Using Personas to Personalize your Email Marketing Campaigns in 2025

Personalized email marketing isn't dead — far from it. In 2025, it remains one of the most profitable channels, with an average ROI of $42 generated for every dollar invested. But beware: this figure is only valid if your emails are relevant. And for that, there's no magic formula: you need to speak to the right people, with the right words, at the right time.

This is where personas come into play. This guide shows you how to transform a generic campaign into a series of truly personalized emails, boosting your performance... and your return on investment.

Why personas are game-changers in personalized email marketing

Sending the same message to everyone is like throwing a bottle into the sea. On average, non-segmented campaigns cap at 18% open rate, while emails built around personas reach up to 32%.

Why such a difference?

• Message/need alignment: 80% of consumers prefer brands that offer them a personalized experience.
• Resource optimization: fine persona segmentation can lower customer acquisition cost by 49%.
• Content relevance: 74% of recipients ignore or delete emails that don't concern them.

If you've already worked on your personas with Persona Builder, you have a powerful lever in your hands. Provided you use it properly.

What your personas teach you: behaviors, language, needs

The best emails are those that respect:

• Preferred channels: for example, 61% of Gen Z read their emails on mobile... compared to 40% of Baby Boomers.
• Resonating vocabulary: a personalized email subject line can increase targeted open rate by 26%.
• Purchase triggers: 91% of marketers say that 2025 email personalization influences the customer journey.

In short, your personas aren't just "marketing" sheets to fill out: they're concrete guides for better writing, finer segmentation, and speaking your audience's language.

How to segment your email base according to your personas

Strategic criteria

Combine demographic and behavioral data. Here are some criteria to cross-reference:

• Purchase frequency: your "VIP" customers (3+ purchases/year) generate on average 760% more revenue.
• Mobile engagement: 73% of active users read their emails on smartphone. A responsive design is non-negotiable.
• Promo sensitivity: 64% of Millennials respond to exclusive offers... compared to 42% of Gen X.

Useful tools:

• Klaviyo: track AOV (average order value) by segment.
• Notion: structure key persona attributes (language, objections, preferred channels...).

B2B structuring

Let's take a simple 3-level example:

According to HubSpot, this 3-tier structure could reduce the unsubscribe rate by 37%.

Adapt your email content for each persona

Subject, tone and call to action

Subject:

• For a CFO: "Reduce your IT costs by 23% with [Your solution name]" → +40% opens
• For HR: "[First name], boost your team productivity in 1 click" → +32% clicks

Tone:

• Formal, data-oriented for decision makers (effectiveness: 74%)
• Emotional, conversational for internal influencers (engagement: 88%)

Visual:

• Explanatory videos for technical profiles (+120% reading time)
• Summary infographics for decision makers (+65% sharing)

CTA:

• "Schedule a demo" for hot leads
• "Download a guide" for warm leads

"Early adopter" template example

• Subject: "[First name], be among the first to test [New feature]"
• Body: exclusive invitation + mini-survey
• CTA: "Join the beta program"

Result: 22% conversion, versus 8% for a classic email.

Concrete case: email ROI campaign with Persona Builder

Software launch in May 2025. Two personas, two emails, two worlds.

Persona 1: Marie, Marketing Manager

• Segment: 35-45 years old, retail, ROI focus
• Email:
  • Subject: "Marie, generate 42% qualified leads with our automation"
  • Content: before/after comparison, customer testimonial
  • CTA: "Start free trial"

Persona 2: John, IT Director

• Segment: 45-55 years old, regulated industry
• Email:
  • Subject: "John, GDPR compliance guaranteed thanks to our ISO 27001 certification"
  • Content: cybersecurity whitepaper + sector analysis
  • CTA: "Download complete study"

Results:

• Open rate: 34% (vs 19% previous campaign)
• Conversion rate: 5.2% (vs 1.8%)
• Cost per lead: €28 (vs €75)

5 (fatal) mistakes to avoid

1. Outdated personas → Update them quarterly.

2. Surface-level personalization → First name isn't enough. Add context and purchase history.

3. Non-mobile-optimized emails → 73% of poorly displayed emails are deleted.

4. No A/B testing → 51% of marketers still don't test their subjects...

5. Misaligned landing pages → Good email without good follow-up = -62% conversion.

To go further

You can complete this guide with:

• Create impactful marketing content using personas
• AI serving your marketing: predicting behaviors

References

• 100 Compelling Email Statistics to Inform Your Strategy in 2023
• Email Marketing Stats & Trends
• Klaviyo Help Center: Email Marketing Best Practices
• Case Study: User Personas Building for a Luxury Clothing Company
• Most Common Email Personalization Mistakes
• Best Persona Profile Templates for Email Marketing Managers
• Make My Persona: Examples & Templates
• Best Email Subject Lines: Tips & Examples