The ultimate guide to personalizing emails with behavioral targeting

Personalization is one of the most effective ways to make email marketing more relevant. 

And behavioral targeting — based on your subscribers’ actions — is one of the most powerful forms of personalization. 

In this guide, we’re digging into what behavioral targeting is, why it works so well in email marketing, and how you can use it at scale to create more personalized experiences that lead to conversions.
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What is behavioral targeting?

Behavioral targeting is a marketing strategy that harnesses user data. It’s about tailoring messages based on past behavior, like browsing history or shopping interactions. 

Communications are more pertinent to the recipient because they address relevant habits and interests. 

Marketers have their pick of behavioral targeting techniques to use across the marketing funnel, such as:  

• Remarketing through social media ads or display ads on other websites
• Appealing to customers who quit their subscription with direct mail 
• Sending a push notification to promote a recently viewed product

Behavioral targeting’s downside is that it can trigger privacy concerns. If you’ve ever researched a brand and it pops up soon after in your Facebook feed, you get it. 

But the great thing about email? Your subscribers gave explicit consent, making email one of the most effective behavioral targeting channels. 

There are three primary types of behavioral data relevant to email marketing: 

• Email engagement: subscribers’ responses to your email newsletters (open rates, click-through rates, etc.) 
• Website interaction: the pages a subscriber visits or products they place in a shopping cart 
• Purchase behavior: past customer purchases

Benefits of behavioral targeting with email 

According to McKinsey research, companies that excel at implementing a marketing personalization strategy experience 40% higher revenue than those considered “average” performers. 

Sliding behavioral targeting into your email marketing strategy often results in better email metrics, including higher:

• Open rates 
• Click-through rates 
• Conversion rates

Behavioral targeting with email strengthens relationships with your subscribers and builds customer loyalty.

Email strategies [+ examples] for behavioral targeting

Behavioral targeting depends on data. Shopify innately collects subscriber behavior by storing website interactions and purchases. Email marketing providers track email engagement. 

Behavioral targeting with email marketing happens through two methods: 

1. Email newsletters, driven by behavior-based customer segments, such as similarities in how subscribers engage with email or buying trends
2. Email automations, triggered by subscriber actions and therefore delivered on an individual basis 

The following recommendations feature a mix of both email types and address multiple stages of the customer journey. 

Newsletters that react to email engagement 

Emails asking whether you’re still interested in receiving brand news are a classic example of behavioral targeting based on email interaction.

Brands know that unengaged subscribers can drag down their sender reputation and potentially harm email deliverability. The “stay subscribed?” email lets the uninterested leave the list gracefully while nudging the still-invested to pay more attention.  

TOMS, for example, lures with the subject line: “You’ve been missed! Will 10% off grab your interest?” 

Other newsletters based on email engagement include: 

• “Remailing” a newsletter to the non-openers with a tweaked subject line
• Reaching out to subscribers that regularly interact with your emails with an offer
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Download our Advanced Shopify Segmentation Playbook for 13 ready-to-use segments, from prospects to product-based interests.

Automations that respond to website interactions 

Think of how many times you online window shop — sometimes tossing products into the shopping cart and other times not — only to close out without buying anything.

Now think of how many other people do the same every day. 

That’s a lot of opportunity for your Shopify store to turn browsers into customers. This is where automations do the heavy lifting with little effort from you. 

Below is a browse abandonment email example from DSW that promotes a price drop on the sneakers viewed. 

Two other automations to counter web visits that fall short of conversions include: 

1. Abandoned cart automation: sent when an email subscriber adds one or more products to the cart and leaves
2. Abandoned checkout automation: sent when an email subscriber adds one or more products to the cart and begins the checkout process before leaving  
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Email newsletters and automations based on purchase behavior

Increasing your customer retention rate by a mere 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. Both automated emails and newsletters are paths for getting there.

Automated post-purchase emails 

‍Post-purchase email automations are a must for one-to-one marketing. 

Check out the example from Solo Stove. It’s a delightful message that helps customers make the most of their new purchase.  

Aside from a product tutorial, the brand squeezed in related product recommendations. Educational content — like how-tos and product care tips — communicates that you have your customers’ interests in mind. 

Other ideas for automating the customer journey, post-purchase, include: 

• Thanking new customers for their purchase 
• Rewarding repeat customers 
• Reminding customers that it’s almost time for product replenishment/reorder 
• Asking customers for a product review 
• Appealing to lapsed purchasers with a re-engagement/customer win-back offer
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Newsletters based on purchase behavior 

Email newsletters that target purchase behaviors require segmentation and strategy. 

Is it advantageous to thank your best customers with a VIP sale? What about cross-selling to customers who purchased a specific product? Do you send a product launch email, providing first dibs on a new release that complements what they bought? 

Below is KiwiCo’s attempt to upsell customers on a subscription plan. 

Best email practices for effective behavioral targeting

Maximize your capacity for impact by following these best practices:

• Customize subject lines and email content as much as possible. Insert the recipient’s name in the subject line or email. When it's an abandoned cart automation, showcase the product left in the cart.    
• Craft engaging content with a streamlined design. Focus your emails so they’re easy to digest. A clean email structure matters, too. Strive for the right balance and composition of text, imagery, and calls to action (CTAs). 
• Use unique discount codes. Unique codes make the subscriber feel like the offer was made just for them while stopping coupon abuse. 
• Make recommendations. Suggest products aligned with the subscribers’ interests. 
• Test and optimize. Experiment with different subject lines, content variations and CTAs. What resonates? What doesn’t? Track your open, click-through and conversion rates and keep refining. 

Revolutionize your emails with behavioral targeting

Any Shopify store with an email marketing program has first-party behavioral data at its disposal. Smart brands use it to connect with subscribers more deeply.

Our advice:

1. Start simple with email content and targeting criteria. Trying to tackle too many segments or automations at once can be challenging to manage. 
2. Focus on the segments with the most potential for positive one-to-one marketing responses, whether it’s responding to email engagement, website interaction, or purchase behavior. 
3. Adhere to our best practices by tailoring subject lines and content, and adding personalization where possible

Your subscribers will appreciate the relevant messaging. Your Shopify store will get better engagement, more conversions, and heightened brand loyalty.