Do you “personalize” your automated emails?

I’m asking you because email personalization is a big… buzzword right now.

But here’s the kicker: personalization is not about using the {First Name} placeholder in every email. And it’s not about fancy email software either.

The example  

Check out the email I got from online survey tool Survicate. It’s obviously automated but when I first read it, it didn’t feel like that at all. Another great thing about this email is that it makes you want to take action. Well done!

What can we learn from Survicate?

1. Write like you write to a friend. And I mean, really: Use the first person, use short sentences, be clear and get to the point quickly. Suvicate’s email doesn’t even have a formal signature. It looks like a friend sent it from their phone.
2. Use a call to action. If you’re doing business, every email you send out has a purpose. Sometimes, the purpose is to educate. Sometimes, it’s to sell something. Or just to get a reply.
   If you want replies, try Yes/No questions like Survicate. They require less effort. Less effort = More replies.
   The Yes/No technique works for user activation as well as when you’re cold emailing.
3. Tell them what they’re losing. I’ve covered that before: Fear of loss is a huge motivator. Survicate told me I’d lose my account and that made me wonder what would happen if I did lose it. They also told me I’d stop collecting feedback about my website (another loss).

Back to you

Next time you write an autoresponder, think about the purpose first. What do you want the person to do after reading your email? How do you want them to feel?