eCommerce email marketing works, and it’s time to kick yours up a notch.

As technology has advanced, marketers have gotten better at using email to increase sales. eCommerce email marketing has gotten so good that many consumers expect marketers to know more about them than we actually do.

Yep, believe it or not, 50% of people are frustrated by ads and marketing campaigns that are irrelevant to their personal tastes and preferences. In other words, vegetarians don’t want to receive emails about bacon.

Email is one of those online marketing strategies that just works. The best way to kick your eCommerce email marketing up a notch is to make it increasingly personal.

In this post, we’ll explore a few ways you can provide shoppers with personal and relevant emails filled with valuable and timely content.

Try Interactive Emails

Emails don’t have to be dull. Bigdog agency, based in the U.K., is pushing the envelope by creating interactive emails for their clients. The agency created an interactive email for Pret that allows users to fill up a smoothie cup with their flavor of choice.

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These interactive emails surprise and delight customers, and are a great choice for eCommerce retailers that sell physical products. For example, if you sell makeup, you could show a model’s face, and allow users to try out different lipstick colors.

These interactive emails do take some development expertise, but the payoff is worth it. These emails can set you apart from the competition, and show your customers that you’re keeping up with the latest technology.

Consider an Email Course

If your audience were better educated on what you do, would they be more likely to buy from you?

For example, imagine you run a pool supply company. Many of your customers have their own pools to maintain. There are a lot of questions a customer has when maintaining a pool– what chemicals do I need to treat the water? How do I clean it? How often do I need to replace the filters?

Answer your customer’s’ biggest questions in an email course. For example, you could have an email course on how to maintain a pool called “The Perfect Pool in One Week.” Each day, subscribers get a tip on how to maintain their swimming pool.

It’s easy to set up email courses in most email clients. Once a subscriber signs up, they’ll get emails delivered to their inboxes automatically. Many marketers repurpose eBooks and guides and send them out as email courses, so think about if you already have content that could be turned into a course.

Use Past Behavior

Loyal customers are the best kinds of customers. According to a study conducted by econsultancy, 70% of businesses say that it’s cheaper to retain a customer than get a brand new one.

Customers like when marketers pay attention to what they’ve done in the past. Believe it or not, 40% of consumers would like to see similar things to products they’ve purchased in the past, and 41% would like to know about products that go well with past purchases.

Leveraging past behavior is a great way to encourage customers to come back to your eCommerce store to buy more. If you have customers who’ve made purchases with you before, send them relevant follow-up information. For example, if you sold someone a book, they might like to see other books by that author.

Amazon sends emails after you browse products on their site. For example, if you spend a while browsing for office chairs, you might get an email like this:

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Combine In-Store and eCommerce Behavior

If your eCommerce store also has a brick-and-mortar location, it’s time to marry the two to create a seamless customer experience.

For example, Sephora shoppers collect points that can be redeemed for samples and products. These points can be collected and redeemed in Sephora’s eCommerce shop, as well as in brick-and-mortar stores.

No matter where you collect your points, Sephora sends out email reminders when you’re close to hitting major milestones. For example, here’s what you might receive when you’re close to reaching 500 points:

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Think about how you can provide a seamless experience to your customers. Can you create a loyalty program that combines in-store activity with the eCommerce experience?

Don’t Forget the Old Favorites

There are many clever ways that eCommerce marketers can use email. The key is figuring out what works best for your products. No matter what, don’t forget the old favorites:

• Shipping Confirmation Emails

Make sure your shipping confirmations are as clear as possible, giving customers all the information they need to track their package. Shipping confirmation emails calm customer anxiety around when their purchase will arrive.

Pro Tip: Recommend a product that goes well with the product they just purchased at the bottom of the shipping email.

• Abandoned Cart Emails

When someone has filled up their shopping cart, but has not yet checked out, you should send them an email reminding them to come back.

Pro Tip: Use copy that personifies the shopping cart. For example, “Your Cart Misses You!”

• Email Automation

If you’re emails aren’t automated, you’re making a lot more work for yourself. Transactional and trigger-based emails will make your life as an eCommerce marketer a whole lot easier.

Pro Tip: Take your customers on a journey. Use post-it notes to map out what this journey looks like on a wall in your office.

• A/B Testing

It’s hard to know if your emails could perform better than they already are, which is why you need to do some tests. Make sure you A/B test different emails to find out which ones really resonate with your customers.

Pro Tip: Test subject lines, as well as copy and design.

• Segmentation

As an eCommerce retailer, you probably sell a wide variety of goods. Segmenting your campaigns via interests can help you send more relevant campaigns.

Pro Tip: Try out a new segment, and see how it performs compared to existing segments.

• Holiday Emails

The holiday season is an important time for eCommerce retailers, and as part of your online marketing strategies, make sure you develop an email marketing campaign to excite your audience.

Pro Tip: Think beyond red and green, and try to spread holiday cheer in creative ways.

In Conclusion

Email is a powerful marketing platform for any eCommerce retailer. It’s a tried and true way to connect with your customers, and there are always opportunities to kick it up a notch. In this post, we’ve outlined a few inspiring examples of what you could do to take your email marketing to the next level.

Have you tested out any email marketing tactics that you found worked well?

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