6 Email Automations Every DTC Brand Should Have for Their Email List
If you aren’t already investing in email marketing for your business, we have one question for you: WHY?
We won’t sh!t on social because you know we love it (and both are essential for conversion!), but the fact is email marketing is a more personal, direct line of communication with your customers with NO algorithm determining whether or not they will receive your email.
Think of your email subscribers as one step above your social media followers - these users have expressed enough interest in your brand to be subscribed to make sure they don’t miss a thing. Consider these audience members as WARM 🥵 and near-ready to convert!
That’s why it's CRITICAL to set up email automations that foster your customer’s journey down the marketing funnel. Once the automations have been set up, it’s hands-off and smooth sailing from there. Read on for 6 essential email automations every direct to consumer brand should have set up for their email list!
WELCOME SEQUENCE EMAILS
The first email automation to set up is a welcome sequence. Once a customer subscribes to your email list, this automation will automatically be triggered to send. It’s a great way to:
Welcome new subscribers to your community
Provide a discount code to encourage an online purchase (Doesn’t have to be big! 10-15% off will do)
Share your brand story
Highlight best-selling products
According to Klaviyo, it’s best to have your welcome sequence run its course from start to finish within one week of a subscriber joining your list to lessen the risk of them losing touch with your brand. That being said, it’s also recommended to have at least one “buffer day” in between each email to avoid overwhelming the new subscriber’s inbox. In total, your welcome sequence should include 2-4 emails.
ABANDON CART EMAILS
What happens if you lose a customer right before the conversion stage of their customer journey? Cue abandon cart emails!
When a subscriber leaves an item in their shopping cart, an abandoned cart email will be triggered to send and remind the customer of the item(s) they left behind. Research suggests that this automated email recovers between 3% and 11% of orders. When a discount code is provided, however, recovery rates significantly increase as the discount pushes the customer over the edge on their buying decision.
POST-PURCHASE: THANK YOU & REVIEW EMAILS
There are two automated emails we always recommend setting up post-purchase: thank you and review emails.
Thank you emails are a great way to show the human side of your brand by expressing gratitude and stating how much you value the recipient as a customer. We don’t recommend going discount crazy and having a code tied to all of your emails (pick and choose wisely based on where you anticipate seeing the highest return!), but there’s no denying that inviting them to shop again soon with a discount code is enticing.
Pro tip: if you decide to provide a discount code, explicitly state the code’s expiration date to activate a scarcity mindset within the recipient. It’ll make them think time is limited to steal the deal, so they better come back soon.
We also recommend setting up an automated review email to send to customers 2-4 weeks post-purchase. Any sooner than this timeline, customers likely haven’t spent enough time with your product to provide an accurate review. Any later than this timeline and your product may no longer be top of mind for customers. This automation is great for acquiring online reviews, which helps build social proof, trust, and online visibility – all things that will influence the purchasing behavior of other customers!
BACK IN STOCK EMAIL
If your products are selling like hotcakes, you have to set up a form on your product pages for individuals to enter their emails and be notified once items they’re interested in are back in stock. Having this option available to consumers can prevent them from turning to competitors for similar products. Additionally, a case study by Marketing Sherpa revealed that back-in-stock email automations have an 22.45% average conversion rate.
BIRTHDAY EMAIL
Lastly, make your customers feel special with an automated birthday email. This email should welcome them to another year around the sun and provide a small discount code (10-20% off) for them to treat themselves. This automation isn’t just to humanize your brand, it’s also backed by data. Studies show that birthday campaigns result in a 481% higher transaction rate, generate 342% more revenue per email, and have a 179% higher unique click rate.
If you’re interested in getting these email automations set up for your biz, we’d love to help! Check out our Portfolio and inquire about our email marketing services now. Chat soon!
xx,
The Homies
