The Google cookie apocalypse and iOS privacy crack-downs have left many marketers scratching their heads as to how to move forward with effective advertising.
Thankfully, if you’re an avid email marketer, you’re already a step ahead of the game. Why? You have access to first-party data—data your customers actually want you to have. Namely, your subscribers have already provided you information like their name, email address, and email preferences.
Email marketing has always had one of the highest ROIs out of any digital marketing strategies. And this trend will continue through current privacy issues.
This article will look at the 8 different types of eCommerce email marketing campaigns to boost sales during this time. These campaigns include:
The welcome email
The product recommendation email
The referral email
The promotional email
The upsell and cross-sell email
The customer loyalty email
The survey email
The cart abandonment email flow
What is eCommerce email marketing?
Before introducing the eight different email marketing campaigns to increase ROI, it’s essential to cover what eCommerce email marketing is.
eCommerce email marketing involves employing specific email marketing tactics in your messages to build relationships and generate sales.
These email marketing tactics can include best practices like personalization, list segmentation, and automation. It also involves using different campaigns to nurture customers through the sales funnel, no matter where they are in the customer journey.
Let’s take a closer look at why email marketing is important for your eCommerce store.
Why is email marketing important for your eCommerce store?
There are several reasons why investing in email marketing—even over other digital marketing strategies—is critical for the success of your online store.
Here are the top reasons why eCommerce store owners should take a closer look at email marketing:
Email works off of first-party data. We touched on this in the introduction, but email marketing is so effective because customers opt-in to your messages. In other words, they already like your brand, willingly give you their information, and ask you to keep in contact.
Email marketing promotes an ongoing relationship. Many digital marketing avenues have one shot at making a sale. Email marketing is different in that you can engage customers over and over again with relevant messages, increasing your opportunities for sales.
Customers expect emails
Stats show that nearly 75% of consumers expect a welcome email after subscribing. This is akin to someone willingly and enthusiastically opening their front door for a door-to-door salesman.
Above all, email marketing has the highest ROI out of any digital marketing strategy. Any eCommerce store that doesn’t invest in email marketing is leaving hundreds to thousands of sales on the table.
8 email marketing campaigns to boost sales
Now that we’ve talked about what eCommerce email marketing is and why it’s critical for eComm stores, let’s dive into the eight types of eCommerce email marketing campaigns to increase ROI.
Get fans on board with a welcome email
The welcome email is the first email engagement a new customer gets when they subscribe to your email list. It’s the perfect time to introduce yourself and make a good first impression.
You don’t ever want to skip your welcome email because they have famously high open rates. Some campaigns can see up to 91% open rates, according to Hive.
As you prepare your welcome email, here are some high-level tips to keep in mind:
Trigger your welcome email to send when someone signs up for your list
Personalize the first email by using the subscriber’s name and relevant behavioral data
Introduce your brand in a fun, warm, and inviting way
Set expectations about what customers can expect when they subscribe to your email list
Offer special welcome promotions to get new subscribers to make purchases
Include a call to action, encouraging new subscribers to engage with your content
Here’s a killer example from Glossier that does all of these things:
glossier ecommerce email example
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Watch sales soar with a product recommendation email
Once you’ve introduced yourself, you can officially start engaging customers on the regular. Remember, customers have opted into your email marketing list, so they want to hear from you.
If you’re an eCommerce store, you can bet the house on the fact that they want product recommendations from you.
Don’t be afraid to give the customers what they want—personalized product recommendations. Kappa, a leading sportswear brand, started sending emails with personalized product recommendations and saw an AOV increase of 11%.
Here are some ideas for sending product recommendation emails
Trigger your emails to send after a customer has viewed a particular page or product
Tailor your messages around customer data (product type, gender, size, etc.)
Send a reminder 24 hours after a customer has purchased a similar product
In the following example from Good Eggs, the marketing team sends a product recommendation announcing new summer items. Outstanding!
good eggs ecommerce email marketing example
Drive more customers to your store with the referral
The referral email has two parts. The first part is an email you send loyal customers asking for referrals. The second part is the email you send a new customer letting them know a friend has referred them.
Referral emails are a must for any eCommerce store. Why? Because customers trust personal recommendations over a brand’s voice every time. Additionally, referred customers have a 37% higher retention rate.