Known to contribute additional revenue and repeat purchases, automated emails are easy ways to welcome, engage and follow-up with shoppers. Read about the top 5 types of email marketing automation series you can adopt for your ecommerce business.
The 5 Best Automated Emails for Your Ecommerce Brand
In order to maximize revenue and remain competitive with the larger retailers, ecommerce businesses must adopt one or a few email marketing trends to generate online sales and retain their customer base.
Email marketing is great for communicating to subscribers and customers on a timely basis, especially after they’ve expressed interest by clicking, browsing, submitting information or purchasing.
One of the easiest ways to have constant sale opportunities is by setting up email automations that trigger after various events.
1. Welcome Series
People have come to expect a welcome message or series after they sign up to receive emails from a brand. So the welcome message may be the most important email you will ever send. According to Campaign Monitor, welcome email read rates are 42% higher than the average email and have 4x the open rate and 5x the click-through rate of a standard email marketing campaign. And best of all, they generate 320% more revenue per email than other promotional emails.
The recommended cadence for a welcome series has the first email being sent immediately after data capture, the second sent the following day, and the third sent two or three days after opt-in.
The first message should welcome the subscriber, let them know what to expect from your brand, and provide an immediate offer. Remember, these are people that just gave you their information and have consented to receive your marketing emails, so provide a valuable initial offer to get the relationship off on the right foot.
The second and third messages can provide additional information about your products and services, and unique differentiators that set you apart from the competition. Present the offer in the subsequent messages too in case they didn’t take advantage the first time.
2. Abandoned Cart Series
An abandoned cart series is also recommended for any ecommerce brand. While a single abandoned cart email is better than none, a series of emails will provide value and get you those extra conversions.
The first email should be sent an hour after cart abandonment. Maybe the person changed their mind, was distracted, or had something else come up. One hour gives enough time to resolve the issue and come back to the purchase. Having an offer this early may not be necessary as shoppers may be willing to complete their purchase at the original price that attracted them initially. Plus, you don’t want to train people to abandon their cart in order to receive discounts.
The second email should be sent exactly 24 hours after cart abandonment. Why? Because people are routine-based, and if they were nearly willing to make a purchase at the same time the day prior, they may be available to complete the purchase 24 hours later.
The third email can be sent two or three days after abandonment. It should include an offer to try and get the shopper to complete their purchase.
3. Browse Abandonment Series
Browse Abandonment emails sent when an identified shopper spends time on a website and then leaves without adding anything to their cart. Many ecommerce businesses find that up to 95% of their visitors will not add a product to their cart while on the site. But if someone is spending a lot of time on your site or on a particular category or product page, sending them an email with additional information about what they were browsing or including a discount, can turn those window shoppers into buyers.
4. Re-Engagement Series
A re-engagement campaign is necessary to keep your list free of non-engaged contacts. Subscribers that haven’t opened or clicked on your emails have the potential to decrease your inbox placement, as ISPs see a lack of engagement and may move your emails to spam or bulk folders. Additionally, a re-engagement campaign can get those that have ignored your messages to revisit your emails and possibly convert them back into active contacts or buyers.
It is recommended to send at least three re-engagement emails in your series, with each one getting more direct. The first can start with “we’ve noticed you haven’t been interested lately”, the second can be “click to stay subscribed” and the third would let them know they’ll be unsubscribed if they don’t respond.
One other recommended tactic is to send each of these emails twice (but with different subject lines) if the subscriber doesn’t respond to the initial email. That way you get six chances for re-engagement, but only have to craft three emails.
5. Post-Purchase Follow-Up Series
After a purchase is made in your ecommerce store, you’ll likely have several transactional emails to send including order confirmation, shipping notices, etc. But many marketers end the relationship there. Consider sending a follow-up series that thanks shoppers for buying, explains the product or service, offers tips or videos for installation or use, and at the end, asks for feedback such as product reviews.
If done correctly, you’ll set yourself apart from the competition, and provide valuable information to the buyer. This can lead to repeat purchases and great customer satisfaction.
More to Include in an Automated Email Series
Email automations should be analyzed and optimized on a regular basis (at least once per quarter), and regular testing is also recommended. Things to test in your automations include:
- Subject line
- Call-to-action
- Offers/coupons
- Message timing and cadence
- Personalized vs. non-personalized
- Products
Once these automations are in place, you can also add more sophisticated automated campaigns including:
- VIP emails
- Product recommendations
- Anniversary emails such as a birthday or “since your first purchase” emails
Increase Your Email Conversions with Enventys Partners
With the huge investment in product, website development and other marketing efforts, creating these low-cost emails series is a no-brainer. Turn all those visitors into buyers, and reap the rewards of your tactical, data-driven marketing approach.
When you’re ready to take your brand’s email marketing to the next level, reach out to Enventys Partners.
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