This is a guest post by Gloria Kopp, whose author bio will be at the end of the article.
 

Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing in the book, but it’s just as important as its booming rivals, such as social media, if not more important.

This is because everybody has email addresses and everybody gets them, and you can create so many more opportunities for your E-Commerce store, a lot more than you can in a Tweet or Instagram photo.
 

Email is flexible and automated email marketing is powerful which is why it’s so important for your business to start now.

Here to get you started, are the 7 types of automated emails that your business should be using.

 

​1. Welcome to the Club!

The first automated that your E-Commerce store or any business for that matter should be sending is a welcome email.

After all, pretty much all your customers will be expecting one, and it’s a great way to get your relationship with your customer off to the best start.

You can easily set up the automation for these emails using software solutions such as Get Response and Reach Mail, using pre-determined triggers and templates.

Example - Kate Spade

Check out this example of a welcome email by Kate Spade, a fashion website based in New York. As you can see, the email starts with a nice bold thank you, making the customer feel appreciated by the business that they have signed up.

Then, the email, keeping things short and sweet, goes on to reconfirm some of the benefits that the mailing list subscription will provide them, such as new arrivals to the store, big sales events as well as any other special offers that are implemented.

What’s more, the email again says "Thank you" by offering a 15% discount to the customer on their first order and a very clear ‘SHOP NOW’ Call-to-Action, which helps Kate Spade to start generating those sales.

2. Sending Out Special Offers

What kind of customer isn’t going to want to receive an offer in their emails for 10% off or their next purchase having free delivery.

Whatever coupon or discount you choose to offer, be sure to make sure that you’re targeting the right customers at the right times.

These are customers that may not have been to your store for a while or when you’ve got a new product line out that you’re trying to promote.

With discount emails, you can nail the perfect subject line using tools like Essay Roo and always make sure you proofread for perfection, using tools like AcademAdvisor.

Example - Tory Burch

Check out this fancy example from Tory Burch. This GIF image used to provide their customers with an exclusive special offer experience that makes their customers want to buy.

Once the shutters open, you’ll see a simple email where the brand name is displayed (for easy identification) an online only offer and private sale text (which makes the customer feel much more exclusive, and then details of the offer, in this case, up to 70% RRP.

There is also a clear Call-to-Action link to get the customer started on their journey.

3. Retrieving Customer Feedback

One of the best emails you can send out which will help to cement your customer/store relationship and benefits your business is a post-sale follow-up email.
 

“This gives your customers the chance to provide you with valuable feedback about your service and the product that they purchased”

...explains Jamie Wallace, a Customer Service Manager at Australian Help.

Not only will this help you to improve your business, but it can also provide you with a tonne of positive reviews that you can highlight in your emails and throughout your website using quoting tools like Cite It In.

Example - People Per Hour

As you can see in this example, the email is nicely laid out and the content itself is short and sweet, so the information is easily digestible.

The text describes, in a light-hearted and informal way, that the survey will only take five minutes to complete and that every entry will include an entry ticket to a prize draw to win a £250 gift voucher.

Again, there’s a very clear Call-to-Action at the bottom to get the process started.

4. Educate Your Customers

Sometimes, it can benefit to provide your customers and readers with valuable content that they can learn from, rather than just trying to sell them products or services.

Of course, you’ll need to choose topics that are industry-related, but you can get creative.

For example, you should share advice on how to care for their products, industry-related news, our company’s backstory etc.

Make sure these stories and posts are short and sweet, using tools like Easy Word Count, and be sure to edit them using services like Paper Fellows, to ensure that you’re sending the right message.

Example - Tunecore

Take a look at this example of educating a customer from Tunecore. The email is once again laid out nicely and instantly grabs the attention of the reader, making them want to read on.

The actual content of the email is precise, telling their customers that they can get help from professionals with their new service and a clear call to action where the customer can learn more if they wish.

5. Reminders for Abandoned Carts

Abandoned shopping carts are one of the most disheartening things for an E-Commerce store to witness since they were so close to securing the sale, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Or maybe it was, but it wasn’t the right time?

Using automated emails, you can send out reminder emails, letting your customers know that they still have items pending in their carts, a great way for them to say, ‘oh yeah, better go and make that purchase’!

Be sure to make these reminders look great and that they don’t sound too desperate. To make this easy, you can use tools like Mail Chimp for the design, and copywriting services like Academized.

Example - Chubbies

Chubbies take an interesting yet highly engaging and informal approach to reminding customers that they have items still pending in their baskets.

The email seems courteous, stating that they will be honoured to take the customer back their basket where they can resume their order.

The email is friendly and makes the customer’s sale feel appreciated and, as always, there’s a clear Call-to-Action to get the process started.

6. Repeating Customer Nurturing

There are going to be a handful of customers who love your business, and they’ll return to you over and over again.

Unlike a new customer, they’re happy to buy from you and don’t need to hear the sales pitch continuously.

Instead, simply send them loyalty offers, exclusive content and emails that will make them feel appreciated for their custom.

Example - Casper

Casper’s lead nurturing email is exceptional when you look into what actually makes it up. The email is a lead nurturing email and a cart abandoned email rolled into one.

The first part states that the cart has been left, as described in the point above but this email takes it step further.

This is because the email includes a review from a customer stating how good the product is, nurturing that lead to continue on and make the sale.

61% of customers will read a review before purchasing a product so this a great tactic to implement in your own emails.

7. Keep Your Readers Up to Date

One of the most common reasons that you’ll get people subscribe to your mailing list is so they can stay up to date with everything that’s going on with your business.

This is easily done using a monthly newsletter, weekly or every two weeks if you have the content Just make sure that you’re consistent and give the readers the information they want to read.

Note: Be sure to check your grammar usage using tools like State of Writing or Boomessays.

Example - Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet has one of the simplest yet most effective newsletter strategies on the market. When a lead signs up, you sign up for daily emails.

However, everyday you’ll simply receive a collection of links to some of the most popular blog posts and articles of that day which instantly link the users back to their website.

There’s around 6-10 links in total per day, all nicely laid out in a clear format and layout that entice the user to dig deeper to learn or read more content.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is a tonne of ways you can incorporate email marketing into your E-Commerce store’s business plan. However, the fact that these are automated emails means that once they are set up and ready to go, they’ll always be there for you to use!

Author Bio:

Gloria Kopp is E-Commerce marketer and a content writer at UK Writings. She is a regular contributor at Engadget and Big Assignments blogs. Besides, Gloria is an author of Studydemic educational blog where she shares her writing and career advice with students.