Smart email marketing strategies for ecommerce brands in 2023

An email marketing strategy is a plan for how to communicate with people (both potential and existing customers) via email.

Email is one of the most effective ways to market your online business. Meet people where you want them, right in your inbox. For marketers, this may be the only direct communication method they need to generate sales for their online store.

Here's how to create an email marketing strategy for your online store.

1. Select your email service provider

An email service provider (ESP) is software that allows you to collect email addresses, contact customers in bulk, and track email analytics. Lucy Kelly, owner of bel monili, said: “Your email list is your most valuable asset in business. These are the people who have already bought your product or are likely to buy it in the future. Investing in email marketing is like buying real estate. .I don’t want to build my own castle on rented land.”

Email service providers that integrate with Shopify stores include:

2. Start building your mailing list

You can have the best email marketing strategy in the world, but if no one signs up to hear from you, you'll have a hard time turning it into a profitable marketing channel.

Offer your target audience something in return for signing up, such as a discount code, exclusive content, or quiz results. You can also host a social media giveaway that requires an email opt-in for registration.

Regardless of what you offer, convey these incentives in a combination of formats such as:

• splash page
• Standalone landing page
• Popup triggered based on exit intent and scroll depth
• Contextual calls to action, such as at the end of a blog post or category page

3. Understand email marketing methods

Email is a sensitive marketing channel. Before you send email to your subscribers, you need their explicit permission. Please note the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations for EU subscribers and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States.

A best practice is to use a double opt-in email signup that verifies the recipient's permission before sending the email. This second step for her could be an introductory email asking for subscription confirmation.

In addition to this double opt-in, make it easy for users to unsubscribe if they no longer want to hear from your brand. That may sound counterintuitive (we all want to keep our subscriptions as long as possible). But hiding the unsubscribe link means your strategy isn't compliant with anti-spam and privacy laws.

4. Prepare transaction emails

Transactional email works. These occur when events occur that concern individual subscribers, such as:

Most e-commerce platforms (including Shopify) come with transactional emails preconfigured, but you can customize them to improve the customer experience throughout the lifecycle.

Pick it up from Beard Brand. The online retailer customizes order confirmation emails to share additional information with subscribers, such as a “Thank you for your order” message and updates on shipping delays.

5. Schedule triggered lifecycle emails

Lifecycle emails are sent when a customer completes an action (that is, when the email is “triggered”). Examples include:

This level of personalization doesn't require a deep dive into consumer data mining. Use email marketing tools to monitor how your subscribers interact with your content, such as the items they leave in their shopping carts.

Or collect zero-party data about your target audience's preferences by running quizzes like this one from Hunter & Gather.

6. Decide how often to email your subscribers

When you start your first email strategy, you'll want to email your subscribers every day. You want to shout about the great product you're selling. However, this comes with risks. If you email too often, you might get unsubscribed (or worse, reported).

Omnisend found that the less frequently you send emails to your subscribers, the higher your open rates. If you're just starting out, sending him 2-4 emails a month is a good starting point.

When planning an effective email marketing campaign, Lucy Kelly of Bell Monili recommends “start simple and stay consistent.” Whether you send emails once a week, once a month, or once a quarter, tell your audience what you expect and be sure to follow through.

“Emails don't have to be perfect. Start sending them when your list is small and improve as your list grows.”

7. Diversify the content of your regular newsletters

Newsletters form an important part of your email marketing strategy. This is a regular communication you have with your subscribers, separate from other transactions or triggered email campaigns.

Diversify your newsletter content by combining:

If you're not sure what's working, use split testing to compare two different elements of your newsletter, such as email subject lines, calls to action, and customized messages, and compare email analytics between these two. To do.

But remember to make adjustments one at a time. It's the only way to say with confidence which elements perform best.

8. Tag and segment your subscribers

Email personalization is no longer just a nice-to-have. Research shows that 71% of consumers expect some level of personalization, and brands that implement it see a 40% increase in revenue.

Group subscribers by common characteristics and personalize marketing messages based on shared interests. Examples of segments are:

• People who have never bought
• First time customer
• repeat or loyal customer
• VIPs such as customers with a large number of social media followers
• inactive subscriber

Milo Cruz, CMO of Legend Cookware, recommends “segmenting different customer groups in your market and planning their purchasing behavior.”

“This includes identifying your customer's pain points, the factors that influence their purchasing decision, and the specific solutions you can offer. From there, you can create an email marketing strategy that guides your customers toward purchase.” .”

9. Configure email automation

Marketing automation tools automatically send emails to subscribers when an event occurs.

For example, Klaviyo allows you to run effective email marketing campaigns that capture Shopify data in real time. Use this tool to:

• Send custom “thank you” messages to patrons
• Deliver customized coupon codes when users browse specific categories
• Send a welcome discount code to users who haven't used it in X days
• Run re-engagement campaigns to cross-sell items specific to products someone has already ordered.

10. Improve email deliverability

You may take the time and effort to send emails to your customers, but if your emails get caught in spam filters, they won't see them.

Improve email deliverability for future campaigns by:

• Verify sender address
• Avoid sales tactics such as capital letters and exclamation points
• Use smaller image sizes
• Make email more responsive for mobile users
• Delete lists regularly to remove inactive subscribers

Email marketing is a powerful channel for any e-commerce business

Use this email marketing strategy to attract subscribers and convince them to open your emails.

From list building to automating regular emails based on subscriber actions, email marketing is an untapped digital marketing channel that can bring in thousands of dollars in revenue each month.