When most people think of email personalization, the only thing that comes to mind is adding your reader’s [first_name] to the subject line, the greeting, or buried somewhere in the email’s body copy.

Sure, using their first name works.

(Campaign Monitor research cites that using the recipient’s first name in the subject line can increase open rates by 26%.)

But if using a name is the only way you’re personalizing emails, you’re missing the boat.

There are more subtle ways to make your reader feel like your email is just for them.

And these other ways are so subtle, your reader will probably have no idea that you’re sending them “personalized” content.

It’ll just feel like you (somehow?) got inside their head.

As Klaviyo says, “Personalization is about understanding what someone wants, when they want it, and how they want to receive it.”

And THAT’S how you personalize emails.

Think outside the [first_name] box

Before building your email personalization strategy, think about what you’d want to receive as a customer of your brand.

Is it recommendations tailored to your preferences?

Or perhaps it’s getting treated like a VIP after you make multiple purchases?

Here are 5 “outside the box” ways to think about personalization.
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1: Product recommendations.

Show your customers products you’re pretty sure they’ll like.

Based on their initial purchase, make personalized suggestions for what products to buy next.

(ESPs like Klaviyo make setting this up super easy.)
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2: VIP & loyalty offers.

Treat your best customers like the very important people they are.

That means create (just for them) special offers, deals, and early access to new products or hot items when they come back in stock.

Retaining your best shoppers is much easier (and cheaper) than acquiring new ones.

Level up how you treat your VIPs so they’ll keep coming back for more.
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3: Behavioral segmentation.

Track customer interests, engagement, and behavior on your site.

Build custom-triggered automations to entice them with products you know they’ll love.

👀 But don’t be too creepy.

People don’t love knowing when they’re being watched.

SUBTLETY is key here.

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​4: Celebrate milestones.

Acknowledge anniversaries, birthdays, and other notable occasions with milestone emails.

Trigger these emails by purchase date of another metric you’re tracking (like their birthday or the anniversary of their first purchase).
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5: Demographic targeting.

Segment by geographic location, hobbies or interests, past purchases, or browsing behavior.

Send relevant emails to the right segments at the right times.
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WHAT to personalize

Klaviyo (my fave ESP for eCommerce businesses) recently published a new Customer-First Marketing playbook… and it’s stellar. I love their take on personalization. Especially the list of what to personalize:

• Imagery
• Subject lines
• Timing
• Channel
• Messaging
• Product recommendations / positioning

So many options!

So little time.

But seriously. The sky is the limit.

And if you think about personalization in terms of giving your readers what they want, it’s a strategy you can’t pass up.
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