An Email Marketer’s Guide To Zero-Party Data In 2025

72% of consumers engage only with personalized messages. Using zero-party data, you can create email campaigns that directly reflect your customers’ preferences and needs.

In this article, we will discuss zero-party data—what it is, best practices for collecting it, and how it differs from other types of customer data. We will also include real-world examples of brands effectively using zero-party data to drive customer engagement.

After reading this, you will know how to ask your customers for information they are happy to share and improve your data-driven marketing efforts.

What Is Zero-Party Data?

Zero-party data is the information the consumers voluntarily share with a brand. They do this intentionally because they want control over what they share online while receiving a better, more personalized experience. Since consumers provide their info directly, brands are sure their email marketing campaigns are:

• Accurate: Reaches the right audience
• Build trust: Show transparency and respect
• Relatable: Feels more meaningful and personal
• Relevant: Matches what customers need and like

Here’s a table comparing customer data types to show what makes zero-party data stand out.

6 General Best Practices When Collecting Zero-Party Data

Consider each point and strategize on how they can fit into your current email marketing strategy.

1. Be Transparent & Specific

Consumers feel confident about sharing their personal information with your business. Make sure to clearly inform them of why you are collecting them and how you plan to use them. Academy Xi informs their customers through their terms and conditions, under privacy policy.

The brand stands out for clearly outlining all aspects of data collection and usage in its terms and conditions. This approach centralizes their transparency efforts and uses a simple, standard format to make the information easy for consumers to access, read, and understand.

• Use plain language and a conversational tone
• Include summaries at the beginning of sections
• Each section comes with clear, concise headings
• Provide examples to show consumers how their data will be used in real-world situations
• Add their legal accountability to reassure consumers that you are serious about protecting their data
• Leave their contact information (if the consumers have any issue or concern about how Academy Xi manages or uses their personal or sensitive information)

Here are other practical ways to make your terms and conditions user-friendly:

2. Comply To Data Privacy Regulations & Laws

Data privacy regulations and laws control how businesses collect, store, and process personal customer data. They ensure businesses respect consumers’ rights, give them control over their own data, and handle sensitive information responsibly. Non-compliance will cause hefty fines and penalties.

If you only operate and serve customers in one location, it’s easier to keep up with data privacy regulations and laws. However, it becomes more challenging when you operate globally. Humanize AI found a way to respect diverse privacy laws in different regions:

• Use a Q&A format: This ensures they cover all necessary topics related to privacy laws (ex. What are your privacy rights in the UK?).
• Include the specific privacy law they follow: This will show that they fully understand and meet the requirements of this specific law (ex. California Civil Code Section 1798.83).
• Provide clear instructions for requesting changes: They let consumers review, update, withdraw their consent, or close their accounts at any time. Whichever they decide, consumers know how to request changes or deletions.
• Embed links of national data protection authorities: Allow consumers to learn more about the data protection laws and where they can complain if they believe Humanize AI™ unlawfully processed their data (ex. European Data Protection Board).

Each data privacy law has unique requirements. Add this information to ensure you will cover them all.

3. Collect Only What You Need

People feel overwhelmed and suspicious when they are being asked for too much information at once. Only ask for what’s relevant to your product/service or a specific purpose, so they won’t ignore your request. The simplest way to decide if information is worth collecting is to ask yourself:

• Why do I need this information?
• How will it benefit the customer?

If you can’t answer these questions, you probably don’t need them. Here are other proven strategies to know which zero-party data you need:

• Start with the basic information (ex. for a newsletter subscription, name, and email might be all you need)
• Understand your customer’s needs (ex. for a subscription service, gather content preferences or usage habits)
• Focus on data that meet your business goals (ex. for personalization, collect customer preferences, purchase intentions, or personal context)

Timing is also a major consideration, so do not ask too many questions immediately. Instead, select moments that feel natural to the customer, like while they are browsing products or after a purchase.

Map out every stage of your customer journey to ask for consumer data that is relevant to their experience, which will feel less intrusive.

4. Provide A Grab-Worthy Incentive

Offering consumers a reward for sharing their data makes the exchange feel fair. It also shows how you appreciate their input and time. Here are the rewards real brands offer and how they put them into action.

A. Transitions Elite Free Valuation Offer

A free valuation works well as a reward because it immediately shows consumers the direct benefit to them. It also shows your business expertise, which helps build trust with your prospects. Here’s how Transition Elite successfully offers their “Learn your vet practice value” reward:

• Only asks the data that matters
• Highlight the reward in big, bold letters
• Write clear calls to action: “Unlock the value of your practice”
• Provide simple instructions on what to do: “Fill out this form for a free valuation of your practice”
• Use a pop-up form to make it unmissable and strategically display when users are most likely to engage

B. Somewhere Exclusive Content

Exclusivity makes a reward more desirable because it makes consumers feel special. Not to mention, it provides educational benefits that can solve specific problems or improve their life. This is exactly what Somewhere delivers when designing their salary guide.

They want to ensure business owners understand industry salary standards in the Philippines. This knowledge helps them align their budgets and keep them fair when negotiating compensation with applicants. Here are other practical methods Somewhere uses to offer their salary guide:

• Use a simple opt-in form for quick access and download
• Focus on a specific audience group (small business owners)
• Connect it to their services (provide salary guide per country they serve)
• Promote the salary guide as a helpful tool (Get the complete picture of salaries for various jobs from remote staff in The Philippines)

C. ReConvert All-Access Perks

All-access perks are the best reward to make your subscribers feel like VIPs. It provides everything they need—unlimited access to their library of guides and tutorials, discounts, exclusive previews, and insider updates.

Most brands offer this reward for a limited time, but not for ReConvert. Once a consumer subscribes to their newsletter, they can immediately access all perks and use them as long as they want.

ReConvert personalizes this pop-up offer based on the consumer’s behaviors and interests. This makes it more relevant and increases the chances of conversion. Here’s where it commonly displays:

• While interacting with a particular feature
• When a user is about to leave the website
• After reading a tutorial blog post (ex. How to write abandoned cart emails)

4 Effective Ways To Collect Zero-Party Data

These are the most frequently used zero-party data collection methods—choose the ones that can help you better understand and engage your target audience. It provides practical advice that helps you personalize the results.

I. Request Customer Data Through Interactive Surveys

48% of consumers prefer interactive surveys to share their personal information. It makes the process feel more fun and engaging, and it gets responses in real-time. But what consumers like the most about surveys are:

• Available across multiple platforms (phone, tablet, and desktop)
• Ask consumers’ permission first before collecting their information
• Clearly describe what type of information it collects, including how brands will use them

Genius is an excellent example of a brand that successfully uses an interactive survey to improve its zero-risk hiring process. To stay focused and relevant, the brand uses its employer service page to introduce this survey.

The brand uses Typeform to create the survey form. It has a user-friendly interface with lots of customizable options. This ensures you can personalize the survey’s design and structure to match your brand’s identity.

Genius Survey also uses flexible question types to collect both easily analyzable data (multiple-choice) and detailed, rich feedback (long text). This will give employers a clearer, more comprehensive picture of candidate expectations within their budget.

Genius uses a seamless flow to keep the momentum going. After the participant selects an answer, it will automatically proceed to the next question without clicking a button. Here are more best practices you should follow to make sure you will get meaningful, actionable responses.

II. Use Preference Centers

A well-designed preference center can cut email unsubscribes by up to 30%. Simply because it allows consumers to control:

• How they want to be contacted (email, SMS, or phone)
• How often they receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly)
• Pick specific product/service categories they are interested in
• What type of emails do they want to get (ex. promotions, product updates, or newsletters)

Editorial.Link design the simplest preference center—customizing the consumer’s consent preferences for cookies. They provide detailed information about the cookies, and consumers can choose if they want to enable or disable some or all of these cookies.

The good news is that you can personalize your preference center based on your customer behavior and preference. This is exactly how Sephora designed its beauty preference center. They base everything on their customers’ beauty traits and shopping preferences.

They use a collapsible section to avoid overwhelming customers with too much information. They also add colors and relevant icons/images for each option to make choices clear and simple.

After customers complete their preferences, Sephora provides personalized product recommendations and other relevant offers to match their beauty needs and interests. Using preference center data can help you make inventory choices like identifying which products are likely to sell. To enhance your preference center’s user experience, make sure to apply the following:

• Make it easily accessible and intuitive
• Avoid providing customers with too many options
• Inform customers that they can change their preferences anytime

III. Implement Live Chats

79% of customers prefer live chat because it provides instant responses. It allows them to ask customers for permission to send marketing emails. If customers are engaged during the conversations, they’re more likely to give explicit consent right away.

Hyperise is an excellent example of incorporating live chat into its zero-party data strategy. To start a conversation, they require customers to input first their email addresses so that they collect valuable data right from the start.

The brand designed its live chat with a one-click opt-in option to make the process quick and easy. They also use proactive responses like “Can I help you with anything today?” to keep the conversation flowing. To make sure they can assist their customers at any time, they integrated their live chat with a chatbot.

Here are more best practices you should observe to get the zero-party data you need:

• Respond to customer inquiries in 40 seconds or less (1 minute is still acceptable)
• Be honest about why you are asking for consent (ex. promotions, product updates)
• Ask for permission when customers are actively engaged and satisfied with the assistance you’ve provided

IV. Engage Through Social Media Channels

Over 65% of consumers expect brands to reply to them through social media channels. Mostly because social media provides an interactive space. You can ask questions, host quizzes, or run polls, which encourage consumers to interact and share their feedback, opinions, and preferences.

SEO Pilot, an SEO AI writer, took another approach—they created a FaceBook Community Group. A community group builds a sense of belongingness, which helps consumers feel more comfortable sharing their preferences, needs, and feedback.

Before someone can join the community group, they are required to provide their email address and select which role best describes their interest or profession. This will help the admin team personalize their interaction with you. They will also understand what products to recommend or exclusive deals to offer.

When you run a social media group, make sure to interact with them regularly. This will help build rapport with your members, encouraging them to share more detailed data. You can also:

• Host live Q&A sessions
• Use hashtags to track topics and interests
• Create shareable content to increase your brand’s reach
• Ask open-ended questions to help you understand their needs and pain points
• Engage with your members in real-time (respond to comments or answer questions)
• Align targeted ads with your data collection goals (ex. Share your skincare preferences and get 20% off your next purchase)

Conclusion

To use your zero-party data responsibly, ask yourself where you can apply the data you collected to make consumers’ experiences better and more relevant. The answer helps you stay focused on what truly matters rather than just using it for marketing purposes.

Do you want to double your outreach engagement? Hyperise helps you personalize your website, videos, and images to connect better with your target audience. Sign up now and see how its personalization features work in full effect.

Author Bio:

Burkhard Berger is the founder of Novum™. He helps innovative B2B companies implement modern SEO strategies to scale their organic traffic to 1,000,000+ visitors per month. Curious about what your true traffic potential is?

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• Gravatar: vip@novumhq.com