Are you Leveraging Dynamic Content in Your Email Programmes?

The phrase “dynamic content” sounds like something that is likely to explode (in your inbox). Truth is it does offer you the opportunity to add serious “bang” to your email campaigns. Incorporating dynamic content goes beyond simply personalizing the basics of your email, such as: Dear Bob Blogs and from: <a href=""mailto:your(real)[email protected]"">your(real)[email protected]. It allows you to tailor your campaigns based on how you’ve segmented your audience according to their specific individual attributes. This means different target groups receive different content, for example offers, specials, images, CTA’s and links to landing pages. Clever stuff, you’ll agree. Such highly personalized and targeted campaigns can only result in one thing – you’re one step closer to the results you desire.

The idea behind dynamic content is that you can set up a single email (which can be repeated for future campaigns), but the content of each gets personalized for each recipient. Because the content is so highly relevant, open rates, click-through-rates and conversion rates are generally much higher. There are also other benefits to incorporating dynamic content, including: automatic updates of editorial content, optimal use of message templates, avoiding double the production work, personalizing external content boxes as well as tracking links inside the external content boxes.

It’s not just with email newsletters that dynamic content can be leveraged. Subscriber’s data including demographics, preferences and interests, purchase behaviour and history and analytical website data can also be applied to email alerts and updates, mobile SMS marketing and even across social media.

So, how can you go about using dynamic content in your email marketing campaign? For starters, you could look at cross selling products. For example, if you know that your customer has recently bought a gas braai from you online, you could offer them accessories to go with it, such as cooking utensils, specialized cleaning products and recipes designed specifically for gas braai meals.

You could also offer vouchers, coupons, discounts or incentives based on the level of your customer’s loyalty. The more loyal they are (and this refers not only to direct sales, but also supporting your newsletter, spreading the good word of your company and so on), the better the deal they get. You can also let your newer customers know about escalating sales offers, which could help motivate them to become even more engaged with you.

Finally, one of the best actions you can take is to genuinely listen to what your customers want and put the information to good use. If they are only interested in holiday promotions to South America (and you know this because they have specifically requested this), then don’t bother ‘trying your luck’ and sending them the latest Asian holiday deal. Really, in the long term your customers will appreciate the fact that you aren’t sending them any and every special deal you have. Your customers want to feel unique and special, so nurture this, do your best to get them what they want and put any information they give you to good use.