Emails Should Be Personal To Capture The Reader

According to a report by Erik Schulze, VP at Yes Lifecycle Marketing, summarized in Direct Marketing News, this coming year email marketing messages will be even more personal. The reason, says the report, is that Email marketers must make their messages standout in the crowded inbox.

Schulze says that “… the number of emails that each of us get increases each year… conversely, as the number of emails go up, the engagement with those emails goes down… it's much more important to have a more personalized discussion or address personal needs… “

Personalization can include specific details, says the report, such as a recipient's name or perhaps a birthday mention. But Schulze warns that in the New Year, email marketers must go far beyond those simple elements. “… personalization should be less about getting somebody to transact in a moment… (but rather) fit into a broader strategy… “

As email marketers develop strategies for 2015, the report suggests several ways to go about making each email personal for each individual who opens it:

• Consider personalizing emails when the reader opens them rather than solely based on past behaviors or when the email is sent. Discount countdown clocks, live social feeds, and changing hero images can all be optimized at the moment reader opens an email
• The elements that a marketer uses depends on the device. It's important to recognize when and where the customer will receive a message, to determine the approach with personalized content
• Yet another effective way to personalize an email is by using predictive analytics. With that, marketers can embed the right calls-to-action, make videos more personal, and even tailor the right frequency of emails for each person. Even frequency is a form of personalization, so it’s important to recognize how often a person wants to communicate with you, says the report
• And, Schulze says email marketers should consider location as they personalize their messages, and match the culture, look, and feel of a reader's location. He stresses that personalization is more about an understanding and relationship of “… a single individual, never one big mass….”

by Jack Loechner - Media Post January 9th, 2015