Email Marketing Tips: Part I
Are you suffering from a hangry rage and craving for email tips? Say no more! Skip ahead to the first tip But if you're sticking around for an extended user's visit, thanks so much! In my appreciation to all of you, non-hangry readers, I extended the email tips with some additional consideration.
1.Give your message more impact by providing users ways to relate.
The popularity of personalized emails is proof that yelling at customers with godzilla-sized BUY NOW buttons might be a little too abrasive for users. On the other hand, personalization doesn't just end by picking first names (data) from users' profiles. It's also interpreting your users at a personal and conversational level. Get to know your users and hopefully you'll learn that people are more than just a name.
But wait! It's not that simple. Personalization can also get very analytical. For instance, knowing your user's zip code grants access to many things like users' weather forecast, sport team scores or even local news. There's a wealth of knowledge that can be deduced by just a zip code. Not convinced? What if I said, there's a group of people who've cornered an entire market, literally, and they're zip code analysis is at an unreachable level? Hint: Rhymes with "eye-are-hess"
2. Users who engage with your website should not only receive a welcome email but continue receiving courteous service.
Imagine walking up to a fabulous 5-star hotel. It's so luxurious, that even the doormat can afford extra gold lettering which reads, "You are so welcomed here." You walk in and find yourself in a large lobby. You begin to notice the artwork on the walls. They're all famous paintings. You spot works of Botticelli, Da Vinci and even a Banksy piece expressing discontent about capitalism. So far your visit feels great and you're excited to check in.
When you finally arrive at the front desk, a hotel attendant smiles and politely asks for your info. You fill out a form and walk into your room, spending the next few days in splendid leisure. Towards the end you barely realize it's time to check-out. You approach the front desk once more and standing there is the very same hotel attendant that checked you in. However this time, he's carrying a chilling expression. Something is incredibly different. Even the sound of the attendant's keyboard typing makes you shiver.
You start to cringe and hope this experience would end soon, please make it stop. You manage to barely thaw out of that encounter and walk away. You thought you had a great time, but now you're not so sure. Will there be a revisit? As bizarre as this 5-star hotel may sound, there are parallels to draw with e-commerce.
In comparison, businesses focus on rendering beautiful landing pages and captivating product photography. And all too often, websites end the users' journeys with an abrupt and poorly messaged email or lack thereof. A folksy way to remember this tip: Make every handshake count. Make every visit satisfying.
3. Send reminder emails to alert abandoned cart users.
Abandoned cart emails focus on those who forget to complete the purchasing process. Shopify reports that over a third of users who are reminded about their abandoned carts go back and complete the purchase. But one must appreciate how exclusive this abandoned cart phenomenon. It would never happen in a brick and mortar store. Would you take the trouble to fill your cart at a grocery store, stand in line and then walk away?
Fortunately, e-commerce has an incredible advantage to remind users of their forgetfulness without actually making them feel foolish. In addition, it gives businesses the opportunity to suggest products that compliments the users' purchase. "Uh oh, you might've forgotten about these yoga pants, but that's okay because buying a matching top and bag is so much better.” Cradle the user. Here's an article to help e-commerce brands and marketers craft the perfect subject lines for their abandoned cart emails. 6 Abandoned Cart Subject Lines That Really Work
4. Follow up with your users after they make their purchase.
Consider this an opportunity to learn more about your customers. It's like maintaining a long-term relationship. A relationship, whether person to person or B2C, takes continuous effort to build, maintain, enhance. So, if your e-commerce customers only get transactional emails - that may be enough to renew your vows for the first few times. But, what about celebrating the anniversary of initial user engagement or showing you care? The little things really counts.
5. Keep your emails mobile friendly and consider visual engagement a key.
Although mobile design is nothing new, it's still relevant. Industry practices generally recommend:
- Simple, single column layouts.
- Easy to read copy.
- Play the right size. Even tiny buttons can ruin the fun.
For the most part, good design remains consistent because of it's ability to adhere to visual coherence. This visual coherence is synonymous as grammar is to language. Language can be dynamic and change but is built upon a foundation of rules. Design is no different, it has its own set of rules to follow. Trust the designers who are willing to explain these rules to you.
Additional Considerations
Aside from more marketing tips, the root of email marketing begins with strategic thinking. Next we’ll look into the understanding the reasoning of why some email marketing methods are in place with E-commerce Email Marketing Tips Part II. Looking for an agency partner that knows email marketing? Rhythm has some solid expertise in email marketing...we even won a Silver Davey Award for our email marketing work with Acura. Now go read Email Marketing Tips: Part II