Introducing automation into your email marketing strategy is a tried and tested way of increasing conversions for your business. The beauty of automation is that with careful planning and accurate data, the majority of hard-work can be done at the setup stage. There are a number of ways that automation can be used to enhance your email marketing strategy and connect you better to your customers, who should be at the heart of your business.
Say Hello to the Welcome Email
An easy starting point and a no-brainer when it comes to email automation. A welcome email can be easily set up in most mailing systems to be triggered when users sign up to your mailing list, either through a contact form or through registration on the site. At this exact moment, the user is actively engaging in your business so this is a prime opportunity to further engage the user. Studies show that welcome emails show an 86% increase in open rates and 196% increase in Click-Through Rate when compared to promotional emails.
Use the opportunity wisely to connect with your customer, drive them to your website, capture more data or push your social channels. This is also a good opportunity to set the expectations for the subscriber, what kind of content they can expect and how often it will be sent. Each interaction is an opportunity to build your relationship with the customer. With all email automation, it is important to act quickly to remain relevant. Here are some great examples to get you started:
Trigger a Chain of Emails
Automation can be used to trigger a series of emails to a subscriber after they complete a certain event. It is easy with this tactic to set up a generic series of emails, sit back and hope you’ve included something of relevance to your customer. The real key to an email series is to target and segment your audience so that they are receiving content that feels tailored to them. If you run a B2B site and someone downloads a PDF resource, think about what content is relevant to that person and set up your automation so they receive related content. Similarly, if you run an e-commerce website, think carefully about what products will be of interest to your subscriber based on your data. Sending an irrelevant promotional email can do more damage than sending nothing at all.
Curating content in an email series that is relevant and interesting to the reader will help to build a relationship because they will naturally feel you understand them more.
Did you Forget? Abandoned Basket
A handy automation for e-commerce websites is the Abandoned Basket email. This automation sends a follow-up email to website users who put items in their basket and didn’t complete the purchase. Around 68% of all online shopping baskets are abandoned for a number of different reasons. Of course, some users are just window shopping but they could also have encountered a problem or simply got distracted, we’ve all been there… Be creative with your imagery and copy and include a clear Call to Action. Give the customer a reason to come back and purchase through your site. This could be a delivery offer, discount or perhaps just a reminder that the products are selling fast. Here are some examples:
Remember, automation should be constantly tested and checked to make sure it is performing correctly. Links, images or data may change and if undetected could cause serious issues for your email marketing campaigns. By planning carefully and putting data at the heart of all of your automation, you should quickly be able to see positive results.