Emails allow businesses and marketers to connect with their audience; this much is true. However, a more important thing to consider is this: Are you creating effective and engaging personalized email marketing campaigns to communicate messages to your prospects?
Let’s talk about email personalization.
What is personalization in email marketing?
Personalization in email marketing refers to the practice or strategy of tailoring email elements and content to individual recipients based on their unique characteristics, behaviors, preferences, and interactions with your brand.
Instead of sending the same generic email to your entire subscriber list, personalized email marketing aims to create more relevant and engaging communications. This is done by delivering email content that resonates with each recipient on a personal level.
Personalization can involve various elements, including:
- First name
- Location
- Gender
- Segmentation
- Purchase or website behavior history
- Abandoned carts
- Personalized recommendations
- Special occasions, holidays, or seasons
- Email subscription preferences
Why are personalized emails important?
Email personalization can enhance your overall email marketing strategy and ensure that you are connecting with your audience. This helps businesses guarantee that every email counts and that they are able to capture the audience’s attention and encourage them to convert. Here are a few reasons why personalized emails are important.
They help increase open rates
Personalized emails have better chances of being opened compared to general emails. Your email subject line can be personalized, which is a good starting point and will help increase open rates. According to Campaign Monitor, emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened by the audience.
They improve conversion rates
Personalized emails can lead to higher conversion rates because they are tailored to recipients’ interests and preferences. When recipients receive recommendations or offers that align with their needs, they are more likely to make a purchase or complete a desired action.
They create better customer relationships and loyalty
Personalized emails also give businesses a chance to connect with customers and prospects, and win their loyalty. By consistently delivering personalized content and offers, you can build stronger relationships with your customers. When people feel that a brand understands their needs, they are more likely to remain loyal and continue patronizing your business.
They drive engagement
Personalized emails are more relevant to recipients, making them more likely to open the email, click on links, and take the desired action. For example, personalized emails have been shown to produce a 139% increase in click rate compared to static one-time sends. This is because when people feel that the content speaks directly to them, they are more likely to engage with the message.
They allow cross-selling and upselling opportunities
Personalized emails can be used to suggest related or complementary products based on a recipient’s past purchases. Based on their buying behavior and purchase history, you have the opportunity to send them personalized recommendations. This can then lead to additional sales and increased order values. Segmented campaigns like this have shown a 760% increase in email revenue for marketers.
8 Best email personalization examples and tips you can do
#1 Segment your lists
Make sure to use email segmentation. Segmenting your email lists refers to the breaking up of email subscribers or contact lists into smaller segments based on criteria or categories. This includes geographic location, jobs or specializations, specific content, buying or browsing behavior, engagement level, and more. This allows you to create and send specific email campaigns.
#2 Optimize for mobile
You also need to ensure that your personalized emails are responsive and optimized for mobile devices. About 81% of people prefer to open and read emails on their smartphones now, while 21% do this on their tablets. You need to cater to these people and provide a seamless email experience to your audience, no matter their devices.
#3 Consider their browsing history
Your audience’s browsing data and habits are also some of the best email personalization examples, leading to better engagement and sales. Cookies can help you gather information about your website visitors, including the pages or items they viewed. You can use this information to send personalized recommendation emails, abandoned cart emails, and more.
#4 Send emails from a team member
Instead of only using your brand name in the “From” name or email signature, use a team member’s name instead. 68% of Americans say the “from” name of an email helps them decide whether to open it or not. Using a real person’s name in the “from” section or even the email signature gives the impression that you want to get to know your audience better.
#5 Use social proof
Using social proof is also one of the best email personalization examples. Include reviews, testimonials, or user-generated content that is relevant to the recipient’s interests or previous interactions with your brand. This will help drive sales and interaction from your audience.
#6 Use anniversaries, birthdays, or other important dates
Send personalized emails to celebrate subscribers’ birthdays or anniversaries with your brand. Offer special discounts or incentives as a way to show appreciation and drive sales and engagement.
Seasonal or holiday offers also work when it comes to engaging with your audience and getting them to buy from your brand. Holidays like Thanksgiving, Yuletide, and summer are great avenues for specific email campaigns.
#7 Send product recommendations
Personalized product recommendations based on a recipient’s purchase history or browsing behavior are also a good email personalization strategy. Personalized recommendations allow cross-selling or upselling opportunities for your brand. This can lead to higher click-through rates and conversions, leading to increased engagement, revenue, and loyalty.
#8 Consider the recipients’ preferences
At the bottom of your email content, allow subscribers to update their preferences, choose email frequency, and select content categories they are interested in. This empowers recipients to personalize their own experience. These specific preferences will also help you plan your email campaigns for the future.
Successful email personalization requires a balance between providing relevant content and respecting recipients’ privacy and preferences. Remember these email personalization examples, and you can create email campaigns that effectively engage your audience.
If you need help from email marketing experts, Twin Rams is ready to help! Talk to us today and let’s find out how we can enhance your email marketing strategy.
References:
https://twinrams.com/what-is-email-marketing/
https://www.superoffice.com/blog/email-open-rates/
https://www.lianatech.com/resources/blog/8-tips-to-personalize-your-emails.html
https://myemma.com/blog/7-email-personalization-strategies-that-go-beyond-a-name/
https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/personalized-email/
https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/glossary/segmentation/