How to use dynamic email content at scale

00:00 Why Personalization Matters for Email Engagement

Hi, everyone. My name is Jon Sanville, and I'm an Enterprise Client Success Manager at Listrak. I've been with Listrak for a little over 10 years, working closely with clients, and personalization has been a consistent topic of conversation throughout that time. Today, I want to review a few tools Listrak offers to help you deliver more relevant email experiences across your subscriber base.

One of the biggest challenges retailers face is having a large number of products, an extensive subscriber list, and the need to create relevant experiences for every customer. With click-through rates declining, personalization has become an important strategy for increasing engagement. Dynamic content is one of the tools Listrak offers to help address this challenge. It allows you to create a single email with multiple personalized experiences that change based on customer behavior, browsing history, interests, and data you already have. This makes it possible to scale personalization across the tens or hundreds of millions of broadcast emails you send each year.

01:26 Building the Foundation: Product Data and Recommendations

Before we dive into dynamic content, we need to make sure our product recommendations are in a good place. Think of personalization in three levels: first, accurate product data; second, relevant product recommendations; and third, dynamic content. Each level builds on the one before it, so having reliable product data is essential to delivering personalized experiences.

For example, I work with a retailer that sells auto parts, and they know certain parts need to be paired with others to help customers build their vehicles the way they want. By making sure their product data is accurate before sending it to Listrak, we can deliver recommendations that reflect what the retailer knows their customers need. Another example is promoting gifts under $50. This can be an effective way to engage shoppers with different budgets, but it only works when product pricing is accurate and up to date.

Ultimately, effective product recommendations start with high-quality data. When we include recommendations in our emails, we want to make sure we're using the most accurate, current product information available.

03:02 How Dynamic Email Content Works

Now that we have accurate product data and relevant product recommendations in place, we can start using dynamic content. If you're familiar with Listrak Composer, you've probably seen the dynamic content block in the Structured Content section of the email builder. Once you drag that block into your email, you can define different audiences and determine which content each subscriber will see.

For example, you might want to display a loyalty member perk, a welcome offer reminder, or a cart abandonment banner. Using the Edit Filter option, you can set criteria for each experience based on the customer data you have available. Subscribers identified as loyalty members could see their exclusive offer, while new subscribers who haven't purchased might see a reminder to use their welcome code. Customers with items left in their carts could see an abandonment reminder.

If a subscriber doesn't meet any of the defined criteria, they won't see any of those content variations. This allows you to deliver more relevant experiences within a single email without creating separate campaigns for every audience.

04:37 Real-World Examples of Personalized Email Content

Let's look at a few examples of how retailers are using dynamic content to create more personalized email experiences. The Fragrance Outlet changes its hero image based on the last brand a subscriber browsed. For example, someone who recently viewed Calvin Klein products might see a Calvin Klein-focused hero image, while subscribers who don't meet that criteria see a more general image featuring multiple brands. What's interesting about this example is that it's not just a small banner. An entire section of the email, including the hero image, supporting text, and call to action, changes based on the subscriber's behavior. Retailers can create up to 10 different content variations to deliver more relevant experiences within a single email.

Another example comes from Uncommon Goods, which uses dynamic content to remind subscribers about unused welcome offers. Many shoppers sign up for emails, receive a coupon, and then forget to use it. They may hesitate to make a purchase because of the price, even though they already have a discount available. Uncommon Goods addresses this by displaying a personalized banner reminding eligible subscribers about their unused $5 offer. It's a simple way to bring attention back to an incentive that could encourage someone to complete a purchase.

One important consideration with both examples is where personalized content appears within the email. Placing dynamic banners near the top makes them more visible and may also influence how AI-powered email readers summarize messages. For example, instead of highlighting a general product promotion, an AI-generated summary might surface a personalized $5 coupon reminder. While placing these banners near the top can be effective, it's also worth testing different positions throughout the email to see what drives the strongest engagement.

07:46 Personalizing Product Recommendations and Shipping Messages

Let's look at another example from KaTom, which uses dynamic content to highlight products subscribers have left in their carts. You might already have a cart abandonment program with three, four, or five messages, but when someone is considering a higher-priced item, like a $1,000 panini press, they may need more time to make a purchase decision. By incorporating abandoned cart products into broadcast emails, you can continue reminding shoppers about items they're interested in, even after the initial abandonment series has ended.

You can also experiment with where these personalized recommendations appear within your emails. While Uncommon Goods places its welcome reminder directly below the navigation, KaTom positions its abandoned cart content farther down. I work with another retailer that features 10 to 12 products in its emails and includes a 'Does This Look Familiar?' banner halfway through, highlighting a product the subscriber recently browsed. This allows the retailer to promote its featured merchandise while also incorporating something relevant to each shopper. It's a great way to personalize broadcast emails without adding a significant amount of work.

Another valuable application of dynamic content is personalized shipping deadline notifications, especially as we approach the holiday season. Let's say your warehouse is in New York, but you have subscribers in both New York and Oregon. If those customers want their orders delivered by Christmas Eve, their purchase deadlines will likely be different. Uncommon Goods uses subscriber location data to display more relevant shipping deadlines, so someone in New York might see a December 20 deadline while someone in Oregon might need to order by December 15. These dates can vary based on shipping methods and location, but the idea is to use accurate customer data to create urgency that's relevant to each shopper rather than sending the same deadline to everyone.

10:17 Results: How Dynamic Content Improves Engagement

Let's look at some of the results retailers are seeing with dynamic content. Some Listrak clients have experienced up to a 20% increase in clicks from incorporating dynamic content into their broadcast emails. Product recommendations have traditionally driven around a 10% increase in revenue or clicks, but dynamic content takes personalization a step further. While product recommendations have become a standard practice across websites and emails, dynamic content allows retailers to create more tailored experiences with welcome offer reminders, abandoned cart products, recently browsed items, and replenishment opportunities.

For example, the abandoned cart banner we looked at earlier with KaTom has helped improve conversions. By using a merchandise block to display a single product a subscriber previously abandoned, retailers have seen conversion rates increase by 30% compared to other product recommendation blocks. That makes sense when you consider the difference between showing someone a list of top sellers and reminding them about a specific product they've already expressed interest in. Incorporating these personalized products into broadcast emails gives subscribers another opportunity to engage with items they're considering purchasing.

Welcome offer reminders are another opportunity to improve performance. As we discussed with Uncommon Goods, subscribers may sign up, receive a coupon, and get distracted before making a purchase. Adding personalized welcome reminders to broadcast emails helps extend the reach of your triggered campaigns and encourages shoppers to use offers they may have forgotten. Even a small increase in broadcast conversion rates can generate meaningful additional revenue when you're sending millions of emails. Some retailers have seen up to a 30% increase in coupon redemptions by incorporating these reminders into their emails.

13:54 Extending Personalization from Email to Your Website

So, where is personalization headed next? One opportunity is extending the personalized experiences we're creating in email to your website through Listrak Experience Builder. Rather than having personalization stop when someone clicks through an email, we can create a more consistent experience that follows the shopper from their inbox to your site.

For example, a subscriber might receive a welcome offer through a triggered email and later see a reminder about that unused coupon in a broadcast message. When they click through to the website, Experience Builder can display that same personalized offer onsite, keeping the incentive visible as they continue shopping. This helps remind customers about discounts they may have forgotten and creates more opportunities to increase coupon redemptions and revenue.

The dynamic content strategies we've discussed today are an important step toward more personalized customer experiences. By extending that personalization beyond email and onto your website, retailers can create a more connected shopping journey that encourages engagement and conversions.

14:59 Getting Started with Scalable Personalization

So, where do we go from here? As a Client Success Manager, I spend a lot of time talking with retailers about ways to improve their marketing programs, and the question often comes down to what they should focus on next. Based on what we've covered today, there are three steps you can take to start scaling personalization.

First, look for opportunities to improve your product recommendations. That might mean refining the headlines that introduce your recommendations or making sure the products you're displaying align with what subscribers are interested in. For example, instead of using a generic headline like 'You Might Like These,' try something more specific, such as 'Check Out Our Top Sellers.' The goal is to make your recommendations more relevant and engaging, starting with accurate product data.

Second, think about how you can extend your triggered campaigns into your broadcast emails using dynamic content. You don't need to start with 10 different variations of an email. Start small by testing a welcome offer reminder for subscribers who haven't made a purchase. Those who don't meet the criteria simply won't see the banner. From there, measure the impact on clicks, conversions, and revenue before expanding into other opportunities, such as abandoned cart reminders or recently purchased products.

Third, consider how you can use customer data to create more timely, personalized messages. The shipping deadline example from Uncommon Goods is a great illustration of this. By understanding where subscribers are located and when they need to place their orders, you can create relevant urgency during the holiday season rather than sending the same message to everyone.

Personalization has been an important topic for retailers for years, but you don't have to tackle everything at once. Think about a few small steps you can take to improve personalization this Q4 and beyond, and consider how dynamic content can help you create more relevant experiences. If you have questions or need help getting started, your Listrak team is here to help. Thank you for your time, and have a great day!