Welcome to Vol.27 of Email Advice in Your Inbox!

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Thanks for joining us today - We're so glad you're here.


This week, we're jumping into email data.

Specifically, we'll be clearing up some confusion around zero-party and first-party data, and how you can effectively use these data types together to help you win at email.

You can also expect the regular email knowledge you're here for, including a few neat tools, resources and emails we've recently discovered.

 

Here's what you'll learn this week
 

• Making sense of zero and first-party data in email
   

• This week's top email resources
   

• Email expert practical tip of the week
   

• Smart email senders we're learning from
   

• The fun stuff: Failed attempts for our viewing pleasure
  
   

Let's get down to (email) business 🚀

The data around your subscribers is a gold mine for email senders. And any great email sender worth their salt knows this.
 

But, there's often a lot of confusion around the difference between zero-party data and first-party data.

These terms get thrown around all the time, so today we're going to clear up some confusion.

We'll briefly explore what each data type means and how you how you can use these two types of data to effectively build on your email strategy.

Even if you're familiar with using these data points correctly, read on to see what ideas you can spark in your email strategy to help you win.

We hope you've got your email-data hat on.

⭐(PS: Attracting the right audience starts with a solid strategy)⭐
Before you dive in, grab this free training to get you started.

First-party data is, essentially,  the information you collect directly from your audience.

This data comes from interactions with your brand or business. Use website visits, purchase history, and email engagement levels as examples.

It's considered the most reliable data type because it’s based on actual behaviour and interactions with your content.
 

If you want a few sources of First-Party Data, here are some examples:

• Website analytics (page views, clicks)
• Purchase history
• Email open rates and clicks
• Customer loyalty programs

There are quite a few more ways you can collect first-party data but think of each source as a place of passive learning.
 

This means you're inferring the actions and preferences of your audience, and creating ways to cater to these actions or preferences. 
 

There are a multitude of advantages to collecting first-party data:

Data is usually accurate: Because it’s collected directly from your audience, first-party data is often highly accurate.

Data is usually relevant: This data often reflects real user interactions, making it highly relevant to your email sending and segmentation efforts.

You have more control: You essentially own this data, giving you complete control over how it’s used or protected.
 

The major drawback, however, is inference.

You're making assumptions about what user preferences and actions mean, which could leave room for errors in the way you use this data.

Here's a quick example of inference error:

You're sending emails for an online apparel store. You have a customer, Emily, who frequently browses and occasionally purchases items from the "Women's Activewear" section of a website.

Based on this behaviour, you infer that Emily is primarily interested in fitness-related products.

You may not have considered Emily could be shopping for someone else. Emily may also not identify as female, so immediately adding Emily to a "female" segment, or sending future content solely related to "Women's Activewear" may be a lost opportunity.

This is where zero-party data comes in.

Zero-party data, on the other hand, is information that your customers and readers voluntarily share with you.

Unlike first-party data, which is collected passively, zero-party data is actively provided by your audience.

This data typically comes from surveys, quizzes, or preference centres where your audience has a chance to share their chosen preferences, intentions, and feedback.

If you want a few sources of Zero-Party Data, here are some examples:

• Customer surveys
• Interactive quizzes
• Preference centres
• Product recommendation forms

And, of course, there are a multitude of ways to collect further ero-party data.

This type of data shares the control of what data you're given to tailor your content and offers with the audience you're targeting.
 

There are also many advantages of collecting zero-party data:

It gains more trust: Since this data is willingly provided by your current and potential audience, it helps build trust because they're in control of what they share.

It's often highly precise: Zero-party data allows you to tailor your email-sending efforts to individual preferences, leading to more relevant and engaging content over time.

There's increased engagement: Because the data is shared from the proverbial horse's mouth, they’re more likely to engage with content that reflects their preferences.


Again, there are potential errors of inference, like this example:

One of your customers, Sara, indicates in the preference centre that she prefers “formal wear.” Based on this input, you segment Sara into a group that receives emails about formal clothing, such as business suits, dress shirts, and elegant accessories.

However, Sara’s preference for formal wear was contextual—she was shopping for a wedding at the time and selected “formal wear” only for that occasion.

In her everyday life, she actually prefers casual clothing. Over time, you continue to send her emails promoting formal attire, believing that this is her primary style preference, and Sara unsubscribes, losing potential future value.

This is where using these two data types in conjunction can help you win at email.

If you effectively incorporate both first-party and zero-party data into your email strategy, you'll open up a few opportunities to significantly improve your audience's experience with your emails.

This is done by combining the observed behaviour with explicit customer preferences.

Let's look at a few things you can do to execute this well, now that you understand how these two data types work:
 

1. You can personalise emails better
   
   First-party data gives you a window into what your customers are doing—like which products they browse, what emails they open, and which links they click.
   
   Zero-party data, on the other hand, tells you directly what they want and prefer.
   
   If you apply this to your offer or product, you can craft emails that highlight specific products (based on first-party data) and include guides on how to make the best use of them if you know what actions your audience takes to use them (aligned with zero-party preferences).
   
   This dual approach helps make content relevant and timely.
   
    
2. You can improve segmentation accuracy
   
   While zero-party data provides direct insight into customer preferences, it can sometimes be context-specific or outdated. This is where first-party data helps validate and refine these insights.
   
   Applied practically, you can update your segmentation dynamically by creating a segment for customers interested in specific applications of your offer. 
   
   This segment can then receive targeted emails featuring products related to these activities, and you can adapt these for the context, season or offer you're targeting at the time.
   
    
3. You can refine product or offer recommendations
   
   Product and offer recommendations based solely on first-party data can sometimes miss the mark if they don’t consider explicit customer preferences.
   
   Zero-party data can add the necessary context to make these recommendations more accurate.
   
   Here's where you'll use zero-party data to refine product recommendations, ensuring they not only match the customer’s past behaviours but also align with their chosen preferences.
   
   This makes your recommendations more relevant and increases the likelihood of conversion.

There are a multitude of elements that can be added here, such as building greater trust, creating effective triggered or automated sequences, as well as optimising your email frequency or content mix.
 

We'll explore these opportunities in future Volumes and how to make the most out of these for email.

There you have it.

Integrating first-party and zero-party data helps you create a holistic view of your audience that allows for deeper personalisation, more accurate segmentation, and more effective emails.

Remember, being data-driven isn't enough. You want to focus on customer-centricity to build better engagement, higher conversions, and stronger relationships.

We'd love your thoughts! Has this helped you define where to begin with these data types?

Let us know👇

Email resources of the week

Cool articles and resources to help you become a better email sender

Email Expert Practical Tip of the Week

Today's tip is from DTC email and SMS expert, Mark Mei.
 

Mark breaks down the components of what an effective email design looks like.

Despite every email differing in intent and brand, there are still some great core principles you need to follow, and Mark makes these easy to follow.


Hit this link to find out what they are 👈

Smart email senders we're learning from

We believe that learning from some of the greatest in the industry is one of the best ways to improve.

Here are three emails we found that followed sound email principles or used innovative strategies to nail their email goals.

Take a look at this week's best 👌
 

Some more (sorta-email) fun to make your day better

Autocarrot can be, well...fun. Especially so if you're a potty-mouth 💩

Here's another great autocorrect fail (or intentional, who knows), that we thought you'd enjoy.

I don't think my teachers would be this chilled. I also don't think that's the first time that's happened.

If you enjoy a good fail, here's our permission to take 5 minutes, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy these 50 attempts made that failed dismally.
 

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