How to Personalize/Customize Marketing Without AI and Still Build Trust

Personalize without AI. I’ve been in this business long enough to remember when “Hi [First Name]” felt personal.

Back then, adding a name to a subject line was cutting edge. Now? It’s table stakes. And yet, we’re still navigating the same question we were back then, just with more advanced tools:

How do we personalize or customize in a way that helps the customer, not creeps them out?

The answer is simpler than most AI hype would have you believe:
Respect the relationship.

That means using data your audience expects you to have. Acting on clear signals. And making sure that “personalized” doesn’t cross the line into “presumptuous.”

Here’s what that looks like in practice.

The Holiday Campaign That Let the Customer Choose

A few years ago, I worked on a holiday campaign for a company that offers corporate swag, things like branded water bottles, polo shirts, camp chairs, you name it.

We started with an email that looked like any other; multiple product blocks laid out in a clean, scannable grid. But behind the scenes, each block represented a different category of gift. It was our way of asking, “What kind of swag fits your people best?” without actually asking. When they clicked, we took it from there.

Then we followed up with emails featuring products from the category they clicked on (personalize without AI).
If someone showed interest in drinkware, they saw more of those. If they clicked on outdoor & leisure, we showed beach cup/phone holders, coolers, and outdoor game sets (think pickleball and disc golf).

That’s it. No AI. No complex targeting model.
Just behavior-based follow-up. And it worked. We got high engagement, high conversion, zero complaints.

Because it felt logical. People saw more of what they already said they were interested in. That’s privacy-first personalization at its best.

Read the full case study here.

The Furniture Campaign That Got the Room Right

Another project was for a furniture brand. We looked at on-site behavior: what rooms shoppers were browsing, which categories they lingered on, what pages they returned to.

If someone spent time looking at sectional sofas and living room sets, we didn’t send them a discount for dining tables.
We sent living room content. Decor ideas. Bundle offers.

Again, nothing overly complex, just observed behavior used respectfully (personalize without AI).
The open rates went up. The conversions followed. And best of all, no one ever asked, “How did they know that?”

Because it made sense. It was behavior they knew they’d given us by clicking and scrolling.

The B2B Nurture Series That Asked First

One more. A B2B client wanted to build a nurture track for their email list, but didn’t want to make assumptions. So we added a field to the opt-in form: “What industry are you in?”

That was it. Then we created email content that matched that answer, with messaging tailored to their specific challenges and need (personalize without AI).

Open rates and clickthroughs were higher than any of their past campaigns.
Why? Because the emails felt relevant.
And because the audience knew they had been the one to provide that info. It wasn’t inferred. It was volunteered.

Get tips for better performing email nurture series.

AI Will Get There. But We’re Not There Yet

It’s worth remembering that browse-based emails used to feel creepy, too.
Now? We expect them. We get annoyed when we don’t get them.

AI-powered personalization is going to follow the same path. Over time, as the tools improve and transparency increases, it’ll feel more natural. Even helpful.

But right now, we’re in that awkward early stage. The risk of going too far, too fast is real. Which means the brands that win with AI personalization are the ones who stay anchored to the same principles we’ve always had:

• Use data your audience expects you to have.
• Be clear about how you got it.
• Personalize in ways that feel logical, not invasive.

If it makes your audience pause and think, “Wait, how did they know that?” — you’ve probably gone too far.

Bottom line?

Personalization works. But only when it’s rooted in trust.
So keep it logical. Keep it respectful. And start with the data your audience already knows they’ve given you.

That’s how you stay helpful, not creepy.
And that’s how you build a relationship worth personalizing.

Until next time,

jj

This is the second in a series of articles on Human-first Marketing in the Age of AI. Read the first article, AI Is a Tool. It's Not a Strategy. And It's Why the Fundamentals Matter More Than Ever, and sign-up for the Email Optimization Shop newsletter so you don't miss the others in the series.

Photo by Ignat Kushnarev on Unsplash