Automated emails offer a great way to connect with your subscribers and customers, and deliver relevant content. It’s likely that you use automation as part of your email marketing campaigns (sending a message on your subscriber’s birthday, for example). But, are you really making the most of what it offers? There are a variety of triggers you can use which will, over time, help you better engage with your subscribers and, most importantly, increase sales.
Here are some ideas to help you create inspired automated emails:
Welcome Emails
Even though welcome emails are fairly common these days, it’s still worth mentioning how valuable they are. Subscribers are, most engaged when they first sign up to your mailing list. Take the opportunity to capitalise on this. Send them an email saying hello, reminding them of the products and services you offer and even offering them a discount to say ‘thank you’.
Your welcome emails don’t have to be limited to when someone first signs up to your mailing list. You can send emails ‘welcoming’ a customer to a product they’ve bought. Just like Apple do with the iPad air:
Although simple, an email like this has a number of benefits. It makes the customer feel valued and helps them make the most out of their new device. Thus, they are more likely to keep using it.
Thank You Automation
As well as driving new subscribers to your site, automated emails can also be used to drive customers back to your site after they’ve made a purchase. This can be done by sending a simple thank you email:
In this email from EE, rather than just thanking the customer for their order, they have explained some of the benefits that their service offers, and provide a link for customers to find out more. This is more likely to encourage customers to re-visit the website. You can also use these emails to ask your customers to leave a review or to give them a discount on a future purchase.
Special Dates
Like I mentioned before, many email marketers send an automated message wishing their subscribers a happy birthday. They are often accompanied by a special discount, deal or freebie. Enter Pizza Express:
Although it’s nice to send a birthday email, there are also some other significant dates you can use to trigger an automated email (without having to ask your subscribers for lots of personal information). For example, you can congratulate your subscriber on being a customer with you for a year, just like Rent the Runway do:
An email like this is a pleasant surprise by your subscribers (even more so than birthday emails). They will be more likely to open the message and respond to the offer. Although the purpose of these messages is just to drive contacts back to your website, they have the added benefit of continuing engagement and making your customers feel valued.
When it comes to automated emails, there’s no limit to what you can do. Try out and test a few ideas, and see which ones work for you.
