In the age of digital marketing, online shopping has significantly changed customers’ buying behavior.
For many people, it is now easier to purchase items from their phone or tablet rather than going out to find a store that stocks the item they are looking for.
And needless to say, e-commerce surged in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic where everybody’s forced to stay at home.
Isn’t that a no-brainer choice to buy the products you love from the physical retail store if you can buy them at the comfort of your home?
Heck, it shouldn’t be a question.
However, there are still some consumers who will not make an online purchase because of one reason.
They want to first receive information about the company they are buying from.
That’s where Email Marketing comes into play.
In fact, in 2020 it has been reported that 72% of consumers prefer emails as their main channel for business communication.
They choose to receive email marketing over other forms.
That’s basically the reason why you’ve probably heard this phrase “the money is in the list”, and I agree!
See, a lot of statistics will tell you that effective email marketing can bring a lot of profit to your business.
And when done correctly, email marketing is known as one of the most powerful ways to reach your target audience and nurture them from prospects (leads) into paying customers.
But let’s face it…it can also be difficult to do it well.
Now you must be asking how you can make sure your emails are working…? Or an even better question is…
How can you make a lot of money with email marketing?
Well, you better keep reading because, in this blog post, we will discuss:
5 proven strategies for increasing sales conversion rates using emails for e-commerce businesses that have been shown to work in the past.
The first thing you need to do is understand the importance of:
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Nurturing Leads with PERSONALIZED messages and offers
It simply means the process of developing and strengthening relationships with your audience at every stage of their customer journey or the sales funnel.
Nurturing email campaigns needs to be personalized with the goal to impact the buying behavior of customers on your list.
Remember, eCommerce businesses will be sustainable when you have repeat customers.
Lead nurturing campaigns using emails is exactly one way to make your customers buy from you over and over.
It works because you are making sure your lists are engaged and it’s easier to move them closer to sale.
That is why you need to get to know your existing customers, and you can do that by doing your own market research on a regular basis.
Are you keeping up with market trends so you remain competitive?
You see, it does not matter if you are in the scaling stage or you are just starting out…you need to conduct market research to help you understand your target audience better.
The objective will always be to know your prospects and customers like the back of your hands.
Consider getting help from a Conversion Copywriter to do in-depth research on your product and answer the questions your customers are already having in their heads.
One of our ‘Evolved’ strategies is focusing on conversion by turning your sales page into an irresistible offer, and it will be possible if there’s in-depth and well-conducted market research.
Another thing to consider is to take advantage of the power of storytelling to demonstrate products.
Listen… if there’s one powerful thing better than presenting the benefits of your products, this is it. It’s a GOOD STORYTELLING.
Maintaining great relationships between you and your audience is through telling them a story that’s relatable which makes it easy for them to understand the message.
To be effective with your email nurturing campaigns, do not ever make the story about you.
The story should be related to your customers or buyer persona.
What about showing them some social proof or success stories of your customers who used your product? It goes a long way!
Good storytelling for your email marketing will naturally compel the readers to keep reading until they get to the point where they will be asked to take action.
This leads me to the second proven strategy to increase your sales conversion which is…
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Providing a Clear Call To Action
Every email needs a direct and deliberate call to action.
A call to action (CTA) is a button, link, or graphic that encourages your audience to take some form of action.
Most people use CTAs on landing pages to encourage visitors to browse on the site or on their social media page to encourage them to follow.
This is not just asking them to click multiple blue links to your emails, but rather it’s about training your audience to take action so they will eventually be a customer.
A well-written email campaign is an efficient way of getting your brand’s message published in a number of places, with a single medium.
But this only happens when the recipient engages with the call to action present in the email’s content.
It is important that you have a call that is clear and simple for the recipients to understand.
PLUS, you have to realize that every day, millions of messages go into our mailboxes. If you want to be noticed, it’s not easy.
But with a purposeful structure for your emails and a few tweaks, you can definitely do better!
Speaking of getting noticed, the next strategy you can implement is to:
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Create open rates by sending timely and relevant information
Think about this. You just finished creating a really beautiful email with personal touches, and you realize your audience doesn’t always read everything.
How would you feel if you wrote a great email, and no one read it? That would be annoying, yes?
You see, rather than sending generic messages that are not linked with the interests of your recipients…you must always send timely and relevant information.
Never send promotional emails that your subscribers do not find helpful. This means never sending irrelevant or annoying emails to these people.
They will not only unsubscribe from your list but also permanently delete you from their contact list.
Respect your subscriber’s time every single time…don’t send them emails that they will delete as soon as they see it in their Inbox. Always find a reason to send emails.
It has been proven time and time again that businesses that send frequent, targeted email messages are more likely to see open rates that increase conversion rates.
A timely message will most likely get opened. Don’t wait until days after it’s sent to send it, or even weeks later.
Above all else, interesting content is the key to high open rates.
The more you can add value to your customers, the more they’ll be likely to open your emails and read them.
As a result, you will keep your subscribers engaged and they will keep buying from you.
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Use A/B testing for personalization purposes
You probably heard that the best email marketing campaigns are personalized and tailored for each customer.
The more personal the better, right?
But you see, personalization in email marketing is a double-edged sword…
On one hand, we want to send personalized emails to our prospects and customers simply because we want them to know we’ve noticed what content resonates with them and we want to remind them of what they are looking for.
On the other hand, personalizing every message can potentially waste money on undeliverable messages or increase your bounce rate.
That is why to optimize your email marketing efforts, you need to use A/B testing.
It simply means trying different variations of the same email at the same time to see which ones work best.
If you don’t test your campaigns, it’s easy to have them fail to hit their marks. As a result, you could miss out on business because of a flaw in your email marketing strategy.
You can run this experiment across multiple channels, but if you’re just starting out, it’s most likely best to focus on two different emails: one for sending and one for not sending.
For the purpose of personalization, you’re essentially splitting each subscriber into two groups — those who receive your email and those who don’t — and then sending them both versions of the same email.
This can be a powerful way to improve your email copy and ensure that you’re engaging your subscribers appropriately.
A few common examples are testing different subject lines or copies, trying to send emails out at different times of day or week, or sending different types of emails at different times of the day.
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Include a “no-spam” or unsubscribe option in every email
By now, you should understand that by sending emails to your customers, you can build an ongoing relationship with them and offer content that is of value to them.
But remember that email marketing isn’t a one-way street. Your subscribers want to know that they can trust you and that their information is being protected. They also want to be able to easily opt-out of receiving emails from you if they choose.
Especially in the eCommerce industry where there’s a high-volume, high-pressure one, where people’s attention spans are short and the pace of change is high.
These factors mean that it’s important to include a “no-spam” or unsubscribe option in every email you send.
You can practically do it by adding an image to the footer of your emails. This is a simple way for people who have images turned off in their email program to still be able to see your unsubscribe link.
It also makes it easier for people who are visually impaired to find the links.
Be transparent about how you use information you collect from subscribers. Your privacy policy should be very clear about what data you collect, why you’re collecting it, how you’re using it, and who has access to it.
This will not only help you stay compliant with the law but also build trust with your subscribers and as a result increase sales.
In a Nutshell
Email marketing plays a vital role in e-commerce. Time and time again, this platform has proven itself to be a cost-effective form and can powerfully build customer loyalty and increase sales.
This is still one of the most effective marketing tools available to businesses of any size.
If you’re an e-commerce business, you’re leaving a ton of money on the table if you don’t implement it properly. When done right, it provides a unique and direct connection between your brand and your customers.
Now, it’s time to hear from you…
When it comes to selling your products using emails, what’s your single biggest challenge? Leave your comment below!
Best,
