Email Blasts Face GMail Filtering

What's helpful for users sometimes is not helpful for marketers, but that's just a reality as users can tailor and filter their message stream. Google's "Priority Inbox" is one example of a helpful sorting and filtering mechanism good for users and arguably not so good for bulk email campaigns.

"Smart Labels" takes Priority Inbox a step further by dividing all inbound communications into three broad categories. The first identifies email from individuals, always placed in the "Important and Unread" section of the Gmail inbox.

The second label is called "Notifications," for news alerts, LinkedIn connections notices, and event updates. These messages are placed into either the 'Important and Unread' section or the 'Everything Else' section of Priority Inbox, depending on subscriber engagement.

The final Smart Label is "Bulk,"which attaches a 'Bulk' label to Everything Else. That often means almost 100 percent of promotional email is immediately placed in the bulk folder, giving the user an easy way to avoid seeing any of it.

Again, good for users, not so helpful for marketers. But all that points to the future of targeted, opt-in, contextual messaging. "Spray and pray" doesn't work so well now. It really won't work in the future.

The Ever-Evolving Inbox and the Future of E-mail Marketing | ClickZ