Essential Email Marketing for eCommerce

In this article I’ll give you ideas for getting the most from the email list of your ecommerce store. Email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with your customers. Ecommerce sites have a head start when it comes to email marketing.

When you buy something online you need to enter a valid email address. It is the only way you can get informed of your orders progress from the store to you.

The average ecommerce website has a treasure trove of email addresses and other information. You can use this information to create targeted emails to inform and sell.

The biggest problems an ecommerce store faces are getting new customers and retaining old ones. Email marketing to the rescue!

One of the biggest issues people have with sending out emails is that they are spamming people. People are busy today. And they get many of emails a day. However ecommerce emails are a bit different. People have signed up for your newsletter somewhere along the line. Or they have bought something from you. That means they have an active interest in what you are saying. Besides, they can always unsubscribe.

Email Newsletters.

These are the most obvious form of email marketing. If you aren’t asking people if they want to sign up for your newsletter then get started. The best thing about email newsletter signups is that the user doesn’t need to have purchased from you yet. You can have an email signup form on your site to collect emails. You should also have a checkbox in the checkout process where purchasers can sign up too.

Some ideas for email newsletter content are:

  • Inform people of new products
  • Build interest for store or product launches
  • Articles on your products. How to use them. Which is the best for your needs etc.
  • Reviews from other websites
  • Behind the scenes look at how they are made or how your business runs
  • Meet the team

Transactional Email

Transactional email is the every day emails that go out. Often auto generated they confirm purchases or deliver times. Transactional email is something that is often overlooked. Most store owners don’t even change the default settings for the emails content.

Pro Tip: If you have a WooCommerce powered store, go to Settings > Emails. You can change the footer text from Powered by WooCommerce to something more suitable.

These emails are sent out often to customers that actually open and read them. Because of this they are a great way to subtly market to customers.

Some ideas for marketing via transactional emails are:

  • If you are having a big sale or promotion put a short description and link in the footer of the email
  • Links to other promotional or information content. e.g. links to interesting blog posts about the product
  • Give people coupon codes for being a customer

If you are having trouble with your emails not getting through or going into spam read this guide to improving WordPress email delivery.

Date Based Email Campaigns

Like your regular email newsletters but they go out on a certain date. For instance you can send out holiday based promotion emails. Every holiday or new season is a chance to get people to buy.

Another, more personal email is the birthday email. If you have information about key dates in customers lives you can send out emails with a personal touch. Birthdays, anniversaries or even reminders about a products warranty. Keep it informative or offer some thing of value. Try not to be creepy.

Some ideas for date based emails are:

  • Inform people of new products for a new season. Good for fashion or seasonal products
  • Reminders of upcoming dates. e.g. ‘Get your order in before the Christmas rush’. ‘Don’t forget Valentine’s Day’
  • Birthday surprises, like a discount coupon
  • Release of a new product. Emails can be used to build anticipation

Cart Abandonment

This is a biggie. If you have a store that has issues with users adding items into a cart and not paying for them then it could be for you. Cart abandonment plugins send out gentle reminders to people encouraging them to finish their transaction.

A lot of the time people just get interrupted while buying online. Or they might have a question about something and decide to wait.

Usually a series of emails sent until the purchase is completed. The first one might just point out that their cart is still there and waiting for them to buy. (Some ecommerce systems can store carts until the buyer returns). The next emails might offer them an incentive to buy. Like a small discount.

It is recommended that you email them about an hour after they leave the site. Then email them again a day or so later. And then follow up with an email 5-7 days later. Don’t be too pushy. Encourage them gently to buy.

So if you haven’t explored the usefulness of email marketing for your ecommerce site don’t wait. Some of these are easy to set up and work behind the scenes to make to your customers. If you have a WooCommerce store and would like your email marketing to be reviewed then get in touch.

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