Before we really get started let’s define what personalization in email marketing is. It is more than just putting the name on the dear line. In 2019, just a name is no longer the best way to personalize your email. Don’t get me wrong, you still need to have the name, but you can get so much more creative than that now. So don’t just stop there, get more personal with offers, images, landing pages and more.

3 Reasons to Get Personal:

1. Recipients like it: With all the technology out now, there is no reason why you cannot personalize your email, so just do it. Recipients have stated in multiple studies that they pay more attention to email that is personalized. It makes them feel special.
2. Better targeting: With personalization you are better able to target your message to each person. Using the information you have collected in your data base you can create custom offers that appeal to the right people based on purchase history.
3. Better response: Since your recipients like it and you can better target them, you are going to get a better response rate with personalization.

Many times companies shy away from complex personalization because they are worried about getting it wrong. Don’t let your fear stop you. Does the customization or personalization of an email make people more likely to open and read it? Respondents said: 29.2 % yes, much more likely and 55% yes, a little more likely. With numbers like that you need to be personalizing.  

Personalization in 2019 is not hard. There is great software out there to help control the variable data and ensure that the correct information is on each piece. The key component is what you have in your data base. The more information you have the better the personalization will be.

Top 3 Ways to Personalize Email Marketing:

1. Images: The visual component of your email sets the mood and draws the recipient into your message. Getting the images that will appeal the most to each person is very important.
2. Offer: Using the data you have about each person to tailor the offer to their needs is very powerful. The right offer will get the response, the wrong one will not.
3. Copy: The copy is the obvious personalization to the recipient. It uses their name and other information from your data. Use the copy wisely to draw interest. Even though they like personalization too much copy is a problem and they will not read it.
4. Subject Lines: The first thing people see is your subject line. You need to make sure you are personally appealing to each customer or prospect in order to get them to open the email.

Are you convinced that personalization is the key to better ROI? I am. If you want to start smaller to take some of the fear out of it, you can do that. Just make sure you don’t get stuck in the mode of just using a name and calling that personalization. Build up your personalization with each email incorporating more data and more complex variables. This gradual build up will give you the confidence to keep getting more personal. Are you ready to get started?