance with the introduction of HTML to email. And the 2010s? Although it was the “most mundane” decade ever, major advancements have taken place with email marketing. In this decade, a lot of things took off: segmentation, personalization, email automation, compliance (like GDPR), accessibility and much more. This paved the way for email marketing as we know it today. Here is a brief history of email marketing milestones over the past decade: 2009 – Responsive emails are introduced. 2010 – Triggered emails become the norm, with 48% of marketers now sending triggered emails. 2012 – 90 million Americans now use email on a mobile device. 2013 – Google introduces tabs in Gmail. 2014 – The integration of CSS with HTML ushers in the era of interactive emails. 2014 – Dynamic content is used to create personalized experiences with subscribers. 2014 – Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) comes into effect. 2015 – CSS animation in emails is gaining popularity. 2016 – Personalization takes over. 2016 – The GDPR is adopted. 2018 – Apple introduces dark mode as part of its 15th version of the operating system. What about coding and design? Email Design Trends That Defined the 2010s To refresh our memories, we asked Lily to dig into the archives and share the first email she could find. Let's take a look at the first email she designed and developed for Experian in 2009:

But, by working more closely with them, we can better understand the marketing investments they approve. We can create a better story about how these investments directly impact our businesses, and then take that story to the C-suite and tell it more effectively. And when we do that, it's much more likely that we can convince them to increase the marketing investments we all need and want. I think it's kind of fun that my main teachings are really about collaboration rather than technology. Melissa, Kara, and Jon talked about a few different technology topics, like machine learning and AI in marketing, but even those discussions also came down to collaboration. Speaking of machine learning, Kara repeatedly spoke about the need to understand the data behind this technology. It's no wonder that one of his most important relationships within his organization is with his analytics team. She works closely with them to understand not only the numbers, but also the context around those numbers and what they mean for her marketing team. Harnessing newer technologies such as AI and machine learning depends on E-Commerce Photo Editing Service our ability to communicate and collaborate effectively. So it seems clear to me, at least, that collaboration is what we all need to focus on moving forward. We need to be able to communicate with our customers and the rest of the world—all those new players I mentioned earlier—as well as with our colleagues with whom we work on a daily basis. We need to learn to build relationships outside of our direct team so that we can invest in and utilize the sophisticated new technologies that we all covet. And we need to be able to collaborate effectively so we can communicate our needs as marketers to avoid issues like burnout. The downside is that collaboration is much harder than understanding and using technology. It's softer, with softer edges, and it doesn't come with a step-by-step manual. But that's a topic I'll save for a future episode of the podcast. That's it for this week's episode of Delivering, a podcast about email marketing and beyond. Delivery is brought to you by Litmus, the industry-leading platform used by marketers around the world to send emails with confidence every time. Head over to litmus.com to start a seven-day free trial and learn how Litmus can help you create, test, and analyze better email campaigns, faster. And be sure to subscribe to Delivering on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Cheers.

Background color coding sounds like a simple task, right? The truth? Even this minor style has pitfalls, and a few considerations should be taken into account to achieve consistent rendering across email clients. And it's not just developers who have to appease the inbox gods. With Dark Mode gaining momentum, there are even more environments to be aware of, some of which will require email designers to take extra care when applying background colors in their designs. In this blog post, you will learn: The benefits of background colors How to code a solid color background (+ email client support) How to code a gradient background (+ email customer support) Tips for Optimizing Dark Mode Why use background colors in emails? Having a background color policy in place fills a few needs when it comes to improving your email program. From a technical standpoint, implementing background colors adds no load time to your emails, and they are still visible even when images are disabled. They can help separate content, call out messages, or distinguish one email from Image Masking Service others in your subscriber's inbox, potentially increasing your audience's engagement. Stand out in the inbox You can create an impactful opening experience, like this email from Blurb. The Hero Zone packs a punch. The bold orange background makes an impact by contrasting with the blue of the logo, enhancing brand identity. Once the reader passes the hero area, the secondary content sits on a white background, providing the ideal reading experience for larger bodies of copy. background color presentation email example Source: very good emails Separate Sections If you have a long email, color is a great way to visually separate different blocks of content so it's more digestible. Promotional emails from coffee giant Starbucks can be quite lengthy, with multiple promotions housed in a single email. To help the sections stand out from each other, different background colors are used.