This article, “Are Email Marketers Missing Their Share of the $41.1 Billion Advertising Spend?”, was first featured and published on Only Influencers, the World’s Trusted Community for Email Marketers, on April 24, 2019.

Given the ongoing and growing debate around sponsored email marketing and native advertising, I felt it was time to revisit and update the post with current data showing the market has now expanded to over $70 billion.

Since its original publication, this topic has gained even more relevance as new trends emerge, particularly with the rise of newsletter monetization strategies, such as the second annual Email Newsletter Conference in New York.

Over the past few years, a whole new wave of marketers has recognized the opportunity to monetize email newsletters through advertising, with more and more newsletter writers realizing that a combination of quality content, good list hygiene, and proper segmentation can unlock a large pool of advertisers eager to invest. Here is the link to the original post.

The Growing Market for Sponsored Email Content

As the world of digital advertising evolves, sponsored email has emerged as a powerful channel within the native advertising ecosystem, with consumers showing clear support for this approach. The line between traditional content and sponsored content can be blurry, but according to recent studies, consumers don’t seem to mind — as long as the content delivers value.

“What we found is that if there is useful information contained in the advertisement and there is a recognized brand logo, then the credibility of the company is not damaged,” said study co-author Sun Joo “Grace” Ahn, assistant professor of advertising in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “In our study, we found that when we honestly tell people that a company is sponsoring the ad, their perception of that company didn’t change.” – The University of Georgia – November 14, 2016

While native advertising seems to be the new shiny object in marketing, sponsored email isn’t new — it’s an evolution of what we’ve called sponsored advertising for decades. However, its effectiveness and consumer acceptance are creating new opportunities for email marketers.

SOURCE: Media Post – 2025-05-18

What is Sponsored Email Marketing?

Sponsored email marketing is a form of native advertising delivered through email channels. It allows advertisers to reach targeted audiences through established email newsletters that subscribers already trust and engage with regularly.

Types of Sponsored Email Formats

Depending on who you ask — whether websites, email service providers, or agencies — there are several terms that may refer to similar sponsored email approaches:

• Solo Email
• Dedicated Email
• Email List Rental
• Sponsored Email
• Native Email Advertising

Sponsored email (or list rental as it’s sometimes called) is essentially a form of influencer marketing. It leverages the influence of a chosen brand or publisher who sells advertising space in their own email newsletter.

The email is sent by that publisher or brand, providing advertisers access to both individual consumers (B2C) and businesses (B2B) who have self-identified specific areas of interest based on the publisher’s email list they’ve subscribed to.

How Sponsored Email Fits into the Native Ad Market

Native advertising has seen dramatic growth in recent years. According to updated data from eMarketer, spending on native advertising in the U.S. reached $52.6 billion in 2023, representing a significant increase from previous projections. Forecasts indicate this figure will surpass $70 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15.8%.

The acceleration is particularly notable in mobile native formats, which now account for over 68% of all native ad spending. This growth has been driven by increased consumer engagement with native formats compared to traditional display advertising, with metrics showing users are 3x more likely to interact with native content.

As of 2024, native ads account for approximately 64.8% of total digital display ad spending in the U.S., exceeding earlier Wall Street Journal projections from 2019 that estimated 61%. This upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing, with advertisers increasingly recognizing the effectiveness of formats that seamlessly integrate with user experiences.

Sponsored email campaigns represent an increasingly important segment of this market, as brands recognize the unique advantages that email offers compared to other native ad placements.

As of 2024, native ads account for approximately 64.8% of total digital display ad spending in the U.S., exceeding earlier Wall Street Journal projections from 2019 that estimated 61%. This upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing, with advertisers increasingly recognizing the effectiveness of formats that seamlessly integrate with user experiences.

Sponsored email campaigns represent an increasingly important segment of this market, as brands recognize the unique advantages that email offers compared to other native ad placements.

SOURCE eMarketer, January 2023 – This chart visually represents the increase in native ad spending over the specified years, aligning with the reported figures.

Benefits of Sponsored Email Campaigns

The Native Advertising Institute identifies four key ways that native mobile advertising impacts brands, and these benefits apply equally to sponsored email content:

Awareness

In a study of 1000 users of a travel app, Yahoo found that native ads increased top-of-mind brand awareness by 114% relative to the control group and by 279% when used in conjunction with a paid search campaign. Sponsored email newsletters can achieve similar awareness improvements.

Recall

A test by mapping app Waze found that branded pins included within maps were recalled more than twice as effectively as unbranded counterparts. Similarly, sponsored email content tends to have higher recall rates than traditional display advertising.

Engagement

Yahoo discovered that native adverts on mobile garnered three times as much attention as other traditional mobile ads. Additionally, a study from Celtra found that consumers were 40% more engaged with a native mobile advert than with a traditional mobile banner creative. Sponsored email marketing typically shows even higher engagement rates due to the opt-in nature of email lists.

Intent & Action

Pinterest reports that 53% of daily users subsequently purchased online or in-store as a result of seeing mobile native advertising on the platform. Sponsored email campaigns often drive similar or higher conversion rates.

Email Newsletters Have Consumer Trust

The recent article by Ray Schultz in Media Post spoke to consumer trust in email newsletters, which is particularly valuable for sponsored email efforts.

Where do consumers go for reliable information in this age of fake news? They don’t say social media. The winner was email newsletters.

“It has to do with trust. Of 1,000 consumers polled, 58% say trust in the publisher sending the email entices them to read it — the number one reason,” according to “How Adults Consume and Filter Information Online,” a study commissioned by PowerInbox and conducted by Mantis Research.

Now, while many marketers are busy placing native ads around the globe in more traditional forms — on websites, podcasts, and print publications — it seems the email marketing world hasn’t fully capitalized on the sponsored email opportunity.

Measuring Sponsored Email ROI

Sponsored Email Performance: Open Rates & CTR

What can you expect for open rates and click-through rates when partnering with publishers to set up your sponsored email advertising within their email newsletter?

When setting up a media buy for a client with Fast Company, their numbers were impressive:

• Their popular email newsletters have an average open rate of nearly 40%
• Average CTR of 9.05%

Image: Fast Company Email Marketing Media Kit – This media kit showcases the impressive engagement metrics that can be achieved through strategic sponsored email placement with established publishers.

These performance metrics often surpass those of other digital advertising channels, making sponsored email a compelling addition to the marketing mix.

Best Practices for Sponsored Email Content

For successful sponsored email campaigns, follow these key principles:

1. Value First: Ensure your sponsored content provides genuine value to recipients
2. Transparency: Clearly indicate the sponsored nature of the content
3. Brand Alignment: Partner with publishers whose audience aligns with your target market
4. Quality Creative: Invest in high-quality content that matches the publisher’s style
5. Clear CTAs: Include strong, relevant calls-to-action
6. Performance Tracking: Implement proper tracking to measure campaign success

Implementing Sponsored Email in Your Marketing Mix

When I began my career selling advertising, my sales manager said: “If you want to hunt elephants, make sure you go to elephant country.”

Translated, don’t try to convince businesses that don’t see the value in advertising to advertise; instead, find companies that are already spending on advertising and convince them to allocate some of their budgets to your channel.

The same is true with sponsored email advertising. It’s going to be easier to convince a consumer who has subscribed to one brand’s email newsletter to subscribe to yours than it will be to convince someone who doesn’t subscribe to email newsletters at all.

For a deeper dive into this approach, I cover this extensively in my best-selling book “Three Big Lies: The Real Truth About Renting Email Lists to Generate Targeted Leads and Sales”. In the book, I share my perspective as a media buyer with over two decades of experience and reveal how sponsored email marketing can be an untapped goldmine when approached correctly. You can find the book at https://api.dougmorneau.com/books/

Conclusion: The Time for Sponsored Email Is Now

This may be our finest hour as all the planets align for email marketers to add sponsored email to their marketing mix.

Image: eMarketer’s 2025 Forecast on U.S. Native Digital Display Ad Spending – This forward-looking chart demonstrates the continued upward trajectory of native advertising spend, reinforcing why now is the time to incorporate sponsored email into your strategy.

• Native advertising continues to grow substantially year after year (with media buyers now allocating over $70 billion annually)
• Consumers are more concerned with the quality of content and the value it brings than the fact that it’s sponsored
• There’s increased trust in email newsletters over social media
• Major publishing brands with great subscriber relationships are willing to work with marketing teams to help get your message in front of their email newsletter subscribers

By incorporating sponsored email campaigns into your strategy, you can tap into this expanding market, leverage existing consumer trust, and grow your in-house email list by marketing to consumers who are active subscribers to other publishers’ email lists.

The $70+ billion native advertising market is waiting — make sure your sponsored email strategy helps you claim your share.

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For further insights on leveraging sponsored email in your marketing strategy, check out my book Three Big Lies: The Real Truth About Renting Email Lists to Generate Targeted Leads and Sales, where I share proven strategies from my experience as a media buyer and sponsored email expert.