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When to Launch Automated Email Campaigns

What, How And When To Launch Your Automated E-Mail Campaign

The word “automation” conjures visions of cyborgs, machines, AI, robots — in other words, pretty much the opposite of organic or human. In the world of e-mail marketing where personalized, customer-centric messaging is a must, the idea of using automation seems rather counterintuitive. 

In reality, using automation in email marketing enables you to create campaigns that speak to your audience on an even more personal level. Email marketing automation is – simply put – the strategy of making your messaging more personalized and timely — two of the most important aspects of any successful e-mail marketing campaign. Email automation is simply converting the dispatch of email messages from a manual process to an automatic one.

Now that we have the “what” aspect covered, it’s imperative we understand the “how” and the “when” of launching automated e-mail campaigns.

Top 3 E-Mail Automation Types – When To Automate Campaigns

“Timing is everything” – never has a truer word been spoken, especially when it comes to automated e-mail marketing.

  •  Welcome Your Clients

A welcome e-mail is the first e-mail someone receives when they join your mailing list. You can have a welcome e-mail for customers, but in this case, we’re talking about a welcome email for new subscribers who haven’t converted yet. Welcome e-mails have an average open rate of close to 50%, compared to under 20% for promotional e-mails. Shoppers are actively paying attention to, and engaging with these messages, so it’s a great opportunity for businesses to bring their brand to life and make it more human (irony at its finest!)

Your welcome e-mail campaign can achieve many necessary goals, other than just welcoming new subscribers or customers.  It further give users an incentive to purchase, it sets the right expectations from the customer as to what they can expect from dealing with you going forward, and also opens up a medium to connect with subscribers on other channels.

  • Welcome Old & Returning Clients Back

It’s a bit unfair to welcome new clients with a warm e-mail, and leave “older” clients or even repeat customers with no added value through your e-mail marketing campaigns.

Repeat customers make up a large percentage of sales; because these customers are already demonstrating loyalty to your brand, you want to make sure you’re not outdone. Even if your product or service is inferior to competitors, the time you spend engaging with repeat customers can be the clincher in keeping (or losing) “a returner”. You’ll also have an easier time creating an entire automated email campaign targeted at strengthening relationships with existing customers than trying to attract new ones.

Repeat customers should be treated differently than your new customers. They know, like and trust your business, and that trust is founded on previous positive experiences. What repeat customers need is relevant information and products that solve their problems. So with your repeat customers, your job is to focus more on offers related to customer interests and being helpful.

  • Answer Questions That May Be Planting a Seed of Doubt

What’s the main reason people aren’t buying your products? Now is a great time to address those objections head-on, and convince subscribers that your product is worth buying.

Addressing hesitations with your abandoned cart e-mail automation can include aspects such as explicitly listing product benefits, possible issues (and how to remedy them) and including FAQs to push users to complete their purchase may be just the remedy you need for abandoned carts. To maximize effectiveness, take this automated e-mail campaign further than a single reminder email. Consider a sequence of emails, and you can continue to reap the benefits long after you push the campaign live.

When you send your abandoned cart e-mails is important. Though there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, we generally recommend the following as a place to start if you don’t have your own data:

  • Email 1: send 24 hours later.
  • Email 2: send 48 hours later.
  • Email 3: send 72 hours later.

Over time, look at your data to determine if and how you need to adjust. Look at when conversion rates start to drop to determine when you can end the sequence. Don’t be afraid to send four, five, six or more emails, especially if that’s what your metrics are telling you. 

Remember that if people keep buying from your cart abandonment emails, you should keep sending them.

Have you had a major success in your e-mail campaigns? We’d love to hear your stories!

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