The Modern Marketing Blog covers the latest in marketing strategy, technology, and innovation.
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Email Marketing
April 17, 2013
5 Ways to Personalize Emails and Enhance Open Rates
I recently received an email that began, “Hi Amanda, you know from our last eBook you read, mobile is having an enormous impact on the events industry…” I kept reading, because I recalled recently downloading an eBook about mobile event applications. The email immediately established context in the abyss that is, my inbox.
There’s no excuse for leaving these personal touches out of email communication, anyway. Modern Marketers are equipped with an arsenal of prospect information garnered through web forms, third-party lists, social media, conference registrations, and a variety of other channels. And while these other communication channels have emerged, email is still one of the most critical points of engagement.
Email helps support overall multi-touch communications strategies, enabling marketers to deliver these targeted messages based on customer preference across different points in the buyer’s purchase process. Sophisticated email marketing programs — fueled by marketing automation — enable relevant communication when used with behavioral triggers. Email is a great tool for marketers to serve up relevant content at the time when a buyer is engaged and likely to respond.
But emails can’t support any of these marketing efforts without relevance. Our on-demand culture is driving personalized expectations. To provide positive brand impressions, avoid complaints, bounce backs, and unsubscribes, and most importantly, enhance open rates, marketers are personalizing their email communications. Check out Eloqua’s ‘Must-See’ Chart below:
The best-performing emails include subject lines personalized with the recipient’s name and an added value point, such as location.
How are marketers able to personalize their communication? It all comes down to segmentation, keeping things simple, and focused on the customer. Here are some tips to help you improve your email personalization:
- Segment your list separately by social data, such as birthdays, likes, etc.
- Craft templates that enable you to trigger personalized emails on the fly.
- Don’t get too excited — per the chart, exclamation points don’t necessarily translate to brownie points with your recipients.
- Test and track the effectiveness of calls to action (CTAs) and repeat successful messaging.
- Align your email verbiage with your social language to keep your communications consistent.
Looking for more telling marketing metrics? Check out Eloqua’s 40 Must-See Charts for Marketers