As a consumer, how often do you look at your inbox and get excited about the emails you’ve received from brands? Which emails do you actually open, and which ones do you scroll past?
When you create marketing emails, you need to think more like your consumers and less like a business owner. The emails that you as a business owner want to send aren’t always the same emails your audience wants to receive.
In general, your customers aren’t interested in learning about your new office building, your prestigious new employee, or your internal structural changes. Those things are all important to you and your business—but they don’t matter much to your customers. Save those exciting announcements for your internal newsletter or direct communications with your business partners.
In today’s blog post, we’re going to cover 3 kinds of emails your audience wants to receive. So which emails will get opened instead of being sent to the trash?
1. Order confirmation and updates.
Order confirmation emails have some of the highest open rates of all marketing emails (see this article by Chamaileon). Your customers want to know that you’ve received their order and are working to fulfill it.
When a customer places an online order with you, they’re trusting you with their credit card and other personal information. An order confirmation email shows your customer you’re worthy of their trust and that you’re going to communicate with them quickly and openly.
It’s just as important to send emails when there are issues or changes with your customers’ orders. If a shipment is delayed or you have a shortage of a certain item, let your customer know.
You may be reluctant to communicate with your customers when you have bad news, like a delayed shipment. However, it’s better to be transparent than to ignore or hide them. Open and honest communication will show your customers you’re a trustworthy business, even when delays happen.
2. Sales, bundles, and ways to save.
It’s no wonder—sales emails are some of the most popular emails you can send to your list. Who doesn’t love a good deal?
According to a HubSpot survey, over one quarter of all email subscriptions are motivated by a desire to get sales, coupons, and exclusive deals.
There are tons of ways you can treat your loyal subscribers to deals. Add some variety to your promotional calendar with sales like these:
- Store-wide sales. Give your customers 10 to 20% off your entire store.
- BOGO deals. Encourage customers to make multiple purchases, with deals like “Buy 1 X, get 1 X Half Off” or “Buy 4, Get 1 Free”
- Limited-time product bundles. Show your customers how much it usually costs to purchase these products separately and highlight how much they’ll save.
- Clearance sales. Feature your clearance section and the ultra-low prices your customers can enjoy.
- Free shipping. Maybe you can afford to provide free shipping on all orders for a short period, or you might make it exclusive for purchases over a certain amount.
- Spend $$$, save $. Instead of a percentage discount, offer a flat discount on purchases over a certain amount.
- In-store coupons. Entice your customers to shop in-store by sending them a coupon only redeemable for in-store purchases.
You can use sales emails to re-engage email subscribers who haven’t interacted with your brand in several months. Send these lapsed accounts an email campaign specifically for them, inviting them back to your brand with a limited-time discount code. “Winback campaigns” like these have a 29% open rate and turn up to 45% of lapsed customers into engaged, repeat customers.
Sales emails keep your customers coming back to your brand. When your customers feel like they’re getting a good deal, they’re more likely to make repeat purchases.
3. Helpful, free information.
Sales aren’t the only ways you can give your customers something of value. You should also send them free information about your products and industry.
The same Hubspot study found 25% of email recipients subscribe to get access to a brand’s content, like blogs, videos, and graphics.
Think about the kind of people who would purchase your products. What are their interests? What questions do they have about your industry? What information is useful to them? These are the kinds of educational emails you should send your customers.
Send emails featuring your blog posts, new and old. Share YouTube videos, podcasts, and other educational content that your brand has created—or content from other sources that you find useful. Create how-to videos, FAQs, and blog posts addressing common issues your customers might have with their products.
You might be tempted to make this information hidden behind a paywall, but it’s best to be generous when it comes to your emails. Freely sharing your content not only establishes you as an expert in your field, but it shows customers you’re an open, generous brand.
Need help creating an email marketing strategy that incorporates these 3 emails? Struggling to find content that your audience gets excited about? Schedule a call. Our marketing experts will help you create a fully-fledged marketing strategy focused on your audience’s wants and needs—earning you repeat customers who want to open your emails.
