Your Complete Guide To Creating Triggered Email Campaigns
If you want people to engage with your email campaigns, start by creating triggered email campaigns so that your audience gets the right message at the exact right time.
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Email campaigns are one of the most cost-effective means of increasing your customer base. However, it’s not simply a case of firing out emails en masse and hoping for a response.
Knowing the right moment to send one is essential and can be the difference between a sale or the spam folder. You want people to engage with your business, not delete all your messages as soon as they arrive.
The best approach is to tailor them to the actions of your customers. The average shopper doesn’t want to receive emails entirely out of the blue. But if they get one due to a purchase, or their browsing habits, that’s a different matter. The trouble is that manually sending emails can be time-consuming, so you’ll need to consider automation if you want to send many and this is where triggered email campaigns can really boost your marketing goals and efficiency.
Why Are Triggered Email Campaigns Important?
A triggered email is an automated email that is sent in response to a subscriber’s behavior. They are a helpful tool for sending out content such as receipts, promotions, or reminders.
Triggered email campaigns can be set up in advance and sent out automatically to your customers at opportune moments. Because you send them at these opportune times, you can increase the chances of your subscribers taking your desired action. Because they’re automated, once you’ve designed the templates and set them up, you can use the emails repeatedly improving your marketing management.
This article will look at several examples of triggered email campaigns and offer tips on using them for increasing conversions and building an audience.
6 Email Sequences That You Can Try
Businesses regularly use several types of triggered emails. We’ll be looking at six specific types below that you can spin into triggered email campaigns for your business. If you’ve spent even a small amount of time online shopping, you’ll most likely have seen at least one of the following.
1. Welcome Emails
Welcome emails are one of the most commonly opened types of email, so you’ll miss out on a significant engagement opportunity if your business doesn’t send them. They’re the messages sent out to new customers when they complete the opt-in process. Sign up for anything nowadays, and you’ll likely receive one.
The thing to remember at this point is to keep it simple. New subscribers don’t want to be bombarded with information as soon as they sign up, so try to make it as straightforward as possible. For example, look at this one from Tumblr:
It doesn’t have a massive amount of text or imagery on it. The focus is on the eye-catching icons, all of which function as calls-to-action that redirect the users back to Tumblr.
It’s also laid out in a three-step process that encourages engagement. The recipient will feel a sense of achievement once they’ve completed all three, and the fact the first one is already crossed out will only spur them on. It’s a quick and easy bit of personalization that helps nudge the recipient into using the service.
They’re intended to introduce the customer to the business and say hello, so it’s worth keeping the tone light. Try to keep the language conversational and resist the urge to send them recommended products. They’ve only just signed up; more selling opportunities will come later.
2. Special Occasion Emails Like Birthdays, Anniversaries
Emails relating to specific events can be effective, too. If you have access to your customer’s date of birth, why not send them an email near the date offering them a personalized birthday discount? It’s an excellent way to make a customer feel valued and increase loyalty.
Birthdays aren’t the only dates you can take advantage of. Depending on the nature of your business, there’s going to be some action you can take. Card companies might remind a customer of an upcoming anniversary and suggest a lovely bouquet they can buy. Car mechanics can send out MOT reminders every year, and fitness companies can inform their customers of an upcoming marathon they might want to take part in.
There are all manner of possibilities out there.
Sometimes, even the date itself is enough. Seasonal events can be just as effective as personalized ones. Consider this email from Uber Eats:
It’s simple, easy to follow, and the call-to-action is placed right above a colorful and appealing image. You might also notice that the discount code doesn’t have to be used to buy vegan food. Not every Uber Eats customer will be trying veganism in January, but they can all use that discount code on their groceries.
3. Abandoned Cart Emails
Let’s imagine you’re partway through booking a holiday online when life intrudes. Perhaps you get interrupted by a family member, or there’s a knock on the door that distracts you. Whatever the reason, you don’t go through with it. But a short while later, you receive an email like this one:
What you’ve just received is known as an abandoned cart email. These work as reminders for purchases that might have been forgotten or interrupted. Up to 75% of abandoned shopping carts are from customers who intend to return, so these emails are worth sending. They’re a good way of retrieving purchases that would have been lost.
Of course, you need to use some common sense when setting them up. Send an abandoned cart email too soon, and it’ll be intrusive, but send it too late, and there’s a good chance your customer will have lost interest. So ask yourself; if you’re completing an online shop and don’t finish it, how soon would you want the reminder?
4. Reactivation Emails
Reactivation emails are another valuable tool for bringing back existing customers. Every business has “inactive” clients, but how do you entice someone back when they haven’t been in touch for months?
Simply put, you need to remind your customers what your service offers and how it benefits them. This is one of the most successful types of triggered email campaigns — put them to use! A well-crafted, eye-catching email is an excellent way to do that, especially if it’s designed in a way that helps it avoid the Promotions tab.
This one from Noom is a great example:
The tone is light and conversational. The call-to-action is prominent, and a 90% discount will be enticing. Using the client’s name and providing a link to a customized course means it’s geared specifically towards them. Plus, the option to unsubscribe is easily visible.
This last point may seem counterproductive, but it’s crucial to include it. Giving people the option to remove themselves from your mailing list makes you seem less pushy. There will always be some customers that just don’t want to use the business anymore, and they should be able to end their custom with minimal fuss.
You’ll only make them angry if they need to ring customer services, complete a survey, and send four emails before being removed from a mailing list.
5. Order Confirmation Emails
Order confirmation emails are a regular feature of online shopping. They’re a reassurance that the purchase has been completed, they provide reference numbers and shipping dates, and they are so commonplace that you probably don’t even blink when you receive them anymore.
That’s why it’s crucial to have them. The Internet is awash with scammers, and the public is understandably wary of being duped. A business that doesn’t send confirmation emails will cause a customer’s alarm bells to ring. Setting up automated order confirmations is a simple step to let people know you’re legitimate.
Let’s not forget; things will go wrong sometimes. If your customer has a confirmation email full of reference numbers and order dates, it is easier to resolve any complaints that might crop up.
You may find that these emails are rarely responded to. A lot of them will probably never even be opened. But so long as they arrive in your customer’s inbox, they provide that extra crumb of credibility to make your business more trustworthy.
6. Feedback Emails
Feedback is essential to any business. If you don’t have any means of hearing your customer’s opinion, you won’t know what you’re doing right, what needs improvement, or how to fix any problems. Feedback can be a minefield, and nobody likes having their ideas torn to shreds in a furious review but don’t be put off. It’s also a valuable means of encouraging repeat use.
Feedback emails can be triggered by anything, but the common reasons are:
- Reviewing a recent purchase
- Downloading free content
- Webinars or events
- Seasonal surveys
They allow your customers to have their voices heard. Even if they’ve had a negative experience, this type of email lets them know their opinions are worthwhile and their custom is valued. If they’re particularly scathing, you can offer a discount on their next purchase to entice them back.
Again, you don’t need to send one with every transaction. If customers receive feedback requests every time they use your business, they’ll just ignore or delete them. A survey every six months or a randomized feedback request is more likely to get a response. If you’re hungry for reviews in the meantime, you can always include a link in the small print of your order confirmation emails.
In Closing
Strictly speaking, you don’t have to set up automated emails. It’s possible to run your business online without them, but it is an uphill struggle. Unless you have a passion for manually typing out emails all day, you’ll want to use automation.
Triggered email campaigns are a must for any business. They’re a great way to keep in touch with your customer base and encourage them to become repeat users.
So if you want to capitalize on this, spend some time assessing your customer’s behavior. We’ve shared six examples of triggered emails in this article, and there’s always more to explore.
