Slammed by SPAM and locked-down email clients, email open rates have been declining for years. And many marketers have been turning against email as sexier technologies like MySpace and YouTube get all the ink.

I just returned from speaking at the Marketing Sherpa Email Summit, where I am happy to report, email is alive and well.

•  Most marketers say that emailing to their house lists is the #1 most effective marketing tool.
• CPG marketer Vitabath successfully used email to launch online sales and grow them 500% in one year.
• CPG marketer Nutra Made has an email list 2 million strong that drives measurable traffic into their retailers.
• Publishers report real data on the utility of email in driving traffic to ad-supported sites.

Too many of us remember vividly when email regularly got 70% open rates. We react like spoiled children to our 15-20% open rates and 5% conversion rates. We also remember– those of us who were emailing our readers/customers 7 years ago– when our email landed in the inbox surrounded by no other newsletters. Now we despair over clutter in the inbox. I think we all need to calm down and recognize that email is effective and it’s here to stay. Walking the tradeshow floor at the Sherpa Summit, I saw half a dozen companies whose sole mission in life is to decrease SPAM by certifying email. And there were another half a dozen dedicated to increasing deliverability. The CIQ conclusing: Email is a #1 tool for marketers and #1 platform for publishers.