Although there are many different ecommerce platforms out there used by many different types of businesses, there are a few email automations that work very well universally across pretty much every business.
If you’re just starting out or want to up your email marketing game, these 4 automations will being in the most revenue more than any others.
Welcome Series
You’ll be using different offers and opt-ins to get people on your list and the very first welcome series email has one of the highest open rates from any automation. Don’t miss this opportunity to!
Depending on your business, there are a few different approaching you can take when welcoming new non-buyers to your list. You might be wanting to deliver a discount code for their first purchase, or you it might be better to educate on the big-hitting benefits of your product with a strong call-to-action.
One mistake newer email marketers make is they try to stuff too many messages in the first email. This just puts off the readers and damages the relationship you’ve just created.
It’s best to follow these guidelines:
- Deliver on your Discount or Promotion
- Make the offer time-sensitive to promote action
- Keep your message short and concise
- Show some personality behind the brand (eg a welcome from the CEO)
- Segment from email #1 (add segmentation automations based on link clicks)
2. Abandoned Cart
This the the ol’ classic that even platforms like Shopify have build in because of it’s power. Visitors that have added a product to their cart have shown high-intent in their behaviour and abandoned carts might need just a gentle reminder to tip them over the edge and buy.
As it is higher intent, you can have a few emails in this series and even offer a limited-time discount at the tail end to try and make the sale.
Here are a few tips to test in your abandoned cart series’:
- Dynamically show the products they had added to cart
- Show products related to those in the cart in case they wanted something similar instead
- Don’t offer a discount straight away, wait for email 2-4 before offering a discount
- Make sure every offer is time-sensitive to promote urgency and close the sale
- Remind customers of the product benefits, don’t just focus on the price
- Test different email delivery timings for the first 2 emails and measure open-rates as these will have the most impact
3. Abandoned Checkout
This is similar to the Abandoned Cart, however these people have actually initiated the checkout so their intent has skyrocketed. Usually there is a roadblock that stops these people from making a purchase so your job is to try and work out what the roadblocks are.
Common roadblocks:
- higher additional costs, eg Shipping, Tax, etc
- higher shipping times
- failed payment
- no urgency
- forced account creation
- website speed issues
- complicated website forms
- trust (in brand or credit card security)
See which of these apply to you and how you can try and smooth the process.
For the abandoned checkout emails, people sometimes just got distracted and need a reminder to complete their purchase so a short-delayed email is a good starting point. Offering a personalised discount based on the products in the checkout can also help tip people over the edge to purchase. EG higher cart value = higher discount. But don’t forget to make any offer here time-sensitive as you aren’t going to find any hotter leads than these.
4. Post-Purchase
After someone had made a purchase, they are eagre to keep up to date with delivery times and any other info on the product they can get so make the most of this increased customer attention.
Cross-selling to related products can work for some stores, but try and focus on delivering extra value to the customer and making them feel extra special so their entire buying experience is delightful.
Show your appreciation with a huge personal “Thank You!” and give some tips on the best way to use the product once it arrives.
Later in the series, once the product has arrived, be sure to ask their feedback and ask for a review that you can use to boost your social proof.
Here are a few clever tips:
- Ask for reviews and send a link to your top performing Facebook ad so it’s filled with comments of social proof.
- Follow up with accessories and related products with a time-sensitive discount code
- If the person has purchased multiple times, make a big deal out of it, after all, they have trusted you with multiple sales and can now become an advocate for your brand.
- Ask for genuine feedback to fix any issues and improve your product or customer experience
If you apply these 4 sequences into your email automations this week, you will capture more leaking revenue and sales, build more interest in your brand and grow brand advocates who will provide glowing reviews for your business.
