Ecommerce Email Marketing: Tips and Tools

eCommerce email marketing is not going out of trend, especially when it provides a sizable ROI. Here’s a stat to prove that: for every dollar you spend on email marketing, you get an ROI of $40 (Spiceworks).

Yes, there are other eCommerce marketing strategies, like social media campaigns, influencer marketing, pay-per-click, and SMS marketing. But did you know that email marketing continues to outshine every other strategy? 

It’s because it’s direct and personalized, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates. Also, it is cost-effective and scalable. 

If you are new to eCommerce email marketing or have overlooked it so far, this blog will help you get the hang of it and show you how to benefit from it. 

What is eCommerce email marketing?

eCommerce email marketing refers to marketing strategies used by eCommerce store owners to target customers using email campaigns. It can be used for various eCommerce marketing reasons like product promotion, building brand awareness, nurturing customer relationships, and driving sales. 

These emails are usually automated with eCommerce email marketing software, which allows you to easily segment your email list and automate emails based on your marketing needs. 

Benefits of eCommerce email marketing

There are a lot of benefits to eCommerce email marketing. This section highlights a few important ones aiming to convince you why you should start email marketing for eCommerce right away. 

1. Direct communication: You get to reach customers’ inboxes directly, making it easier for you to deliver personalized messages and targeted promotions. 
2. Automation efficiency: Implementing automation workflows for eCommerce emails is much easier. They save time and ensure consistent communication. 
3. Cost-effective: Compared to traditional types of marketing, email marketing offers higher ROI and scalability for eCommerce businesses of all sizes. 
4. Sales conversions: You can strategically promote products that increase conversion rates. For example, you can send cart abandonment emails and personalized product recommendations based on customer behavior. 

12 effective email marketing campaigns for eCommerce businesses

Different industries require different eCommerce email marketing campaigns. Here is a general list that works for every eCommerce business. 

Welcome emails

Whenever someone signs up for your eCommerce site, remember that they would expect a welcome email in their inbox almost immediately. 

Also, first impressions do matter in eCommerce email marketing. A well-crafted welcome email sets a positive tone and makes customers feel appreciated.

When writing an eCommerce welcome email, make sure to mention the product or service’s key benefits and unique selling points. Also, remember to encourage users to click on the CTA to explore your eCommerce store or make the first purchase. 

Here’s an eCommerce welcome email example that takes advantage of the email’s nature to mention the brand’s values and offerings. 

Musto’s welcome email conveys its brand values through expressive images instead of email copy. The discount code placed at the CTA is a wise move to tempt the reader. 

Cart abandonment emails

Not every customer who visits your eCommerce site will purchase, and not every customer who adds products to their cart will purchase.

In such cases, you can send them an abandoned cart email to remind them of the products they left in their cart. The purpose of this email is to bring the customer back to the store to make them finish their purchase. 

So, it goes without saying that you’d have to place a very distraction-free and tempting CTA to take them back to your eCommerce store. It is also a very common eCommerce email marketing tactic to offer an abandoned cart discount to encourage customers to finish their purchase. 

Winc has strategically offered a discount for its new customers, who will, of course, be hesitant about the first purchase. The $20 discount would help smooth out any doubts, and the bright CTA seems very inviting. 

Order confirmation/shipping confirmation email

Order confirmation emails are transactional eCommerce emails that are sent to customers as a confirmation of the order they just placed. When you eliminate any uncertainties or anxiety about their orders, it creates brand credibility. 

Ensure you have added delivery dates, tracking numbers, and links to track the shipment. You can also add product recommendations to this email for additional eCommerce email marketing benefits. 

Another good eCommerce strategy you can include in the order confirmation email is the help link or information in case the recipient has any questions. This example from Asos had done it right by offering help. 

Follow-up/post-purchase email

Once customers receive the products they ordered, most will not remember much about your eCommerce site. Most will not even come back to write a 5-star review, even if they enjoy using the product. In such cases, you can check in on them by dropping a follow up email. 

Don’t get very aggressive about it. Just be as nonchalant as possible because you don’t want to overwhelm them. 

Fullscript has used this eCommerce email marketing strategy to remind its customers that they must run out of the product that they bought a month ago. 

If you are asking for a review or to make them visit your eCommerce website for the next purchase, be sure to place a CTA that they won’t miss. 

Product launch emails

One of the best eCommerce email marketing tactics for creating buzz about your new products is to send catchy product launch emails. 

You can send these emails to customers based on their purchase history for more resonance and a higher engagement rate. 

For example, maybe your customers brought a particular-flavored product, and you are developing a new flavor for the same product. You can segment your email list based on the purchase history to target the right audience.

Soylent has done a great job creating curiosity with funny copy and playing guessing games using shape images of the upcoming products. 

Attracting customers’ attention is not easy. Hence, you have to play the visual appeal and anticipation cards. 

Seasonal/festive emails

Another eCommerce email marketing idea that works wonders is sending seasonal emails. Try to be a part of your customers’ celebrations with festive eCommerce emails. 

It could be just a festive wish email template, or you could offer a seasonal discount to encourage customers to purchase from your eCommerce store.

Jcrew factory has sent a very exciting Christmas email that mentioned 12 days of deals with discounts and free shipping. That must put the recipient right in the festive mood. 

When you send seasonal emails like this, it shows that your brand is attentive to the needs of the customer and shows the relatable side of your business. This easily creates a positive brand image. 

Also, festive eCommerce emails give you the right opportunity to showcase your new products or seasonal collections. 

Win-back emails with product recommendations

Once customers have purchased from your eCommerce website, they might not come back to your store for a while. You can always send them an eCommerce winback email to remind them of your brand and maybe even throw in a discount code for immediate conversion. 

You can also use this eCommerce email marketing opportunity to send product recommendations. It shows that you customize communication based on customer preferences and behaviors. It’s a deeper level of personalization that will fetch you a higher engagement and conversion rate. 

Laura Mercier has given free shipping and a discount code followed by a CTA. The template has also wisely displayed the customer’s favorite products, which might be based on their frequent shopping behavior earlier. 

Review request emails

One of the best eCommerce marketing techniques for building brand credibility is through customer reviews, but customers don’t always leave reviews for every product that they purchase. 

You can always send them a review request email to remind them to post reviews. If you think your customers need a little encouragement, promise them a discount. 

Sun of a Beach’s review request email is simple, and it makes things easier for the recipients as well. The email template has 5 stars ranging from very poor to excellent. The customer may click on the stars that they think are fit for the product they have purchased. 

They don’t even have to leave their email app to post a review, and the discount promised for reviews is rather tempting. 

Referral emails

Customers trust other customers’ words more than the brand. So, if you want to increase your customer base, the best email marketing tactic for eCommerce stores is to send referral emails. 

Ask your existing customers to refer their friends and family to the brand. For this to work, you must offer a discount percentage for both the referrer and the referee. A plugin like Retainful to send referral emails would certainly make things a lot easier. 

Sheertex has promised its customers that they’ll get $20 off for every successful referral they make, and the referee will get $10 off. Now that’s worth referring someone to. 

Thank you emails

Thank you emails have a way of creating a positive customer relationship while making them feel appreciated. 

You can use eCommerce thank-you emails to encourage repeat purchases by adding a next-order coupon. You can also ask for feedback or recommend products. 

This thank you email from CBDfx is simple and straight to the point. It includes a simple thank you note and a 10% off next order coupon followed by a CTA. This should tempt the recipient to make the next purchase immediately or at least drive them to think about it. 

Email newsletters

Emails are more transactional, but if you want to keep your customers interested and stay at the top of their minds, newsletters are what you should be sending. Just remember that you just have to keep the content more educational than promotional for this eCommerce email marketing tactic to work. 

Tuft and Needle sent an excellent educational newsletter about sleep deprivation, automatically earning them expert credibility in their niche. Also, the CTA that says visit the blog will drive traffic to their website. 

When you are creating an email newsletter, you have to be smart with design and content because you can easily get carried away trying to educate your customers. Don’t send them an overload of information because you could come across as boring, which could impact your open rates. 

Anniversary emails

Personalization on another level is what anniversary eCommerce emails are about. They could be about the brand’s anniversary, a birthday, or the customers’ anniversary. 

You can offer a personalized discount to entice customers. This can be an eCommerce marketing strategy that would help drive engagement and conversions. 

GIFs are fun, and Hulu wisely uses them in birthday emails. The brand offers its best shows for free for the customer’s whole birthday month, followed by a CTA to redeem the free trial. 

Now this has got to catch the customer’s attention. Bonus points for the brand’s efforts if the customer spreads the word about this birthday offer from the brand. 

Ecommerce email marketing best practices

Before you hit send on your emails, ensure you have followed these email marketing best practices for eCommerce to reach your desired results. 

• Build a quality email list: This should be your first step in eCommerce email marketing. Use sign-up forms to build a high-quality email list that only includes the email addresses of genuinely interested customers. You can always choose a platform with sign up forms and popups to help you collect email addresses. 
• Double opt-in: When the user submits their email address, a confirmation link is sent to their email address. This ensures a higher quality subscriber list and decreases the chances of being marked as spam. 
• Segment Your Audience: Segment your email list based on factors such as customer behavior, preferences, and demographics. This helps you send targeted and relevant content to specific groups, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
• Personalization: Use the subscriber’s name, recommend products based on their purchase history, and customize content to their preferences. This significantly improves engagement and customer loyalty.
• Mobile Optimization: Design your eCommerce emails to be mobile-friendly since most customers view their emails on their mobile phones. Use responsive design, concise content, and clear calls to action to enhance the user experience.
• Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Make it easy for users to understand what you want them to do. Whether it’s making a purchase, clicking a link, or subscribing to a newsletter, use compelling and visually distinct CTAs. 
• Timing and Frequency: Consider the timing and frequency of your email campaigns. Test different days and times to determine when your audience is most responsive. Be mindful not to overwhelm subscribers with too many emails, which can lead to increased opt-outs.
• Analyze eCommerce email marketing metrics: Regularly monitor key email metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Use analytics tools to gain insights into subscriber behavior and campaign performance to refine your strategies and improve future campaigns.

Best eCommerce email marketing platforms

You need to automate your eCommerce email marketing. You can’t possibly implement all the best practices for all the emails and send them at the right time without the help of an email marketing platform for eCommerce. 

We have shortlisted the best eCommerce email marketing tools to help you with automation workflows as well as the best practices. 

Retainful 

Retainful offers a comprehensive suite of eCommerce emails designed to keep your customers engaged at every stage of their lifecycle. What sets this platform apart is its limitless customization options and quick, efficient automation that won’t require more than a few minutes of your time. Additionally, the segmentation feature empowers you to create precisely targeted email campaigns for enhanced engagement.

The user-friendly popups and sign-up forms simplify the collection of email addresses. Moreover, the innovative next-order coupons are a powerful incentive, enticing customers to make repeat purchases.

Key Features

• Easy integration 
• Quick automation 
• Deeper customization 
• Drag and Drop editor
• Email Segmentation
• Welcome emails 
• Abandoned cart recovery emails
• Order confirmation emails 
• Thank you emails
• Win back emails 
• Newsletter campaigns
• Next order coupons
• Popups and sign-up forms
• Analytics and Reporting

Klaviyo 

Klaviyo helps with seamless store data sync, ensuring customer information is always up-to-date. Its email automation saves time and boosts efficiency. Leveraging advanced personalization tools, Klaviyo enables businesses to craft precisely targeted campaigns, enhancing customer engagement. 

Key Features

• Seamless integration 
• Targeted email campaigns
• Customizable templates
• Automation workflows
• Analytic dashboard

Brevo

Brevo helps in email marketing and comes with a drag-and-drop email editor for design customization. Its robust tools simplify the process of building and managing email lists, ensuring efficient audience targeting. With Brevo’s analytics, businesses can gain insights, allowing them to analyze campaign results and optimize future strategies precisely.

Key Features

• Drag and drop editor
• Maintaining email list
• Sign up forms
• Email segmentation

Automate email marketing for your eCommerce site today

You can’t expect to increase conversions without using email marketing for your eCommerce store. It’s not going to be a one-day process. It’s going to be perpetual, and you need to keep updating your email marketing strategies to keep your brand at the top of your customer’s minds. 

Just research the timing and plan ahead to what type of email you want to send your customers beforehand. 

To reduce time and ease your efforts, use an email marketing tool like Retainful. This tool will help you with everything from customization to automation. Keep tweaking your strategies and timing until you find the right ones that will give you the desired results. 

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