5 Keys to Ecommerce Drip Email Marketing Success
Chris Mulvaney is the CEO of CMDS. I make things... I’m the creative entrepreneur with passion for (re)making brands and inventing solutions to problems no one knows exist.
If you answered ‘check my email,’ you’re not alone.
With the massive growth and ubiquity of social media in recent years, it’s tempting for ecommerce brands to shift focus away from email marketing. But smart marketers know that to allow email marketing to get lost in the digital marketing shuffle is to miss out on an important opportunity for their brand to engage with their customer base.
Even as we approach 2018, a drip email campaign remains one of the most effective ways for ecommerce brands to build customer loyalty and generate sales for their business.
Why Email Marketing?
- Sheer volume. According to The Radicati Group, by the end of 2017, more than 3.7 billion people worldwide will be using email.
- They have already opted-in. When you send an email to a current client on your list, your message is reaching someone who has chosen to hear from you. You can’t get more pinpointed targeting than that.
- You can control the timing. Even with advent of targeted social advertising campaigns, there is no better way to ensure that the right message is being delivered at the right time than a triggered email campaign.
Alas, all drip email campaigns are not created equal. Here are the 5 most important keys to drip email marketing success for your ecommerce business:
1. The Timing
By definition, a ‘drip’ email campaign is a set of pre-written marketing emails that are automatically sent out to leads or customers on a set schedule. Figuring out that schedule is crucial, and can be tricky.
Unfortunately, there is no hard, fast rule—every brand must figure out how to strike the right balance so as to mail often enough to stay top-of-mind, but not so often that their emails end up being perceived as (gasp!) spam.
2. The Content
Perhaps more than anything else, the content of your emails can make or break the success of a drip campaign. Regardless of the reason for your reach out—whether it be to welcome a new customer, to follow-up with a customer after a purchase, or to introduce a new product line, your email must provide value.
Yes, the purpose of each email is to bring its recipient down the path to making a purchase. But if it’s overtly salesy, it will be (at best) ignored and deleted. Making each email in the campaign worthy of the open means making it readable, including compelling images and providing information that the recipient will find useful, valuable or entertaining.
3. The Subject Line
With almost 270 billion emails being sent each day, your email faces a lot of competition. The subject line, often dismissed as an afterthought, is arguably the most important piece of content you’ll need. After all, you may have the greatest information in the world in the body of your email, but if your subject doesn’t compel the recipient to open it, no one will ever see it.
4. The Layout
First impressions are everything, so when your recipient opts to open your email, you want them to like what they see. You also want them to find what they are looking for, so a simple, professional format usually works best. It’s important to present information in a concise, easy-to-digest way, and to lead the reader quickly to any calls-to-action you are including.
And, since more than 77% of Americans own smartphones, there’s a good chance your recipient is receiving your message while on-to-go. It’s important that the email template you use is optimized for mobile, so your reader will have the same experience regardless of how or when they open your message.
5. The Numbers
Keeping a close eye on the analytics tied to each email in your drip campaign will allow you to measure how well you’re doing with each of the above factors. How many people are opening your emails, how many are clicking-through and how many are actually converting after clicking will provide valuable insight into what’s working, and what areas need to be addressed. People opening but not clicking may be a clue that your content or layout aren’t getting the job done. A jump in unsubscribes and a dip in opens may mean your subject lines could use some work, or that you are sending emails too frequently.
Allow CMDS To Help Expand Your Brand
Used as part of an overall digital marketing strategy, a drip email campaign represents a critical opportunity for an ecommerce business to maximize exposure and generate sales for their store. As with other digital marketing strategies, it’s worth calling in the professionals to help you get it right. Let CMDS create and execute a drip email strategy that’s tailor made for your ecommerce brand.
