What do you think we’re talking about when we say “email personalization”? Are you considering merging tags or dynamic content? Segmentation and automation? Profile-based or behavior-based automation? Or all of the above?
While the technology, functionality, and overall options available when personalizing emails have changed, we still use the same general terminology to refer to anything in an email that is dynamic, interactive, segmented, or field-based. When we say “personalize,” we’re talking about a growing number of strategies that span everything from data needed to resources needed to impact.
As personalization becomes the norm across marketing channels, I think it’s time we get more specific about these strategies, which involve different levels of resources and data to implement, and can have varying degrees of impact depending on the scenario. .
10 years ago, personalizing email was relatively simple. Today it can mean anything from automation Shopping cart abandoned Play a simple “Hi Cynthia” using merge tags.
The volume and volume of emails are at an all-time high Return on Investment (ROI). The roller coaster ride of growth over the past few years has made us more reliant on email than we thought.
Total email volume has increased by 13% since 2020 and is expected to increase by another 13% by 2026.
At the same time, consumer expectations have evolved to the point where our subscribers expect us to send them only the most relevant messages, and a degree of personalization is one of the most effective ways to do this.
“McKinsey research shows that 71% of consumers want companies to provide personalized interactions. The story doesn’t end there: 76% are frustrated when this doesn’t happen.
Source: McKinsey
Let’s look at the different types Email personalization And think about how to keep them moving forward.
Getting Started: Text Field Personalization
When I first started my career, personalization in the email world was a very specific thing to do with merge tags—mostly using everyone’s favorite “Hi<名字>” to edit the copy. For the purposes of today’s exercise, we’ll call this “Text Field Personalization.”
This is cool: it makes things more personal, and we quickly discovered that you can real Customization includes information in various fields. At the same time, you real Allow yourself to make mistakes based on the quality of your data. There’s nothing like sending a message to a board member saying “Hi<名字>” and ask the CEO to forward the email to you to ask what happened. (This is speaking from experience!)
This makes us nervous. no one thinks their data It’s clean today, but I’d say ten years ago things weren’t that good.
We make it as personal as possible because it works. It’s worth noting that this personalization “strategy” is often built into the copywriting Stages based on areas we know we can use.
Today, a little bit interestingly, we think that’s all you need to create a personalized experience in your inbox. Do you still remember every time suddenly Email Service Provider (ESP) Allows you to use merge tags in subject line? Seemingly overnight, almost all of our topics started to become very edgy. “Where do you want to go today?” and “Cynthia, where do you want to go today?” have very different tones.
We quickly learned one of the most important lessons in email: don’t ignore the impact of new things. I think the subject line trick worked for me initially. But today, I can’t even remember the last time I noticed it.
The evolution of segmentation
As we began to understand key audience segments with similar roles, needs, and interests, we began building different versions of emails for those groups. This allows us to design and write specifically for this audience while removing the complexity of connecting profiles.
But depending on how many different segments we wanted to cater to, the process of creating customized email designs and copy for each group became very time-consuming.
Images matter too: The evolution of dynamic content
In the 2010s, we started to see opportunities for dynamic content beyond copywriting. Suddenly, we could send different images to fragments to create a more relevant experience. We more generally refer to this as “dynamic content”.
This is especially helpful because At that point we were all very aware that many of our viewers were browsing email These impressions do matter.
The average time it takes to read an email is 9 seconds
source: Email participation status
Also: We’re discovering motion-based design elements
At the same time, we started experimenting with action-based elements. think Animated GIFs and the use of CSS animations, button hover states, and Email AMP.
Using these strategies in the right places can create real interest and make emails more sticky and engaging from a visual interest perspective.
This is where things get blurry.
Calculate the ROI of lost emails
How much marketing revenue are you missing out on? Use our free ROI Calculator See how much email-driven revenue you’re leaving behind.
This brings us to today
Interactive email elements User-generated options such as hover/rollover effects, animated GIFs, gamification, and real-time polls are often simply called “interactive.” However, the personal nature of the last few makes them a completely different kind of interactivity in my opinion. I guess we can call it Personalized interaction Or so many people call it Instant or open hours personalization today.
This is one of the most complex strategies you can introduce into your email program. At the same time, it does not require database trust, connectivity or operational logistics to achieve this goal. It’s easier to set up, has less room for error, and remains one of the most effective ways to engage your audience.
| Interactive elements: Make emails more visually appealing | Personalization elements: personalize content based on your data | Instant/Open Hours Personalization: Instant-based personalization |
|---|---|---|
| Animated GIFs | text-based personalization | live poll |
| CSS animation | Dynamic/personalized images | countdown timer |
| Email AMP | Content automation | mood tracker |
| Social media source integration | ||
| scratch off | ||
| Add to calendar button | ||
| Rule-based images |
If these elements are now in your toolset, you should be able to pick out the ones that best fit the right use cases to create truly personalized customer journeys based on interests. When you use this toolset effectively, you can build dynamic and effective customer journeys that delight both your audience and your customers. Increase conversion rates. Win, win.
We’re thinking about how to organize this “tool set” to help you choose when and where to use add-on features to produce the best results. Stay tuned and tell us what you think!
What’s missing from this list? (email me at cprice@litmus.com If you have suggestions.
Increase engagement with dynamic content
Personalize your emails with live polls, personalized images, scratch-offs, and more. No coding experience required. learn more.
