Last Updated on Apr 29, 2013 by Jenna Scaglione
Customer emails are just for purchase and shipping confirmations, right?
Not exactly.
If you are limiting your subscriber messages to only confirmation emails and abandoned carts, you may be missing out on potential sales and increased profits.
Here are some ways to get the most out of your email marketing campaigns and take advantage of every opportunity to re-engage customers and get them back into your store.
Promotional Emails
- Contests – Contests are effective because they can both increase your subscriber list and also direct current subscribers back to your site.
Create a special page on your website that prompts users to optin to receive a freebie and the chance to win a prize. For current subscribers, direct them to a page describing the contest and what they will win. This strategy builds buzz around your products and builds your communities on social sites and blogs. Incorporate all of your online properties when promoting the contest.
Note: The subscribers that join your list via your contest promotion may require a separate email campaign than other optins. They may not respond the same to your marketing which will warrant a different strategy.
- Offers and Discounts – Having a sale? Seasonal promotions? Free shipping? Don’t forget your email list when it comes time to reduce prices.
- Inventory changes – Periodically send out emails when you update your best sellers category or offer new items. Your customers will want to know about inventory changes if they love and value your products.
- Blogs – Post on your blog? Send an email about it!
- Valuable content – If you do not support your promotional emails with valuable content, you may see your unsubscribe rate skyrocket. Make sure to give subscribers some great content in the form of tips, guides or videos so they know you care enough to educate them.
Follow Up Emails
Follow up emails are not necessarily targeted towards current customers but they are used as a tool to creatively nurture leads into becoming customers.
Create sequences of messages that automatically drip to your subscribers. This process starts with an optin and a series of email messages delivered to the prospect at set intervals over a period of time.
One the prospect downloads your free gift, send them some content emails flanked by intermittent soft and hard sells for your products. Incentivize the purchase with discounts created solely for subscribers. Use limited-time offers to create urgency and increase conversions.
Use this tactic for current customers when you want to lead up to a large, time-sensitive promotion. If you are having a holiday sale, start an email campaign in November and advertise the expiration date of the sale to create more urgency to make a purchase as the date draws near.
Use both follow up messages and broadcast emails to make the most of your email marketing. Re-capture lost leads and win new customers with these proven email marketing tactics.