In 2020 the number of email users globally was 4 billion. With that figure set to rise to 4.6 billion by 2025 with a projected 376 billion emails being sent and received daily, you can see why email is still a vital platform for reaching customers. When you think about the countless spam or irrelevant emails you get constantly clogging your inbox, we can see why you might not appreciate email marketing like we do, but what about the emails you look forward to, the ones you open, engage with and dare we say laugh or smile while reading, those are the emails we’re focused on. The emails that ignite emotions, enhance customer experiences, make you feel part of a community and educate the customer about the company and its products or services, those emails are the ones that lead to profit.
4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing.
Why?
In just one minute online, a LOT happens. In 2021, in just 60 seconds more than 500 hours of content was uploaded on YouTube and approximately 695,000 stories were shared on Instagram, among others. Email lets you skip past all this noise and reach customers directly in their inboxes with content tailored to them.
With the ever-increasing number of social channels available, the pressure to constantly create entertaining and engaging content is huge. With email marketing, once you have the setup done (and done correctly) it’s a pretty hands off system. Focus on automated flows, building and optimising them and you can let them work their revenue generating magic.
People buy from people and want to be part of a community. With email marketing,client's you can create and foster that community. Within automated flows, you can make people feel like part of a community within your own brand and within your clients brands.
Marketers who used segmented campaigns noted as much as a 760% increase in revenue.
Information Overload: 1 Minute on the internet in 2021
So what are all these flows we’re talking about?
Put simply, an email flow is a series of automated emails that are sent based on the subscriber’s contact information, behaviours, or preferences. These emails work together towards accomplishing a goal such as purchasing a product or service. Having a well structured workflow system will allow you to access the right people at the right time and help them become a part of your business community.
Depending on the nature of your business, you might set up more advanced or specific flows to reach your customers, but to get started, here are some we recommend:
Welcome Flows
Customers or potential customers have signed up to your emails for a reason. They want to learn about you, your story and your best products or services.
A welcome flow gives you the opportunity to educate them about your brand and make them part of your community.
Abandoned Cart
Nobody likes an abandoned cart! An abandoned cart or checkout flow allows you to give the customer a gentle reminder about the product they’ve left behind and can help to recover lost revenue.
Transaction Flows
Common transactional emails include order or shipping confirmation. We all love to feel like we are getting something personal though so be a little bit more creative within these emails, add a personal touch such as letting customers know about their product being packaged or acknowledging if there might be a slight delay. Make people feel like they are buying from people.
Post Purchase
Pre and post delivery, keep the customer in the loop. Pre-delivery, get them excited about receiving their order- fill the gap between when the order was made and when it will be delivered. Post- delivery, continue to reach out to the customer. Provide information about product care or ask for reviews. Reviews are ideal for getting customer feedback leading to product improvements or for User Generated Content (UGC).
Cross-selling or Upselling
When you have a satisfied customer, email marketing is the ideal way to inform them about new product releases, updates or additional products in a range such as a matching accessory or complementary product to one they have purchased previously.
VIP Emails
The beauty of a VIP customer is that you already know what they like so you can tailor your offerings accordingly. You might identify your VIPs using metrics like the number of placed orders, the amount spent/ Customer Lifetime Value, the average order value or combination of these. You can treat your VIPs by offering exclusive memberships or discounts, providing extra content such as behind the scenes or giving early access to new releases or promotions.
Lapsed Customers
Like your VIPs, lapsed customers are also a vitally important email segment.These so-called win-back emails should be sent within a few months of when a customer has stopped engaging with your emails, before you lose them completely. Simple emails such as a hello email (reminding them that you exist), an incentive such as a discount or asking for feedback about their experience with you can reignite the relationship. Research shows that 45% of subscribers who receive a win-back email will go on to open future emails from your brand so it is a very worthwhile task.
Go with the Flow: Mapping the customer journey through automated flows
How can I make my emails stand out?
We’re a Klaviyo partner and we highly recommend it for its user-friendly interface and ability to help you build practical email marketing plans. Omnisend is another platform we stand by. Whichever platform you choose, we recommend focusing on the following:
Subject lines- Make them attention grabbing because people have less attention span than a goldfish
Copywriting-Just like the subject line, keep it witty and engaging because again we have that limited attention span.
Content- Make sure it’s snappy, relevant and again engaging.
Timing- As with most other things in life, timing is everything. Research may point to specific dates and times but running multiple tests will help you get a good idea of which days tend to deliver optimal results for your audience and particular goals. Your business is unique so look at the data before making a decision.
We can’t give you exact advice on copywriting, visuals or indeed timing but we can point you in the direction of some useful tools:
Get Inspired:
Create Better Copy:
Enhance your Visuals:
Even better than that- check out our email expert Chris giving his top tips at eComm Live here 🤩
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