Unlike traditional blogging platforms, Substack merges the best of both worlds: it offers the personalized touch of a blog with the broad reach and engagement features typical of social media platforms. This dual advantage attracts brands that want to connect more meaningfully with their audience.

Audiences today crave authentic, value-driven content that feels personal and direct.

For brands looking to build communities rather than just audiences, Substack offers a unique opportunity. It’s not just about pushing content; it’s about fostering dialogue, encouraging feedback, and nurturing relationships. This engagement is crucial for building a loyal subscriber base that is invested in the brand’s journey. 

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The Appeal of Substack for Brands

Substack offers brands a unique opportunity to shift away from traditional digital marketing tactics and engage directly with their community. By focusing on delivering value through insightful, relevant content, brands can build a thriving newsletter community that goes beyond mere marketing. This platform empowers creators to transform their audience into an engaged community, increasing both reach and impact.

By focusing on delivering value through insightful, relevant content, brands can build a thriving newsletter community that goes beyond mere marketing. Substack’s model encourages brands to rethink their content strategies, emphasizing authenticity and direct engagement over broad, impersonal marketing efforts. By leveraging Substack, brands can create a vibrant community supporting audience growth and business goals.

9 Strategies for Scaling a Substack Community For Brands

To build a vibrant Newsletter community on Substack, brands can blend horizontal and vertical growth strategies. Horizontal growth involves launching niche newsletters, which allows brands to cater to diverse audience segments. Conversely, vertical growth focuses on deepening engagement with existing subscribers by adding value through additional products or services.

1. Craft Compelling Content

Crafting content that grabs attention and keeps readers coming back is key on Substack. But how do you make your newsletter stand out? Start by understanding your audience’s interests & tailoring your content to meet those needs. This means diving deep into topics that matter to them and delivering insights readers can’t find elsewhere.

Incorporating multimedia elements like videos, infographics, or podcasts can make your content more dynamic and engaging. A well-placed video can break up text & provide a richer experience, while infographics can simplify complex ideas, making them easier to digest.

Your readers can tell when content feels forced or insincere. By staying true to your brand’s voice and values, you’ll build trust and encourage loyalty. So, whether you’re using storytelling, expert interviews, or behind-the-scenes insights, make sure it aligns with who you are as a brand.

2. Build Out Your Substack Profile

Substack offers many personalization and customization features to help you maintain brand consistency. You can add your logo, brand colors, and fonts.

On your home page, you can feature your best newsletter posts and podcast episodes to showcase the amazing work your audience has been loving.

Your profile will also have an extensive about us page where you can share a little bit about your brand and your newsletter offering. Use this space to show off your brand voice and give your subscribers a sneak peek into what they’ll be getting in their inbox every week.

3. Community Engagement on Substack 

Substack emphasizes community interaction through its commenting features. By enabling comments on newsletters, brands can foster discussions among subscribers, creating a sense of community and belonging. This two-way communication increases engagement and provides valuable feedback directly from readers.

Brands can initiate conversations around specific topics or respond to subscriber inquiries, enhancing the overall community feel. Substack’s “Discussions” feature allows for dedicated spaces where subscribers can connect beyond individual posts, further solidifying community ties.

For our newsletter, NoGood News, we support other newsletters with which we have an audience overlap. By commenting on and liking similar content, we can expand our reach and gain visibility with new subscribers.

4. Recommendations

Substack’s recommendation feature allows creators to publicly endorse each other’s work, creating a support network among writers. This cross-promotion is particularly effective because it exposes your newsletter to a broader audience that is already engaged with similar content. Many creators report that a significant portion of their subscribers comes from recommendations, making it a crucial tool for growth.

5. Podcast and Video Integrations

Substack has increasingly supported multimedia content, allowing brands to integrate podcasts and videos into their newsletters. This flexibility enables creators to diversify their content offerings and engage with subscribers through various formats.

For instance, turning written articles into podcast episodes can maximize the reach of each idea shared, catering to different audience preferences. Substack’s layout options allow for easy embedding of multimedia elements, further enriching the reader experience.

Substack has increasingly embraced multimedia content, allowing brands to integrate podcasts and videos into their newsletters. This flexibility enables creators to diversify their content offerings and engage with subscribers through various formats.

Multimedia content, such as videos and podcasts, captures attention more effectively than text alone. Research shows that audiences are significantly more likely to remember messages with relevant visuals or audio.

Video and audio formats allow for richer storytelling opportunities. Videos can evoke emotions through visuals and sound, while podcasts can convey narratives through voice and dialogue.

6. Post ‘Notes’

Substack’s Notes feature allows you to share short-form content, links, and thoughts with your audience. This feature operates similarly to social media platforms like Twitter, enabling real-time interaction and community building among writers and readers.

Regularly posting engaging notes can keep your readers informed and encourage them to interact with your profile. Consider sharing behind-the-scenes insights or recommendations that relate to your newsletter content.

7. Implement Custom Domains for Brand Consistency

Custom domains are a powerful feature on Substack that allows brands to maintain consistency in their online presence. By using a custom domain, brands can enhance their credibility and create a seamless experience for their subscribers.

This feature not only reinforces brand identity but also improves discoverability, as it provides a professional appearance that can attract more subscribers. Your custom domain also increases visibility in organic search results.

8. Subject Line Experimentation

Subject lines are often the first impression your email makes on subscribers. They play a pivotal role in whether recipients decide to open your email. Nearly 47% of users determine whether to open an email based solely on the subject line, making it essential to craft compelling and relevant titles.

It’s helpful to refer to your open rates on the substack and determine which newsletter posts had the highest open rate. This can give you insight into what types of subject lines work best for your audience.

After looking at our subscriber data for NoGood News, we found that our subject lines that used an em dash had a higher open rate than those without.

Keep your subject lines concise – between 6 to 10 words, as studies suggest this length tends to yield higher open rates. Longer subject lines may get cut off in mobile views.

8. Analyze Subscriber Data to Refine Your Strategy

Substack provides a comprehensive dashboard that allows creators to monitor various metrics related to their subscribers.

Subscriber Overview: This section displays the total number of subscribers, including paid and free members, along with their activity levels. You can customize the dashboard to show specific data points that matter most to your strategy, such as subscription type and engagement ratings.

Engagement Metrics: Metrics like open rates and interaction levels are vital for assessing how well your content resonates with readers. On Substack, average open rates typically range from 40% to 70%, which is significantly higher than many other platforms. This indicates a highly engaged audience.

Activity Sorting: You can sort subscribers based on their activity levels, allowing you to identify your most engaged readers. For instance, filtering by email opens helps you see who consistently interacts with your content, enabling targeted outreach.

Substack Helps Brands Foster Community

By leveraging Substacks’ in-app features, brands can build and scale an engaged brand community. From comments and recommendations to podcasts and notes, Substack is more than just a platform for growing your email list. It helps foster a sense of community between brands and their audience. If you need to refine your email marketing strategy, our growth experts can help. Feel free to reach out to us.

The post Substack for Brands: Strategies and Examples for Scaling Brand Newsletter Community appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

By focusing on discoverability, Substack has provided a space for top industry professionals to share their marketing insights and expertise with their audience.

The platform hosts some of the most innovative voices in marketing that you can subscribe to for free, gaining an inside perspective from some of the top voices in the industry.

We’ve hand-picked some of the best marketing newsletters on Substack to keep you informed about the latest industry trends.

TL:DR: Best Marketing Newsletters to Follow on Substack

1. NoGood News

2. Lenny’s Newsletter

3. MKT1

4. Growth Unhinged

5. Full Funnel B2B Marketing

6. AI Marketing

7. Marketing Powerups

8. The Sociology of Business

9. Marketing Ideas

1. NoGood News

Author: NoGood Squad

Publishing frequency: Bi-weekly

Best for: Growth marketers, scaleups, and brands

NoGood is the growth squad behind some of the world’s most successful brands. From Fortune 500 companies to venture-backed startups, our NG team has experience driving scalable growth that moves the needle.

Drawing from growth marketing expertise in Organic Social, Paid Search, Lifecycle, SEO, CRO, Paid Social, Design, AI, Performance Branding, and Marketing Analytics, we share direct insights from our growth experts. We turn tactics into actionable frameworks and insights that drive rapid growth and maximize revenue potential.

In our bi-weekly newsletter, NoGood News, we share our takes on industry news, brand analysis, growth tactics, and a Q&A with a NoGood Growth Expert to keep you up-to-date with the latest and greatest in growth marketing.

2. Lenny’s Newsletter

Author: Lenny Rachitsky

Publishing frequency: Weekly

Best for: Product managers, startup founders, tech professionals looking to advance their careers

Lenny is a software engineer and product builder who got his start in the newsletter space by writing seven things he learned about business building from Airbnb, who hired him after he sold a product to them.

Lenny thought he had some valuable knowledge to share– and it turns out he did, as his first post was a major success.

Today, Lenny writes to an audience of 700k+ subscribers. His newsletter combines deep product expertise with actionable tips for project managers, startup founders, and tech professionals looking to advance their careers.

Each week, he features a popular “Ask Lenny” advice column in which loyal subscribers can get his take on product development industry news, challenges in the tech industry, and career advancement.

Here’s what Hamish McKenzie, cofounder of Substack, says about Lenny’s Newsletter:

“It’s both specific enough to be immediately put into action and also universal enough to matter to anyone thinking about their careers or hiring or pricing or generally how to do better in their professional lives.”

3. MKT1

Author: Emily Kramer

Publishing Frequency: Bi-weekly

Best For: B2B marketers, SaaS and startup founders, tech growth marketers

Emily Kramer has over 15 years of experience leading B2B marketing teams at some of the fastest-growing startups like Asana and Carta. She’s an angel investor and advisor to growth-stage B2B marketing leaders and startups. Her expertise lies in building, scaling, and marketing B2B startups from the ground up.

In her wildly successful newsletter, Emily shares B2B product marketing tactics, content and branding tips, growth marketing strategies, and templates to help you scale your marketing operations.She has built a strong sense of community with a loyal subscriber list of 45k digital marketers who value her business insights and marketing advice.

As a MKT1 subscriber you’ll get access to operational frameworks (Krameworks as she calls it), and scaling tactics.

Here’s what Lenny Rachitsky, founder of Lenny’s Newsletter, says about MKT1

“My number 1 favorite marketing newsletter.”

4. Growth Unhinged

Author: Kyle Poyar

Publishing Frequency: Weekly

Best For: Startup founders, performance and growth marketers

Kyle Poyar is an operating partner at OpenView, an expansion-stage VC where he helps portfolio companies scale their operations and become market leaders. He specializes in growth marketing, user acquisition, and retention strategies.

Kyle’s approach to growth is unconventional. He utilizes aggressive growth strategies to

fuel rapid growth for the companies he works with and will teach you how to do the same.

Each week, Kyle takes a deep dive into product-led growth pricing and go-to-market strategy, breaking down winning strategies straight from the playbooks of the fastest-growing startups.

5. Full Funnel B2B Marketing

Author: Andrei Zinkevich

Publishing Frequency: Weekly

Best For: B2B marketers, demand generation specialists, sales professionals

Andrei Zinkevich is a B2B marketer and founder of fullfunnel.io, a B2B marketing consultancy specializing in account-based marketing. He has 18 years of experience helping grow B2B companies with high ACV, long sales cycles, and complex sales.

Every Friday, Andrei shares actionable advice for B2B marketers to advance their GTM strategy, run efficient ABM programs, and fix a broken B2B marketing and sales playbook. His newsletter offers practical tips for marketers looking to align their marketing and sales strategies to get more buy-in and support for marketing and demand-generation programs from stakeholders and sales.

The Full Funnel B2B Marketing newsletter is a great resource for B2B marketers looking for full-funnel B2B strategies, customer journey and conversion rate optimization tactics, and marketing-sales alignment tips.

6. AI Marketing

Author: Gabriel Diaz

Publishing Frequency: Bi-weekly

Best For: Growth marketers, AI nerds, B2B marketers

Gabriel Diaz is a B2B marketer specializing in AI marketing applications. In his bi-weekly newsletter, he bridges the gap between complex AI concepts and real-world marketing applications.

As a subscriber, you’ll receive AI strategies, breakdowns of AI trends and emerging technology, and case studies. You’ll learn how to implement AI into your marketing mix and use it to your advantage.

7. Delight Path

Publishing Frequency: Bi-weekly

Best For: Early-stage startup marketers, solo entrepreneurs, digital marketers

Ramli John is a marketer and content creator with over 15 years of experience working with startups, scale-ups, and enterprise companies. He started his newsletter Delight Path to become a resource for marketers to learn new strategies and advance their skills. He hopes his newsletter can help him create the community of marketers he wished he had earlier in his career.

As a member of the Delight Path community you’ll learn actionable tips on marketing frameworks, techniques, and strategies from world-class marketers. Ramli’s focus is to deliver “powerups”, small changes and quick-win strategies that yield massive results.

8. The Sociology of Business

Author: Ana Andjelic

Publishing Frequency:

Best For: Brand strategists, CMOs, market researchers

Ana Andjelic is a global brand executive and author. She has been named Forbes Top CMO and holds a PhD in Sociology from Columbia University.

In her weekly newsletter, The Sociology of Business, she uses her education and professional experience to teach her community how to use culture to connect a brand and business. Her approach leverages cultural influence to create business growth, market presence and annual sales.

Each week, you will learn strategies top brands use to create cultural products and influence culture by building their stories build their story as a portfolio.

9. Marketing Ideas

Author: Tom Orbach

Publishing Frequency: Weekly

Best For: Creative directors, B2B marketers, content creators

Tom Orbach is a growth marketing leader with over 10 years of experience. He started his newsletter to make sure you never run out of marketing ideas.

Tom focuses on unconventional thinking, creativity, and idea generation to help you keep thinking of innovative marketing strategies.

His weekly newsletter often features interactive exercises and brainstorming techniques to help you practice the skills you learn. By focusing on the ideation phase of marketing, Tom creates frameworks to help you achieve remarkable growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

The post 9 Best Marketing Substack Newsletters to Follow appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

A brand has a 60-70% chance of making a sale to a retained existing customer, but that percentage drops dramatically to 20% for net new customers. All this is to say: keeping and valuing your existing customers is both strategic and important.

One big benefit of pursuing customer retention is that you already have a foundational level of user data that you can leverage to retain these existing customers. This data may include metrics like total revenue, past purchase frequency, browse history, any zero-party data the user chooses to provide, and more, which can all be used to inform predictive analytics for retention optimization.

What Is Predictive Analytics?

Predictive analytics is a powerful tool in growth marketing that leverages historical data, machine learning, and statistical algorithms to forecast future customer behaviors and trends. By analyzing patterns in past customer interactions, such as purchase history, browsing habits, and engagement metrics, predictive analytics helps marketers anticipate what actions customers are likely to take next.

This insight allows businesses to tailor their marketing efforts, optimize customer journeys, and deliver personalized experiences that drive retention and increase lifetime value. Essentially, predictive analytics turns data into actionable insights, enabling more strategic decision-making in customer retention strategies and lifecycle marketing.

What Is Customer Retention?

Customer retention refers to the strategies and actions a business undertakes to keep its existing customers engaged, satisfied, and loyal over time. Unlike customer acquisition, which focuses on attracting new customers, retention is about nurturing and maintaining relationships with those who have already made a purchase or engaged with the brand. Effective customer retention involves understanding — and often predicting — customer needs, providing consistent value, and delivering exceptional experiences that encourage repeat business. This can involve leveraging data analytics to understand customer lifecycle stages, predicting potential churn, and proactively engaging at-risk customers with targeted interventions. The goal is to increase customer lifetime value (CLTV), which measures the total revenue a customer is expected to generate over their relationship with the brand.

Why Is Customer Retention Important?

The primary reason customer retention is important is its direct impact on profitability. Studies consistently show that it costs significantly less to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one — some estimates suggest up to five to ten times less. Moreover, retained customers tend to have higher lifetime value (LTV), meaning they are likely to spend more over time, engage more deeply with your brand, and be less price-sensitive. This leads to a more predictable and steady revenue stream, which is essential for planning and scaling a business.

Additionally, retained customers often become brand advocates, spreading positive word-of-mouth and referring new customers to your business. This organic advocacy not only reduces your marketing costs but also enhances your brand’s credibility and reach. Loyal customers are more likely to provide valuable feedback, participate in loyalty programs, and engage with new products or services, creating a virtuous cycle of growth and improvement.

How Is Predictive Analytics Used to Drive Customer Retention?

Predictive analytics is used to drive customer retention by transforming extremely large amounts of data into digestible and actionable insights. By analyzing patterns in customer behavior, preferences and historical interactions, brands can forecast which customers are at risk of churning and intervene before they are fully lapsed. For instance, predictive models can identify subtle signs of dissatisfaction, such as a drop in usage frequency or negative feedback, allowing businesses to proactively address issues with targeted offers, personalized communications, or enhanced support. On the flip side, predictive analytics can also identify the factors that lead to high engagement or sustained loyalty, giving brands data-backed insights on how to further strengthen or double down on the strategies that do work.

What Are Strategies to Reduce Customer Churn Using Predictive Analytics?

Predictive analytics is a powerful tool for reducing customer churn, ensuring that you are leveraging the data that you have in order to keep existing customers engaged over time, no matter where they are in their customer journey. Using user data like purchase history and customer feedback, you can develop predictive models to identify customers who are at high risk of churning. Patterns such as declining engagement, reduced purchase frequency or negative feedback can raise a red flag for possible churn, so that businesses can pinpoint which customers are likely to leave and take proactive steps to retain them. Here are 5 key strategies for using predictive analytics to drive customer retention:

Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is a practice that’s important with any retention or lifecycle marketing strategy, but this can be greatly enhanced with insights gained from predictive analytics. You can utilize predictive analytics to create detailed maps of each different customer journey, highlighting the most common paths that lead to churn — or oppositely, sustained engagement.

By understanding these journeys on a more granular level, you can optimize the customer experience at each critical touchpoint, ensuring a smoother progression from step to step that reduces the overall likelihood of going down that path toward churn.

Behavioral Triggers for Engagements

Based on past customer churn data, predictive analytics can identify key behavioral triggers that indicate when a customer is about to disengage. For example, if a customer stops using a particular feature they previously engaged with regularly, an automated email or popup with a special offer can be sent to reengage them by reminding them of the value they derive from said product or service.

Customer Lifecycle Segmentation

You can segment your customer base according to their lifecycle stage (e.g. new, active, at-risk, lapsed, etc.) and use predictive analytics to then further refine these segments based on behavior and preferences. These segments can then serve as the basis for personalized retention campaigns across multiple channels.

Personalized Retention Campaigns

Once you have identified the different customer segments to target, you can use predictive analytics to create personalized retention campaigns that offer incentives, such as discounts or loyalty rewards, tailored to each segment’s preferences and behavioral drivers. This targeted approach can make customers feel more valued and more likely to stay when they feel that their wants and needs are being proactively met.

Cross-sell and Upsell Opportunities

Customer retention encompasses more than just keeping the user engaged with the existing product or service — it’s also about being able to grow the brand-customer relationship and build long-term loyalty to the brand the will evolve with and outlast the current offerings.This means that predictive analytics can also be used to identify the best opportunities to cross-sell and upsell new products at different stages of their lifecycle. For example, if a customer has been engaged with your brand for a certain period of time and has shown interest in specific product categories, a targeted upsell offer for a new, upgraded product in their category of interest can be framed to enhance their experience and increase their commitment to your brand.

The common theme across all churn reduction strategies is proactivity. Predictive analytics enables a level of foresight that you wouldn’t otherwise have, which opens up many opportunities to preemptively engage with key customers that are most at-risk of churning.

The Future of Predictive Analytics for Customer Retention

As AI technologies evolve, they will enable marketers to anticipate customer behavior with even greater precision, moving beyond basic predictions to uncover deep, nuanced patterns in consumer data. This next generation of predictive analytics will harness real-time data streams and sophisticated machine learning models to forecast customer needs almost before they arise.

Marketers will be equipped with AI-driven tools that not only predict churn but also suggest the most effective personalized retention strategies for each customer. With AI’s continuous learning capabilities, these models will adapt to changing consumer behaviors, ensuring that retention efforts are always one step ahead. In the future, customer retention will no longer be about simply reacting to trends — it will involve strategically shaping them through advanced predictive insights, leading to more proactive, efficient, and personalized marketing efforts. If you need help creating predictive analytics strategies to reduce churn, our growth experts can help. Talk to us.

The post Using Predictive Analytics to Drive Customer Retention: 5 Strategies to Reduce Churn appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

How Is AI Used for Email Personalization?

There are two main approaches to using AI for email marketing. The first is straightforward: using AI to write the emails themselves as a way to reduce time and effort in copywriting. The second, which is the focus of this guide, is a more complex method of analyzing and leveraging large amounts of user data to drive email personalization at scale.

Here are a few ways in which AI can be used for email personalization:

1. User Segmentation and Profiling

AI algorithms analyze large datasets to identify patterns and segment users based on various attributes such as demographics, past behavior, purchase history, and preferences. This segmentation enables marketers to target specific groups with personalized content that resonates with their interests.

2. Predictive Analytics

AI uses predictive analytics to forecast future user behavior based on historical data. This allows marketers to anticipate needs and send proactive emails that guide users along the customer journey, such as suggesting replenishment products before they run out.

3. Optimized Send Times

AI can determine the optimal time to send emails to each recipient based on their past interactions. By analyzing when users are most likely to open and engage with emails, AI ensures that messages are sent at the most effective times, improving open and click-through rates.

4. Subject Line and Content Optimization

AI can test and optimize subject lines, email copy, and call-to-action buttons. Through techniques like A/B testing and natural language processing, AI can determine which variations perform best and adapt future emails accordingly.

Can AI Write My Emails?

Yes, but that’s not the end of the story — writing an email is only one part of the email marketing process. Even the most well-written email will fall flat if it’s not strategically optimized for the end user. AI copywriting tools can automate, speed up, and streamline their content writing process, but there’s still a need for skilled copywriters to spend time on revision, refinement, and strategy — all of which are crucial in ensuring both high quality and quantity of content.

Instead of just asking if AI can write your emails, ask yourself if AI can help you determine what to write for each email and each user or audience segment. AI can be used to analyze user data, including browsing history, purchase behavior, and engagement metrics, to generate insights about what content will resonate most with each segment of your audience. This data-driven approach ensures that the content you create is highly relevant and personalized, increasing the chances of engagement and conversion.

AI can also analyze the results of previous A/B tests to determine what types of subject lines, content, and calls-to-action have performed best with different segments of your audience. These insights can then be used to guide future email content, ensuring that you continually optimize your messaging based on real-world performance data.

So the answer is yes: AI can write your emails, but it shouldn’t stop there.

What Is the Best AI Tool for Email Marketing?

There are hundreds of AI tools that can be used for email personalization, but the most useful ones are likely to be features that are integrated into existing email marketing platforms like Klaviyo, Braze, Mailchimp, Iterable, etc. Here’s an overview of the best AI tools that you should be using to enhance the impact of your marketing emails.

1. Klaviyo Predictive Analytics

Klaviyo predictive analytics leverages advanced data science to forecast customer behavior and trends, enabling businesses to optimize their email marketing strategies. By analyzing historical data, Klaviyo can predict key metrics such as customer lifetime value, churn probability, and future purchasing behavior. This predictive power allows marketers to tailor their email campaigns with a high degree of personalization. For instance, they can send targeted promotions to likely repeat buyers or re-engage customers at risk of churning. The benefit of this approach is twofold: it enhances the customer experience by delivering relevant content and boosts business outcomes through more effective and efficient marketing efforts.

To access Klaviyo’s predictive analytics, users must meet the following conditions:

• Minimum Order Volume: At least 500 customers must have placed an order. This count refers specifically to unique customers who have made purchases, not just total profiles.
• Ecommerce Integration: Users need to have an integration with an ecommerce platform such as Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento or utilize Klaviyo’s API to track placed orders.
• Order History: There must be at least 180 days of order history, with some orders placed within the last 30 days.
• Repeat Customers: A subset of customers must have placed three or more orders

2. Iterable Brand Affinity

Brand Affinity™ is a feature of Iterable AI that labels users based on their historical engagement with your brand. These labels—loyal, positive, neutral, negative, and unscored—are generated weekly and are based on user interactions across all communication channels, including emails, push notifications, and in-app messages.

Brand Affinity scores are calculated using the user’s history of interactions with your messages. Recent interactions are weighted more heavily. Each user is assigned one of the following labels: loyal, highly engaged with your messages; positive, generally engaged but less frequently than loyal users; neutral, occasionally engaged; negative, usually disengaged; and unscored, not enough data to generate a label.

You can use these labels in segmentation, campaigns, journeys, data feeds, and Catalog collections to send personalized, relevant messages to your customers. For example, you might use Brand Affinity labels to reward loyal users by adding them to a reward or perk journey, boost revenue by testing offers on positive users, offer different discounts to different audience types, improve open rates or deliverability by suppressing negative users, or add users to a reactivation journey when they switch to negative.

3. Braze AI-Powered Testing

Braze’s AI-powered testing transforms how brands optimize their customer journeys by applying machine learning-driven experimentation at every stage. This advanced approach allows you to test and refine every element of your marketing strategy—from timing and copy to channels, images, and entire customer journeys.

By leveraging AI to conduct these experiments, you can gain deeper insights into what works best for your audience, ensuring that each interaction is tailored for maximum impact. This iterative process helps create more engaging and effective experiences, ultimately driving better results and higher satisfaction across your customer base. With Braze’s AI-powered testing, you can move beyond basic A/B testing to continually evolve and perfect your customer engagement strategies.

These are just a few examples of how brands and marketers can be using AI to personalize email campaigns and journeys. The key is less so in what tools you use, but more about being aware of the vast variety of tools that are available for use — just so long as you know to take advantage of them to supercharge your email marketing initiatives.

What Role Does AI Play in the Future of Email Marketing?

AI is already becoming a ubiquitous part of marketing functions, from content writing to paid advertising, and email marketing is no exception. Through advanced algorithms and machine learning, AI can analyze vast amounts of data to understand customer behaviors and preferences, allowing marketers to craft highly targeted and relevant content.

AI-powered tools can automate email scheduling, segment audiences with precision, and even predict the best times to send emails for maximum engagement. Furthermore, AI can enhance A/B testing processes, providing insights into what types of subject lines, copy, and visuals resonate best with different segments.

In the future, AI will likely become more and more integrated with email marketing by enabling hyper-personalization at scale. Predictive analytics will evolve to not only recommend the best content but also to dynamically generate it, tailoring each email to individual recipient’s preferences and behaviors in real-time. AI will integrate with advanced sentiment analysis, allowing marketers to gauge the emotional tone of their audience and adjust messaging accordingly.

Moreover, AI will anticipate customer needs before they even articulate them, using sophisticated algorithms to predict lifecycle stages and sending proactive, value-driven content. This anticipatory approach will transform email marketing from a reactive to a proactive strategy, fostering deeper customer relationships and significantly boosting loyalty and retention. If you need help understanding how to leverage current AI technologies for strategic email personalization, drop us a line and let’s work together.

The post AI Email Personalization 2.0: The Innovations Shaping Lifecycle Marketing appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

Zero-party data is immensely valuable for email marketing, particularly amidst the death of third-party cookies and the growing consumer demand for hyper-personalization. 

Need more help creating a zero-party data strategy for your email marketing initiatives?

What is zero-party data?

Zero-party data is information that a customer intentionally and willingly shares with a brand. This type of data is collected directly from customers through interactions such as surveys, quizzes, preference centers, and personalized shopping experiences. Unlike first-party data, which is gathered through customer behavior and interactions with a brand’s website or app, zero-party data is explicitly provided by the customer, ensuring its accuracy and relevance.

Here are some key characteristics of zero-party data:

1. Voluntarily Shared: Customers willingly provide zero-party data, often in exchange for a more personalized experience. This creates a level of trust and transparency between the customer and the brand.
2. Highly Accurate: Since customers are the source of zero-party data, it tends to be more precise and reliable compared to inferred data from other sources.
3. Directly Collected: Zero-party data is obtained straight from the customer, eliminating the need for guesswork or assumptions about their preferences and needs.
4. Privacy-Friendly: With increasing concerns about data privacy and regulations like GDPR and CCPA, zero-party data stands out because it is collected with the customer’s explicit consent, making it a privacy-compliant way to gather information.

Here are some examples of zero-party data:

• Preference Centers: Where customers specify their interests, preferred communication channels, and product preferences.

• Surveys and Quizzes: Tools that engage customers and collect insights on their preferences, habits, and needs.

• Personalized Account Settings: Features that allow customers to customize their experiences, such as wishlists, saved items, and preferred shopping categories.

The difference between zero-party, first-party, second-party, and third-party data

Zero-party data is information that customers intentionally share with a brand. Since customers provide this data willingly, often in exchange for a more personalized experience, it is highly accurate and relevant.

First-party data is information that a company collects directly from its own customers through their interactions with the brand’s digital properties, such as websites, mobile apps, and social media. This data is directly collected from customer interactions with the brand, making it accurate and reliable as it reflects real customer behaviors and preferences. The brand owns this data, giving it full control over its use. An example of first-party data is website analytics that show which products a customer views most often or purchase history from an online store.

Second-party data is essentially someone else’s first-party data that is shared with another organization. This data is obtained through a partnership or agreement between two companies, ensuring it comes from a known and reliable source. Second-party data maintains the accuracy and relevance of first-party data and is shared based on mutual agreements, often enhancing its utility without compromising privacy. For instance, a car rental company might share its customer travel preferences with a hotel chain to offer tailored travel packages.

Third-party data is information collected by an entity that does not have a direct relationship with the customer. This data is typically aggregated from various sources and sold to companies for advertising and marketing purposes. Third-party data offers broad reach, providing insights on a wide range of customers, but it may lack precision and relevance compared to data obtained directly from customers. Additionally, third-party data is increasingly scrutinized due to privacy regulations and consumer concerns. An example of third-party data is information collected from various websites and sold to an advertising network to target ads based on user behavior across the internet.

Comparing these types of data, zero-party and first-party data are generally more accurate and relevant since they come directly from customer interactions or preferences. Second-party data can also be reliable, depending on the quality of the partnership, while third-party data, although broad, may lack precision.

In terms of ownership and control, zero-party and first-party data are fully owned and controlled by the brand, allowing for better data governance. Second-party data involves shared control, whereas third-party data is typically owned by external aggregators.

Regarding privacy and trust, zero-party data excels as it is shared voluntarily by customers, and first-party data is also trusted as it is collected directly by the brand. Second-party data maintains trust if partnerships are transparent, but third-party data faces the most privacy challenges and trust issues due to its aggregated nature and lack of direct customer consent.

Why is zero-party data important for email marketing?

Zero-party data is particularly important for email marketing because it serves as the prerequisite and enabler of highly personalized and impactful email campaigns. While consumers are typically (reasonably) protective of their personal data, they are willing to share their data in exchange for an improved experience that caters to their wants and needs.

Zero-party data is the perfect way to strike that balance because it allows customers to be in control of what information they choose to share in order to get that personalized brand experience they’re looking for. 

Here are just a few of the key benefits of using zero-party data for email marketing.

1. Enhanced personalization and engagement

With zero-party data, marketers can tailor their email content to meet the specific preferences and needs of their audience. This level of personalization goes beyond simply addressing the recipient by name; it involves crafting messages that resonate with their interests, preferences, and stages in the customer journey. Emails that are relevant and personalized based on zero-party data are more likely to be opened, read, and acted upon.

Customers appreciate when brands take the time to understand their preferences, leading to higher engagement rates and, ultimately, better conversion rates.

2. Compliance with privacy regulations

In an era where data privacy is becoming increasingly important, zero-party data provides a compliant way to gather customer information. Since this data is voluntarily provided by the customer, it aligns with privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, reducing the risk of legal issues associated with data collection.

3. Improved data accuracy and strategic insights

Zero-party data is highly accurate because it comes directly from the customer. Unlike first, second or third-party data, which can sometimes be inaccurate or outdated, zero-party data reflects the customer’s current preferences and intentions, ensuring that your email marketing efforts are based on reliable information.

The insights gained from zero-party data can also inform broader marketing strategies. Understanding customer preferences and intentions can guide product development, content creation, and overall marketing messaging, ensuring that all aspects of your marketing strategy are aligned with customer expectations.

How to collect zero-party data

Unlike other data types, zero-party data is willingly provided by customers, making it highly accurate and valuable. Here’s a guide on how to effectively collect zero-party data:

1. Surveys and Questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are straightforward tools for gathering zero-party data. By asking customers specific questions about their preferences, interests, and intentions, you can gain valuable insights.

• Incentivize participation: Offer discounts, freebies, or entry into a giveaway to encourage customers to complete surveys.
• Keep it short and simple: Long surveys can be off-putting. Focus on asking essential questions that provide meaningful insights.
• Personalize the approach: Tailor the survey questions based on previous interactions to make them relevant and engaging.

2. Preference Centers

A preference center allows customers to choose what kind of communications they want to receive and how frequently. This self-service option empowers customers to share their preferences willingly.

• Make it accessible: Ensure that the preference center is easy to find on your website or in email communications.
• Offer multiple options: Provide a variety of preferences, such as product interests, content types, and communication frequency.
• Regular updates: Prompt customers periodically to update their preferences to keep the data current.

3. Interactive Content

Interactive content like quizzes, polls, and assessments can be engaging ways to collect zero-party data. These formats are not only fun for the user but also provide insightful data for marketers.

• Design engaging content: Ensure that the interactive content is entertaining and relevant to your audience.
• Clear value proposition: Explain what the user will gain from participating, such as personalized recommendations or insights.
• Follow-up: Use the results from interactive content to follow up with personalized email campaigns or product suggestions.

4. Contests and Giveaways

Running contests and giveaways can be an effective way to collect zero-party data. Participants are often willing to share their information for a chance to win a prize.

• Set clear rules: Make sure the terms of participation are transparent and easy to understand.
• Collect relevant data: Focus on collecting data that will provide insights into customer preferences and behaviors.
• Thank participants: Show appreciation by sending a thank you email and possibly offering a small reward to all participants.

5. Onboarding Processes

The onboarding process is a critical time for collecting zero-party data. When customers sign up for your service or newsletter, use this opportunity to gather relevant information.

• Step-by-step process: Break down the data collection into manageable steps to avoid overwhelming new customers.
• Explain the benefits: Let customers know how sharing their information will enhance their experience.
• Follow up: After onboarding, use the collected data to send personalized welcome emails and offers.

6. Feedback Requests

Asking for feedback after a purchase or interaction can provide valuable zero-party data. Customers are often willing to share their thoughts and preferences when asked directly.

• Timing is key: Request feedback soon after the customer interaction to ensure the experience is fresh in their mind.
• Make it easy: Simplify the feedback process with easy-to-use forms or quick survey links.
• Show appreciation: Thank customers for their feedback and let them know how their input will be used to improve their experience.

How to use zero-party data for email personalization

Zero-party data is a goldmine for creating highly personalized email campaigns. Here’s how to effectively leverage zero-party data to enhance your email personalization efforts:

1. Segment Your Audience

Segmentation is the foundation of personalized email marketing. Using zero-party data, you can create highly specific audience segments based on various criteria such as preferences, interests, and behaviors.

2. Personalized Content and Recommendations

Zero-party data allows you to deliver content and product recommendations that resonate with individual customers.

• Dynamic content: Use dynamic content blocks in your emails to show different content to different segments based on their preferences. For example, if a customer has shown interest in a specific product category, highlight those products in your email.
• Product recommendations: Leverage zero-party data to suggest products that align with a customer’s expressed interests. Personalized recommendations can significantly increase the likelihood of conversion.
• Relevant offers: Tailor promotions and discounts based on customer preferences and purchase intentions. Personalized offers are more likely to drive engagement and sales.

3. Customized Email Journeys

Creating customized email journeys based on zero-party data ensures that each customer receives relevant and timely communications throughout their relationship with your brand.

• Welcome series: Develop a personalized welcome email series that introduces new subscribers to your brand and highlights products or content that match their interests.
• Behavioral triggers: Set up automated email triggers based on specific actions or behaviors, such as cart abandonment, product browsing, or purchase anniversaries. Tailor the content of these emails to the individual’s preferences.
• Re-engagement campaigns: Use zero-party data to identify inactive subscribers and send personalized re-engagement emails that reignite their interest with relevant content or exclusive offers.

5. Personalized Subject Lines and Sender Names

The subject line and sender name are critical elements that influence whether an email gets opened. Personalize these elements using zero-party data to increase open rates.

• Personalized subject lines: Incorporate the recipient’s name, interests, or previous interactions into your subject lines. For example, “John, don’t miss out on our new arrivals in electronics!”
• Customized sender names: Use a sender name that resonates with the recipient, such as a specific customer service representative or a name associated with their favorite product category.

Best practices for leveraging zero-party data

Leveraging zero-party data effectively requires a strategic approach to ensure that the data collected is both valuable and actionable. First and foremost, always prioritize transparency and trust. Clearly communicate to customers why you are collecting their data and how it will enhance their experience.

Simplify the process of data sharing by using concise and user-friendly forms, surveys, or preference centers. It’s crucial to ask only for information that you will genuinely use, avoiding any unnecessary or intrusive questions. Once you have the data, integrate it seamlessly into your marketing platforms to create highly personalized and relevant communications. Regularly update and validate your data to maintain its accuracy and relevance. Additionally, continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your personalized campaigns to refine and optimize your strategies. 

Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to collecting and leveraging zero-party data:

By following these do’s and don’ts, you can effectively use zero-party data to enhance your marketing efforts, build trust, and provide value to your customers.

The post How to Collect and Use Zero-Party Data for Email Personalization appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

The demand for personalization, however, raises another concern: How do you deliver on personalization while maintaining scalability and efficiency? The answer lies in dynamic email content, where specific elements of an email automatically change depending on the recipient’s behaviors, preferences, and data.

What is dynamic email content?

Dynamic email content is a powerful technique in email marketing that involves personalizing and customizing email messages for each recipient based on their specific data, behaviors, and preferences. Unlike static emails, which deliver the same message to every subscriber, dynamic content allows marketers to create emails that adapt in real-time to individual recipients.

This means that different users might see different images, offers, product recommendations, or text within the same email campaign, depending on factors such as their past purchases, browsing history, location, or demographic information.

What are the benefits of dynamic email content?

Dynamic email content offers a multitude of benefits that can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. There are three major benefits to using dynamic email content: increased engagement, enhanced brand perception, and efficiency at scale.

1. Increased email engagement

Dynamic email content significantly boosts email engagement by delivering personalized and relevant messages to each recipient. By leveraging user data such as past purchases, browsing history, and preferences, dynamic emails can present tailored content that resonates with individual subscribers. This personalized approach makes emails more appealing and pertinent, leading to higher open rates and click-through rates.

For instance, a customer who recently browsed running shoes might receive an email featuring the latest models and exclusive discounts on athletic gear, making them more likely to engage with the content and complete a purchase. This level of customization ensures that recipients are more invested in the emails they receive, driving better overall engagement metrics for your campaigns.

2. Enhanced brand perception

Using dynamic email content enhances brand perception by demonstrating that your business understands and values its customers. Personalized emails show recipients that you are attentive to their interests and needs, fostering a sense of being cared for and appreciated. This can lead to a stronger emotional connection with your brand, as customers feel that their individual preferences are recognized and catered to.

For example, sending a personalized birthday offer or a recommendation based on past purchases can make customers feel special and valued. This positive perception can translate into increased customer loyalty, as recipients are more likely to trust and favor a brand that consistently delivers relevant and personalized experiences.

3. Efficiency at scale

Dynamic email content allows marketers to achieve efficiency at scale by automating the customization process. Instead of creating multiple email templates for different segments of your audience, dynamic content enables you to design a single template that can adapt based on the recipient’s data. This not only saves time and resources but also ensures consistency across your email campaigns.

By utilizing tools and algorithms to insert personalized elements dynamically, marketers can efficiently manage large-scale campaigns while maintaining a high level of relevance for each recipient. This scalable approach allows businesses to deliver personalized experiences to a broad audience without the manual effort traditionally required, ultimately leading to more effective and streamlined marketing operations.

What are the types of dynamic email content?

Dynamic email content can take many forms, each designed to enhance personalization and relevance for the recipient. These types of dynamic content aren’t mutually exclusive either — they can be combined to create a highly personalized email featuring multiple types of personalization. Here are some of the most common types:

1. Personalized text

Personalized text involves incorporating the recipient’s name, location, or other specific details into the email content. For example, an email might start with “Hi [First Name],” which immediately captures the recipient’s attention and makes the message feel more personal. This simple touch can significantly improve engagement and make the recipient feel valued.

2. Dynamic Images

Dynamic images change based on the recipient’s preferences or behaviors. For instance, an online retailer might use dynamic images to show products that a customer has previously viewed or similar items they might be interested in. This can make the email more visually appealing and relevant, increasing the likelihood that the recipient will click through.

3. Product recommendations

Product recommendations are tailored suggestions based on the recipient’s past purchases, browsing history, or wish list items. These recommendations can be incredibly effective in driving sales, as they present the recipient with items they are likely to be interested in. For example, an email from a book retailer might recommend new releases or bestsellers similar to books the customer has purchased before.

4. Real-time updates

Real-time updates ensure that the content of the email is current at the time it is opened. This can include live countdown timers for sales events, current stock levels, or real-time weather updates. For example, a travel company might use real-time updates to show the current weather at popular destinations, enticing recipients to book a trip.

5. Behavioral triggers

Behavioral triggers are emails sent based on specific actions taken by the recipient, such as abandoning a shopping cart, downloading a resource, or not opening previous emails. These triggered emails can provide timely and relevant content that encourages the recipient to complete a desired action. For instance, an abandoned cart email might remind the customer of the items left in their cart and offer a discount to complete the purchase.

6. Location-based content

Location-based content adapts the email based on the recipient’s geographic location. This can include local store information, regional promotions, or events happening nearby. For example, a restaurant chain might send an email promoting a new menu item available at the recipient’s local branch, making the content more relevant and actionable.

7. Interactive content

Interactive content includes elements such as polls, quizzes, or carousels that allow recipients to engage directly with the email. This type of content can increase engagement by providing a more immersive and interactive experience. For instance, a beauty brand might include a quiz to help recipients find the right skincare products for their skin type, creating a personalized and engaging experience.

8. Dynamic offers and discounts

Dynamic offers and discounts are tailored promotions based on the recipient’s shopping behavior, loyalty status, or previous interactions with the brand. For example, a loyal customer might receive a higher discount or exclusive offer compared to a first-time shopper, incentivizing continued engagement and purchases.

The type(s) of dynamic content that you include in your email will depend on the customer data that you have available. According to a study about the data points most widely used for email personalization, the most common data points used for email personalization are location, transaction history, and demographic information (e.g. age, gender).

What are some examples of dynamic email content?

Let’s take a look at some best-in-class examples of dynamic email content.

1. Netflix

Netflix uses dynamic email content to provide personalized recommendations based on users’ viewing history. For example, after a user finishes watching “The Queen’s Gambit,” Netflix sends an email tailored to their interests. The email opens with a congratulatory note on completing the series and seamlessly transitions into dynamic content that suggests new shows under different categories similar to “The Queen’s Gambit”. Under “Feeling Intellectual?”, Netflix recommends thought-provoking series like “Halt and Catch Fire” or “Alien Worlds.”

For “Play with Your Emotions,” the email highlights emotionally gripping dramas such as “Itaewon Class” or “Away” Finally, under “Continue Watching,” the email includes content that the user has already started but not yet finished, ensuring they can easily pick up where they left off. This level of personalization not only enhances the user experience by offering relevant content but also helps to keep viewers engaged and subscribed to the platform.

2. Loom

User insights and recaps are a common form of dynamic email content used by many SaaS companies. Loom uses dynamic email content to send monthly summaries of users’ activity on the platform, showing data such as their videos created, video views, and meetings eliminated. This dynamic content is beneficial because it provides users with a clear and concise overview of their engagement and productivity, helping them to see the value they are getting from the platform.

By highlighting key metrics and trends, Loom enables users to track their progress and make informed decisions about how to improve their video communication strategies. Additionally, these personalized recaps can motivate users to create more content by showcasing their impact and usage patterns, fostering a sense of achievement and encouraging continued use of the platform. 

3. OpenTable

OpenTable effectively leverages dynamic email content to provide highly relevant dining recommendations tailored to the user’s location and current season. For users in Nashville, OpenTable sends personalized emails featuring a curated list of outdoor dining options perfect for enjoying the summer weather. These emails highlight popular local spots with great patios, rooftop seating, or picturesque views, making it easy for users to find the ideal restaurant for their next meal.

Additionally, OpenTable incorporates the user’s previous dining activity into these recommendations, suggesting new places that align with their tastes and preferences. For example, if a user frequently dines at Italian restaurants, the email might suggest similar eateries with outdoor seating. 

How do I set up dynamic email content?

Setting up dynamic email content involves several strategic steps to ensure your emails are personalized, engaging, and effective. Here’s a guide to help you get started:

1. Understand your audience

Before diving into the technical aspects, it’s crucial to understand your audience. Segment your email list based on various criteria such as demographics, past behaviors, purchase history, and preferences. The more detailed your segmentation, the more personalized and relevant your dynamic content will be. Use tools like customer surveys, website analytics, and purchase data to gather insights about your subscribers.

2. Choose the right email marketing platform

Selecting an email marketing platform that supports dynamic content is essential. Platforms like Klaviyo, Mailchimp and Braze offer robust features for creating and managing dynamic emails. These platforms allow you to insert conditional content blocks that change based on the recipient’s data. Ensure your chosen platform integrates well with your existing CRM and data sources to streamline the process.

3. Gather and integrate data

Dynamic email content relies heavily on data. Integrate your email marketing platform with your CRM, e-commerce system, and other data sources to pull in real-time information about your subscribers. This integration allows you to use data points such as browsing history, past purchases, or even zero-party data to customize email content dynamically.

4. Design your email template

Create a flexible email template that supports dynamic content blocks. These blocks can include personalized greetings, product recommendations, location-specific information, and other tailored elements. Use conditional logic to define when and how each content block should be displayed. For example, you can set a rule to show a special offer only to subscribers who have made a purchase in the last 30 days.

5. Test and optimize

Before sending your dynamic emails to your entire list, conduct thorough testing. Send test emails to different segments to ensure the dynamic content is displayed correctly and that the personalization rules are working as intended. A/B testing can also help you determine which dynamic elements are most effective. Continuously monitor the performance of your dynamic emails and make adjustments based on open rates, click-through rates, and conversion metrics.

6. Automate and scale

Once you’ve fine-tuned your dynamic email content, automate your email campaigns to ensure timely and consistent communication. Use triggers such as user actions, dates, or behavioral data to send dynamic emails automatically. This automation not only saves time but also ensures that your subscribers receive personalized content at the right moments. As your business grows, scale your dynamic email efforts by adding more data points and refining your segmentation to maintain high levels of personalization and engagement.

Of course, the exact details of how to set up dynamic email content will depend on the specific email marketing platform that you are using. Here are some helpful guides for commonly used platforms:

• Klaviyo: How to use dynamic variables to personalize email and SMS flows
• Klaviyo: How to build dynamic blocks in a flow email
• Iterable: Using Dynamic Content to Personalize Promotional Emails
• Iterable: Dynamic Content Builder
• Mailchimp: About Dynamic Content
• Braze: Understanding Dynamic Content Personalization

As always, if you need more help creating a strategy for dynamic email content, feel free to drop us a line.

The post Dynamic Email Content: Leveraging Customer Data for Strategic Personalization appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.