Subject lines: Amazon's lessons on personalization
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The last post used a review of 187 promotional emails from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de to draw out insights on subject line length. But that's not all we can learn from the retailer's email expertise.So today we look at what Amazon might teach us about personalizing subjects: is adding the recipient's name to the subject line a good or bad thing to do?
Since 11 of Amazon's 187 emails (5.9%) to me feature my name, the answer would seem to be "sometimes, but not often".
The various pros and cons of this kind of personalization are outlined in an earlier post, where the consensus suggests it's largely ineffectual and potentially counterproductive.
But if that was always true, Amazon wouldn't use it ever. So let's dig a little deeper.
Format
First, Amazon always uses my full name: Mark Brownlow, not Mark. Here's an example:
Mark Brownlow: Up to 75% off DVDs
One reason may simply be that they don't have separate database fields for my first and last names.
But does it have a psychological justification?
One argument against personalization is that spammers often use the same technique.
They take the bit before the @ in an email address and use that as the name. The result is often laughably inappropriate: "Hey info, buy our stuff".
So if you use the recipient's name, it might trigger a "this is spam" reaction.
But no spammer can pull out a properly formatted full name from an email address. So using the full name gives the personalization more credibility than a simple first name might have.
Additionally, the use of first name implies a level of familiarity which may not be appropriate for the way Amazon thinks I feel about the brand and customer relationship.
Already we begin to see that superficially simple choices like "name or no name" and "first name or full name" are more complex than we might think.
This kind of choice is one that each sender must consider in the context of their own business. There are no rules set in stone and your main refuge is testing to find what works best for you.
Geographical segmentation
A closer look reveals that Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk hardly ever use my name in the subject line. Just once each in over 5 months' worth of emails, which were more than likely tests.
In contrast, Amazon.de uses name personalization in the subjects of around 17% of the emails they send me.
Why would they use my name, while their counterparts elsewhere choose not to?
Different cultures likely respond differently to seeing their name in a subject line. Since German email users are subject to less spam and marketing email per se, they may see less negative association with such personalization than in more spam-weary countries like the USA.
So in Germany, maybe the positive effects associated with seeing your name are not overwhelmed by negatives such as the potential association with spam.
At least one study confirms this with a German ESP reporting that such personalization was indeed associated with a strong boost to open rates (though they suggest the novelty factor helped).
User segmentation
It may not be cultural segmentation, but user segmentation at work. Digging even deeper shows that Amazon.de uses my name only on one particular kind of email: those announcing broad discounts on electronics.
This may be coincidence, but it shows the importance of viewing your list as a series of individuals or segments, rather than one amorphous mass.
Perhaps I responded well to a personalization test on a previous electronics mail?
Perhaps gadget freaks are more vain than others and respond more positively to seeing their name in the inbox?
There are also suggestions that the use of personal data like names works best when justified by the contents of the email. If the email is clearly customized to the individual, then personal data has a positive effect on response.
However, if an email is pitched as personalized (as implied by the use of a full name in the subject line) but the contents are clearly generic, then this creates a gap between the expectation set by that subject line and the value delivered in the email. Which leads to lower responses.
An email about electronics (which I buy a lot of), perhaps with product categories highlighted that I commonly browse or purchase, is tailored to my interests in a way that broader sales announcements are not.
So the use of my name might enhance and complement the personalized impression.
Highly-targeted recommendations
Let's assume we're right about personal data (like a name) helping when the contents are also personalized (targeted) to the recipient.
Surely, then, my name should be used in subject lines recommending cross-sells and upsells related to my previous purchases? It's hard to get more personalized targeting than that.
Yet none of the many cross-sell emails Amazon sent me include my name in the subject line.
Why not?
Subject line design is about getting maximum value out of a limited amount of space. A name has a benefit in some circumstances, but it takes up space...potentially diminishing the impact of other parts of the subject.
Personal recommendations like this one...
Amazon.co.uk recommends "Kung Fu Panda [DVD] [2008]" and more
...are already very targeted. The tie up with my previous purchases already implies customized content. The addition of my name is perhaps unnecessary to make that point. And subject lines for personal product recommendations are lengthy enough without adding another dozen characters for a name.
Novelty value?
Another reason why Amazon might use subject line personalization sparingly is perhaps to preserve the novelty value mentioned earlier.
The company sends me a relatively large amount of promotional email and consistent subject line formats can become monotonous. Perhaps Amazon likes to break up this monotony now and then through personalization. Just to stop me switching off.
Though we can't know exactly why Amazon takes the personalization approach it does, it's clear from the above that decisions about subject line elements need careful thought.
Which brings me to the next post in this review, which will look at lessons from Amazon's subject line branding and copywriting.
More on subject lines | Tags: email marketing, subject lines
[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
Permalink | August 10, 2009 | 0 comment(s) - add yours!
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