Email Marketing Tools For Your Online Store
There are many email marketing platforms for Shopify, but how do you choose the right one? Whether you want to gather new contacts on your mailing list, nurture existing leads, or just keep your existing customers happy, email is the best way to do it.
In 2022, the number of email users worldwide is forecast at 4.3 billion (Statista, 2021). This figure is set to grow to 4.6 billion in 2025, making up more than half of the expected world population. Yes, more than half! With so many people using email as a form of communication it’s clear to see that having integration with Shopify should be at the forefront of your marketing plan to connect with customers.
The Benefits of Email Marketing
There are a huge range of advantages that come with building a strong email list. If social media platforms lose popularity, you find yourself banned, or any of these integrations with your ecommerce platform stop working for you, you will always have the email list you own to connect with customers. This is one reason Amazon sellers are building their online brands using Shopify. They are understanding that right now, Amazon owns 100% of their customer data, and want the freedom that Shopify has to offer with building a relationship with their customers.
Email marketing can be the most powerful weapon for your ecommerce business to thrive. When properly implemented, it can improve your business’s revenue, customer retention, and overall marketing performance.
Although there are quite a few different email platforms available, we’ve come up with a list of our favourites that should help you bring in more business – and fast! Check out our top 4 below and get started with a killer email campaign.
The Best Email Marketing Software For Your Shopify Store
Klaviyo
Klaviyo connects directly with Shopify, which is highly efficient and much more cost-effective than hiring a developer to integrate an email platform. This may cause issues in the future if updating or transferring sites, and will have a higher chance of errors occurring.
Another great benefit of Klaviyo is its ability to set up powerful automation workflows. There are dozens of customisable automations to use for both email and sms marketing, along with easy pre-built flows and A/B testing for automated emails. This allows you to learn which campaigns are working best to whittle them down to the perfect email.
The platform also has an amazing interface for templated pop-ups and email captures, along with a library of designs which you can incorporate your brand colours into and give a personal feel for your audience to remember.
One of the key tools that anyone marketing a business needs is tracking and analytics, without detailed reports businesses fall short of the knowledge needed to improve future campaigns. This is where Klaviyo thrives against competitors, the reporting dashboard shows incredible insights including huge amounts of data for you to analyse and make changes where needed.
MailChimp
In case you are unfamiliar with MailChimp, here’s a quick rundown. MailChimp has been serving numerous businesses since 2001 as an email marketing software that has many benefits for increasing and nurturing businesses’ customer base. You can collect and segment contacts, split test, and use a simple drag and drop design tool to create your emails.
You can also reach people across multiple channels through digital ads, social posts and postcards. With the marketing app for Shopify you can enhance your ecommerce store by syncing customers and products and orders to send smart, personalized communications.
GetResponse
GetResponse is a powerful Shopify email marketing app that can help you grow your business and boost sales. The software has easy-to-use components, which allow you to set up and implement an optimal strategy for your brand. It focuses on all aspects of email marketing and promotion, from simple campaign creation and promotional list building to detailed analytics.
If you are looking for a free plan for your email marketing then this platform has great offers for businesses on a smaller budget. You are then able to test out premium for 30 days at no cost if you feel you are ready to take a step up.
Constant Contact
There are several different types of marketing you can perform using Constant Contact. Features like surveys, newsletters, social media updates, event invitations, and more are all easily set up with this email marketing platform.
With more than 600,000 customers, Constant Contact has grown in popularity over the last few years. The software provides businesses with a versatile set of marketing tools and the ability to integrate with social media. In the CRM you can store all of your contacts, interact with customers on other platforms, run ads and track results in real-time.
Email Marketing Best Practices For Shopify Stores
The great thing about these platforms is the ability to reach hundreds of recipients at once. Whether you are looking to send unlimited emails (at a cost) or send emails to just 250 contacts, you can do so in one click. In 2022 there are also useful features for personalized emails, giving you the ability to input names automatically and display products from previous orders. Email is also the perfect solution to retargeting customers to finish their purchases by using abandoned cart emails. This transactional email gives customers a nudge to make an order and can easily be directed to the checkout page.
Automate Welcome Emails
When one of your customers signs up with you for warranted emails, it’s important to have a welcome email set up to automatically send out. This shows you value their time and will help build a relationship with recipients. These emails will also increase deliverability and avoid the chances of future emails ending up in spam.
Personalize Your Email Templates
Designing an email template including your brand guidelines is a highly effective way to build brand awareness. People should know in an instance that the email is from you, whether that be through use of colors, fonts, a present logo or imagery.
Creating an email that really communicates who you are will help you not only become memorable, but also show professionalism to your customers. Remember, many people will be accessing their emails via their mobile phones, so make sure that your template is responsive to multiple devices.
Test Subject Lines
Your subject line is one of the most important aspects of an email. This will often be the decider if someone will even bother opening your email. Make sure this is short, punchy and directly to the point. Try not to use too many exclamation marks or spammy words such as ‘Low $ For Our Cheap Product!’.
Instead you should use something emotive yet clean, that will warrant an action in your recipient. This may be ‘Check out our new product with innovative features’. To find what works best for your audience, you can run A/B testing and evaluate results.
Add Relevant CTAs
In order to complete an action, call to actions should be used in your emails to direct your audience on what steps you’d like them to take next. This is usually in the form of a button linked to your website or landing page. Make sure recipients can’t miss it; keep them bold and visible to make it as easy as possible for your customers.
Always Include A ‘Unsubscribe’ Option
Of course building a long list of subscribers is your goal, but you need to understand that people will often also want to unsubscribe. They may not be interested in your services anymore, or are simply looking to clear up their inbox.
Without including this, you run the risk of bad reviews or your emails being reported as spam; this can have a huge impact on your deliverability. Most businesses will create a hyperlink in the footer where customers can navigate to and unsubscribe easily.
Use Lead Magnets
Growing your email list can be one of the hardest tasks for many businesses looking to begin email marketing. However, there are a few techniques you can use to build these contacts organically.
One of the most effective includes the use of lead magnets. This is usually in the offer of a giveaway, free product or deal shared on your social media or as a pop-up on your website. People can then enter their email address to enter the competition and usually tick a box to accept other marketing offers.
Time Your Emails
It’s important to have a schedule set up for when your emails usually get the most interaction. There will be certain days and times that perform best for your customers, so run some tests and find what works best for you. One handy trick is to send emails at ‘off’ times such as 10:09 instead of 10:00, this reduces the chance of getting lost in a bombardment of emails at 10 on the dot.
Whatever time and days you decide to go with, keep it consistent. By using a set time and day for when you send emails, people will build trust with your communication. Consistency shows you are active, want to engage with your customers and care for when they will hear from you.
Include Engaging Content
All of your emails should be exciting to open. Using powerful copy and engaging media to entice your audience will increase their interests and interaction with your business. There are many different ways that you can use this form of distribution, and a few of the most successful include exclusive offers, events, valuable information and storytelling.
Clean Your Mailing List On A Regular Basis
Setting up a scheduled time to clean your mailing list will not only help your customer stop receiving emails from you but also your business when evaluating analytics. Some people may never open your emails, therefore it’s a good idea to see who hasn’t engaged with you over a long period of time and remove them from your list. This allows you to evaluate campaigns with your loyal customers who genuinely want to hear from you, and make changes using accurate data.
One way to do this is by implementing an automated Sunset flow that asks unengaged contacts if they still want to receive email communication from you.
Reward Loyal Customers
Building a community and having loyal customers is critical for any business, but how exactly do you retain them? Show you value them! Using email to reward customers that make purchases often and interact with your emails is a great way to keep them happy. You can do this through early releases of products, discounts or even birthday deals.
Get Started With Email Marketing Today
Whether you are looking to share offers with your audience, alert customers of cart abandonment, or direct people to transactional landing pages, email is your solution! At Launch and Scale™, we help our clients market their ecommerce products and reach their business goals successfully.
