Decades ago, before the digital era, consumers had a soft spot for broadcasted advertisements and print ads—everyone perceived these mediums as the holy grail of marketing.
Today, armed with smartphones and a massive appetite for change, consumers flock around emails and Twitter posts.
Tomorrow isn’t promised so we won’t make presumptions about it. But here is a thing.
While social media, print ads, emails, and broadcasted messages continue to perform wonderfully well, they are just marketing tools. And tools are only as powerful as the hands that wield them.
If you want to bridge the gap between yesterday’s marketing and the next evolution of brands, you need to start paying attention to the things that matter—customer experience.
Consumers clamor for a ‘larger than life’ shopping experience in this value-driven economy—subconsciously choosing ads that promote simple, feel-good moments.
And since every interaction with your brand shapes consumers’ perceptions, your emails can either show personalized, relevant content to each recipient—in line with their behavior and needs—or get lost in the noise.
In this piece, you will gain intuitive insights on
- What dynamic email means
- How dynamic email content works
- and how to add dynamic content to your emails with clear examples
Feeling enthusiastic about this roller-coaster ride to personalized messaging? Let’s begin.
What is Dynamic Email?
Dynamic emails revolve around a targeted and personalized messaging sequence that meets each subscriber’s point of need, based on user engagement and behavioral patterns.
For instance, let’s say you sell skincare products to Gen X, Y, and Z.
Each group of these demographic cohorts has different needs and desires. So generic batch-and-blast marketing wouldn’t work.
Dynamic emails can help you showcase relevant offers—based upon needs and desires—to a segment of this demographic cohort.
Meaning with dynamic emails, ecommerce marketers can build automated marketing campaigns with content that changes based on a subscriber’s information and behavior.
How does Dynamic Email Content Work?
A definition, for definition’s sake, is pretty hollow. It’s like preaching what you don’t practice.
We might’ve provided a descriptive picture of what dynamic email means and its influence on marketing. But a definition alone means you’d only scratch the surface—so here is how dynamic email content works.
Dynamic email content work based on fields.
Fields comprise the essential information you collect from your subscribers. For example, it might include email addresses, phone numbers, location, first name, last name, age, or other relevant information.
Though, for fields to be effective, you need to create and customize them. Below is Sender’s two-step process for setting up personalized fields and gathering data {method differ based on ESP}.
Before we start, make sure you’re already signed-up at Sender.net – if not, create a free account now.
Add a Custom Field
Log into your sender account and click on the subscribers. At the top right corner of your screen, you will find “Fields”.
Click on it to create new fields, reorder, or delete an existing field.
Gather Your Data
Let’s say you have a mailing list for skincare products; now is the time to upload it.
Create a form—Embedded form, popup form, or landing page, whichever suits your marketing goal.
Choose a layout and start building. You can enable and disable multiple fields depending on the customer data you wish to collect.
Keep your form clear and precise – ask for only relevant information to avoid churn.
As soon as you’re done, copy ‘form URL’ and attach it to your website or any other platform you wish to collect data from.
How to Add Dynamic Content to Emails
At this point, you’ve most likely drafted an email marketing strategy based on the data collected.
If such is the case, it’s time to add dynamic content to your emails and enjoy the power of personalized email marketing campaigns.
First things first, know that you can add dynamic content to any part of your email, whether images, text, call-to-actions, etc. But in a specific order: let’s explain.
In every email marketing template, you will find fields for:
- Subscriber data includes subscribers’ age, gender, location address, etc.
- Technical data includes web version email {HTML to display images} and unsubscribe data.
- Sender data includes your company address, phone number, logo, and other signature details.
You need accurate data for all the above fields for your dynamic email to work.
However, some subscribers won’t share complete data, and that’s fine as long as you optimize your email marketing template to fill empty fields with generic messages.
Still confused? Relax! We are about to discuss specifics using Sender as a case study descriptively.
Dynamic Email Subject Line
Every email campaign, from the best of the best to the most hilarious, began with a subject line—there is no escaping; without personalized headlines, subscribers won’t get the feel-good moments you’ve worked so hard to offer.
To enjoy the power of a dynamic email subject line, log into your sender account and click on email campaigns. Next, choose a mailing list and fill in your subject line and email preview text.
Next to your subject line and preview text, you’ll find ‘custom fields’ containing variables such as name, email, location, etc.
Insert a preferred variable in your subject line or email preview text. Input sender data and choose ‘drag and drop’ design-builder {depending on your preference} before clicking ‘save and continue.’
Dynamic Email Body
The body of your email tells a lot about how well you know your customers. Using dynamic content on your email body shows customers that you’re well equipped to tackle their every need.
With Sender’s drag and drop design-builder, you just need to choose a template and edit to taste. To add dynamic content to the email body, click on an editable part of the template and select clips.
The clip option allows you to add a technical, subscriber, or send data to any part of the email template.
Dynamic Email Footer
Everyone loves a good sign-off. From how stand-up comedians keep their best jokes for last to how scriptwriters take ‘next to eternity’ to perfect mic-dropping concluding lines.
Most of the ‘drag and drop’ templates Sender offers come with dynamic footers. So, depending on how you want to sign out, you can easily replace the already existing content with ones of choice or create something new.
However, don’t forget to include the unsubscribe link in your footer; leaving the door open for customers that want to opt-out gives you more chances to end up in your customers’ inbox rather than in the spam folder.
Dynamic Email Content Examples
Dynamic email content can help you upsell your product, turn one-time buyers into regular customers and attract super fans. Wondering how?
Let’s amp up the room with a few examples from big brands already winning with dynamic email content.
Samsung
Personalization is at the heart of Samsung’s marketing sequence.
For almost all of the brand’s marketing campaigns—whether new product launch or system upgrade—the tech giant always goes the extra mile to ensure every customer receives their mail with a smile.
An example of Samsung’s dynamic email subject line.
If you’ve done a project via google docs before, say a writing task where an editor leaves actionable comments on the docs, you’d have noticed how organized the mailing sequence is.
For instance, when an editor leaves a comment, the original email updates itself, allowing you to offer a timely response within the same thread.
Meta
Meta enjoys undisputed dominance in the social media world because of the brand’s ability to analyze bulky data and offer a personalized customer experience intuitively.
Meta’s email footer allows users to unsubscribe and a click-bait survey for future marketing campaigns.
Finally, keep in mind that the method of adding dynamic content to emails varies depending on your email service provider. Plus, not all ESPs support dynamic content—choose wisely.
Dynamic Emails are the Next Phase
Dynamic emails are targeted and personalized messaging sequences built based on user engagement and behavioral patterns to meet subscribers at their point of need.
If looking for an easier-to-use, more effective, and affordable email marketing option, then look no further than Sender. It features a user-friendly yet powerful dashboard that combines sending out both emails and SMS messages.
Combine emails and SMSes into a tightly-knit automation sequence to create the perfect high-conversion engine for your business.
Not ready to jump in yet? Try out the FREE Forever plan that allows you to send out a maximum of 15,000 emails to a maximum of 2,500 contacts every month! For a lifetime, yes!
Also read:
- What is an AMP Email? Definition & Examples
- 7 Effective Email Newsletter Templates and Design Examples
Content Contributor – Tobi Cyprain
