According to the UK-based Data & Marketing Association, email marketing proves to be highly profitable. A significant return of between $30 and $50 is obtained for each dollar invested. By delivering engaging and valuable content, emails entice subscribers to remain interested and encourage them to stay on your mailing list.
Although the primary objective of email marketing is typically sales, it is crucial to prioritize establishing a rapport with customers as this ultimately facilitates multiple sales in the long run. Every email should possess a well-defined objective that focuses on both fostering trust and generating sales, achieved by encouraging recipients to click on the website and view products.
When writing customer emails, it is important to keep these tips in mind in order to create the type of email marketing that drives sales: careful planning and design are necessary.
- Use a catchy and value-driven subject line to increase your email open rate.
- Include high quality, relevant images in your emails.
- Use a professional and simple design.
- Write concise text.
- Lean on a diverse internal audience to review your email.
- Track sales and purchases to determine which emails work best for your customers.
- Include a strong call-to-action (CTA) in each email, such as clicking on the website, downloading a report or chatting with a representative.
To increase your sales, email marketing can be used effectively by prioritizing the message and the type of email you send, ensuring that your customers are motivated to open and read your email, ultimately leading them to visit your website.
1. Share your new product arrivals
Inform your customers about the latest arrivals to generate more traffic to your website, as a new shipment of products provides a perfect opportunity to reach out to both occasional and frequent customers.
If you consistently get deliveries on a certain day of the week, you might want to think about sending an email every week that showcases your newest products. By doing this, you provide your subscribers with something they can anticipate and, hopefully, be excited about on a weekly basis.
- Consider creating a theme for each new product email, such as “Holiday Baking Items” or “Get Ready for the Ski Slopes.”
- Use photos that show the products being worn or used. A photo of someone bringing your homemade banana bread to a holiday party or sharing it with their family for a cozy breakfast helps customers envision your product in their lives.
- Keep the number of new products to no more than seven. More than seven can make the email feel overwhelming.
- Include easy-to-find product links to encourage visits to your website.
2. Remind customers about items left in their online cart
By sending out abandoned cart emails, you can make sure that you don’t miss out on any potential sales. These emails are sent when a customer leaves your website without making a purchase with items in their cart. They serve as a reminder for customers to return and complete their purchase. It is common for people to become busy or distracted and unintentionally forget to finalize their purchases.
- Craft a catchy subject line. While “Forgot Something?” works in a pinch, the more personalized and relevant the subject line, the better
- Include a large picture and a short description of the product
- Keep the text brief
- Provide a “Buy Now” button in the email to encourage the customer to complete the purchase
3. Provide a discount code or announce a sale
Creating a theme for your sale emails, such as an upcoming holiday or end-of-season clearance, can generate excitement among customers and provide them with a reason to make a purchase now. Everyone enjoys a sale, and when an email includes a discount code or coupon, it further enhances their excitement.
- Announce the sale in the subject line.
- Use product photos whenever possible.
- Use a large font to announce the discount.
- For online sales, include a quick link to the sale section of your website.
4. Share tips and tricks with your customers
To be viewed as an expert resource for your products, it is important to demonstrate your expertise to your customers. By sending emails that do not solely focus on selling your products or services, you can establish trust and eventually increase sales.
There are countless possibilities, like when a pet sitter gives advice on comforting a pet in distress from fireworks, or a landscaper offers tips on preventing weeds in the garden.
If you think about it logically, teaching your customers certain aspects of your job may seem like it diminishes your worth to them. However, in actuality, it actually enhances their perception of your value and encourages them to continue relying on your expertise.
- Write a subject line that addresses the customers’ current challenges.
- Keep the text about the tip short and concise.
- If you have a blog that elaborates on the tip, include a link in the email.
- Limit product mentions or links to one or two.
- Link to a discussion on your Facebook page that relates to the tip so your customers can share the information with others. Remember, the people they share with could be potential new customers for you.
- Invite your customers to reach out to you for more ideas or help on the subject.
- Include a clear CTA that drives traffic to the website and product pages of relevant products.
5. Use double opt-in email sign-up
The act of sending information and offers through email is referred to as permission marketing, a term that was coined by Seth Godin in his book Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends into Customers.
Godin encourages customers to actively choose to engage with marketing and have control over when, where, and how they receive advertisements. He believes that this approach is the most effective and respectful way to convert observers into customers. By signing up for a mailing list, a website visitor, potential customer, or past buyer grants permission for communication.
The process of double opt-in email sign-up includes an extra confirmation step that guarantees you have obtained permission from individuals to send them emails. This approach prevents fake sign-ups and ensures compliance with anti-spam regulations and laws such as GDPR.
This is how double opt-in email sign-up appears in practice.
- A website visitor fills out a sign-up form on a landing page on your website.
- They receive an email confirming their sign-up for your mailing list.
- After confirmation, they are officially a subscriber who has opted in to receive emails.
6. Send a welcome email
Once a customer has given consent to receive emails, it is advisable to send them a welcome email to initiate an initial bond and provide them with a preview of what lies ahead. Taking into account that welcome emails typically enjoy a high open rate of more than 86%, it is advisable to make good use of them.
Ensure that your welcome email is timeless and applicable to new subscribers by utilizing various email marketing services, such as Shopify’s integrated marketing automations, which enable you to automatically send a welcome email once someone joins your mailing list.
There are a few ways to make sure your first email to a subscriber is effective.
- Introduce yourself and your business. A welcome email is a good opportunity to build brand affinity for your company and strike an emotional chord with a subscriber. Tell a new reader a bit about yourself and why you started your company, bringing them behind the scenes of the journey from idea to launch. Add personal touches like a photo of your team and a handwritten signature at the bottom of the email.
- Send a curated list of your best content. If part of your email marketing strategy is sharing useful information and tips, new subscribers will miss out on the rich backlog of your previous content. Use your first email to a new reader to curate a handful of your most popular articles or send outs.
- Provide a discount or promotional offer. Often, businesses incentivize website visitors to sign up for an email mailing list by providing a promotional discount, like 10% off their first order. In this case, use your welcome email to follow through on that promise, providing subscribers with a discount code and even curating a selection of products they can splurge on. Alternatively, use the element of surprise and provide newcomers to your email list with an unexpected discount to spark delight.
7. Avoid using a no-reply email address
When engaging in email marketing, it is crucial to establish a strong connection with readers by using a direct line to their inbox. The choice of email address can greatly influence this relationship. It is recommended that you refrain from using a no-reply email address, as it is more beneficial to opt for a valid email address that allows subscribers to actively respond. Let’s explore the contrasts between these two options.
- No-reply email address. This type of email address is not set up to receive incoming emails. They are often structured as noreply@company.com. This is a good option for transactional emails (e.g., buying or shipping confirmations, password resets, etc), but avoid them for regular emails to subscribers.
- Valid email address. This type of email address is set up to receive incoming emails. They are often stylized with aliases, such as leslie@company.com or hello@company.com. This is a good option for regular emails to subscribers.
Make sure to keep an eye on your business’ inbox and promptly reply to any incoming emails. As your company expands, configure your inbox settings to separate out-of-office automated responses and direct subscriber replies to your customer service experts.
When an email seems personalized, it promotes engagement and feedback from your newsletter subscribers, which can provide valuable insights for your business and improve your email delivery rates.
8. Personalize your emails
To establish a relationship with subscribers and maximize their satisfaction, personalize the emails you send by addressing them by name. Utilize email marketing platforms that have the capability to dynamically insert personalized details into your emails, as this is just one method among various others to personalize your communication.
When considering an email marketing platform, choose one that has strong automation features. These features will enable you to create personalized email experiences for each subscriber.
- Website browsing emails. With an email marketing platform that integrates with your website, if a website visitor becomes a subscriber and also opts in to website cookies, you can send them emails based on their browsing history on your website. For instance, in the case of an online store, an automated email can send them a few of the items they clicked on but didn’t buy.
- Abandoned cart emails. Sometimes customers get to checkout but don’t make a final purchase. Automated abandoned cart emails can send a reminder to their inbox, prompting them to buy.
- Birthday offer emails. Collect birthdays on email subscription forms to send offer codes on a subscriber’s birthday as a celebratory gift.
- Product purchase education emails. When someone makes a specific purchase, send them emails that help them make the most of their latest buy.
By thinking step by step, you can rephrase the text as follows while maintaining the same meaning: The utilization of personalization enables you to send emails that are specifically tailored to subscribers, ensuring a customized experience.
