Three email sequences that sell for an eshop
Email is still one of the most cost-effective channels an eshop has. Three sequences do most of the selling: welcome, abandoned basket and upsell.
Why email deserves your attention.
Email marketing means sending targeted messages to prospects and existing customers, to grow sales and build trust. With advertising you rent a channel and pay for every click; with email you build an asset you own, and it keeps working.
Three sequences reliably move sales for an eshop of any size.
1. The welcome sequence.
A good welcome email has a warm, personal greeting, a short description of what your shop offers, and a discount code or offer for the first purchase.
According to Experian, welcome emails get on average 4 times the open rate and 5 times the click-through rate of other promotional emails.
2. The abandoned basket sequence.
This email reminds customers of the products they left in their basket, so more of them finish the purchase. A well-designed one shows the products, adds a sense of urgency (limited stock, for example) and offers a small discount for finishing the order now.
Research from the Baymard Institute shows these emails can recover up to 30% of sales that would otherwise be lost: one of the most measurable returns in an eshop’s whole marketing mix.
3. Upselling and cross-selling.
Upselling offers a better or pricier version of the product a customer chose. Cross-selling offers products that go with it. Both work best when the recommendations come from each customer’s own purchases and browsing.
According to Amazon, 35% of its revenue comes from upselling and cross-selling recommendations, one of the most striking figures in retail.
How to start.
- Build a sequence for every stage, from the first visit to the repeat order
- Personalise each email as far as you can
- Use clear calls to action
- Track open rate, click rate and conversions, and keep improving them
Once it is set up properly, email marketing is infrastructure that sells around the clock.
