14 E-Commerce Email Marketing Tips to Help You Grow Your Business – Forbes Advisor

Ready to launch a successful email campaign? Use the tips below to take your e-commerce email marketing to the next level.

1. Use email marketing software

Before you get started, we recommend investing in email marketing software to help you manage all your campaigns, audiences, and click-through rates (CTR). They make it much easier to create and send emails to specific customers, as well as check which emails are the most effective. Mailchimp is your best choice for all-in-one marketing. Another option is Constant Contact, which offers different pricing plans depending on your business needs. But there are also many alternatives worth considering.

2. Use abandoned cart emails

When someone almost reaches the checkout but then doesn’t complete the purchase, it’s like having a fish in your marketing line. You know exactly what they want to buy, so use that to attract them. Send cart abandonment emails to remind customers what they’re missing. They effectively close the deal because 50% of users who click on a cart abandonment email complete the purchase.

However, you don’t want to overwhelm your audience. Limit your efforts to three complete cart abandonment emails: one within a few hours of abandonment, one the next day, and one the next day.

3. Send discounts and promotions

Give customers a reason to subscribe to your email list, such as by offering them the chance to receive savings and discounts.

Offer frequent promotions and discounts only available via email. For example, it could be something as simple as a 10% discount code for a newsletter subscription. It could also be something even more exclusive, such as access to a special edition product or experience.

4. Always include a call to action (CTA)

Your emails should always have a purpose, whether it’s encouraging customers to buy a specific product or asking them to check out a new blog post. Make this call to action clear and easy to follow.

For example, if you want customers to see your new product line, include a clear link to it, as well as enticing text encouraging readers to learn more. Email CTAs average a CTR of 3% to 5%, which is significantly higher than Facebook ads (1.1% – 1.3%) or Google Ads (0.05%).

5. Segment your audience

One of the most important things to do before sending emails is audience segmentation. About 78% of marketers rate it as the most effective strategy in email marketing campaigns.

Segmenting your audience means organizing them by customer type. For example, you can create separate email campaigns based on customer demographics, previous purchase history, product interests, and even responses to previous email campaigns.

Once you’ve identified your different audiences, you can create custom content tailored to their needs. You can send your VIP customers additional bonuses or rewards, or you can sell more expensive products to customers with a higher-value purchase history. The possibilities are endless.

6. Personalize your emails

Similarly, you’ll want to make sure you personalize your emails – 72% of marketers rated this as the most effective email marketing strategy. This means, of course, calling the customer by name, but it can also be something more. You can reference products they have previously purchased or were interested in through dynamic content.

About 64% of emails use dynamic personalization. Personalizing your content can make your emails seem more human and less generic, helping customers build brand trust and loyalty.

7. Create a winning subject line and email preview

The subject may be your only chance to get a shot on goal. You can have the best-crafted email in the world, but if the subject line is boring, spammy, or irrelevant, customers won’t even open it to find out.

Two of the best strategies to consider are personalization and emojis. Today, 60% of email marketing teams use personalization in the subject line to capture a consumer’s attention, and 58% use emoticons to spice up the inbox.

Also, don’t forget the first few lines of your email. This often appears in email previews in modern mailboxes. Make sure they are compelling and intriguing – perhaps with a bit of a cliffhanger so that the reader is compelled to click on the message to find the answer to their question.

8. Design emails for mobile and desktop users

Mobile users are more prevalent than ever before, but that doesn’t mean everyone has abandoned desktop computers. Solution? Create emails with a responsive design that works great in both formats. 63% of email marketers use this strategy. By making sure everyone can enjoy your emails, no matter where they read them, you’ll maximize your chances of success.

9. Try A/B testing

A/B testing is a way to see which version of an email performs better. You’ll send two versions of the email – a control one that uses your typical strategy and an experimental one that changes just one element. You’ll then track the performance of each email to see which one received more attention.

The elements that email marketing teams A/B test most often are personalization in the subject line, emoticons in the subject line, and animated GIF or PNG files. However, you can also use it to test different calls to action, font sizes, color schemes, and much more.

10. Preview the email before sending

This tip should be obvious, but we know how crazy things can get when you’re on a deadline. Always review your email before sending it to make sure everything is written correctly, customizations are working properly and all images are loading correctly.

Customers will take you less seriously if your email contains a lot of typos or broken links. There is research to prove it: companies that regularly tested every email before sending saw their ROI increase by an average of 6% compared to companies that didn’t.

11. Invest in automation

Email automation campaigns are considered the most important email marketing campaign strategy by 71% of marketers. And for good reason, because they will make your life much easier. Instead of manually creating and sending each email, email automation services can send cart abandonment emails, product reminder emails, and even out-of-stock notification emails on your behalf. You can even set up a welcome drip campaign that will be sent automatically to each new member of your email list.

12. Refrain from spamming your email lists

Nobody likes receiving 12 emails a day from the same company. You’ll want to limit the number of emails you send to a manageable amount. Research suggests that the optimal solution is to send nine to 16 emails per month, or two to four per week.

But don’t make the mistake of not sending enough emails. Sending just one email a month has a lower ROI than sending more than 33 emails a month. Being consistent and not overwhelming is the key to staying in the customer’s focus.

13. Carefully consider design elements

Email is more than just the right message. It’s also about the visual experience. You want your emails to look nice and reflect your brand well. One area that many companies don’t optimize is creating emails specifically for dark mode. As many as 40% of people use this mode when viewing emails, so if the message is written in completely black text, it may not even be readable.

You may also consider integrating multimedia into your email. Nearly 50% of marketers said that adding a video to an email improved its performance slightly.

14. Test artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic in the marketing world, so it’s no surprise that many email marketers have started using it to create subject lines, copy, and even calls to action. It looks like AI can help, as 56% of marketers said that content created by AI works better for them than content created without it.

But that doesn’t mean you should jump on the robot train. Our AI survey shows that 64% of consumers are concerned about the use of AI in personalized advertising, which means over-reliance on this tool could result in a loss of trust.

Bottom line

E-commerce email marketing is an excellent strategy for converting consumers into customers. It is also a great way to build brand awareness and trust with existing customers. However, it’s not always an easy process to get started. Creating your first email and sending it to your subscribers can be difficult. However, if you use the e-commerce email marketing tips outlined here, you’ll be well on your way to creating an email experience that your followers will love.