You’ve got (a lot of) mail. A LOT. Seriously – every day, hundreds of brands are competing for your attention through your inbox.
Which emails do you actually read (let alone click on)? Do you have a few favorite brands that you enjoy getting emails from?
Those brands, the select few you enjoy hearing from, aren’t that way by accident – it’s because they’re doing something right. If we had to guess, their emails are full of clever copy, helpful information, and perfectly timed sends that hit your inbox just when you didn’t know you needed them.
Now think about your brand or business. What’s your strategy for email marketing? Do you use the “spray and pray” method? Or do you have a well-thought-out strategy designed to delight your customers?
If you’ve been winging it, we totally understand. We all have to start somewhere. But we want to invite you to step up your email marketing strategy with these 8 types of emails every brand should be sending.
Let’s dive in!
Oh hey there.
Welcome emails are like a first date. A potential customer likes you and has invited you to that most marketable of destinations – their inbox!
It’s all about that first impression. According to Privy, welcome emails have an open rate of 91% and the potential to generate 3x more revenue compared to other promotional emails.
Customers want to feel like they are a part of something bigger. They want to feel a personal connection to your brand and mission. And this email is a great way to set the foundation for a rock-solid relationship.
Wondering how to make that welcome warm? Here are a few ideas:
This email or email series is an excellent opportunity to play up your brand’s personality and invite customers to be a part of your mission.
Don’t know how to best tell your brand story? We can help →
Did you forget something?
Cart Abandonment Emails are follow-up emails that go out to customers who added something to their cart but left without purchasing.
If you’re an e-commerce brand and not leveraging cart abandonment emails, you’re literally leaving money on the (digital) table.
This perfectly timed poke gives you the opportunity to captivate and convert customers who stepped away before completing checkout – but they had intentions of buying. And with the right messaging, this email also has the power to convert the shopper who’s still on the fence about the purchase.
There are a million ways to be creative with your abandoned cart emails. Here are a few to get your gears turning:
No matter what you try, make sure your Abandoned Cart emails are personalized and helpful. We promise that as you optimize this magical email (or emails), your Revenue Goals will thank you!
Celebrate good times, come on!
There are a million reasons to celebrate your customers. And what’s a better channel to throw some confetti (and GIFs) than email?
Celebration emails are a great way to make your customers feel seen, known, and appreciated. With highly personalized content, you can celebrate major milestones, invite them to celebrate company achievements, or throw a “Just Because” offer their way!
Below are some ideas for how to celebrate your customers:
Can’t think of a reason to celebrate? Celebrate your customers “just because” … because without them, your business wouldn’t exist. So bring on the exclamation marks and GIFs and let’s bring the par-tay to their inbox.
Lookin’ back
It’s human nature to get a little sentimental when things end. So when the end of the year rolls around, find a way to look back at all your brand and customers have accomplished in an End-of-Year Roundup Email.
Here are some ideas of what this could look like:
The goal of these emails is to make your customers feel like they’re a part of something bigger by highlighting involvement, engagement, and impact.
Have fun with this! (Pro tip: It’s never too early to start planning what data you need to collect to pull off a winning end-of-year email.)
How are we doing?
Gathering feedback from customers is critical. If you’re not doing regular check-ins with customers, you’re not listening to your biggest stakeholders and missing out on information that could make or break business.
A simple survey email is a great way to get the insights you need for success. Below are some prompts that you can (and should be) asking customers via email on a regular basis:
For these emails, you’ve got options. Do you want to leverage a third-party tool to gather the feedback? Do you wish to incentivize the emails with a discount code or credit for those who participate? Can’t decide what’s best for your brand? We can help →
We’re about to make your day…
Nothing says “I appreciate you” more than a delightful, unexpected email full of genuine goodwill.
Surprise and delight emails are just that. They’re intended to bring a smile to your customers’ faces and make their day. You can achieve this in a wide variety of ways. Below are a few ideas to get you thinking:
We know it might be tempting to bake some secret marketing into your Surprise and Delight Emails. But hear us when we say, free shipping or flash sales are not what we’re going for here. Customers know when they’re on the hook for something. Instead, we invite brands to use these emails as a way to be sincere and altruistic.
It might feel risky, but being a #forceforgood is always worth it in the long run. Don’t believe it? Just ask us.
The one-two punch
How much do you know about your customers? Hopefully a lot, but we bet your back-end might know even more.
And what’s more – you can leverage that data to develop a brilliantly scheduled custom nurture series. These bad boys contain mapped-out content that lands in inboxes at pivotal points in the customer lifecycle.
Want to give a custom nurture series a try? Here a few tips and tricks to make sure they perform perfectly:
A friendly P.S. on this one – if your data isn’t buttoned up, there are still ways you can create a clever custom nurture series. Don’t know how? Reach out to us at info@voltagead.com.
Expect the unexpected
If you’re an e-commerce company, you know that status emails like “Your Order Has Been Shipped” are a part of standard operating procedures. But did you know how great their open rates are? (After all, who doesn’t open their “order shipped” email to find out when their package is arriving?)
If you’re using the “out of the box” emails that come with your e-commerce platform, you’re missing a great opportunity to make a bold impression on your customers.
Trash the boring status emails and trade up to some clever status emails that:
Another pro tip: if you are using “out of the box” emails, at least make sure they’re updated to be on-brand with your fonts and colors. These emails are a chance to further your brand recognition with customers and definitely not a time when you want to confuse your customers with incongruent branding.
If you’d like to give one of these emails a go or don’t even know where to start with your email marketing strategy, let us help →
Want more ways to level up your email game? Get in there with these email best practices →
Find your opportunitiesYou’re almost certainly missing out on potential sales from email. And you won’t know your potential until you take a close look at the numbers, performance, and competitors. Let us audit your email and uncover your opportunities, then make a plan to test and grow. Research. Build. Test. Improve. Ask for Justin →
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Go deeper:
VOLTAGE is a digital agency specializing in eCommerce, digital brand experiences, and web apps. Get emails and insights from our team:
As with everything online, email best practices are constantly evolving. If you’re not seeing the conversions and ROI you’d like or you know it’s time to upgrade your email strategy but aren’t sure where to start, this article covers it all. Let’s (successfully) deliver some emails!
As we’ve grown and the capabilities of technology have become more accessible and exciting, one thing has become increasingly clear: If you want to stand out in the marketplace, you need strategy. You need a plan for differentiating your offering and owning your positioning, interacting with your customers, and growing relentlessly toward clear goals. In VOLTAGE terms: It’s a commitment to killin’ it.
