6 Creative Ways to Personalize Your Marketing Emails

by Swagatika B. Marketing Manager at Melissa

A well-planned email marketing campaign is a great way to drive traffic to your website and build loyalty amongst your customer base. To be effective, an email campaign should meet the consumer’s needs. It should also be personalized. Personalization increases the chances that the consumer will open the email and take appropriate actions on it. Addressing emails to the consumer by name is the first step towards personalization. Did you know that adding the recipient’s name to the subject line can boost open rates by up to 50%? Here are 6 creative ways to personalize emails and make them stand out.

Segment Your Mailing Lists

No matter how niche your space may be, all your customers will not be interested in everything you have to say. By segmenting your mailing list, you can increase the likelihood of sending customers content that is relevant to them. This, in turn, increases the chances of your mail being opened. For example, a woman’s clothing retailer could segment the mailing list according to age. When sending out a New Year’s emailer, younger women may be more interested in short dresses while older women will probably look for something a little more modest.

Send Well-Timed Emails

When do you think customers will be more likely to open an email- on a Monday morning or on a Thursday afternoon? Mondays are called manic Mondays for a reason and there’s a very low chance your customers will open any emails you send at 11 am on a Monday. Wednesday afternoon is considered the best time for email marketing. Scheduling your emails around noon on a Wednesday is ideal.

If you have international customers, it’s important to remember that your customers live in different time zones. Thus, what’s noon for one customer may be an early morning for another. Thus, when you segment your mailing lists, keep time zones in mind.

Respond To Customer Behavior

You can do much more than sending newsletters with emails. Emails can also be used for personalized email campaigns. These emails can be described as automated emails that are sent in response to certain actions by the customer. For example, you may send a reminder email if your customer abandons a cart. Emails can also be sent to make recommendations based on what your customer last bought. For example- if a customer bought flowers for someone’s birthday last year, a reminder email could be sent each year on the same date. Customers value these emails as it responds directly to the behaviour.

Make Emails Interactive

Rather than simply formatting a lot of text and images for the customer to read, make your email interactive. You could ask the customer to rate the product they just bought by clicking on a star-meter within the email itself, participate in polls about their experience or even make purchases! For companies that deal with experiences such as holidays and hotel stays, an email could also contain forms to get more details for the trip. Making an email interactive boosts engagement and makes the experience more personal.

Make it Real

For an email to be really personal, the reader must feel as though he is hearing from an actual person. It’s the same reason why customers still prefer speaking to a human for customer service rather than a bot. So, when you create an email campaign, how about letting your consumers know the people behind the brand. For example, if you’re composing an email about an event, you could include details about the people who’ve organized it. You could also ask employees to draft emails on the company’s behalf. This gives the email a human touch and makes the consumer feel special.

Let Subscribers Choose What and When They Want To Hear From You

When subscribers sign up to be part of your email database, they should be able to choose what type of emails they want to receive. Do they want to hear about new launches? Do they want newsletters? Giving them the right to make this choice makes your emails something they look forward to. They are more likely to open emails that they have specifically signed up for as compared to generic emails. It is also important to remember that your customers may change their mind from time to time. Thus, your emails should also contain links to adjust their preferences.

Our Two Cents

When well designed, an email campaign is a great way to contact and engage with your consumers. Start with a clean, updated mailing list and personalize your emails to improve the chances of their being read and acted on. With the available technology, it is easy to segment your audience, schedule emails to reach customers at the best time and include interactive content. Remember, the more you do your Email Verification, the more effective your campaign will be.

About Author:

Swagatika is a passionate writer & guest blogger. Writing helps her to improve her knowledge, skills & understanding about the specific industry. She is passionate about spreading her knowledge & tips across the world. Currently, she works with Melissa & writes blogs for products like address, email verification, phone, identity, etc. Apart from writing, she loves traveling, styling & cooking.