Filling News Feeds and blog sections with similar content doesn't move prospects closer to your brand, and the same is true with email marketing.

A new survey by Forrester Research shows email marketing hasn’t become less relevant as customers spend time on increasingly diverse web channels. In fact, the data highlights the fact that brands can’t overlook email as a primary driver of leads.

The research asked marketers how they felt about email marketing, and the message is clear: Some 73 percent said it’s effective at generating leads, and 58 percent mentioned it directly leads to sales.

Don’t let email marketing go static

Another interesting takeaway from the survey is what kind of strategies marketers use to optimize their email messaging. Personalization, as Brafton reported, is essential. Forrester found 40 percent of respondents called it an important part of any strategy.

But another tactic emerged during the course of research: Dynamic content. It seems 39 percent are convinced it’s crucial to executing email marketing for driving leads and increasing sales. But what does dynamic content mean?

In short, it means creating email sends that change from one message to the next. Personalization helps emails resonate with recipients, but dynamic content ensures what you send to people isn’t static. Some examples include:

  • Updating marketing collateral: A brand blog doesn’t remain static, and neither should emails. Continually update sends with the latest headlines and breaking news stories.

  • Putting messages on a continuum: Whether a recipient is engaged or not, they’re going to recognize subject lines. Try to place emails in a series that progresses over time, giving prospects and customers the impression you aren’t just randomly adding content to a send.

  • Mix up content types: The only way to tell what kinds of content work best among audiences is to try different types. Add video, images and even GIFs, and when open and click-through rates rise, you’ve found the type of content that resonates with your audience.

The most important takeaway from this research is that email needs to be as dynamic and varied as any other content you produce. Spamming social profiles and blog feeds with the same content doesn’t help any brand’s bottom line, and the same is true for email marketing. Come up with a fluid plan to keep prospects and leads hooked on the inbox messages you send.

Alex Butzbach is a Marketing Writer at Brafton. He studied Communications at Boston College, and after a brief stint teaching English in Japan, he entered the world of content marketing. When he isn't writing and researching, he can be found on a bike somewhere in Metro Boston.