According to a study by The Aberdeen Group, personalized e-mails improve CTR by 14%, and conversions by 10%. 96% of organizations surveyed believe personalization improves performance.

Oh, and there’s this study too, which shows personalized e-mails get 6x higher transaction rates, but 70% of major brands don’t use them!

Personalization is simple: it means building relationships with your e-mail list readers just like you would in real life.

How do you do that?

It’s easy to start, and gets as complicated as you want:

1. Be Personal…

25%, or so, of your e-mails should include the reader’s name in the subject line – usually at the beginning. Do it more often, and you come off as way too friendly.

The initial greeting inside the e-mail should say “Dear FIRSTNAME,” and not, “Dear valued customer.” You can use the reader’s name 1 more time, maybe twice, in the body of the e-mail.

2. But Not Too Personal!

If you exceed those numbers, you come across too strongly. Have you ever met someone in a bar, restaurant, airport, or anywhere in public…and just after meeting you, they say,”Hi, Travis. That’s right, Travis. I don’t know about that, Travis. Okay, Travis.”

It seems desperate, and puts people off. That’s why you need to be careful with personalization.

3.Segment Your E-mail List

This is an indirect way to personalize. But, if you know your subscribers have multiple interests, it’s a great way to personalize. When they get news more relevant to their concerns (say marketing versus sales), you keep their interest longer.

A simple theory, but hard to execute because you have to manage multiple newsletters.

4. Write Just Like You Speak…and Reveal Personal Information

When you think of “e-mail newsletters,” your readers don’t think about the stale, stilted print reports of decades ago. Leave the formal business speak behind in the 1980s where it belongs.

To engage and be personal, you write your newsletters just like you talk – casual.

And when you reveal personal information, that builds relationships. That’s what you do to build relationships in real life, isn’t it?

You don’t have to go into great depth on this, although you can if you think the risk is worth it. But, do talk about your dog, favorite movies, hopes, fears, and dreams where it makes sense.

When people realize they have something in common with you, they feel more connected and are more likely to buy in the future.

5. Make Sure Your E-mails Come from You

The sender name should be like this:

Travis Piepho, Prospectr Marketing

Again, that builds relationships. If you’ve been sending interesting e-mails so far, this is huge.

People look at the subject line and think, “Oh, Travis. I know him. I like him. And he has that adorable dog. What’s he got to say this week?”

Again, sales are more likely to come down the road when you do this.

If you follow those tips in your e-mail newsletters, you’ll reap more sales – guaranteed.

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