Personalizing an email marketing program can greatly increase opens and clicks. But a quick look at my inbox reveals that very few retailers are doing it effectively.

Much of the success of any marketing effort can be boiled down to making the message relevant to individuals. In this post, I’ll review four common methods to personalize email, to encourage conversions.

Demographics

Tailoring the look and feel of your emails to major demographic cohorts can increase response rates. The most basic methods are age and gender.

For example, show male clothing to males and female clothing to females. Also, align products and styles based on age groups.

Males would likely not respond to this email from Kohl's promoting maternity clothing. However, it could appeal to women ages 20 to 40.
Males would likely not respond to this email from Kohl’s promoting maternity clothing. However, it could appeal to women ages 20 to 40.

Adding a unique element to the subject line or preheader will typically increase open rates. For example, referencing a local event or a recent news item could prompt the recipient to open.

This promotion by the T.J. Maxx rewards program offers winter gear from Sierra Trading Post. It appeals to recipient that are experiencing cold weather. It likely would...