 There are different opinions about personalization in email marketing campaigns. Some say it's a red flag for subscribers who'll delete an email if they see their name in it. Others say that personalization is the way to go. From a dollars-and-sense perspective, adding personalization to an email marketing message has been shown to boost the effectiveness of the message by as much as 25 - 30 percent. It also offers the additional benefit of differentiating legitimate email from that of spammers.
However, adopting an "any personalization is good personalization," strategy is a quick trip to unsubscribe-ville. Because when personalization is overdone or done improperly, email marketing campaigns can come across as phony, contrived or downright creepy.
Doing it right requires a good database, careful planning, reliable technology that includes Web analytics - and avoiding these common personalization mistakes:
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Relying on old data. No one likes receiving email addressed to a wrong or misspelled name. An error in your records can result in your email showing how little you know about your subscribers, as opposed to how well. Do a thorough data audit before you even think about adding personalization to an email.
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Not making sure everything you send out is relevant to each recipient. Relevance and personalization are somewhat interchangeable when you think about it from the subscriber’s perspective, and not your own. Only use email personalization when you're sure that the content you are sending is relevant to the subscriber. A relevant email is personal, and a personal email is relevant.
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Only personalizing with a name. Instead, gather enough demographics and behavioral information about subscribers, such as membership information, recent purchases, location and so on, to create powerful, one-of-a-kind messages.
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Not using dynamic content to pull in content that is applicable to a particular segment of your database, for example, including a list of local events in email messages sent to a particular location.
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Forgetting other ways to "get personal." Incorporate familiar images, such as a product photo that corresponds with an item purchased or the skyline of a local city. Reward highly-engaged subscribers with coupons or special offers, and incentivize those who share your email marketing on social media sites.
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Becoming overly personal with your database. Subscribers expect marketers to send them relevant campaigns that are useful to them. They don't appreciate email messages that are overly personal. Be sensitive to their privacy concerns and don't overdo it. An email with too much personal information may seem like an abuse of privacy.
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Not monitoring campaign metrics or testing. Check engagement, conversion rates and other metrics against non-personalized email marketing campaigns to see if personalization is successful. Testing is ultimately going to answer the question about whether personalization is appropriate every time: if people respond better without personalization, don't use it, and vice versa.
Personally (pun intended), I like seeing my name in print - when it really is my name and it's spelled correctly and used appropriately within a message that acknowledges my preferences. Call me crazy … just don't call me {firstname}. What do you think?
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About the Author
Deborah Papp is a manager of marketing communications for Lyris. She oversees content development for www.Lyris.com and other customer-facing communications including press releases and Lyris HQ product release updates.
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