What’s the impact of personalization on deliverability?

Personalization affects deliverability in both positive and potentially negative ways:

Positive impacts:

Higher open rates from relevant subject lines. Better click rates from matched content. Lower complaint rates when messages feel appropriate. Improved engagement signals strengthen sender reputation.

Potential risks:

Excessive personalization: Some filters flag heavy personalization as spam-like tactics. Broken personalization: Merge tag errors look spammy. Behavioral retargeting: Overly aggressive "we saw you looking at..." can feel creepy and generate complaints. Unique content per recipient: Makes reputation patterns harder for ISPs to evaluate.

Balance approach:

Personalize meaningfully, not excessively. Test that personalization does not trigger filters. Ensure personalization adds value, not just novelty.

Good personalization improves deliverability by improving experience. Bad personalization backfires by triggering distrust or filters.