Email personalization: What is it, how to do it right, and examples to learn from

Good email personalization is like salt in cooking: when it's missing, everything tastes flat; when it's overdone, it ruins the dish. But just the right amount brings everything to life without calling attention to itself.

Most marketers get this wrong. They either play it too safe or go all in with over-personalization. But thoughtful personalization walks the line.

In this guide, I'll explain email personalization, walk through the parts of an email you can personalize, and give you some examples of personalized marketing emails so you can land in your subscribers' inboxes without crossing the line into creepy.

Table of contents:

• What is email personalization?

• Benefits of email personalization

• What parts of an email can be personalized?

• How to get the data you need for personalization

• How to pick the best email personalization software

• Tips for email personalization

• Examples of personalized emails

• Improve your email personalization efforts

What is email personalization?

Email personalization means tailoring your email content to individual recipients or groups of recipients based on real data and information you have about them, such as their name, purchase history, behaviors, location, interests, or engagement patterns.

Instead of blasting the same generic message to your entire list (which is still surprisingly common), personalization makes your emails feel like they were written specifically for the person reading.

The idea of personalizing messages isn't new. As far back as the early 2000s, marketers were already sending emails with the subscriber's first name in the subject line. At the time, it felt borderline magical. But personalization has evolved. Dropping a {{First Name}} in a subject line no longer surprises anyone. Sure, it signals that you're aware of who you're addressing, but it doesn't really make the conversation more personal, meaningful, or memorable—at least not on its own.

In the real world, email personalization shows up as a birthday coupon from your favorite coffee shop, a curated playlist from your music app based on your mood, or Grammarly telling me I'm a writing powerhouse and showing my writing stats for the week.

When you personalize, you're creating tiny moments of connection, which are often what turn casual subscribers into loyal fans.

Let's examine the benefits of email personalization before discussing what you can personalize and how to do it properly.

Benefits of email personalization

From increased engagement to better conversions, personalization isn't a "nice-to-have" anymore—it's the baseline. Here are some benefits you can expect to gain from personalizing your emails:

• Higher engagement (and ROI). When people feel like you're speaking to them, not everyone, they're more likely to open, click, and convert.

• Shorter sales cycles. Jeff Hardison, former VP of Product Marketing at Calendly and current Chief Revenue Officer at CaseMark, has firsthand experience that triggered emails based on app behavior help users take the next step, like upgrading or exploring features. That personalized little cue beats waiting for them to figure things out on their own​.

• Better customer retention. Customer retention is often where the real growth happens. Personalized emails tied to customer behavior, such as onboarding, unused features, and plan renewals, keep people engaged for longer.

• Improved deliverability. Using relevant, personalized content often leads to fewer unsubscribes and spam complaints—key signals for better inbox placement.

• Smarter marketing insights. Personalization forces you to really know your audience. By tracking what people click, browse, and buy, you gather valuable insights that can refine your overall marketing strategy and help you create even better campaigns in the future.

What parts of an email can be personalized?

When you cook, you don't just grab the salt and throw it on everything. You add it in stages—a little in the pasta water, some in the sauce, and maybe a finishing touch at the end.

The same principle applies to email personalization. You don't need to personalize every part of your email to make it deliver results. So instead of thinking, "how much can I personalize?" think, "where will it matter most?"

Here's a breakdown of the different parts of an email you can personalize—don't do them all, just the ones that will speak the most to your audience.

Recipient's first name

Let's start with the lowest-hanging fruit. 

A common starting point is to address the recipient by their first name. It's quick and simple, and it makes your email feel less like a mass broadcast, even though subscribers know you're sending it to multiple people on your email list.

As Jeff puts it, "People joke about using {First Name}, but for outbound emails to people who've never heard of you, personalizing the subject line and preview still works."

Recipient's company name

Dropping a company name into the subject line or first sentence can grab attention, but you should follow it up with something relevant. 

You could mention their recent product launch, refer to their industry challenges, or position your offer around how it aligns with their business model.

Subject line

The subject line is your first (and sometimes only) shot at making someone stop and pay attention. 

Adding their name or something personal, like a product they looked at or a topic they care about, can increase open rates because it creates a sense of familiarity and curiosity.

Preview text

The preview text (which appears right after the subject line in an inbox) is your second chance to hook them before the click. When personalized, it adds context, urgency, or even a little intrigue. 

Maybe you reference their recent activity ("Still thinking about those hiking boots?") or their role ("A quick win for HR leaders at {Company Name}"). 

Entire email content

Instead of sending one generic message, you can create different versions of content, such as distinct newsletters for various audience segments discussing features relevant to each group. 

You can tailor the email content based on any slice of your audience. For example, Greatdorlin Wisdom, Head of Marketing & Comms at Workdey, emphasizes the effectiveness of location-based personalization, especially when serving a global audience: "We realized that people from a specific country were having a hard time renewing their subscription because of the payment gateway. So we created a specific link for that location that included local payment services." 

That kind of personalization is relevant and serves the customer.

Dynamic content blocks 

You can change parts of your emails using dynamic content blocks, which are offered in lots of email marketing tools. That way, the core message is the same, but each segment receives tailored content matching their pain points.

For segmentation-driven personalization to work, you need to be sure your segmentation logic and tagging systems are clear. Gift Arku, a marketing associate at Smile ID, says this often starts with a "deep cleanup of the list." 

Feature, product, and service recommendations

You can also use content blocks to promote a specific feature, product, or service that you know someone hasn't used.

This type of behavioral personalization is seen as less invasive than, for example, mentioning social media activity. Since the user has already opted into a relationship with you, tailoring content based on their usage (or lack thereof) is perceived as helpful. As Jeff puts it, "People appreciate reminders that feel helpful, not random."

This works particularly well for eCommerce: you can use browsing activity, purchase history, and engagement data to tailor timely and relevant upsell and cross-sell recommendations.

For example, if a customer has recently viewed a category of tools on your website, an email featuring similar or complementary products can reinforce their interest and nudge them toward a decision. Likewise, past purchases can trigger follow-ups offering accessories, upgrades, or features that extend the value of what they've already bought—turning a one-time buyer into a repeat customer.

How to get the data you need for personalization

Using outdated information, such as an old company name or completely misunderstanding a pain point, is worse than doing no content personalization at all. While seemingly low effort, getting these personalization efforts to work relies heavily on accurate and up-to-date data. 

With all of these methods, be sure you're transparent about data usage, use customer data as promised, and provide clear opt-out options.

Forms and surveys

The easiest way to get the right data is to ask. Simple signup forms, preference centers, and post-purchase surveys can gather valuable information, such as favorite products, interests, or birthdays. Start with Zapier Interfaces, or check out these lists of the best online form builder apps and the best free survey tools and form builders.

Behavioral data

You can find behavioral data by observing what people do with your product, how they browse your website or app, and what they buy (or almost buy). Session replay software and customer success platforms can help you get this data.

Data enrichment

You'll probably store the data you collect in your CRM, but you can use data enrichment tools to help add more details. For example, if all you have is a name and email address, lead enrichment software can help flesh that out into a full profile.

Integration

Of course, you also need to be sure all this information gets into your email marketing tool. Zapier can help you build automated systems that send information to your email marketing software, whether it originates in your CRM, online store, payment gateway, or anywhere else.

Here are a few examples of how you can get your data where you need it, but you can connect thousands of apps with Zapier to build a fully automated email personalization system.

How to pick the best email personalization software

Not all email marketing apps are built for personalization, and picking the wrong one can trap you in a loop of frustrating workarounds and clunky segmentation. Make sure your email marketing tool:

• Has the personalization features you need (e.g., in-depth segmentation, tags, dynamic content blocks)

• Offers robust automation to help you create branching logic and conditional paths

• Lets you trigger emails from multiple sources (app behavior, billing systems, lifecycle milestones)

• Tracks outcomes related to business goals, such as how a personalized onboarding series impacts conversions or which segment responds best to your upsell offer

• Uses AI to predict the best send times, recommend products, personalize subject lines, and even optimize offers based on subscriber behavior

• Integrates with all the other tools you use, either natively or through Zapier

For recommendations, check out Zapier's lists of the best Mailchimp alternatives, the best marketing automation software, the best free email marketing services, the best email newsletter software, and the best drip email software.

9 tips for email personalization

If you're still not sure where the line is between helpful and supremely creepy, here are a few principles that can guide you when trying to improve your email personalization.

1. Start with clean, rich data

The fastest way to make your brand look sloppy? Insert the wrong name, reference an old company, or send a promo email to someone who already paid you. None of it is malicious, but it's the kind of mistake that breaks trust real quick.

So before you get fancy with personalization, focus on data hygiene. Ensure your information is up to date, accurate, and enriched with just enough context to be useful but not so much that you're up against a restraining order.

Don't guess. Don't assume. And if you can't confirm something, don't include it. There's nothing wrong with sending a helpful, relevant message that doesn't pretend to know more than it does.

2. Segment

Focus on segmenting your audience effectively based on meaningful needs (like role or phase) or shared behaviors and characteristics (like geographical location or specific actions taken). When segmentation is done right, you can write to groups easily without needing excessive individual personalization.

Read Zapier's guide to email segmentation and guide to customer segmentation for ideas on how to slice and dice.

3. Prioritize relevance over cleverness

You don't need to wow people with wacky subject lines or quirky dynamic tags. If your message answers a question they've been silently asking or solves a friction point they're quietly facing, you've already won.

That's why timing—and knowing your audience's behavior—matters. And that's why you should personalize around moments, not just metadata. "Hey, looks like you haven't explored this feature yet," feels more thoughtful than, "Hey Nathan, I see you liked a LinkedIn post last Thursday." No thank you.

4. Write like you're one person talking to one person

Even if your emails are triggered, templated, and totally automated, they don't have to sound like it. The best personalization feels like a message written by someone who knows their audience and respects their time.

That means writing like a human. Be direct, be clear, and skip the filler. If it sounds weird when you say it out loud, rewrite it. If it feels robotic, soften it.

5. Don't over-optimize

When your personalization works, there's a tendency to want to chase even better results. This might move you to test even more parts of your email. Tread lightly.

After a successful test using three personalized subject lines, Faruq Animasahun, a growth strategist, pushed further and tested five in the next campaign. His open rates tanked, and his click-through rates dropped, too—all because he over-optimized. Of course, Faruq returned to the subject lines that worked and improved.

The lesson here is to scale slowly, learn what works, and then build on it intentionally.

6. Read any responses you get

Jeff told me that he reads thousands of replies each month, and it gives him invaluable insights into customer reactions to personalization. That includes identifying instances where the personalization missed the mark—maybe it included the wrong name or company or tried to upsell someone already on a paid plan.

This "old school" approach provides direct feedback from the people you're trying to reach. 

As Gift puts it: "Every reply gives me a chance to refine future emails, especially across different market segments."

7. Focus on timing

Sending the right email at the wrong time is like showing up to a party after everyone's already left. Timing is a key part of personalization. It's more than just knowing their time zone (though that obviously helps). You can also use behavioral triggers (like cart abandonment or a first purchase) to send emails exactly when they matter most.

8. Don't over-rely on AI

AI can help you scale your marketing. But it shouldn't replace your judgment. Poorly generated AI personalization can be overly familiar, have an uncanny valley tone, or just completely miss the mark without human review.

Gerardo Teijeira, GTM Team Lead at ColdIQ, argues that people are already fatigued by AI personalization. One way to avoid this is to focus on using AI behind the scenes, while making sure the message is still human first.

9. Respect the line

Last but not least, don't be creepy. A good rule to follow in any part of your life and work, honestly.

Your emails should elicit an "oh thank you" reaction, not a "why do you know that about me?" reaction. Greatdorlin mentioned how the latter reaction usually results from marketers using excessive data about an individual, particularly data that feels overly personal or is collected outside the primary relationship with the brand. 

If the personalization adds value, context, or clarity—go for it. But if it's just there to show off how much data you've collected, pull back.

9 personalized email marketing examples 

I scoured my inbox—and asked the Zapier team to scour theirs—to find examples of email personalization in the wild. These aren't the brands that are winning awards for their email marketing; they're the ones that are actually standing out to their recipients.

Reddit

Personalization based on: Company name, internal data

The Reddit team knows that brands want to know when people are talking about them. In this email, they highlight something only a Zapier employee would care about: what customers are saying about the company. They use the company name and their internal data (number of mentions) to create a compelling B2B email personalization experience.

The Children's Museum

Personalization based on: First name, membership status

This email was sent to my editor: she's a member of this children's museum, and this email offers a free event for existing members. She's also a mom, which is information they know from when she signed up with her kids.

The Village Vets 

Personalization based on: First name, pet's name, past purchase data

This email puts a spin on the {First Name} personalization. Yes, it's directed at "Nicole," but the subject line and email content are about "Darcy"—that's Nicole's dog. And as any pet owner can tell you, focusing on the furry one is a quick way to their hearts and pockets.

I imagine that they sent this email because Nicole has been a customer in the past but has never purchased food for Darcy online. It's a clever combination that feels just the right amount of personal. And the promo code is the icing on the cake.

Holafly

Personalization based on: First name, past purchase data

eSIMs make international travel more convenient. Zapier content marketing manager Deanna bought one in the past, and this email tells her that her next one could be free. The email is personal and playful without overdoing it—and it offers a deal that it knows Deanna will like based on her previous purchase.

Willow Gardens Yoga

Personalization based on: First name, behavioral data

I like how warm and personal this message feels. It's not just "our CRM tells us you haven't been here in a while, and we want your money, so please come back." The language is human, the invitation is sincere, and it offers actual value in the form of updates on the business.

Left On Friday

Personalization based on: Abandoned cart data

This is an abandoned cart email, but what I like about it is how confidently it leans into user behavior. It references the specific product the recipient viewed, reinforcing it as a "solid choice," which makes the message feel tailored. 

It's playful, visually clean, and adds a bit of cheeky personality without being overbearing. The call to action is strong, and the fit guide and consult options add support without disrupting the flow.

Calendly

Personalization based on: First name, behavioral data, milestones

I like how this email acknowledges my specific usage (I have 10 meetings booked). It's a great example of using behavioral data to reward progress and reinforce positive habits without sounding robotic.

Mainstack

Personalization based on: First name, behavioral data

This email from Mainstack recognizes that I started something but didn't finish, and it uses that moment to re-engage without putting pressure on me. The tone is maybe a little too supportive ("Your No. 1 Cheerleader" feels a bit disingenuous, though it may have been going for tongue-in-cheek), but the use of my name and progress-based context makes it feel like a helpful reminder from someone paying attention.

Yelp

Personalization based on: Location

This email skips the first name game and instead focuses on location: it's pulling in nearby businesses in Greenville, SC. It doesn't ask you to search; it brings the search to you. The tone is helpful, the timing feels thoughtful (framed around outdoor dining at a time when folks were still unsure if they were ready to eat inside), and the format invites quick exploration without overwhelming the reader.

Improve your email personalization efforts

Email personalization isn't just another tactic or something to check off your marketing to-do list. So if you're going to personalize, do it like you mean it. Not because it boosts open rates or makes your dashboard glow, but because it's a chance to show up with relevance and respect.

Clean data gets messy, segments blur, and templates break. But the commitment to thoughtful personalization puts your customers first, and that's what matters.

Related reading:

• Automatically send personalized emails to new leads

• 30+ email marketing best practices

• Email marketing automation ideas to enhance your campaigns