How to use email marketing to boost eCommerce sales

While some people perceive email marketing as a thing of the past, it’s still one of the most effective digital marketing strategies for eCommerce businesses. The ROI stands at $36 for every dollar spent, outshining most other digital marketing strategies.

Therefore, developing an email marketing strategy is crucial for eCommerce businesses. It serves as a direct, cost-effective, and personalized communication channel with customers, driving engagement, retention, and sales.

Unlike other platforms where content can get lost in the noise, emails land in a customer’s inbox, demanding attention and action, be it through promotional campaigns, new product launches, or exclusive offers.

Furthermore, it fosters customer loyalty by providing value beyond transactions, such as through informative content, birthday wishes, or loyalty rewards, helping to establish a brand’s identity and relationship with its consumers.

In an era where acquiring new customers can be several times more expensive than retaining existing ones, email marketing’s ability to continuously engage and re-engage customers is invaluable, directly impacting an eCommerce business’s profitability and long-term growth.

In this guide, we will outline specific strategies to enhance sales through email marketing. The key steps include:

• Build your email list
• Segment your email list
• Automate your email campaigns
• Conduct A/B tests to optimize your strategy
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• Keep improving your email elements like subject line, copy, and CTA

Read on to maximize the impact of your email marketing campaigns and increase sales cost-effectively:

Building a Strong Email List the Smart Way

The importance of building an email list can not be overstated. But remember, it’s not just about gathering a large number of email addresses.

The real goal is to connect with actual potential customers, people genuinely interested in what you have to offer. Here is how to do it:

Give a little to get a lot

Offering incentives, deals, and discounts through email marketing is a powerful strategy for eCommerce businesses, serving to drive immediate sales, increase customer loyalty, and enhance overall engagement.

When customers receive these special offers directly in their inboxes, it creates a sense of exclusivity and appreciation, motivating them to take immediate action due to the time-sensitive nature of most deals. These promotions not only encourage first-time purchases, potentially converting hesitant browsers into buyers, but also stimulate repeat purchases, thereby increasing customer lifetime value.

Furthermore, when subscribers know that exclusive deals and savings are a regular feature of an email list, they’re more likely to stay subscribed and actively engaged, reducing churn rates. This approach also incentivizes word-of-mouth and social sharing, as excited customers are more likely to spread the word about great deals, indirectly serving as brand ambassadors.

Make a memorable first impression

Once someone gives you their email address, it’s like they’ve just walked into your store or office. The next move is crucial. After a user subscribes, don’t forget to send them a welcome email.

This initial communication serves as a platform to introduce your brand, engage with new subscribers, and build trust. Here’s some evidence supporting its efficacy:

• Notably, 74% of fresh subscribers anticipate a welcome email with email verification.
• Welcome emails have a conversion rate of 52.9%, in contrast to the 14.26% conversion rate of post-purchase emails.
• Welcome emails report an open rate of 50%, rendering them 86% more potent than typical newsletters.

So, while you’re saying your first hello, why not make it more appealing? Consider adding a special welcome offer or a discount coupon. It could be the gentle nudge needed to make them go from just browsing to buying.

Segment Your Email List to Send Personalized Messages

Ever received an email that felt like it was written just for you? This is the power of personalization.

You can personalize your emails by segmenting your list and crafting emails that address the specific needs or interests of those segments. When an email speaks directly to a reader’s situation or interest, they’re far more inclined to explore further, leading to improved click-through rates.

By categorizing subscribers based on various criteria such as purchasing behavior, demographic data, browsing history, or engagement levels, businesses can tailor content and offers to suit the specific needs and interests of different groups.

This personalization makes recipients feel understood and valued by the brand, rather than just being part of a mass marketing approach. Segmentation also leads to improved deliverability and reduced unsubscribe rates, as content is more relevant and less likely to be marked as spam.

Ultimately, email segmentation enables eCommerce businesses to send the right message to the right person at the right time, optimizing marketing resources and significantly boosting the effectiveness of communication strategies.

Automate Your Emails to Save Time & Money

Relying solely on manual operations can slow down your marketing efforts and introduce unwanted errors. That’s where the magic of automation comes into play.

It ensures that while your emails maintain a personal touch, they’re sent out with clockwork precision and efficiency. In fact, according to Campaign Monitor, automated emails yield a 320% increase in revenue when compared to non-automated ones.

You can consider using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform such as HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, or Brevo.

They provide functionalities far beyond just tracking customer interactions — from segmenting your audience based on various criteria to scheduling and sending emails at times when they’re most likely to be opened and read.

The automation with these tools will ensure that your emails not only land in your subscribers’ inboxes at the right time but also carry messages that are most relevant to them, all while minimizing the manual work and potential for errors.

A/B Test to Make Your Email Marketing More Efficient

Instead of guessing what your audience might prefer, why not let them decide?

A/B testing, also known as split testing, involves sending two variations of an email campaign (Version A and Version B) to a small subset of a target audience to analyze which version performs better in terms of open rates, click-through rates, conversions, or any other predefined metric. The version that yields better results is then sent to the remaining subscribers.

This method is crucial because even minor changes in subject lines, call-to-action buttons, email copy, layout, or sending times can significantly impact recipient engagement.

By conducting A/B tests, marketers can make data-driven decisions, ensuring that the content resonates with their audience, thereby optimizing campaign effectiveness, increasing ROI, and enhancing the overall customer experience. It’s a practice that fosters continuous learning and improvement, essential in the dynamic realm of email marketing, where consumer preferences and behaviors can shift rapidly.

Keep Improving the Content of Your Emails

In the age of digital communication, emails have become more than just a method to convey a message; they represent your brand’s voice, image, and intent. Thus, every choice you make is important. Pay attention to detail and continue to improve them as you go.

1. Subject line: Before anything else, your recipient sees the subject line. The subject line should be catchy enough to intrigue, captivate, and entice the recipient. Treat it as your email’s headline, ensuring it’s catchy yet relevant. By merely personalizing the subject lines, you can boost open rates by up to 29.3%.
2. Content: What’s an email without its content? But more isn’t always better. Your content should be a blend of relevance and brevity. It’s crucial to maintain a clear, concise, and engaging narrative. The language should be precise, embodying your brand’s tone and style, ensuring that the recipient remains hooked from start to finish.
3. CTA (Call to Action): The CTA is where you direct your reader’s attention and tell them what you’d like them to do next. A common pitfall? Bombarding readers with multiple CTAs. Instead stick to this rule: one email, one purpose, one CTA. However, it doesn’t mean you stick with the same CTA forever. Experiment and test to find out which call-to-action resonates the most with your audience. Research indicates that by simply redesigning the CTA button, the click-through rate can increase by an impressive 127%.

Perfecting email design isn’t just about aesthetics though; it’s about function, clarity, and connection. When all elements harmonize, your emails will not just be read—they’ll be remembered.

Deal with challenges that come with scaling up

As your business expands, it’s important to navigate the challenges that come with increased sales, such as securing capital for greater inventory demands. Balancing growth and maintaining steady cash flow becomes pivotal.

At 8fig, we provide swift, flexible, and continuous capital funding solutions. If your eCommerce store has been active for at least a year with $100,000 or more in annual revenue, you might be eligible for 8fig funding.

Apply for funding now, and find out how 8fig can help your business reach its full potential.