When done right, email marketing campaigns are powerful, especially when you work in personalization. 

Even with the growth of chat apps and mobile messengers, email remains an integral part of our online life. There are 3.9 billion email users worldwide, which represents well over half the world’s population. Furthermore, growth is predicted at an unwavering 3% annual rate, with the total number of email users forecasted to hit 4.4 billion by 2023.

These numbers prove that email isn’t going away anytime soon. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that email marketing is a crucial strategy for getting potential clients and engaging existing ones.

As many as 89% of marketers use email as their primary channel for lead generation. Not only does it deliver an ROI of at least 3x that of social media, it’s the third most prominent source of information for B2B audiences, behind only associate recommendations and industry thought leaders.

The biggest takeaway here is that personalized email marketing is a must for organizations striving to achieve exponential growth.

Personalized email marketing is a reliable way to send emails that get prospective clients to convert. Unlike generic emails, personalized emails allow marketers to send relevant content to subscribers and make connections on a personal level. In fact, 74% of marketers declare that targeted personalization increases customer engagement rates.

These days, you shouldn’t consider personalized email marketing campaigns as an optional practice… But unfortunately for many email marketers, implementing personalized emails remains uncharted territory.

Good thing it’s never too late to make amends! 

For this reason, we’ve outlined some of the most used techniques to help you engage your subscribers. Read on to find out how to benefit from personalization in your future email marketing campaigns. First, let’s look at what email personalization actually means.  

What is Email Personalization? 

In the context of email marketing, personalization is the act of targeting a specific subscriber by leveraging information and data you have about them. This could be their first and last name, a product they purchased, where they live, how often they log in to your application, or other data points.

Of course, personalization is a broad term and varies in sophistication. Basic personalization techniques include using the subscriber’s name in the subject line. More sophisticated methods can consist of altering the email content based on their gender, age, location, or other things you know about them.

Instead of receiving a campaign with generic offers and messaging language, your email subscribers get personalized email messages that are targeted directly at them. 

Ways to Implement Personalization in Your Email Marketing Campaigns 

In a perfect world, a personalized email catches the recipient’s attention the moment they see it in their inbox. When subscribers are approached in a more personalized way, they tend to trust the brand more – and select them over competitors. 

The bottom line is that impersonal and generic emails are more likely to get ignored or trashed. With this in mind, here’s a short guide on how to implement personalization in your email marketing campaigns:

Effectively Segment Your Audience 

As you know, there are plenty of ways to build and grow a solid mailing list: subscription, email-only unique offers, freebies, and more… But having a large mailing list is never enough. You must segment to make a personalized approach work.

As a customer yourself, you know everyone has different tastes, preferences, and interests. Consequently, you shouldn’t expect to keep all your clients happy with a one-size-fits-all approach to email.

For this reason, focus on developing different customer segments based on interests, demographics, gender, age, etc.

Once you do this, you can use these segments to send tailored offers, promotions, and recommendations. 

When you send emails with relevant offers or recommendations based on their interests, it shows you understand their needs. It’s no surprise that 59% of clients who experience personalized email marketing believe it makes a significant impact on potential purchases. 

You can begin implementing personalization by collecting relevant information about your subscribers’ gender, age, geo-location, and interests through the subscription form. Later, you can segment the list based on common characteristics and send content relevant to each subscriber group. 

When you send emails that resonate well with particular audience segments, you’ll notice improvements on your open, click-through, and conversion rates.

Address Your Subscribers by First Name 

Using your subscriber’s first name is perhaps the most straightforward email personalization tactic you can implement right away. To achieve this technique, you only need the recipient’s first name, which you can collect during signup. 

By merely adding a subscriber’s name to the subject line or email copy, you instantly spark a personal connection with your audience. You can also heighten a reader’s interest in your email.

Include a Real Reply-To Email Address in Your Emails 

The fact is, you’re sending emails to prospects with the sole purpose of engaging them and hoping they take a particular action. If you use a “no-reply” address for your emails, you don’t give your recipients a chance to respond… Which is a problem. 

Prospective clients interested in your offer may have questions about it. Forcing them to the “contact us” section on your website to find another email address, just to send a question, frustrates even the most patient people. 

For this reason, allow clients to reach you by clicking the “reply” button. Including a real reply-to email address is an easy way to engage with your prospective clients and further improve brand loyalty.

Personalize With Product Recommendations 

Believe it or not, product recommendations go a long way in proving to your clients and subscribers that you care. According to Salesforce research, 76% of customers expect businesses to understand their needs and preferences, but 50% of customers don’t feel they do.

One way to provide customized recommendations is to use email to present your clients with timely offers related to complementary goods or services. 

Another way is to send how-to guides with information on related products or services. You can also send customers a special offer based on a product page they viewed, or share a case study showing your business’s positive impact in their industry.

Amazon has mastered the art of personalization. The eCommerce giant keeps a record of all products you purchase (or even browse) on their website. Based on this data, they send you personalized recommendations of products you might like.

Capitalize on Your Clients’ Birthdays 

Last but not least, embracing your clients’ birthdays is by far the most fun personalized email marketing element you can implement. Remembering your subscribers’ birthdays is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen your clients’ relationship with your brand and show that you care. At the end of the day, who doesn’t appreciate people remembering their birthday?

To personalize your birthday email campaign, you only need your subscriber’s birthdate. From there, you can send automated birthday email cards. In addition to conveying good wishes on behalf of your company, you can send a personalized birthday offer. 

Final Thoughts 

Personalized email marketing campaigns are all about delivering relevant and targeted content while adding value to their experience along the way. In exchange, you can drive increased ROI and additional revenue. 

To craft the most effective personalized email marketing campaigns, gather as much data about your subscribers as possible, then carefully segment your mailing list to enhance your personalization efforts. You can start by simply using your clients’ names in your emails. 

Remember: don’t let your subscribers feel like they’re interacting with a non-replying machine. You also want to include personalized product or service recommendations, and make subscribers feel special on their birthdays! 

After all, email personalization is all about letting your clients feel valued… So show them that you care!