Email marketing campaigns are a powerful way to connect with your customers and promote your brand. However, with the large number of emails that people receive every day, it can be challenging to stand out and capture a user’s attention enough for them to click. That's where personalisation and segmentation techniques come in. By using the strategies we’ll explore in this article, you can create targeted and relevant emails that speak directly to your customers' needs and interests.
Imagine crafting an email that speaks directly to the heart of each recipient, that showcases how you’ve taken the time to truly understand their individual needs and desires.
Personalisation is the art of infusing your message with a touch of humanity and relevance, such as mentioning the name of the recipient, recalling their past interactions with your company, or offering tailored recommendations that cater to their unique interests. By customising your emails in this way, you can forge a deeper connection with your audience, and inspire them to take action with greater enthusiasm and loyalty.
Furthermore, segmentation involves dividing your email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behaviour, or interests. Once you have segmented your list, you can send targeted emails to each group that address their unique needs and preferences. For example, you could send one email to customers who have recently made a purchase and another to those who have abandoned their shopping cart, each with a tailored message and call-to-action that will speak directly to them and their situation which in turn will encourage them to move in a direction that better benefits you both.
The benefits of personalisation and segmentation are clear and this is reflected in the relevant statistics. According to a study by Campaign Monitor, personalised emails have an average open rate of 18.8%, compared to 13.1% for non-personalised emails. Moreover, segmented and targeted emails generate 58% of all email revenue as they are more likely to speak to users on a personal level and encourage them to act on their interests and curiosities about a brand.
One of the most effective ways to personalise and segment your email content is by using customer data. This includes information such as their purchase history, browsing behaviour, and demographic information. By collecting, analysing then utilising this data, you can create targeted campaigns that speak directly to the recipient's needs and interests.
To get started, you can use your email marketing software to gather data on your subscribers. Most email marketing platforms offer built-in tools for tracking and segmenting subscriber data. For example, you can often easily track email open and click-through rates, purchase history, and website browsing behaviour. Once you have this data, you can use it to segment your list and create targeted campaigns.
One effective segmentation strategy is to segment your list by demographics, such as age, gender, or location. This allows you to tailor your message to each group's unique preferences. For example, you could send a special promotion to customers in a specific location or offer a discount to subscribers in a certain age group. Moreover, these different segments of individuals often have a specific way they want to be talked to or a unique way that they want to receive their information. By specialising emails to cater to their specific tastes they are more likely to feel comfortable and even excited reading your emails to them.
Another segmentation strategy is to segment by behaviour. For example, you could also send a re-engagement email to subscribers who have not opened or clicked on your emails in a while, reminding them of the benefits of your products or services and offering a special promotion to entice them to re-engage.
This allows you to provide targeted content and offers to your subscribers based on their actions. For example, you could set up an automated email series for new subscribers that welcomes them to your email list and provides them with relevant content and offers over time. You could also send a post-purchase follow-up email thanking them for their purchase and offering them complementary products or services.
The most alluring aspect of automation is of course its time-saving abilities. By using automation, you can save resources and put your time to better use elsewhere that may need a more human touch, while still providing personalised content and offers to your subscribers.
In addition to using customer data and automation, you can also personalise your email content by using visuals and other media. You can use engaging visuals to make your email content more appealing and relevant. This includes using images, videos, and infographics to highlight your products or services, and remind users of something that they may have taken interest in previously and otherwise forgotten about. This media can also help to convey your message more effectively than text alone.
Moreover, you can utilise custom email templates that reflect your brand's style and personality, which will keep your emails at the forefront of your customer’s minds and perhaps have the returning wanting to experience brand aesthetics.
In the vast sea of emails piling up in our inboxes, a captivating subject line can be the beacon that draws us in. Crafting a subject line that entices your audience requires a deft touch - it must be short, sweet, and instantly attention-grabbing, while also offering an accurate representation of what's inside. But the true artistry lies in personalisation, tailoring your subject line to the recipient's interests and desires. By doing so, you can create a powerful connection that entices them to open your email with anticipation and excitement, eager to discover the gems hidden within.
To ensure the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns, it's important to continually test and optimise your content and strategies. Before you launch any email marketing campaign, you’ll want to define your goals and objectives. By setting these clear standards, you can better measure your success and make data-driven decisions to improve your future campaigns.
Once you've launched your email marketing campaign, it's important to track key metrics to determine its success. Open rates and click-through rates can help you understand how engaging your subject line and email content are, while conversion rates can help you track how many subscribers are taking the desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
By tracking these metrics, you can identify areas where your campaigns are performing well and where they need improvement. You can then make data-driven decisions to adjust your content and strategies accordingly.
A/B testing is also a powerful technique that can help you identify which content and strategies are most effective for your email marketing campaigns. By creating two versions of an email and sending them to different segments of your subscriber list, you can test different subject lines, email content, and calls-to-action to determine which ones generate the most engagement and conversions.
To learn more about email marketing best practices or to get started on setting up your email marketing campaign, have a read of our article ‘Beginner’s guide to email marketing’.
In the ever-evolving world of email marketing, personalisation and segmentation are the secret weapons that can take your campaigns from good to great. By tailoring your messaging to each individual customer, you can create a sense of intimacy and connection that inspires them to take action. This can be achieved through a variety of tactics, from crafting custom content that aligns with their interests to using targeted campaigns that speak to their unique needs. And the best part? When done right, personalisation and segmentation can deliver powerful results without any downside. Customers are more engaged, more loyal, and more likely to take actions that improve engagement and revenue, and your emails will just look better than everyone else’s.
