Email marketing is a powerful way for businesses to connect with their customers and prospects. But we already know this.
Yet, what many companies are still missing is the fact marketing automation can streamline those efforts. We’ve already seen that it can increase sales productivity by 12.5%, while also reducing marketing overhead by 12.2%.
Then 80% of businesses use marketing automation to increase their leads. And another 77% were able to increase their conversion rates.
So how can you use email automation to benefit your company?
Well, it all starts with identifying which emails to add to the automation cycle.
Let’s take a look at 10 that should be a part of your automated email campaigns.
1. Thank You Emails
If you were going around asking people to sign up for your campaign, cause, or mailing list, and they did – would you just walk away right after?
No, you’d thank them first and maybe even engage in a little conversation.
That’s the same thing you have to do when you’re dealing with virtual subscribers and buyers. Thank you emails do two things.
One, it lets the subscriber or purchaser know that their transaction was completed. And it allows you to find ways to keep them coming back to your site.
In the following email, you can see that Amazon thanks the customer, as well as shows other items that buyer may be interested in.
You can do the same with your customers. Then for your subscribers, you can thank them and include blog posts or video links to content they may be interested in.
This way, you’re showing courtesy and inviting them back to your site.
2. Welcome Email
Once your subscribers confirm their email address, it’s good to send out a welcome email. In fact, you should have an entire welcome campaign created.
This way, each of your new subscribers is given the same round of emails onboarding them to your newsletter, service, or platform. The idea is to open up communication and build relationships with them.
This helps to build trust and confidence in your brand, which can help turn them into loyal fans.
Typically, you’d send your welcome email after your thank you email.
3. Reminders About Abandoned Carts
Shoppers leave their cart for multiple reasons. It may be due to a distraction, such as a child crying or the phone ringing.
Or they may be second-guessing their purchase and left to go and search for better prices or reviews before making a decision. Both scenarios are fairly common and to be expected.
Roughly 70% of online shoppers abandon their shopping carts.
But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to counter it. If customers are logged in while they’re shopping on your site and they leave, then this can trigger an email reminding them about their abandoned cart.
Now, you don’t want to send this right away. You should wait about an hour to see if they return before then to complete the transaction themselves.
It’s a good idea to send out the reminder more than once. The second time around, you can spice things up by offering a coupon code that will expire within 24-48 hours.
4. Personalized Emails for Each Segment
If you’re not already segmenting your email campaign, then you should definitely start. Sending out the same email to each of your subscribers is a big mistake.
No two customers are exactly the same, but there are certain groups who share similarities in various ways. For instance, you may have customers who are mothers, business owners, or teens.
And the way you approach each of them would be slightly different. The idea is to deliver content that resonates with the group. For example, a mother will have different concerns, questions, and interests than a teenager or small business owner.
So be sure to segment your subscribers into lists and then create personalized email campaigns for each.
5. Promotional Emails with Upsells
One of the greatest benefits of having a growing email list is the ability to promote to them on a whim. Of course, you should do so sparingly so you don’t run away your subscribers.
The key is to email them promotions that they’ll find valuable. For example, a product that’s in a category that they purchased from in the past.
Another option is to upsell to your subscriber base.
This personalizes their emails and gives them a reason to return to your business as a customer. Say they purchased a service package a few months ago and now they should be ready for an upgrade.
You can send them an email letting them know of a limited time special for an upper-level package.
This is how many businesses are increasing their profits with return customers. As you’ll find, current customers are more likely to take advantages of your promotions vs new leads.
6. Tips, Tricks, and Insights
One of the ways brands are getting people to join their email list is to offer them expert tips and insider insights in exchange. If this was your offer, then make sure to follow through on it.
What makes emails filled with tips and insights effective is that they bring value to your audience. You don’t want to just send out promotions or you’ll come off as salesy.
By delivering content that helps them achieve their goals, it shows you care. And it’ll help to build trust, especially with the newcomers.
Over time, offering a ton of free advice will turn your list into brand advocates. This means free promotion, referrals, and positive reviews.
All of this will continue to grow your brand and your audience.
7. Introduction to Your Team
This is especially effective if you’re offering a service or are promoting a cause. Knowing who’s behind it all will help instill confidence in your subscribers to join your brand.
For instance, if you’re offering business coaching services, knowing about the coaches and what qualifies them will make them more inclined to hire them.
Or if you’re promoting a cause, then you can show who’s a part of the team and why they care for the cause. It can help connect them with your followers and demonstrate why the cause is so important.
Email is one-on-one communication, so adding that human touch is always a great idea!
8. Lead Nurturing Series
About 75% of leads aren’t ready to make the purchase. This means you need to nurture them into becoming paying customers.
Automated email campaigns are highly effective in nurturing leads into customers.
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One way is slow-dripping emails to them to help drive them to the end of the funnel. For example, you can send your series of welcome emails, then follow up with a series of educational emails.
You can leak these out every few days in the beginning, then every week. The idea is to continue to educate them on their problem and your solution so they’ll be ready for the sell.
Near the end of your nurturing series, you can offer a deal on the solution you’ve educated them about. By this point, they can make a decision as an informed buyer.
Now, these emails will have to take a personal approach so segmentation is crucial. Be sure to include calls to action, testimonials, and other methods to get them to take action.
9. Friendly Reminders of Pending Expiration
If you have a subscription service that requires some users to manually renew, then it’s a good idea to send out friendly reminders. For instance, you can send out an email notifying the subscriber that their subscription is about to end in seven days.
Then include links to the subscription renewal page. It’s also a good idea to send out another email every other day after it expires (for about two weeks).
This way, those who missed out can get another notification. Maybe this time, they’ll take time to do the renewal.
Now, there are different ways you can use this method – for instance, your system can detect when credit cards are about to expire to prompt users to update their card details.
10. Anniversary Emails
Now, if your subscribers make it to a year, then why not reward them? Each anniversary they reach, you should give out a discount, free item, or gift card.
This will help entice subscribers to stick around for yet another year. And by giving them a discount or gift card, you can get them to return to your business to shop.
It’s best to make your offer personalized, based on the purchase and search history of the user. This way, they’re more inclined to take your offer.
Create an Automated Email Campaign that Converts
What’s the point of having an email campaign if it doesn’t convert subscribers into customers? With automated emails, not only do you have a higher chance of turning leads into buyers – but you’re also creating loyal followers.
To do so, it’s essential to create campaigns your audience will find valuable. So remember to send out educational content just as much (if not more) than you do promotion emails.
If you need help growing your subscriber list, then you can use pop-ups to capture visitors before they leave. Poptin is an excellent tool for developing triggered popups quickly and easily, and sending customized autoresponders.
