Why aren’t people opening my emails? If you’re like me and manage email marketing for an association, then you have probably asked this question at least once this year. Well, that’s because the email marketing game has changed. If you still want to not only reach your target audience but see success with each campaign, then you need to know the new trends, strategies, and playbook to win at email marketing.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the American Society for Association Executives’ Membership, Marketing, Communications + Tech Conference (MMC+Tech). Among many exciting sessions sharing the latest industry developments, I attended the “Ultimate Email Marketing Game Changers for Associations and Event Marketers” presented by Jay Schwedelson, President and CEO, Outcome Media where I learned proven, data-backed strategies on effective email marketing. Here are two ways I learned to make email marketing campaigns actually work.

Subject Lines That Actually Get Opened

Don’t blend in, stand out! According to EarthWeb, the average person received between 100 and 120 emails per day. This means that every day as email marketers, we are competing against over 100 opponents. If we’re going to win at email marketing, we have to stand out. These days, your subject line has to work hard to grab attention.

One trick? According to subjectline.com, capitalization at the start of a B2C subject line (not in the middle) resulted in a 24% higher open rate compared to using capitalization in the middle. You can also try using comparison symbols like “Safety > Shortcuts” to spark curiosity. Keep subject lines short and punchy: use two to three words maximum and skip the preheader to help your email pop in a crowded inbox. And please, ditch the overused buzzwords like “Register,” “Reminder,” or “Learn.” In 2025, these are the snooze buttons of subject lines.

From Call to Action to Call to Benefit

Congratulations, your email was opened! But like a restaurant, we don’t just want someone to come into our establishment — we want them to order something off of the menu. A high open rate is great, but if we are going to win at email marketing in 2025, we need to focus on a high conversion rate as well. To do this, we have to put to rest the “Call to Action” buttons.

Let’s have a moment of silence for that “Register Now” button that we use in every email. It had its moment, but it’s time to move on to what works for today’s busy audience. We can do this by switching our strategy from a “Call to Action” to a “Call to Benefit.” Don’t worry, it’s simpler than it sounds. In a sense, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What benefit would you be looking for as an audience member? Whatever that answer is, use that as your new “Call to Benefit” button. If the benefit you want to see is webinar registration, use “Earn Your Next CEU” as your call. If you have a training coming up, the benefit you want to use can be “Enhance Your Skills”.  A pro tip is to use your favorite AI tool with this prompt: “Generate for me 3 Call to Benefit buttons based on (insert your topic)”.

The World Is Changing — So Should We

Every day, the world is evolving with new trends and ideas such as the use of AI and virtual workspaces. If we are going to win at email marketing, we have to constantly be aware of what’s working right now. Attending ASAE’s MMC+Tech conference did that for me. It was here that I was able to learn, connect, and adjust my old strategies to win at email marketing.