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Have you ever opened an email and thought to yourself, “Why am I getting this?”  Maybe it was more of an “I already did that” type of thought.  Either way, chances are you either moved on to the next email that actually meant something to you or unsubscribed.  As a business, both of these actions are the opposite of what you want.  You want clicks.  Check that, you need clicks.  Campaigns that get the most engagement are the ones that are personalized.  They’re the ones that have context.  In order to bolster the traffic you get from the inbox, you need to send personalized email campaigns.  Here are a few ways to make your emails (and business) a bit more personable. 

Set up an Automated Welcome Email

When people make a purchase or sign up for email updates, welcome them.  Say thank you.  This is the beginning of your relationship with your subscribers, so send an awesome welcome email.  This might seem like a small aspect of your email campaigns, it’s often overlooked and leads to a lower engagement rate over the lifetime of your subscribers.

On average, 320% more revenue is attributed to welcome emails on a per email basis than other promotional emails.  When you welcome your subscribers, it opens up the conversation.  It shows your audience that you care and gives you the ability to give them the next step.

A welcome email gives you the opportunity the keep the conversation going by promptly providing your recipient with the next step towards making a purchase.  Include a promotional aspect to it.  Offer free shipping or anything that will give them value on their buying journey.

Segment youR list…then Segment it again

Your email campaigns are only as good as the lists you send them to.  How you segment your contacts will vary depending on your business, but you should have a host of lists based on the possibilities of engagement users can take on your site. 

You can also segment based on customer lifecycle.  This is extremely effective because it relates to where each customer is in your marketing or sales funnel and provides them with a relevant next step.  When you focus your messages on the value your product or service will add to their lives, it becomes all about who’s reading you message and removes the “marketing” feel from your emails.

Great marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.  When you segment your lists a few times over your emails will be geared towards where they are in their buying journey instead of where you’d like them to be.  In essence, your message becomes all about solving their problem and providing them with the opportunity to keep the conversation going.

Use More than Just their Name

When you login to check your emails, how many have your first name in the subject line?  While this has shown to increase engagement, it doesn’t really set your message apart from the other messages around it.  People know marketers can include a first name in the subject line and start an email off with “Hi [first-name]”.  It’s nothing new, and is expected at this point.

The real personalization comes when you use their engagement, and other elements of personalization such as company name or their recent activity.  For instance, Amazon sends campaigns with the goal of getting product reviews with a subject line that uses the name of the product.  This works because they wait long enough for you to use the product and see its value, then get you thinking about how it did (or didn’t) live up to your expectations.

It’s more than just your name.  While it’s nice to see your name pop up on your screen, focus on the value you could give.  Don’t make your message about your brand.  Focus on the value you’re offering them by referencing past purchase history or engagement they’ve taken on your site. 

Send Dynamic Email Newsletters

You might hear some agencies hark against sending newsletter emails to subscribers, but a newsletter is an effective way to get your content out there and let your audience know about any promotions you’re offering.  Here at THAT, we encourage newsletter type emails as long as the content included is relevant to who will be receiving it.

Dynamic emails allow you to send relevant newsletters without having to spend the time creating different emails for each segment.  In a nutshell, dynamic emails allow you to send one email, but have the content switch out for the segments you identify.  It essentially lets you send multiple emails in one email.

Ask People What They Want

If you have a few different services or product lines, chances are some people won’t be interested in all of them.  The last thing you want to do is send your subscribers something that means nothing to them.  So how do you figure out what they want to hear about?  Well, ask them!

When they sign up to hear from you, include an option for them to choose what to receive updates about.  We find that most people that are willing to give up their email address are willing to tell a company what they’re interested in getting.  It’s a great way to allow your contact list to segment themselves.

Reach out to an Email Marketing Agency

You have enough on your plate to worry about the copy and content of your email messages.  You have a business to run and employees to take care of.  If you’re leaning towards hiring an email marketing agency, make sure you ask them the right questions so you can be sure their efforts are aligned with your goals.

Personalization in email is more than just a trend.  If you want to be successful with your email marketing, you need to embrace personalized content and sending relevant marketing messages.  It’s all about the brand experience, and if you start sending spam to your contacts your engagement will drop.

Send campaigns that people look forward to receiving.  Make them want to open your emails because of the value you include in them.  When you become a personable brand, your emails will feel like a conversation with your recipients and your campaigns will thrive.