According to the online shopping statistics, about 2.14 billion people are expected to shop online in 2021. Also, 22% of global sales will be conducted online by 2023, and this trend will continue to grow.

If you're a proud owner of an e-commerce store, you're likely looking for ways to increase sales. Besides promoting your brand on social media, you should focus on email marketing

You might think that email marketing is an old way of reaching customers, but you can still utilize it to its full potential. With the correct email, you can help your new and existing customers join the online shopping craze regardless of their location. This is what you need to know. 

Why is Email Marketing different for Ecommerce? 

Creating emails for your e-commerce will require an excellent copy, personalization, and focus on real-time sales. You'll utilize various tools to automate email sending, segment customers, and possibly make landing pages.

These emails will differ from the regular emails you send to your supplier. You'll also have to be creative to keep the customers coming back to your website.

Here's how. 

Welcome new Subscribers 

If your online store is properly set up, you'll receive notifications every time someone subscribes to your email list. The first thing you need to figure out is the reason behind their subscription.

Your new subscriber probably likes your products but might not be ready to purchase them right away. They want to see what else you have to offer. 

This is why you should create a welcoming email and offer a discount. Make sure to introduce your brand and provide an overview of your products or services.

You can also add a personal touch and share your story about why and how you decided to start your e-commerce business. Don't be afraid to send a few emails in a row. Just don't do it in a way that you spam your new subscriber. 

Deal with Cart Abandonment 

The average cart abandonment rate across all industries is about 69%. Naturally, you don't want to lose more revenue because of it.
There are several reasons people abruptly stop shopping: 

  • Fear of providing personal information
  • Shipping costs are too high
  • They're forced to create an account 
  • They want to compare prices 

This is why you should also tend to customers who decide to abandon shopping carts. Focus on showing them the value of your product and help them compare similar products on your website. Remind them that they forgot about their cart and invite them back, possibly offering incentives, like free shipping. 

Ask for a Follow-Up

One of the best ways to up your e-commerce email game is to ask for a post-purchase follow-up. Customers want to feel appreciated, and by asking for their feedback, you're showing that you care about their satisfaction. 

There are several other benefits of asking for feedback. It helps you build relationships with your customers and prompts them to leave reviews on your website. Their reviews can help other customers in making purchase decisions, which will increase your revenue. 

Introduce a Referral or Loyalty Program

Another great way to get more people to visit your store is to offer a referral program to your existing customers. Create special emails where you'll explain how your referral program works. Offer a discount to existing customers if their friends purchase via their links. Welcome referees with another deal to help them save. 

Loyalty programs are a great way to reward customers. Send an email explaining how they can start collecting points by shopping in your store with a link to see their current status. This will also prompt more customers to create an account and shop more often.

Don't Forget Holidays

Holidays are special, and you should make your customers feel special too. Design emails for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, Valentine, and other holidays. Depending on the products that you're selling, you might also offer deals for less relevant holidays. 

These kinds of emails are an excellent way to promote limited-time offers and create urgency. They should drive instant purchases during the season. Include a countdown in your email to increase the visual aspect of how long your sale will last. 

Utilize the Power of AI

Dealing with email marketing means you'll be dealing with high volumes of customer data. AI can help you manage segmentation and improve your email campaign based on demographics, location, purchase behavior, and similar information. 

Another way to use AI is in A/B testing. Many tools can help you test subject lines, email copy, CTA, and email design. Since AI's power is analyzing big data, use it to break down the collected information further and pull in-depth reports. 

Set your Goals

You should create your email campaigns around specific goals you want the campaigns to reach. For example, those goals can be to get more website traffic, sell more products, or get more engagement. For this, you can use SMART

SMART is just one method of goal setting that should help you improve your email campaigns: 

  • S – specific description of a goal
  • M – metric with a target that indicates success 
  • A – your goals should be achievable 
  • R – they should also be relevant 
  • T – set a time limit during which your goals should be achieved 

Personalize your Emails

There are many ways in which you can make your email campaigns more personal. However, keep in mind that these kinds of emails go beyond just sending a birthday discount. For the right personalization, you'll want to know the exact customer types and needs. 

Start with creating personalized subject lines with the customer's name. You can also utilize cookies to gather user's browsing data and send out a custom email. Use time and location data to send you emails at the best time for the best engagement possible. 

Work on the Design

Besides showcasing your products, e-commerce emails should also help you raise brand awareness and make the best impression possible. To achieve this, optimize your emails for both desktop and mobile devices. For example, use colors and images to evoke a certain emotion in your shoppers. 

Make the CTA clearly visible in the email, and provide links and navigational options to help customers see more of your store. Remember that sometimes less is more sometimes, and fewer images allow for a better flow. 

Avoid sending Batch Emails

Nobody likes to receive an email that's completely unrelated to what they were looking for. If you're uncertain about your customer segmentation, you should send a few generic emails or discounts to your customers instead of spamming their inboxes. 

Use all the information you have on your customers to personalize emails as much as you can. If you don't have a lot of data, work with what you do have—their purchase history or your website cookies. 

Summary 

Running an e-commerce store means you'll continuously want to bring in more people to your website. However, besides dealing with standard optimization methods, you should also focus on your email campaigns. Many tools can help you create stunning emails and send them to the right person to increase ROI. 

Don't be afraid to offer discounts, referral programs, and personalized deals. Use the power of AI to run A/B testing and see what works best. Set your goals and work toward achieving them. Another thing to remember is to avoid sending too many non-specific emails to your new and potential customers. 

Contact us for all your further queries on Ecommerce Email marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Email marketing is pivotal for the triumph of ecommerce enterprises. It serves as a potent means to connect and interact with customers, stimulate sales, and foster brand allegiance. The advantages of email marketing are abundant, encompassing its economical nature, impressive return on investment, and capacity for precise targeting and customization.

Your intended recipients aren't anticipating emails from you, as they haven't requested any. Consequently, they may not be inclined to read your emails thoroughly. To maximize the impact of your emails, it's advisable to concentrate on a singular objective you aim to accomplish.

According to research findings, if your email subscriber list consists of fewer than 2000 contacts, it's advisable to send a minimum of four emails per month but no more than eight. In a scenario where you gain approximately 100 new subscribers weekly but experience an attrition rate of about 20 subscribers with each email sent, it's recommended not to exceed sending five emails per week.

A recommended strategy could involve initiating bi-monthly email campaigns and gradually increasing the frequency to a weekly schedule. If your content is high-quality, you offer frequently updated deals, or you run regular promotions, you might even contemplate sending emails two to three times a week. It's essential to closely track the performance of these campaigns.