What’s In It For Them? The Secret Sauce of Email Marketing

A Selfish Request on the Receiving End of Email Marketing

Hi, Brand Wagoners! 🚗💨 After a bit of a hiatus (trust me, I wasn’t idle—just driving the brand wagon HARD), I’m back with a bug in my brain about email marketing. Don’t worry, I kept my eyes on the road. 😉

Let’s talk about the one thing that separates mediocre email campaigns from the memorable: thoughtful testing and personalization. No, not just “insert first name” from your CRM (though, let’s be real, clean data is gold). I’m talking about consistently demonstrating value to your audience. Or as I like to call it: #WIFT—What’s In It For Them.

Personalization Tips That Deliver

1️⃣ Tailored Content Beats Generic Pitches:
Segment your audience by interests or behaviors. Sending targeted content makes your emails feel less “Dear Occupant” and more “Hey, YOU!”

2️⃣ Preview Text is Prime Real Estate:
Treat it as a mini elevator pitch. Pair it with your subject line to intrigue, tease, or delight.

3️⃣ Subject Lines With Soul:
Use tools like Subjectline.com to refine your headlines. (Shoutout to founder @Jay Schwedelson for this game-changer!)

Why Care About #WIFT?

Here’s the thing: your audience’s inboxes are crowded, and with privacy changes, deliverability is a battlefield. If your emails are all “me, me, me,” they’re likely headed straight for the trash—or worse, spam. Instead, focus on what makes your message valuable to your reader.

• Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. Paubox

• Another study found that personalized subject lines can increase open rates by 50%. Marketing Dive

• Segmented email campaigns drive 50% more click-throughs than unsegmented ones. Trimark Digital
• Additionally, segmented campaigns can lead to a 30% increase in open rates. Trimark Digital

Final Thoughts - for Today

The heart of successful marketing has always been #BusinessToHuman.

Please, please, please: read your email out loud to yourself. Does it “sound human”?

Forget the hard sell. Focus on the story, the value, and the connection. Remember, your preview text is more than filler—it’s the start of your story. So, make it count.