Why You NEED to Start Automating Your Emails & How to Get Started
Food and farm businesses of all types (like the Oryana food co-op pictured above!) can benefit from email automation!
Have you heard about email automation and felt confused or unsure where to start? You’re not alone, and with how rapidly the email marketing space is changing, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin.
We’ll go over some email automation basics to help you feel comfortable and confident in setting up automation to build brand loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
Not sure if email automation is right for your business? Here’s the good news: they are!! They are most effective for businesses that sell products online, but keep reading for tips on how to use email automation for businesses that sell exclusively in person!
What Is Email Automation?
Email automation is a powerful tool offered by most email marketing providers – it allows you to automatically send an email based on an action. You create the email, choose an action trigger that automatically sends it, determine when to send it, and you’re ready to get started!
Automating some of your emails will save you time (which is great for every small business owner!) and help you send the right message at the right time to effectively convert window shoppers and subscribers into first-time buyers.
Here are a few examples of actions that can trigger an automated email:
Signing up for an email newsletter
Adding a product to a shopping cart
Making a purchase online
Most email marketing platforms offer these trigger actions and many more, some allowing you to set up complex email flows based on many different customer actions. However, we recommend keeping it simple to start! Keep reading to learn how to create an automation strategy to help you achieve your unique business goals.
Creating an Email Automation Strategy
Consider your goals when first beginning with email automation:
What are you trying to achieve?
What problems are you trying to solve?
Reflecting on the answers to these questions will guide the types of automation you set up and how they function.
But there’s one automation that EVERY business will benefit from: A Welcome Email.
Welcome Email Automations
Setting up an automated welcome email is a good place to start, as it builds brand trust and encourages a connection with your audience. Welcome emails are sent out immediately after a person subscribes to an email newsletter. It’s a perfect opportunity to thank your new subscriber for their interest and to share more information about your business.
A welcome email is a great place to share personal information and the story behind your business – customers love to know who they are supporting and what they stand for! They have incredible open rates (and so many more potential benefits), so share the information you feel is most necessary for customers!
If you offer a discount code or other offer to encourage sign-ups, an automated welcome email is a great place to deliver the offer and win over a new customer.
If You Don’t Sell Products Online
A welcome automation is your best option since you’ll be limited in the number and type of triggers relevant to your business. Consider expanding the welcome email into a welcome series, where you distribute key information between 3-5 emails.
You can even use the welcome series to provide a limited discount for customers to shop in person. Review the following graphic for an example:
A sample welcome series flow with an exclusive offer.
After a customer signs up for the email newsletter, they receive the first email immediately. The next email comes 3 days later, followed by the final email 3 days after the second.
Your exclusive offer could be 10% off their farmer’s market order for June one when they present the email at your market stall, as an example. Think creatively about what sort of offer may excite your customers!
Get this free download to start growing your audience!
If Your Goal Is To Increase First-Time Buyers
Set up an abandoned browsing automation!
This email is triggered by someone viewing your website, and exiting without adding a product to the cart. You’ve probably received dozens of these emails yourself – the goal is to remind you about their products and to get you back on their website.
Set up an abandoned cart automation!
This is similar to abandoned browsing, but after an item is added to the cart. The email reminds the customer to return to their shopping cart to complete their order. Oftentimes, this email contains a discount code to sweeten the deal!
If Your Goal Is To Gain More Repeat Customers & Build Brand Loyalty
Set up a post-purchase email!
Say thanks for the order, and let your customers know how much you value them. You can also offer a discount code for their next purchase.
Set up a product recommendation email!
Encourage your audience to explore other products by giving them recommendations based on previous purchases.
Set up a check-in email!
Once a certain amount of time passes after a purchase without a subsequent order, check in with your customers and remind them you’re there to meet their food needs!
Set up a VIP email!
Thank your best customers by giving a discount or other exclusive offer after they’ve spent a certain amount at your business.
An example of how your automated VIP email could look. We used a merge tag to insert the customer’s name for added personalization!
Experiment with any or all of these options and see what works. Not all email marketing platforms are created equal, but many of these automations are available through our partners Squarespace and Shopify!
Email Marketing Automation Best Practices
Now that we’ve covered types of automation, follow these tips to execute your email automation strategy successfully.
Write Good Emails
As we always say, use as few words as possible to get your point across and make them compelling! Focus on the unique qualities of your product, and how your customer would benefit by making a purchase.
Choose Appropriate Triggers
Make sure your email content matches the action of the customer or recipient! Carefully go through the automation settings to properly configure your automations to prevent customer confusion.
Be Thoughtful About Timing
Consider how urgent email delivery is after the trigger action. For example, if you are offering a discount code for signing up for your email newsletter, the code should follow in an email immediately while your customer is still shopping on your website.
Analyze Your Results
Take note of what emails work, and which ones don’t. Maybe your copy needs to be more persuasive, the offer you’re presenting doesn’t align with your audience, or even the design of your email is not resonating. Use your “failures” as a learning experience and make any necessary improvements!
As always, we are here to help!
Taste the Local Difference has plenty of experience with email automation, and we want to help you take advantage of the email marketing tools available to you. Let us help you grow your business!