The technology available to email marketers has evolved tremendously in the last several years.

Among the improvements, the ability for email marketers to seamlessly integrate personalization into their newsletter campaigns has led to both higher open rates as well as increased click-throughs and longer lasting relationships. As we briefly mentioned in our guide to getting started with email newsletters, the most effective email campaigns treat it as a chance for genuine personal communication instead of a mass broadcast.  The proof is in the numbers: according to market research sources like Experian and Aberdeen personalized subject lines generate 26% higher open rates, and personalized emails improve click-through rates by an average of 14%. 

Use Mailify for easy email personalization

If you’re new to Mailify, you’ll be glad to know that our feature-rich email marketing software gives you the opportunity to quickly and easily insert personalization into your emails to make the reader feel like the message was really meant for them. Here’s how to do it.

Setting Up Your Contact List

Email personalization is based on the data available in your contact lists. When the time comes to insert a personal field into your email, the fields available to you will be the names of the columns present in your recipient list. If your data has been imported without column titles, you can easily edit them using the “Manage the columns” button at the top of your screen. This will help you easily identify the proper data to insert later on.

Choosing where to insert the personalized data

Once your contact list has been set up, it’s time to decide how you want use the information to bring some humanity to your campaign. Generally, there are two main locations that our users tend to use to personalize their emails: the subject and the message content.

Personalizing the subject line

The subject line is found in the “Header” section of the “Message” tab during the campaign creation process. When you click on the { } button, you will see a drop down list with all of the column names we organized in the previous step. In this example, we want to personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name.

Now in the message preview at the bottom of the screen, we see an example of the personalization at work. {Name} has been replaced with James. Click the left or right arrows to scroll through your contact list and preview the personalization with more examples.

Personalizing the body of your newsletter

Personalizing the body of your email campaign tends to be more fun since it offers more flexibility and relies on the creativity of the marketer. To do this, we are going to move on to the next section of the campaign process by clicking “Creation mode”. Once we’re there, we’ll have a few options regarding how to create your template. Choose “Import” if you want to use an HTML document you already have, “New creation” to start from scratch with our drag-and-drop EmailBuilder, or “Templates” to use a template you’ve already created or one from our customizable template library.

Assuming you’ve decided not to import your own HTML, you’ll wind up on the HTML content page with the EmailBuilder in front of you. From this “HTML Content” screen, you’ll be able to use our drag and drop editor to design your email. When you click on a text module, you’ll see the familiar { } button indicating that you can insert a personalized field. Feel free to highlight the personalization and style it like the rest of your text, choosing the font, size, and colors.

From the HTML Content screen, you’ll move on to the Text Content section where you’ll optimize your email for situations where your recipient’s inbox doesn’t allow HTML. Like the rest of your email, the personalization will automatically transfer over from your HTML content or you can add it manually using the  { } button.

Now that you’ve got the basics down, you are ready to start sending personalized email communications with your contact list! Remember: get creative with your personalization. The more data you have about your contacts, the better personalized your emails will be which will lead to increased engagement and improved campaign results!

Ready to get started personalizing your email newsletter and email marketing campaigns?

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