Maintaining a good customer relationship is mandatory for every business. In the ecommerce business, this means connecting with your past, current and future clients with customized offers. The most appropriate way for this is via email. This is the only channel where customers expect to receive news from your business.

If you struggle with gathering the emails of your customer base, Catchfull can help you! Grow your email list in no time with tailor-made popups. Sign up today and start your 7-day free trial.

What is ecommerce email automation?

Once you understand the importance of ecommerce email marketing, you will soon know how useful email automation software is. One of the most important things in email marketing is sending the right emails at the appropriate time. If you have a big email list, sending emails can be very difficult to do manually.

This is where automated email services can be used. You can set a pre-written email to be sent to your subscribers based on a specific trigger or an elapsed period time. The more information you have about your customers, the more details you can include in your email.

Types of emails to include in your email marketing campaign

Every customer has a specific user journey with your brand. Each one starts with a simple “welcome”. Be sure to include welcome email series in your campaign. After you greeted your potential customers with a welcome popup on your website and they have agreed to give you their email, it is time to connect with them.

If you promised a discount on their first order, be sure to follow through. Send an email thanking them for joining your community and give them the promised gift. This is a good way to prompt users to make their first order on your ecommerce store.

Depending on your clients’ behaviour you can send different email reminders.

If for example, a user didn’t use their discount code, send them an email reminding them that the offer still stands. This is a good time to show your new products to your prospective clients. 

Some users start shopping but at some point they can close your website tab without making a purchase, leaving their shopping cart full. In this scenario, send them an abandoned cart email with pictures of the products they left behind. If some of the items are out of stock, make sure to add suggestions for similar products.

When a customer orders something from your website it is mandatory to send them an order confirmation email. Be sure to include a complete list of their products, the price they paid (or will have to pay upon delivery) and the estimated delivery time. You should send an email with any change in their order status (if there is any).

After a person has made a purchase and received it successfully, send them an email asking for their opinion about their shopping experience, the products and the delivery. It is always useful to have feedback about your service in order to improve it. If the reviews are really good, you can use them on your website and social media as social proof. Do not forget to ask users for their consent to use their flattering words as client testimonials.

To your loyal customers, you can send a tailor-made reminder email. Use the data you have gathered about the products that they have bought in the past and introduce them to similar ones. Keep in mind that people do not think about your business all the time so a kind reminder can be really helpful and can trigger the next purchase.

It is okay to be persistent but try not to annoy your customers. If you have sent some reminding emails with no success you can send a follow-up email with a discount. The promo codes tend to work really well. They can inspire users to even purchase items that are not included in the offer.

If you do not want to offer discounts on your products, you can compliment your clients with free shipping. This can also be a really strong purchase trigger. 

If some of the users still do not open your emails or take advantage of your offers, it is time to remove them from your email list.

How to write an effective email?

Email automation is used only to differentiate the various email series – e.g. welcome emails, abandoned cart emails, reminders etc. and to send them at the right time. The text itself should always be written by a marketing copywriter. 

A person who knows very well your business and your customers can really help boost your sales. They can either be an employee of your company or a freelancer.

Nowadays, people can spot easily if an email is written by an AI or a real person. No matter how good the technology gets, a robot would never write the perfect personalized email with a personal touch. A human, on the other hand, could analyze the data and user behaviour and know the right words to use in each situation.

A good email has the best subject line. Always include the reason you are sending your email in the subject. Here are some good examples:

• Welcome to our online store!
• Greetings from *name of the business*!
• Have you forgotten something? See what you left in your shopping cart!
• Still not sure if you want that stuff? Use this promo code and stop wondering!
• Hey, Haven’t heard from you in a while… Did you hear about our new products?
• Did you like the stuff you ordered? If yes, there are plenty more on our website!
• Your order is successful! Expect your package between XX.XX and XX.XX

The body of the email is as important as the title. It is mandatory to use your subscriber’s name in the text. Usually, the email automation service has the option to use the data the users provided in their subscription form. 

Probably the favourite word of every person is their own name. Be sure to use it as often as you can, and see how your relationship blossoms.

Start or end your email with a strong CTA. Do not leave your subscribers wondering why they have received this email. Be straightforward about what you want them to do – shop, leave a review, follow you on social media etc. 

This is directly related to your email marketing strategy. Set your KPIs before starting the campaign and make sure each email series corresponds directly with your reason to send it.

Always introduce new products to your customers. An email for a successful purchase can serve also as a cross-selling platform. Show your similar products to your happy customers and see how that will affect your sales. The best way to know which of your products go together is to compare similar users orders and offer them the products that differ.

Key takeaway points

Email automation comes naturally in every email marketing campaign that achieves good results. Statistics show that a well written, tailor-made email has a much better open rate than the standard one. The key to knowing what to say in those perfect emails lies in the data for your target audience.

Always put your customers first. Learn their habits, their preferences and their behaviour. Based on that information, the copywriter can write several email templates that the email automation software will send at the right time.

If you have done everything right you will notice that your conversion rate and your average order value will significantly increase.

Catchfull can help you grow your email list. Subscribe today and try our product for a 7-day free trial!