Good morning! Chase and Jimmy here. 👋

Ever feel like you’re sending emails into a black hole, hoping your subscribers will take action? Trust us, we’ve been there. But here’s the thing: there’s a hack that can make your emails way more effective—contextual data.

Contextual data is like the secret sauce that helps you understand exactly what your audience is interested in. It's all about knowing what they click, browse, and leave behind. But here’s the catch—most marketers don’t use it to its full potential. You’re leaving a lot of sales on the table if you’re not tapping into this goldmine.

This week, we’re breaking down how to use contextual data to make your email and SMS campaigns smarter and more personalized, including:

✅ What contextual data really is

✅ Where to find it (spoiler: it’s already in your tech stack)

✅ How to turn those clicks into conversions

Ready to stop sending generic emails and start using the data that’s already at your fingertips? Let’s dive in!

But first, a few quick insights:

Flashy social media ads and witty video campaigns often steal the spotlight. But don't let them fool you—email marketing still packs a punch when it comes to building lasting customer relationships and driving sustainable revenue.

It’s a strategic tool for fostering long-term connections with your audience and Omnisend has everything you need to keep email as your top-revenue generating channel. In this guide, dig into:

✔️ Why email marketing is still crucial in 2025

✔️ Best practices for crafting successful campaigns

✔️ Common email mistakes to avoid

✔️ Top metrics to stay on track

Get the full break down here!

🎙️ New Episode Alert! The Year in Email: 2024 Recap and 10 Bold Predictions for 2025

In this NEW episode, Jimmy and Chase recap the standout moments from email and SMS marketing in 2024. From the most effective campaign strategies to the unexpected trends that shaped consumer behavior, they’re breaking down what worked and why. 

Tune in as they share insights on navigating new privacy regulations, the rise of conversational marketing, and real-life examples of eCommerce brands turning these trends into tangible results. 

And a major thank you to our friends at Omnisend and AppBrew for sponsoring the show! Now, without further adieu, let’s send it! Watch the episode on YouTube or listen in on Spotify or Apple.

How to Use Contextual Data to Improve Your Email and SMS Marketing

Running marketing campaigns these days can be quite a challenge. With budgets getting tighter, we’re all trying to squeeze more results from our resources.

The good news is that by zooming out, refreshing your strategy and using the right tools, you can drive more engagement without doubling down on your investment.

One of those tools is contextual data.

Let’s look at what contextual data is and how to use it to get more juice out of your email and SMS marketing campaigns.

What is contextual data (and why does it matter)?

Contextual data (or intent data) is all the facts you have on your audience’s interests and behavior when it comes to shopping from your store. This includes:

• Emails and SMS opened or clicked

• Pages visited on your site

• Products viewed or bought

• Abandoned carts

Knowing this data helps you craft hyper-personalized campaigns that match your audience’s interests and successfully convert them into customers.

Without contextual data, you’re leaving money on the table.

For example, let’s say you send an email campaign to 100,000 subscribers. Around 2% of those contacts (2,000) click through the links in your email.

And only 5% of those who clicked (100) actually make a purchase.

If you’re like most eCommerce businesses, you probably wouldn’t follow up with those 1,900 subscribers who showed interest by clicking but didn’t convert.

However, if you use contextual data to set up your automations, you might be able to get those people back in your store and buy–that’s a boat load of potential sales!

So, where do you find this contextual data?

Technically, this data is sitting right inside your tech stack.

Most email marketing tools let you track email/SMS opens and clicks. They might even show you the top pages your subscribers visit from your campaigns.

Similarly, your eCommerce store analytics might help you find details on buyer behavior like browsing history, past purchases, abandoned carts and more.

The problem is not about finding this data. It’s about using it effectively to personalize each and every campaign so it hits the mark.

How to use contextual data in email and SMS marketing

Let’s say you’ve got access to all of this data in your analytics.

You could spend hours manually personalizing each campaign – and still end up with errors and inconsistency (you’re human, after all).

Or you could do the smart thing and set up behavioral tagging to automatically send personalized campaigns based on contextual triggers.

Here’s an example of behavioral tagging in action:

• When a subscriber clicks on a link to explore earrings in your jewelry store, you add a tag to their profile (e.g. “earrings”).

• The shopper browses but doesn’t buy. 

• Set up automations based on specific tags. For example, you could set up a more targeted funnel specifically highlighting earrings, your best-sellers and why you have the best earrings—you get it.

• To customers who did buy one of those earrings, you could show similar products they might like via email to encourage repeat purchase (e.g. the matching necklace or bracelet to complete the set).

Use email + SMS together for max impact

Your contextual marketing campaigns will work best if you implement them across both channels together – email and SMS.

For example, send an email to alert subscribers when you drop a new product, launch a sale or run a time-sensitive promotion. Then, follow up via SMS for that quick, hard hitting follow-up.

Unifying your channels helps you maximize your campaign’s reach and engagement.

What if your subscribers don’t have an active internet connection? They can still check their SMS for a time-sensitive discount.

Or what if they’re too busy to pay attention the first time around? Finding you on another channel (e.g. email) at a different time might change their mind.

Use contextual data to turn clicks into customers

Every email open, website visit and abandoned cart reveals what your customers truly want. But most marketers miss these signals.

Contextual data takes those digital breadcrumbs and turns them into sales.

Once you set up your system, this personalization happens automatically. Your marketing works smarter, sells better and runs on autopilot.

That’s the power of letting data drive your decisions.

🗞️ Quick Clips

• Shopping for Justice: Home decor brand, Redline Steel, Hits Shopify with $60M Lawsuit.

• Business in the front, party in the back: Costco dives into the affordable housing world—set to build an 800-unit complex atop megastore in LA.

• 200k Amazon Launch: Get a play-by-play explanation on how BRĒZ went from $0-$200M with Brandon Fishman in this CRSD ‘24 replay.

That’s a wrap for the first edition of the new year! 

Thanks for spending some time with Chase and me!

If you enjoyed this newsletter or found it helpful, spread the love—share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer. Let’s get them subscribed so they’re in the loop for next week’s updates! 🚀

Remember: Do shit you love.

🤘 Jimmy Kim & Chase Dimond