Email marketing has been declared “dead” more times than we can count. With the rise of SMS, social DMs, AI-powered chatbots, and increasingly saturated inboxes, it’s fair to ask: Does email marketing still work in 2025?

Short answer? Yes. But not like it used to.

The landscape has changed. Brands that treat email like a digital flyer will see diminishing returns. But the ones using it as a personalized, automated, behavior-driven experience channel are thriving.

Let’s look at what the data says, how audience behavior is evolving, and what strategies are still delivering serious ROI.

Email in 2025: What the Data Says

According to Litmus’ 2025 State of Email Report:

• 77% of marketers say email remains one of their top three channels for driving revenue

• The average ROI for email marketing is now $38 to $44 per $1 spent, depending on the industry

• Open rates have stabilized around 34% globally, with click-through rates averaging 4.3%

• Email personalization boosts open rates by 26% and revenue by up to 760%, according to Campaign Monitor

• Automated emails account for more than 30% of all email-driven revenue

Despite crowded inboxes, email remains one of the few owned channels where you don’t pay more to reach more people. You control the timing, the message, and the customer journey.

What’s Changed: Why Old Tactics Don’t Work Anymore

What worked in 2015—or even 2020—won’t cut it in 2025. The inbox is smarter, users are more selective, and AI-powered spam filters are more aggressive.

Here’s what’s no longer effective:

• Generic newsletters with no clear CTA

• Weekly blasts to your full list without segmentation

• Boring subject lines or clickbait tactics

• Long-form emails without scannable structure

• Poor mobile formatting (nearly 70% of opens are mobile-first in 2025)

• Ignoring sender reputation or deliverability scores

The game now is personalization, timing, and behavioral automation.

So, What Actually Works in 2025?

1. Behavior-Based Automation

Set up flows based on how users interact with your brand, not just your calendar.

Examples:

• Abandon cart sequences triggered by product viewed and exit intent

• Post-purchase flows that upsell or educate on product use

• Lead nurture emails that dynamically shift based on link clicks

• Win-back emails triggered by inactivity over a specific period

According to Klaviyo’s Q1 2025 data, automated flows now convert 8x better than manual campaigns.

2. Segmentation and Micro-Targeting

Forget list blasts. Top-performing brands segment based on:

• Purchase history

• Email engagement level (e.g., clickers vs. non-clickers)

• Geographic location or language

• On-site behavior (e.g., viewed category X, clicked on ad Y)

• Customer lifecycle stage (prospect, buyer, loyalist)

Smart segmentation helps boost open rates by 28% and CTR by over 50%.

3. Dynamic Personalization

Subject lines, copy, images, product recommendations—all personalized at scale.

Use merge tags, dynamic blocks, and behavioral triggers to make each email feel 1:1.

For example:

• "Hey Sarah, still thinking about that leather jacket?"

• "Picked just for you based on your last order"

• "You left this behind... and it’s almost gone"

Personalized subject lines alone improve open rates by an average of 22%, according to HubSpot.

4. Deliverability and Design

Your email doesn’t matter if it never reaches the inbox.

Focus on:

• Clean list hygiene (remove unengaged users regularly)

• Verified domains with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in place

• Mobile-optimized, fast-loading templates

• Clear hierarchy with bold CTAs above the fold

• Accessibility (ALT text, font size, and contrast)

In 2025, brands with optimized technical deliverability see 35% higher inbox placement, especially on Gmail and Outlook.

How We Use Email Marketing at Define Digital

At Define Digital, we don’t send emails. We build revenue engines.

Here’s how we do it:

• We map every client’s customer journey to create lifecycle-driven automation

• We use Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and HubSpot for deep segmentation and behavior triggers

• We design mobile-first, modular templates that are fast, clean, and high-converting

• We A/B test subject lines, send times, and content blocks continuously

• We integrate email with SMS and ad retargeting for cross-channel cohesion

The result? Clients typically see open rates above 40%, click-through rates near 8%, and 20-35% of their total monthly revenue from email alone.

If You’re Not Seeing Results, Here’s What to Check

If your email performance is flatlining in 2025, start with these checkpoints:

• Are you sending to the right segments at the right frequency?

• Are you writing for real humans, not just algorithms?

• Do your flows align with the customer journey or just your campaign calendar?

• Are your emails optimized for mobile and visual hierarchy?

• Are you tracking revenue attribution accurately?

Often, it’s not that email isn’t working. It’s that the strategy behind it hasn’t evolved.

To summarize,

Email marketing is very much alive. But like any channel, it only works when it’s built for how people behave today.

If you treat email as a static broadcast tool, you’ll keep seeing low returns. But if you use it to create personalized, well-timed, and value-driven experiences, it can become one of your most powerful revenue channels.

In 2025, the question isn’t whether email still works. It’s whether your email strategy is working for your customers.