2011 is more than halfway in the books, and what an interesting year it has been in the digital marketing world. We’ve seen some new things here and there, but most of this year’s trends have been more or less extensions of the two channels consumers are engaging with the most - mobile and social. While these channels are certainly making headway, email marketing is quietly having a phenomenal year in its own right.

With just under six months to go, now is the perfect time to reflect on the year up to this point, so let’s take a look at some of the most interesting email marketing developments in 2011 thus far.

There was a time when you could just about count on your subscribers reading their email on a desktop or laptop computer. The landscape is much more diverse today. It is very common for someone to initially open a message on their computer, scan over it on their mobile phone and then finally decide what they’re going to do with it on their iPad. We are steadily nearing the point where having a single email that works flawlessly (or as close to it as possible) across all device platforms is a must. It only makes sense when you think about it, because having one email that looks and performs great spares you the hassle of creating multiple versions. Developing such a cross-platform messaging strategy is something your ESP may be able to help with.

Are you an email marketer who takes security into consideration? If not, the recent security breaches in the industry should be incentive enough to start. In December of 2010, a breach suffered by email marketing firm Silverpop exposed the customer data of McDonalds, Honda and other high profile clients. Not to be outdone, in March of this year, ESP Epsilon was the victim of a security breach that exposed the customer data of roughly 50 of its clients, notable brands that included Citigroup, Target and Walgreens. Can you afford to have the mailing list you worked so hard to build compromised? Probably not, so don’t hesitate to evaluate and interrogate your ESP to find out what measures they take to keep your precious data protected.

One of the biggest email marketing developments we have witnessed this year is the increased focus on integrated strategy. More companies are taking their email campaigns and coupling them with channels such as social media and mobile, in addition to traditional methods like direct mail. As far as integrated marketing goes, knowing which developments are worth a closer look can be difficult, but you can get an idea of how the industry in general is trending by watching ESPs and what they have on the menu. Want to be an early adopter in the game of integrated email marketing? Make nice with your ESP’s tech team and they may help you stay on top of all the developments you need to know about.

2011 has been exciting for email marketing, and the second half of the year is shaping up to follow the same course. What developments have you noticed so far? What else can we look forward to this year? Please share your thoughts below!