Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels, with email generating $44 for every $1 spent according to DMA research. But creating and sending individual emails to every subscriber and prospect can be extremely time-consuming. This is where email automation comes in – the process of setting up pre-written, automated emails to go out when a subscriber takes (or doesn’t take) a specified action.
Email automation powered by tools like ConvertKit, Beehiiv, MailerLite, and others can save enormous amounts of time while boosting engagement and conversion rates. Here are some of the key benefits of using email automation:
Welcome and Onboarding Sequences
Making a strong first impression is critical, which is why having a automated welcome sequence is so valuable. As soon as a new subscriber signs up, they receive a series of onboarding emails to introduce them to your brand, products/services, and value proposition. These welcome emails get the relationship off to a positive start.
Drip Campaigns
Drip campaigns are a series of automated emails sent over time to nurture subscribers. They can educate prospects on key topics, promote new content and offers, and build relationships through valuable information. Drip campaigns keep you top of mind while moving subscribers down the marketing funnel.
Behavior-Based Segmentation
Email automation platforms let you segment your audience based on behaviors like email opens, clicks, and purchases. You can then target each segment with ultra-relevant messaging designed to resonate. Behavior-based segmentation powered by automation results in higher open and click-through rates.
Abandoned Cart Reminders
Shopping cart abandonment is rampant, with the average site losing nearly 70% of prospective purchases. Abandoned cart email reminders go out automatically when someone leaves your site without completing a purchase. These emails nudge shoppers to come back and checkout, recovering significant lost revenue.
Cross-Sell and Upsell Promotions
Email automation makes it easy to implement cross-sell and upsell campaigns timed after a subscriber makes a purchase. You can tempt existing customers to buy more with automated promotions for complementary or higher-end products/services. This boosts order values.
Win-Back Offers
For subscribers who haven’t engaged recently, win-back offers aim to reactivate them. Email automation platforms let you define dormancy period rules and then send automated win-back emails to inactive subscribers when they cross that threshold.
Campaign Re-Engagement
Similar to win-back emails, campaign re-engagement emails get sent to subscribers who failed to open or click on a particular campaign. These automated follow-ups give campaigns a second chance to connect with apathetic subscribers.
Email Nurturing
Nurturing cold email subscribers helps warm them up for eventual conversion. Nurturing sequences educate and provide value to prospects who aren’t ready to buy yet. When they become sales-ready months later, your brand is positioned as an authority they know and trust.
Appointment Reminders
For services businesses, appointment reminder emails improve customer satisfaction while reducing no-shows. Automate reminders to go out a set number of days or hours before each booking. Customers appreciate the reminder with all the distractions of modern life.
Feedback Requests
Post-transaction surveys offer valuable customer insights while demonstrating you care about their experience. Purchase follow-up emails can include links to automated feedback surveys. This feedback fuels product/service improvements.
Recurring Newsletters
Producing and sending regular email newsletters is hugely simplified by automation based on a defined schedule. Newsletters are a cornerstone content marketing tactic, and automation ensures they get delivered consistently without added effort each month.
Re-Engagement of Previous Buyers
Utilizing purchase history data, ecommerce sites can identify and target one-time buyers who haven’t returned to make a second purchase. Automated emails reach out with special incentives to previous customers to encourage repeat purchases.
Automated Holiday Promotions
Holidays offer prime opportunities for time-sensitive promotions and deals. Email automation enables set-it-and-forget holiday offers timed to go out exactly when relevant, without daily effort to launch campaigns.
The bottom line
Email is far from dead. In fact, it remains one of the highest-return activities for marketers when executed properly. Automation takes email to the next level – saving time, nurturing subscribers, and driving more conversions without the grind of manual emails. Leverage the power of automation to take your email marketing to new heights.
