I have never been a big fan of personalizing any part of an email with the subscriber’s first name (subject line, salutation, etc). I think it is pointless and doesn’t really add value to the email. It doesn’t entice me to open the message. In fact, usually it has the opposite effect (”mark as junk”).
However, every time I bring it up amongst my peers at Bronto or in the email marketing ecosystem, a healthy - albeit heated - discussion ensues.
Yesterday, I was speaking with a client who was seeking my advice on first name personalization. I gave him my standard pitch against such a practice:
- Bad data in = bad data out (See Ken Magil’s post about “Dear Stupid” from Barack Obama)
- First name personalization can look spammy
- Some ISPs/email clients may consider it spam
- It can fail miserably when done poorly (See “When Personalization Goes…Odd.”)
This client came back at me hard. “But DJ, we used Bronto’s A|B split and the subject line with first name personalization had a much higher open rate.” Now if you know me, you know that I hate being wrong. Hate it. But in this case, there is not really a right or wrong.
I decided to broadcast the question out to my twitter followers. Within minutes, the replies were rolling in. See Twitter image below.
As you can see from the above, there is no clear consensus. Interesting to note that everyone who replied works for an ESP (Email Service Provider). Even the experts disagree!
The takeaway for me on this debate is simple. If you and your marketing team are engaging in these types of discussions, you are already ahead of the game. Test. Test. Test. Try different campaigns. See what works - what doesn’t work. Personalization on. Personalization off. There are definitely some tried and true email marketing tactics; however, there are many more that are debatable. The Bronto Team always encourages marketers to have healthy discussions about email marketing best practices. Plug for BrontoFire in 3…2….1. Check out BrontoFire to see some Account Manager debates.
DJ Waldow
Account Manager at Bronto
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I somehow agree with you, but I also believe that it depends on the campaign. If is only a general announcement personalization will not matter that much but when you want action from subscribers to buy or use a coupon code I had better results with personalization.
I also believe that “Different makes the Difference”.
I can offer a tiny bit of insight from the other side of the question. Our news desk gets dozens of e-mail each day from PR folks pitching stories. I find that I’ll always read a few more lines of the ones that are personalized versus the generic ones. That said, sometimes I also roll my eyes at the pitches at are clearly fake personalizations. I like it when the e-mails take it a step further than just “Hi Ginny” and have another sentence that includes the name of our TV station, my web site, etc. In the end, it’s really the merits of what’s being said, though, that decides whether I pay attention. It could say “Dear Stupid Blogger Chick” and I’d still cover it if it were interesting.
We’ll try this out, half with username personalization (since we don’t know their real name) and half without. I promise to post with some results on our open/click rates.
Just to throw it into the discussion here is another interesting post about Subject Line Customization.
What is interesting in this post is how it brings in other things besides just a First name into the equation to try to draw users to open a message. I think it’s definitely worth a read as people attempt to understand the full complications of this subject that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer.
Wow. Great comments. I love the discussion - points/counterpoints. This stuff really gets me jazzed.
@Robert - Yeah. It certainly matters campaign by campaign. Like anything else, I’m sure we can find cases where personalization leads to higher opens/clicks….whatever, but I still think that overall it is a bad idea. Also agree with “Different.”
@Ginny (from the Blog): I see your point. To me your comment on “fake personalizations” really hits home. Aren’t they *all* fake unless they are one-off emails?
@Brian - following your tweets. Can’t wait to see the results of your “one-off” test!
@Kyle - Holy great post. Loving the doteduguru blog. Just tweeted her out.
Keep the comments coming!
dj
I’m not likely to open something just because it has my first name. A large portion of our clientele are retired, and I’ve found the following rule has been the best to follow in both written and verbal communications: Always address with a title - Mr., Mrs., etc. Only use the familiarity of a first name when granted permission.
I don’t care what the open rate is, I don’t care what the click rate is - just tell me how much revenue was generated from the email.
Including a first name in the subject may get me curious about the content of the email, but who cares if it doesn’t elicit an action?
The results are in and I’m afraid you lost DJ… I’ll email you and Julie a breakdown and some of my analysis as to why, but the the open rates on the “with username” subject lines clearly beat the “no username” send in 3 out of 4 messages to four different site user populations, and pulled a photo finish tie in the fourth. It’s pretty compelling. I think OurStage will keep going with username personalization in the future.
Brian
@Nancy: You make an excellent point. One of the lessons learned from this discussion on personalization is “know your audience.” Thanks!
@Jason: I could not agree more. I would counter your point however by saying that not all marketers send email to generate revenue (at least not directly). Sometimes it is about branding, education, etc. Again - overall, I agree with your comments. Thanks for sharing.
On a related note…Dela Quist did some pretty interesting research on subject lines (length) - http://blog.emailexperience.org/2008/07/challenging_subject_line_lengt.html
@Brian: I’m so so happy that y’all not only read the post/tweets, but actually took the next step to test. That is what it’s all about. As I said to @Nancy above, I believe it is all about your audience. Know your subscribers. Segment and target them. Personalization *can* work….but it depends. Thanks again.
dj
I guess one way to look at it, is you are popular enough to be a target of some one trying to benefit from your name…
it seems like the basis of this post is just speculation and personal opinion. I look in my spam folder and there are zero emails using my first name that I have not signed up for at one time or another.
so if I go off just speculation, all emails to me with the first name in the subject line are at least someone that I have given my first name to at one point and not some spammer who spidered my name and email.
my first name in the subject doesn’t really sway me one way or the other. it is how it used. it can help get my attention or not make a difference.
but who cares what I think. more about response and results right?
i could also speculate that as more and more people are throwing out marketing and just doing or not doing things just because they don’t like something or mere speculation versus response, that I should just be different and use first name to stand out. ;)
always a good topic dj. hope to see you soon
big jason
Jason,
To be fair, the reason the answer to all email marketing questions is “it depends” (http://blog.bronto.com/2009/02/17/the-answer-to-all-email-marketing-questions-it-depends/), is because it really does. What works well for one marketer (first name personalization) does not, and will not, work for another.
I think what’s important to note for this particular case is that in the past, spammers did use first name personalization because it worked. It grabbed your attention and it potentially got you to open to find out who this person is that knows your name. ISPs got smart to this and started implementing some algorithms to combat spammers as they continue to do today with all the various methods spammers use to get in your inbox.
I 100% agree with you that speculation /= the answer to the first name personalization debate. Testing does and should give you a clear answer for your business.
-Kelly@Bronto
@kelley
i totally agree about “it depends” but this blog post starts out by going against that.
can you show me research, data or anything about spammers (i.e. someone who has stolen your email address AND first name)? I still today cannot find anyone personally who has an email in their spam folder with first name in the subject line that is not from someone they have given it to originally. i’m sure it does happen because people buy bad lists all the time and mail them without permission.
do you have a link to an isp discussing their algorithms in relation to first name personalization?
even if it were so, response trumps deliverability. ie. case in point. worst deliverability of 1 email putting survey form within email but 75% greater response ever (like 3+ years ago from elabs case study).
big jason