Ecommerce and other online businesses still rely heavily on email marketing and advertisement to reach out to and engage with both potential and existing customers. Because of this, automated emails have become one of the most useful tools for email marketers.
Using email automation gives you the ability to market more effectively to a larger audience with a fraction of the usual effort that you’d need to put in if you did the same thing manually.
What are Automated Emails and Why is Automated Email Marketing Important?
Automated emails refer to emails that work on a trigger and action system.
For example, once a certain requirement or ‘trigger’ is met by a customer, such as subscribing to an email newsletter, the system is set up to automatically send them one email or a set of emails that are specifically designed to be relevant to their situation.
There are several kinds of automated emails. Transactional emails, such as shipping confirmations, invoices, and receipts are often automated, but they are separate to automated marketing emails.
In email marketing, you may find examples of automated emails such as welcome messages or double opt-in emails to confirm that the subscriber actually wants to hear from you.
Timed autoresponders send out emails to people on a particular schedule when they sign up to an email list.
When a marketing campaign relies on automated emails, it only needs to be set up once.
What are the Benefits of an Automated Email?
Automated emails provide benefits from both transactional emails and marketing emails since it provides an automatic way for businesses to follow up with customers.
It allows for more robust messaging opportunities, boosts engagement, and bridges the gap between transactional and marketing emails. It offers an efficient, scalable method for marketers to be able to send responsive messages that are very specific to the user.
When it comes to timing and content, autoresponders manage to achieve the best of both worlds. They provide marketers with the ability to send messages that are:
Relevant – When an automated email is received by a user, it will be due to the fact that they have taken an action that has triggered a workflow.
Because of this, the message that they receive will be very relevant to them.
Engaging – Automated email content is designed to boost user engagement with your website or app.
For example, you can send a new subscriber an automated welcome email including a discount to use on their first purchase, which they may be more likely to take you up on if they have recently signed up and their interest in your brand is at its peak.
You can also boost engagement with automated emails that encourage customers to provide feedback, provide more information on how to use your service or product, or give a lapsed customer an incentive to come back to your brand.
Brand Building – Since automated email is a communication channel that is very personal, it will serve as an extension of your brand.
This allows you to build a stronger connection between your brand and your customers by assisting with cross-sells, sharing updates about features that they have not used at the right time, and communicating thought leadership.
Customers are more likely to open, read, and engage with automated emails.
How Can Automated Email Campaigns Benefit Your Business?
Email automation allows you to drive meaningful and real results for your business. Some of the ways that your company may benefit from setting up an email autoresponder include:
More Customer Retention
When customers receive real-time attention and assistance and content that they feel is personalised and tailored to them, they are more likely to be easier to retain as customers and stick with your brand consistently over the long term.
Increase Customer Loyalty
Customers who have received timely messages to follow through on their desired actions, welcome gifts as soon as they subscribe, or help with getting through the onboarding process are more likely to feel successful.
As a result, there is a greater likelihood that they will not only be loyal to your brand but will also recommend it to other people.
Boost Revenue
Statistics show that when customers receive a message with the right prompt at the ideal time, they will be more likely to complete the process of updating their account, entering their billing information to complete a purchase, or return as an active user.
Drive Action
One of the most powerful things about email automation is that it is designed to target people who have already interacted with your brand in some way via your website, app, or social media.
This means that you will be targeting interested potential customers who are already further along in the sales funnel and more likely to take the desired steps as customers.
Why Use an Automated Email Service?
Although it is clear to see the value of email automation, there are many companies that have yet to start implementing it.
You will be happy to hear that it is easier than you might think to get a focused, smart, and automated email campaign set up and start driving real and meaningful results quickly.
You can set up a wide range of different email marketing messages that can be used to benefit your business in several different ways.
These may include:
- Welcome emails to foster a strong relationship between your brand or subscribers or to help new customers begin getting the most from using your product
- Double opt-in or user verification emails to ensure that new subscribers are legitimate and want to receive marketing emails from you
- Nurturing emails to guide your customers towards the next step along in the sales funnel
- Emails on customer birthdays or anniversaries to increase customer loyalty
Automated Marketing Campaigns: Welcome Emails
A simple welcome email series is a great place to start if you are new to automation. These automated emails provide you with a simple way to acknowledge and greet your new subscribers and introduce them to what your company offers.
For the first email, you should stick to something that is short and sweet. Make your new subscribers feel welcomed and provide them with one call-to-action (CTA) to encourage them to start shopping. A popular option includes a discount code that they can use for their first purchase.
A second email should be sent to remind recipients of the benefits that they can get from being a subscriber. This is a good way to promote special deals and offers or let your subscriber know about the most popular products.
You may also want to consider sending a further email to encourage subscribers to level up their commitment to your brand.
For example, you may let them know about a loyalty program or VIP program that you offer, encourage them to download your mobile app, or introduce some fan favorites.
Watch the engagement levels for all of the emails included in the welcome series and consider removing any recipients who do not engage with any of the emails from your list – they will either no longer be interested in your brand or content, or may have even subscribed unintentionally.
Tips for Better Email Automation
Once you have set up workflows and are in a good place to start sending automated emails, there are some best practices that you will need to keep in mind before you start sending messages to your customers. Consider the following:
Timing – Think about the best time to send the messages based on the events that trigger them.
If you are planning to send a series of emails, make sure that they are sent in a way that is not going to overwhelm your customers, and space them out to give customers time to digest the content in the previous email to increase the usefulness and effectiveness.
Volume – Less can sometimes be more when it comes to automated email.
While sending relevant content to your subscribers is great, it’s important to consider how much you are sending as receiving too many messages can have the opposite to the desired effect on your customers.
Instead of bombarding your subscribers, focus on the opportunities that are the most meaningful to both your customers and your brand.
Testing – Once you have set up your automated email, testing is something that you should do on a regular basis to make sure that your messaging is optimized.
Test calls to action, content, subject lines, and custom metrics that are reflective of the main goals of your emails.
Allow Opt Outs – While no brand wants to lose subscribers, it is important to make sure that you provide email preference management including an easy option for anybody who wants to opt out to do so.
This will not only help you maintain good relationships with customers who may no longer be interested in hearing from you but can also make it easier for you to focus on those who are the most interested and engaged.
No matter what product, service, or brand you are marketing, automation is becoming a more and more essential tool for email marketing today.
