Unlock the potential of your email campaigns with this insightful guide brimming with expert knowledge. Discover straightforward strategies for tailoring your messages and engaging your audience more effectively. Learn from the wisdom of seasoned professionals to enhance your approach to email personalization.
- Personalize First Sentence and Subject Line
- Gather and Leverage the Right Data
- Utilize Browsing History for Personalization
- Ensure Data Quality and Completeness
- Focus on Relevance Over Frequency
- Start with the Basics of Personalization
- Begin with User Behavior
- Imagine the Reader as a Real Person
- Provide Valuable Content First
- Segment Based on Key Behaviors
- Prioritize Usefulness Over Cleverness
- Add a Human Element to Emails
- Write One Sentence That Matters
- Use Past Purchase Triggers
- Ask a Personal Question in Welcome Email
Personalize First Sentence and Subject Line
Start by personalizing the first sentence and subject line to the reader. Not just including their first name.
Using the reader’s first name in your subject line or greeting is so overused that it’s almost ignorable now.
So, how do you stand out with personalization?
Make the first sentence feel like it was written just for that reader.
Let’s say we’re selling a productivity tool (okay, yawn…I know, but bear with me here)…
Instead of this…
Subject: Improve your productivity with our new tool
“Hey John, I wanted to share our new productivity tool…”
Which is vague. It’s lifeless. It tells me nothing about why I should care or what’s in it for me as the reader.
Try something like this…
Subject: John, is it just me, or does everything take longer in [City]?
“John, if getting things done in [City] feels like you’re moving through molasses, I’ve got something for you…”
Here are some other alternative subject lines following that same idea:
- Breaking: productivity laws suspended in [City]
- Something weird’s happening in [City]… (productivity-related, don’t panic)
- Warning: [City] may be slowing down your tasks
[City] would be the city that the reader lives in. You get the idea now?
So, what should you focus on first with email personalization?
Understand your audience segments. Group readers based on their interests, behaviors, or purchase history. Then…
Write personalized openings for each segment. The rest of your email can follow the same template, but the subject line and first line of your email?
Earn bonus points for using fields other than their first name in the subject line. I love using city names or someone’s zip code in subject lines like the example I shared. That’s just the start though.
What other fields could you use from your email platform besides someone’s first name?
When getting started with personalization, start small. Test. Refine. Then, watch your open and click-through rates go up.
Andrew Pfund
Growth Marketer, Scale and Prosper
Gather and Leverage the Right Data
If you’re just starting out with personalization in email marketing, the most important thing to focus on first is gathering and leveraging the right data. Without accurate and relevant subscriber information, your personalization efforts will feel generic rather than truly tailored.
Start by segmenting your audience based on key factors like demographics, behavior, or engagement history. Even basic segmentation—such as separating new subscribers from loyal customers—can make a huge impact. From there, use dynamic content to personalize subject lines, product recommendations, or even email copy based on user preferences and past interactions.
Start simple—don’t overcomplicate personalization at the beginning. Test, learn, and iterate. Effective personalization isn’t just about using a subscriber’s name; it’s about delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. A/B test subject lines, email copy, and send times. Leverage merge tags (e.g., first name) but prioritize relevance over gimmicks. Segment your audience based on interests, behaviors, or demographics, and track key metrics like open rates, click-throughs, and conversions to refine your approach. Consider using dynamic content, such as personalized recommendations, appointment reminders, or unique discount codes, to make your emails feel more tailored and engaging. And remember, always focus on value—if your emails are timely and useful, your audience will engage.
Geoffrey Blanc
General Manager, Cyberimpact
Utilize Browsing History for Personalization
Utilizing browsing history is a way to start email personalization. I’d track what customers were interested in by using cookie data—for example, whether they were looking at a shiny copper faucet or a double oven range on our site. Then, I’d write emails reminding them of those products, perhaps with a limited-time promo code. It’s instant, personal, but also not too pushy. Our data showed a 22% increase in conversions when we used cookie data to remind people about items left behind.
When sending a personalized email, remember to keep it simple and accurate. Break your list by what they’ve looked at or purchased. If someone bought a high-end mixer, I’d follow up with accessory suggestions—a stainless steel mixing bowl set—since they’re already invested. I tested this with a small batch of 500 subscribers, and click-through rates jumped 15% compared to generic blasts. It’s a simple way to make customers feel valued, and it pays off quickly.
Sofia Wang
Sr. Marketing Specialist, Luxury Appliances Division, EMPAVA
Ensure Data Quality and Completeness
Data quality and completeness lie at the heart of your personalization journey. Nothing pulls apart the experience of personalization like sending an email addressed to the wrong person or, worse, <first_name>.
Take time to understand where your data may let you down and put guardrails in place to prevent unintended consequences. It’s better to pull back a little on the level of personalization than to go all out and get it wrong.
It also sets up the practitioner for building on a solid foundation, able to confidently A/B test what types and applications of personalization make a meaningful difference to performance.
Steven Manifold
Director, Tayona Digital
Focus on Relevance Over Frequency
If you’re just starting out with email marketing, my biggest piece of advice is to focus on relevance over frequency. It’s tempting to send out as many emails as possible, but if your content isn’t genuinely valuable to the recipient, you’ll lose their attention quickly.
The most important thing to focus on is understanding your audience. Who are they? What challenges do they face? What kind of insights, offers, or stories would actually make them want to open and engage with your emails? Every message should feel like it was written with them in mind.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of a strong subject line—it’s the first (and sometimes only) thing people see. Keep it clear, compelling, and relevant to what’s inside. And always test different versions to see what resonates best. If you prioritize value and personalization over generic blasts, you’ll build an engaged list that actually wants to hear from you.
Adam Whittaker
CEO, Manifest New Business Ltd
Start with the Basics of Personalization
Starting small with email personalization, address the significant basics first before diving into more sophisticated strategies. This offers a starting point:
1. First, learn the fundamentals
- Include the recipient’s first name in greetings and subject lines.
- Segment your audience according to interests, behavior, and demographics.
- Write as a human—let go of mechanical templates.
2. Emphasis on behavior as well as on information
- Keep tabs on user email and website interaction.
- Personalize emails according to former actions: content read, previous purchases, cart abandonment.
- Employ dynamic content to present relevant promotions to the user.
3. Use intelligent automation
- Get behavior-triggered emails started (welcome sequences, reengagement, post-purchase follow-ups).
- Maximize send times based on recipient engagement history.
4. Test & Optimize Constantly
- A/B test subject lines, email copy, and calls to action.
- Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, and make real database changes.
We have firsthand experience of how well-organized personalization plans help raise engagement and conversions. The core ideas are starting simple, using automation judiciously, and refining based on actual user behavior.
Saksham Sharma
CEO, ScaleMax Marketing LLP
Begin with User Behavior
If you’re just starting out with personalization in email marketing, my best advice is to start with user behavior.
Look for patterns and triggers in how users interact with your product or website. What did they do? What might they do next? The magic happens when you find those small behavioral clues that hint at their next possible move.
For example, in fintech, someone might sign up for one feature, like copy trading, and instead of pushing that again, the smarter move is to guide them toward something new they might be ready for—such as trying out manual stock trading.
The focus should be on helping people move forward based on their previous interactions with your website or product. These are your hints. Do not just repeat what they’ve already done. That’s what makes your emails feel personal, relevant, and actually useful.
Stanislav Galandzovskyi
User Acquisition Consultant
Imagine the Reader as a Real Person
Sometimes, it’s easy to slip into a highly professional writing style. Initially, getting out of this “rut” can be difficult.
One thing I like to do is take a step back and imagine the person on the other side of the email sitting right in front of me. I’ll actually speak out loud what I want to say. By speaking instead of writing, and then working off a recording, you’ll be able to pick up on how your communication style differs depending on who you are addressing, and—in my case—where I might be coming off a little robotic.
The more specific you can get with your target, the better. In some cases, it may even be best to split your email marketing lists into smaller groups that you can target more specifically.
Lace Brunsden
Freelancer and Business Owner, lacebrunsden(dot)com
Provide Valuable Content First
You can’t substitute personalization for value. Your email absolutely must provide the reader with content that they genuinely care about. No amount of personalization will save an email that isn’t useful or relevant. Focus on your content first, then personalize it for added meaning.
Nicole Schroeder
Marketing Director, Wired Production Group
Segment Based on Key Behaviors
I would start by segmenting your list based on one key behavior, such as what product or category someone has shown interest in. Even if it’s a basic level of personalization, like tailoring your content or subject lines to that interest, it can make a big difference in engagement!
One of the first personalization wins we had was segmenting our email list based on whether a customer was renovating a kitchen or a bathroom. It’s a simple but effective distinction. From there, we tailored the email content, sending bathroom inspiration, product guides, and design tips to one group, and kitchen-focused content to the other.
This small shift made the emails feel a lot more relevant to each person, and as a result, we saw a noticeable lift in open and click-through rates!
Layla Sawyer
Email & Editorial Coordinator, Yabby
Prioritize Usefulness Over Cleverness
Your first job isn’t to be clever—it’s to be useful. That’s where personalization truly earns its place. When you help solve a tiny pain point, you win. So think about content in terms of utility first. Then wrap it in personal tone and timing. Value first, personalization second.
People don’t need fancy—they need understanding. So use personalization to acknowledge their situation honestly. If it’s tax season, say that clearly. If they’ve gone quiet, check in gently. Show them you’re paying attention and you care. That’s more powerful than any merge tag.
Jason Hennessey
CEO, Hennessey Digital
Add a Human Element to Emails
One of the most essential pieces of advice I’d give to someone just starting out with email personalization is this: make your emails feel like they’re coming from a real person—not a faceless brand or automated system. In my experience, adding a human element to your emails significantly increases engagement. That means going beyond just using the recipient’s first name.
Introduce the sender. Whether it’s a real team member or even an AI-generated avatar, give them a name, a role, and a bit of background. People want to feel like they’re communicating with another human, not receiving another generic marketing blast. Even if your emails are automated behind the scenes, the experience should still feel personal and intentional.
This simple shift creates a sense of authenticity and trust that’s often missing from automated messages. The more your audience feels like they’re being spoken to directly by someone who understands their needs, the better your results will be—whether that’s higher click-through rates, better conversions, or stronger long-term loyalty.
Start by focusing on that human connection. Personalization isn’t just about using data—it’s about tone, voice, and building relationships at scale. That’s where the real impact happens.
Borislav Donchev
CEO, MAX Digital
Write One Sentence That Matters
When you’re doing email outreach at scale, the key to sustainable personalization is writing one sentence that actually matters. I use a simple rule: include a single custom line that proves I’ve read something beyond the headline—whether it’s referencing a stat they used, a quote, etc. If that line lands, the rest of the email doesn’t need to be overly clever—it already feels human. It’s not about volume; it’s about showing respect for the recipient’s work in a way they can instantly recognize.
Jon Kelly
Owner, LinkBuilding(dot)co
Use Past Purchase Triggers
I am totally convinced that past purchase triggers are the EASIEST personalization win for email beginners.
While most new marketers overthink complicated scenarios, we found that simple automations based on what customers have already bought delivered immediate ROI with minimal setup.
A breakthrough moment occurred when we implemented basic post-purchase sequences. Emails suggesting complementary products related to recent purchases drove conversion rates three times higher than our regular campaigns.
These weren’t complex strategies—they were straightforward connections between past and potential purchases.
Many beginners make the discouraging mistake of attempting sophisticated personalization before mastering the basics. We completely rethought our approach by focusing exclusively on purchase-triggered emails for our first three months of personalization. This focused strategy built confidence through quick wins before tackling more advanced techniques.
The insight that made an immediate impact: Purchase history beats predictive modeling for starters. Leveraging what customers have already bought matters more than trying to predict what they might want.
When we built simple automations around actual purchase data, we created relevant experiences without needing advanced analytics capabilities.
Matt Harrison
Svp of Product and Client Experience, Authority Builders
Ask a Personal Question in Welcome Email
Forget complex algorithms. Start with THIS:
Ask one surprisingly personal question in your welcome email.
Example: “What’s the BIGGEST challenge you’re facing with [related problem] right now?”
Why?
- Instant Insight: Real, unfiltered data.
- Personalized Replies: No automation needed—actually connect!
- Cheap & Scalable: Just requires a genuine human touch.
Ditch the data overload; start with authentic human connection. Personalization is about knowing what your audience wants!
Sheila Eugenio
CEO, Mediamentions(dot)net
