This year and the foreseeable future, email marketing is and will remain one of the top marketing channels. This is because it is effective, affordable, stable, and always within your control. If you're looking for new ways to level up your marketing game, here are ecommerce email marketing best practices you should try.
1. AI-Powered Recommendations
In a time when AI is dominating many industries, it pays to use the technology to further your email marketing efforts. It allows you to provide tailored product or content suggestions to your email recipients. This gives that personal touch to every email you send.
To do this, you need to gather data from your customers. You also need to use the appropriate tools such as an AI-powered email marketing platform or AI content writing software.
2. Interactive Email Elements
If you want your email recipients to engage with your emails, consider adding interactive elements. This lets them take actions directly within the email, such as filling out surveys, playing games, or scrolling through product carousels.
You can add clickable buttons, real-time polls, or image sliders to get them interacting with your emails which will drive a higher click-through rate. It also holds their attention and increases the possibility of them taking your desired actions.
3. Personalization at Scale
This ecommerce email marketing best practice involves tailoring your emails to suit your audience's unique preferences and behaviors. You can do this by segmenting your email list based on customer data. You can also use dynamic content to create personalized product recommendations.
You may also want to craft individualized subject lines, send triggered emails, and continuous A/B testing and monitoring. These help optimize the effectiveness of your email campaigns, improve open and click-through rates, and increase conversions.
4. User-Generated Content and Social-Proof
Incorporate social proof and user-generated content into your email marketing efforts. This helps you build trust with your audience and influence their buying decisions. User-generated content can come in the following forms:
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Contests and challenges
- Visual content
- Social media posts
- Reward programs
Alternatively, you can also use social proof in your email marketing strategies. This is effective as it capitalizes on the psychological phenomenon where people follow the actions and choices of others. It is assumed that when a large number of people make a particular choice, it must be a good one. Social proof can come in the following forms:
- Customer reviews and ratings
- User counts
- Testimonials
- Certifications
- Endorsements
- Social media engagement
5. Gamification
Make your emails fun and entertaining by adding gamification elements in them. Not only are they engaging, they are a great way to offer rewards and incentives such as discounts or exclusive offers. Games in your emails can also encourage recipients to take specific actions or a means to collect valuable data.
You can use your email marketing platforms to add gamification features to your emails. Or choose from the myriad of third-party integrations to do this. You can choose from a wide array of gamification features, including spin-to-win wheels, scratch-off discounts, or answering a quiz or poll.
6. Mobile Optimization
According to statistics, 92% of adults use email, with 61% of them using it on an average day. And with a majority of them shopping online using their mobile devices, it's only fitting that you optimize your emails for mobile phone usage. It's no longer just best practice but a necessity.
Create emails that are mobile-responsive. Make sure they are viewable, appealing, and function seamlessly on smaller screens. Avoid emails that have jumbled images, require excessive zooming and scrolling, and many other hindrances to them enjoying the content of your emails.
7. Customer Lifecycle Emails
Another strategic approach to email marketing is through the use of customer lifecycle emails. This means creating targeted email campaigns that engage and nurture your customers at different stages of their journey with your brand. This acknowledges their varying needs and interests at different points in their relationship with your business.
Below are the different lifecycle stages of a customer:
- Welcome emails
- Onboarding emails
- Engagement emails
- Abandoned cart emails
- Re-engagement emails
- Upsell and Cross-sell emails
8. Abandoned Cart Recovery
It's normal for people to change their minds when making a purchase. But if you follow up on them, chances are high that they'll push through with the transaction with the right persuasion. This is where you need to strategize with the abandoned cart recovery tactic. Emails can be a powerful tool to reengage your customers and encourage them to make their purchases final.
You can use automated email sequences that will send pre-scheduled emails when someone abandons a cart. It may include an image of the abandoned product and a clear CTA to resume their shopping. You may also want to add incentives such as discounts or free shipping to sweeten the deal.
9. Data Analysis and Email Segmentation
Using data and analytics to segment your emails are effective email marketing best practices to do today. Data analysis lets you examine the information you gather from your recipients. With these, you can gain insightful data into their behavior and preferences that allow you to craft better marketing strategies.
When you segment your emails into smaller, more focused groups, you can easily create tailored and personalized content that will be relevant and more appealing to them.
10. A/B Testing
A data-driven marketing strategy entails using A/B testing and optimization. This means creating variations of your emails, such as writing different subject lines, adding various versions of your images, or changing the CTAs. This allows you to refine and improve your email campaigns for optimum results.
After identifying which elements are performing, you can refine your email campaigns and strategies to get better results. You'll also have a competitive edge, enjoy an increase in engagement, and get a better understanding of your audience.
Final Thoughts
Ecommerce email marketing best practices require careful planning and a data-driven approach. The strategies listed above may not be new to some, but they have been proven effective. Email marketing is ever-evolving, and staying updated can translate to enjoying success in your email marketing initiatives.
