Marketing automation is designed to save you time and boost your business. That's what marketing automation is all about. Set up automation to reach your customers at the right time with the right message and let them do their work on autopilot.
That's why we're excited to share three new marketing automation templates built directly into Shopify. These templates will get you up and running with marketing best practices in just minutes.
- of Welcome email series (discount with reminder) The template begins with an email featuring a discount, followed by two emails aimed at building a relationship with new subscribers. Then, if you haven't made a purchase, you'll receive his fourth email reminding you to use your discount.
- of Welcome Email Series (Brand Story with Discount) The template sends three emails aimed at sharing your story and connecting with new subscribers. Then, if you haven't made a purchase, you'll receive her fourth email with a discount code.
- of Thank you email This template sends an email the day after a customer makes a purchase, and sends a personalized message depending on whether it's their first or second purchase.
Creating an automation
Our team didn't build these alone either. We worked with Ezra Firestone, whose commerce marketing experience is legendary. He is the founder and CEO of Boom! By Cindy Joseph, founder of oVertone and his CEO of Zipify, Smart Marketer.
His expert advice is woven into how these automation templates work, from content tweaking to the timing of each email. But he has more advice than can fit into a template, so keep reading to get all the top tips for getting the most out of your Welcome He series and thank you emails.
Welcome Series is the perfect introduction to you and your business
One of the best ways to attract new subscribers is to send a series of welcome emails, rather than just one, in the first few days after a new subscriber joins your list. This increases your chances of building strong connections from the start and keeps your brand top of mind.
But if you're wondering what to say in four emails, check out some advice from Ezra.
Email Ideas: Introducing yourself
“One of the interesting first emails to send is to increase intimacy between the brand and the subscriber, and that works, but it’s not a ‘Meet the Founder’ or ‘Our Story’ Email,” Ezra says.
Introducing yourself and sharing your brand's story is a great way to build trust and establish a personal connection with your subscribers. Additionally, almost every brand has a founder or leader who can serve as the face of this email.
Email ideas: Combine promotional and relationship-building emails
When it comes to your welcome email series, don't just end the sale each time. Balance promotional content with detailed information about your business to keep your subscribers engaged and engaged.
Not sure what else to include as relationship-building content? “Any brand could send a manufacturing transparency email. Any brand could do social proof,” says Ezra. “The purpose of these emails is to build trust between you and your subscribers. Some ideas you can include in them are: where you are, why you started your brand, your past A story about someone you served or how your product helped someone.”
Email ideas: More than just discounts
Incentives in emails can help close the sale, but it doesn't necessarily mean you need to offer a discount. Consider other ways to encourage subscribers to take action, like free shipping or hassle-free returns.
“Any incentive to take action, even a communication that hits the free shipping threshold, is far more effective than no incentive at all. All you need to do is encourage the shopping experience from the very first communication.” Even if it means 'hassle-free returns' or 'free shipping on returns,''' Ezra says.
Set up thank you emails to connect with new and repeat customers
Showing appreciation to both new and returning customers has never been easier. With the new Thank You automation template, you can set up different emails based on whether you just made your first order or his second order in your store.
Additionally, Ezra offers tips for taking this template a step further and making small customizations. He recommends adding a waiting step and sending her a second (or third) email after the initial thank you to advertise the order being delivered. It's something he practices in his business and thinks it's working.
“We have pre-arrival excitement emails that say something like, 'Here's what you need to know before your order arrives.' One of the things that companies that increase pre-arrival excitement is to lower their refund rates and increase the number of reviews they get. So we've prepared an email for that category. When the product arrives. Here's what it looks like, here's what you need to know.”
You can add that content directly to your thank you email, or you can add a wait step and a second email to your thank you automation.
Email ideas: You don't need tons of images in every email
And last but not least, if you're worried that all these new emails won't include images, that's okay, Ezra says. In fact, it may even improve performance.
“What's interesting is that in most cases, HTML-formatted light emails perform best,” says Ezra. That means less images, less formatting, and more text. It's more like an email you send to a friend than a branded email.
There's a time and place for leading with images, but it's worth experimenting to see if low-format emails work for your brand as well.
Improve results with new marketing automation templates
Whether you want to upgrade your current welcome email to a series, add a thank you email to your repertoire, or explore the rest of the marketing automation templates available, you can do it all within Shopify. When setting up new automation, be sure to consider how everything will work together. Avoid accidentally sending three welcome emails at the same time.
Creating an automation
Remember, with Shopify Email, your first 10,000 manual and automated emails each month are free.
