How to Do Targeted Email Marketing the Right Way?

Targeted email marketing can boost email revenue by a whopping 760%.

Want to learn all about this marketing strategy? 

Keep reading!

What Is a Targeted Message?

Targeted messaging is a personalised email sent to a specific segment of your mailing list. 

Subscribers are segmented depending on their location, gender, interests, shopping habits, online behaviour and other factors, letting you spend time on the customers most interested in what you have to offer.  

Benefits of Targeted Marketing

What can targeted email advertising do for you?

Boost user interaction

Targeted emails give your customers relevant value, resulting in higher engagement rates. This, in turn, translates to a positive impact on your open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate. Not to mention the effect it has on ROI and revenue—targeted email campaigns currently generate 36% of all email marketing revenue. 

Customer relationship

Sending relevant and personalised content helps build customer relationships over time as it shows you understand your clients’ needs and values. The more consistent you are with this approach, the more your clients will trust and respect your brand.

Customer retention

A customer that feels you are reaching out to them personally will seldom unsubscribe. What’s more, relevant content that resonated with clients’ interests will ensure that they keep coming back for more. 

Types of Targeted Email Marketing

The most common targeted email marketing campaigns use email marketing segmentation based on the subscribers’ gender, location, preferences, behaviour, and lifecycle stage.

Gender targeted email marketing

One way to send relevant content to your subscribers is by taking their gender into account. 

Take a look at this email from Texas-based Lucchese. See how the email tailored to men starts off with the relevant product for this gender and then moves on to the product meant for women. The same tactic is applied in the email sent to female customers. 

(Klaviyo)

Geo-targeted email marketing

Segmenting mailing lists by location also lets you reach out to clients on a personal level. This approach can range from sending emails about different product recommendations based on the weather or season of that particular region or including information about nearby shops and events. 

Here is a great example that meets all the criteria described above.

(Movable Ink)

Preference targeted email marketing

Even more important than gender and location is sending targeted messages that reflect the users’ interests, hobbies and preferences. 

Using a preference centre link in the email you send can help you accomplish this. Plus, it will allow subscribers to control what content they receive as well as give you insight into how you can tailor future messages to those preferences. 

Take your cue from National Geographics and their approach to preference targeted emailing.

(SendPulse)

Behaviour targeted email marketing

Considering purchasing behaviour is one of the best ways to improve customer interaction with your campaigns. 

If you notice that a user has spent some time consuming information on your site, send them an email about that content. 

If a subscriber opens several emails about a certain topic, make sure to send more of the same in the future. And this works both ways. Say a user is not showing interest in your emails or hasn’t shopped on your website in a while. In that case, send a targeted email inviting them back. Consider tempting them with free delivery or a juicy discount, just like the email below does. 

(The UK Domain)

Lifecycle targeted email marketing

Users pass through various stages on their buyer’s journey and sending them emails customised to the specific stage they are in will help boost sales and customer engagement. 

So if you are targeting a new subscriber, sending them a welcome email outlining your brand and your values is the best option. Hold off on offers at this stage so as not to scare off your customers. 

(The UK Domain)

If a user has made a purchase, send them a thank-you email. List the purchase and delivery details, as well as some cross-selling options, possibly reviews or tutorials on how to use the product, just to give them a push into the next stage. Retailers like Amazon and AllieExpress have all but perfected this tactic. 

(SendPulse)

Loyal customers would require a different strategy. With returning users, emails detailing VIP programs, early product releases or giveaways are just right to show our appreciation to a loyal client. 

Finally, targeted emails can also give cart-abandoners a nudge in the right direction. Combine the product they abandoned with  a personalised message and possibly a special offer to convert them into returning customers. 

Giving them a deadline (or a hint of a deadline) in the email might also push them to complete the order, similar to what Zivame has done in their email campaign.  

(WebEngage)

How Do I Create a Targeted Email Campaign?

To create data-driven and relevant emails, follow these steps:

Define what data you need

The first step is to determine what data you need to collect in order to segment your mail list—from gender and birth dates to addresses and postcodes. 

Next, think about how you will collect the data. If a user already has an account with your company, you can use that data to get started. Doing research, like seeing what your target audience likes or follows on social media, will also help you get a head start on your targeted email campaign. 

Segment your email list

Now that you know who you are targeting and have the necessary info segment your mailing list.

Create targeted content

Draft and customise content so that it is relevant to your customers. 

Choose a good email marketing services

Using targeted email marketing services like GetResponse or SendinBlue will help you make the most of this marketing strategy. In addition, an email marketing service will do more than offer precise segmentation; it will also provide landing pages and popups, auto-segment your contacts at capture and allow you to connect other channels for unified data collection.  Send

Before starting your campaign, test it. Make some changes to the subject lines, content, CTAs and see if the results match your original goals. Run an A/B test and see how the changes affect the end result. 

Get Ready for Some Returns 

Targeted email marketing, if done right, has many benefits and very few drawbacks. So in order to get the most out of your email campaign, think about personalisation and consider how you can draft messages that resonate with your client’s interests, gender, location and, most importantly, shopping behaviour.