You got the initial purchase or trial sign-up. Now what? It’s time to “onboard” these new customers to take your relationship to the next level. Effective onboarding is an essential step in your sales funnel. Onboarding emails generally get higher open rates and better engagement than your standard emails. So, your email onboarding strategy is not something to neglect.

In this article, we’ll take a step back and give you a go-to guide for onboarding emails that will boost product usage, downstream conversion, and improve customer retention. Let’s jump in.

What Are Onboarding Emails?

Onboarding emails are a pivotal first conversation with customers who have agreed to a “first date” with you, but have not fully committed to you and your brand. The goal of these emails is to get these new customers to use your product, engage with your service, and make your brand an active part of their lives.

With this goal comes the expectation of curating a sequence of personalized emails that cater to the various stages of your customer journey from this point forward. Whether it’s guiding new customers through activating accounts and using your service or giving them ideas of how best to utilize the product they just bought, a well-crafted onboarding email sequence can work wonders.

What Are The Benefits of Investing in your onboarding emails

Customer onboarding is crucial to get right. Otherwise, you risk high drop-off rates, lower adoption rates, and, later down the road, reduced customer retention rates. Onboarding emails help reduce friction with new customers and support your overall customer onboarding efforts.

Here are some benefits to investing in your onboarding emails: 

1. Increase Conversion Rates

Effective email onboarding results in higher conversion rates and Customer Lifetime Value. Whether it’s a welcome email or an introduction to a free trial with the goal to get the trial user to become a paid customer, the proof is in the pudding.

2. Increase Brand Engagement

User onboarding emails encourage them to dive into what your business offers. Maintain top-of-mind by providing consistent value and resources. Use these emails to position your brands as your customers’ “go-to.” 

3. Prevent Customer Churn

Onboarding emails help prevent customers from ghosting your business by addressing their concerns and making sure they stick around. Customers who stay longer are more likely to continue purchasing from you.

4. Build Trust and Recognition

Onboarding emails keep things consistent, so customers know your brand’s got their back. Trust and recognition – that’s the name of the game.

5. Help Your Business Learn and Grow

These emails aren’t just talking; they’re listening, too. Email onboarding is a two-way street. They gather feedback and insights to show you what aspects of your business need improvement. 

6. Increase Repeat Purchases and Customer Retention

Successful onboarding means happy, engaged customers who are happily (we hope) using your product or service. It lends itself to introducing these happy new customers to cool extras or premium services. And if a subscriber isn’t responding to your emails, shoot them a re-engagement email to encourage them.

7. Invite Customer Referral and Word of Mouth 

When customers have a great experience, they will likely tell others. Use your onboarding to create a great first impression and maintain relationships. Positive word-of-mouth? It’s free advertising for your business. 

Onboarding Email Examples 

There is no one-size-fits-all email onboarding strategy. The best strategy for you depends on what you sell and who you sell to. That being said, here are some great onboarding email examples to get you inspired: 

1. Mailmodo: Welcome Email

Mailmodo Welcome Email

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Mailmodo’s welcome email details the following steps to complete onboarding and get the most out of their product. They also provide an onboarding kit with relevant resources for the new user. This email is action-oriented and simple in its design. 

2. Miro: Kickstarter Onboarding Email

Miro Kickstarter Onboarding Email

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Miro Team shares a “quick starter” onboarding email with three easy steps to get the most out of their workspace. The email’s visuals align with their branding and incorporate Miro’s workspace design.

3. Lifesum: Gamify Your Emails

Lifesum Gamify Your Emails

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Lifesum’s onboarding process includes a simple progress tracker and goal suggestions. People love to complete tasks with a visual cue of said completion. This gamification approach to the onboarding process appeals to that element of human nature.

If you’re able to add and test this gamification idea, do so. Attach specific rewards to completing specific actions. For example, offer to extend a user’s free trial if they download your Chrome extension. 

4. ProdPad Welcome Email: Personalization Taken To The Next Level

ProdPad Welcome Email Personalization Taken To The Next Level

ProdPad decided to reinvent its onboarding emails completely. The  email is delayed by 10 minutes. Within that 10-minute window, user behavior is tracked and the new subscriber is segmented into one of three personas. The new subscriber is then sent a personalized email based on the persona they match.

5.  Sundays: Collect Feedback 

Sundays Collect Feedback 

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Your onboarding emails are an excellent opportunity to collect feedback. Sunday demonstrates this well with a simple feedback email. The subject line is simple and intriguing, “Got two minutes?” This question clearly communicates that the company is asking something of the reader. 

6. Dragon Alliance: Introduce Yourself 

Dragon Alliance Introduce Yourself  onboarding email example

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“Have you heard our story?” Dragon Alliance opens its email with this question. This email introduces the company’s history and purpose. Straight to the point and bold, this email creates a strong first impression of the brand. As a bonus, it throws in a 10% discount code. 

7. XumoTV: Highlight Value

XumoTV Highlight Value

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Xumo’s onboarding process includes an email highlighting its product features. The benefits and value of the product are highlighted right off the bat. Consumers are invited to familiarize themselves with more features or start watching entertainment immediately. 

8. Google: Complete Account Setup

Google Complete Account Setup

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This onboarding email example from Google is simple and action-oriented. Your emails don’t have to be wordy or visually complex. Google provides a concise email with steps to move forward. New users can subscribe to notifications and personalize their account data with this email. 

9. Sundays: Connect On Socials

Sundays Connect On Socials

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Sundays invites subscribers to follow their Instagram account. They encourage readers to connect with them to access even more value. 

10. Rebel Rabbit: Welcome Discount Code

Rebel Rabbit Welcome Discount Code onboarding email

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Onboarding and welcome emails can be considered in similar ways. Use your onboarding emails to convert readers. This onboarding email example from Rebel Rabbit offers a 10% welcome discount code for a customer’s first order. 

11. Hers: Providing Value On Value

Hers Providing Value On Value email example

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Hers demonstrates how businesses can immediately provide more value on top of their offering. With this email, Hers provides three practical tips to improve your hair routine.  

12. Earthy: Be Bold (If it’s on brand)

Earthy Be Bold (If it's on brand)

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Earthy combines bold visuals, a welcome gift, and concise storytelling in this onboarding email. Not only is this email effective, but it’s hard to forget! Earthy’s approach to this email’s design and wording intrigues the reader. The visuals are humorous and catch your attention immediately!

13. Mmhmm: Address Customer Pain Points 

Mmhmm Address Customer Pain Points 

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Mmhhmm uses this onboarding email to demonstrate their understanding of customer pain points. Without mincing words, the subject says, “Meetings suck? Try a makeover”. 

What are your customer’s pain points? How would your customers describe these frustrations? Use these insights to design an onboarding process that resonates with your customers and positions you as the solution!

14. Citizen: FOMO

Citizen FOMO onboarding email example

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Citizen encourages users not to miss out on their premium features. This onboarding email campaign highlights the exclusive benefits of upgrading to their Plus account. 

15. Fitbit: Introduce New Products and Features 

Fitbit Introduce New Products and Features 

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Fitbit uses its email onboarding to introduce people to its app. A glimpse into the app’s features and benefits demonstrates value to readers. 

16. Metallica: Celebrate The Newest Member 

Metallica Celebrate The Newest Member 

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Metallica sends a simple onboarding email campaign highlighting the benefits of being a member and encouraging readers to join their forums. 

17. Captions: Free Trial 

Captions Free Trial 

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Captions uses this onboarding email to help new  users get the most out of their platform. The email lists resources and reminds users that their free trial lasts only three days. The email also provides support if users are facing any issues. 

18. Outdoor Research: Personalized Product Recommendations

Outdoor Research Personalized Product Recommendations

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Another excellent example of using your onboarding emails to convert readers. Outdoor Research offers free shipping and product recommendations in this email. 

19. Spotify: Encourage Milestones And Boost Engagement 

Spotify Encourage Milestones And Boost Engagement 

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Spotify encourages new creators to publish their first episode. The email lists out the steps to get started. 

20. Duolingo: Re-engaging Subscribers

Duolingo Re-engaging Subscribers onboarding emails

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Onboarding emails also involve maintaining interest. Duolingo sends a re-engagement email after 30 days of inactivity, inviting users to “get back on track.” This action-oriented reminder can reignite a user’s motivation!

Where Do Onboarding Emails Fit In Your Overall Customer Experience?

Think of onboarding emails as the first warm welcome at your favorite restaurant. If they served you a cold meal with a side of bad service, you wouldn’t be rushing back, right? The same goes for your brand – a disappointing first impression might send customers running.

Customer Experience, Onboarding, and the Long Game

The customer experience (CX) is about the big picture. Your onboarding emails may seem like a small part of this picture, but they greatly affect your brand perception among customers. 

With some fine-tuning, these emails can create a smooth, engaging, and lasting positive first impression. Here’s how:

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): It’s a Keeper

Onboarding emails are the secret sauce for a killer customer experience, boosting Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), retention, and ensuring your brand stays on the top of their favorites list. 

Visualize each user onboarding email as a gentle nudge towards a victory—the moment when a potential customer decides to become either a paying customer or an active user. 

Each email interaction adds weight to the scale, gradually tipping it in favor of conversion. A well-executed onboarding strategy facilitates this crucial tipping point and sets the stage for future purchases, ultimately enhancing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

But these emails aren’t just about the here and now; they’re the opening act to a relationship that flourishes over time. Your brand becomes an indispensable partner in the customer’s journey by consistently delivering value and support.

How To Write An Onboarding Email

How To Write An Onboarding-Email

Email writing can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. Before writing your email copy, let’s cover the foundational building blocks of a good Onboarding email. 

1. Effective Subject Line

Your subject line can make or break your email onboarding. A good email subject line grabs subscribers’ attention and motivates them to open the email.

Here are some ideas to create awesome subject lines that capture attention:  

  • Be Clear and Concise. Communicate the purpose or benefit of the email. Avoid ambiguity to ensure users know what to expect.
  • Create Curiosity. Use subject lines that spark curiosity or pose questions, prompting users to open the email to find the answers.
  • Highlight Benefits. Focus on the value or benefits users will gain by opening the email. Make it clear how the content will help them in their onboarding journey.
  • Urgency and Scarcity. If applicable, create a sense of urgency or scarcity in the subject line to encourage prompt action.
  • Align with Brand Voice. Ensure that the subject line aligns with your brand’s tone and voice. Consistency helps in building brand recognition and trust.

2. A Kickass Call to Action (CTA)

Every user onboarding email needs a CTA that nudges subscribers toward the next step. Whether it’s tempting them to try a new feature, fill out their profile, or snag a sweet download, your CTA should be irresistible and idiot-proof.

Consider these tips for crafting effective CTAs:

  • Be Actionable. Use verbs that inspire action, such as “Discover,” “Explore,” or “Get Started,” to encourage user engagement.
  • Keep it Clear and Visible. Ensure your CTA stands out visually and is easy to spot within the email. Use contrasting colors, larger font sizes, or buttons to draw attention.
  • Provide Value. Communicate the value or benefit of clicking the CTA. Let subscribers know what they stand to gain by taking action.
  • Create a Sense of Urgency. If appropriate, add urgency to your CTA to encourage immediate action. Phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Act Now” can spur subscribers to act quickly.
  • Test and Iterate. Experiment with different CTAs to see what resonates best with your audience. Analyze performance metrics and make adjustments based on the data.

3. Focus on Value

Share valuable content within your onboarding emails to provide subscribers with additional resources, tips, or insights that complement their onboarding journey. 

Toss in links to helpful articles, video tutorials, or downloadable guides. It’s like giving them a backstage pass to level up their journey with your product or service.

By offering value on top of value, you demonstrate your commitment to supporting subscribers every step of the way. This enhances the onboarding experience and fosters goodwill and loyalty towards your brand.

4. Offer Contact Information for Customer Support

Make sure you’re accessible! Include your customer support email and phone number. Let them know you want to hear from them. Invite users to give feedback, talk with your support team, or connect on socials. 

Email Onboarding Best Practices

Email Onboarding Best Practices

So, you’re ready to get started crafting your onboarding emails! Keep these best practices in mind, and you should be good to go!

Personalization 

Personalized content improves customer engagement. When subject lines are personalized, open rates can increase by 50%. Tailor your email messaging with dynamic content based on user actions or history. 

Take a page out of ProdPad’s book and personalize some of these elements in your onboarding emails: 

  • Subject line. 
  • Greetings. 
  • Email copy. 
  • Videos and media. 
  • Product recommendations. 
  • Tutorials and tips.
  • Timing and frequency. 
  • Customer journey. 
  • Feedback requests. 

Avoid Information Overload

Providing too much content will backfire. Keep emails concise. If more details are needed, opt for a series of emails instead of bombarding users with too much content at once.

A/B Testing 

A/B testing is crucial to optimizing your email onboarding series. You can determine which elements resonate best with your audience by testing different variations of your emails—such as subject lines, content, images, and calls to action. 

Use A/B testing to refine onboarding emails, improve engagement rates, and enhance overall performance. Experiment with different variables one at a time, analyze the results, and iterate based on what drives the best outcomes.

Automate those Onboarding Emails!

Automated onboarding emails, i.e., trigger emails, are messages sent automatically based on user actions or predefined triggers. These emails are highly personalized and timely, making them incredibly effective for nurturing new users through onboarding. 

Trigger emails can be set up to welcome new subscribers, guide users through account setup, deliver relevant content based on user behavior, or re-engage inactive users. Use automation to deliver tailored messages at the right time, increasing user engagement and driving desired actions from your audience.

Ready to supercharge your email onboarding? Let’s team up and make magic happen together! Partner with Inbox Army to craft killer onboarding emails that keep your audience hooked and drive serious results. Get in touch now to start your journey to email greatness!

The term “lifecycle marketing” is becoming more prevalent in the business world–especially for the email marketers and CRM marketing professionals within these organizations. Personally, I love that this is happening.

The “lifecycle” of every product and service is different. How you would nurture prospects, acquire paying customers, and cultivate repeat purchases is different as well. Bringing that “lifecycle” marketing thinking is smart.

In this guide, we’ll dive into the world of lifecycle marketing. We’ll give you foundational ideas around lifecycle marketing plus effective ideas for impactful strategies and email marketing campaigns to help you turn your prospects into brand advocates.

Let’s start with the basics.

What Is Lifecycle Marketing?

It’s the principle of building effective marketing around the journey a customer takes when interacting with your brand and your product or service. This customer lifecycle requires an in-depth marketing strategy that addresses your buyers’ various needs and at the different stages of their relationship with your brand.

A concrete way to think about this is by using the example of Netflix. Customers have a desire to watch TV shows, movies, documentaries, etc., from the comfort of their couch (or anywhere, really). The journey to an initial trial or first purchase is relatively quick as they can “solve the problem” in short order.

From there, smart marketers would identify those customers who are regularly using the platform, not using the platform, looking to cancel their subscriptions, or have canceled their subscriptions previously, etc. A lifecycle will have many ins and outs to cover, after all.

Conversely, consider an enterprise-level decision like Salesforce. The lifecycle for an initial purchase may be long (years, even). This extended decision cycle will require a meticulous strategy and execution plan to cover multiple touchpoints for multiple decision makers. And let’s not even get into renewals…

Regardless of the length of your product or service’s lifecycle, the objective of lifecycle marketing at a very high level is simple:

  • Determine the wants and needs of your ideal customer;
  • Create a journey of touchpoints across channels (including email) to drive that crucial first purchase;
  • Cultivate a journey of touchpoints that encourages use of your product or service and encourage repeat purchases;
  • Seal the bond by retaining your customers.

Success hinges on your ability to effectively “fill the gaps” in communication during the stages of your customer lifecycle marketing and employs diverse marketing methods to facilitate buyer decision making.

The Stages of Lifecycle Marketing

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While every lifecycle is different, most customers go through some form of seven distinct stages from anonymous site visitors to cherished, loyal advocates. Before we jump into these phases, it’s important to remember and account for the fact that your customers will “raise their hand” in terms of email signup, outreach, etc., at different customer lifecycle stages.

Let’s take a look at each of these stages and how they’re defined.

Awareness

This is the initial stage of any customer journey. Your target audience is grappling with a problem and actively seeking a solution. Your product or service is that solution. How do you get your solution to the forefront? Time to step into the limelight and grab prospects’ attention.

From a marketing standpoint, you’re looking to distinguish yourself from the crowd. You’ll be looking to connect with these prospects in their preferred channels (social, paid advertising, word of mouth, etc.) and guide them into your sales funnel where you can address their concerns and guide them into the next stage.

Consideration

You’ve got their attention–now what? Provide them with the information they seek. They are officially in the consideration stage and are looking for reasons to choose you.

Guide them deeper into your funnel by telling your brand story. Present them with the information they need to compare features, costs, benefits, and overall value. The overall goal here is to make it so obvious that you’re the answer they’re looking for that they reach a decision.

Conversion

This is it–well, the first big “this is it” moment. Prospects become paying customers by prioritizing value and compelling reasons to choose you. Leverage customer testimonials and reviews, FAQs, and more as part of your communications efforts. Strive to optimize the conversion process, removing friction wherever possible, to make it easy to make a purchase, sign up for your service, or take another desired action.

Post-purchase support

Buyer’s remorse is real. Even after closing a deal, your now-new customers will likely still have needs related to their purchase. Focus on building the relationship, offering solutions, and emphasizing value before you jump into marketing and upselling. Prove your value first, then begin to push into downstream marketing.

Recovery

This stage might be the most crucial. It requires pinpoint identification for when a customer is at risk of or has already churned. From there, marketers would try to reignite interest and encourage these customers to reconnect with the brand. (You’ve no doubt heard campaigns at this stage referred to as “reactivation” or “winback” campaigns.)

For example, a fitness app notices a decline in user activity. To re-engage these inactive users, they can send personalized workout recommendations and exclusive challenges. For long-inactive users, the app might offer a limited-time free trial of premium features.

Loyalty and advocacy

This will be your smallest yet loudest and proudest set of customers. Your ongoing efforts to retain customers, keep them engaged and satisfied with your product or service are how you achieve this stage.

If your customer experience is seamless and productive, your customers are more likely to be satisfied. The more satisfied they are, the more likely they are to buy again. They’re also more likely to actively promote your brand by sharing their experiences (and perhaps an incentive or two from you) with their family and friends. When you get to this point, you’ve got brand advocates.

How to Create an Effective Lifecycle Marketing Strategy

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Lifecycle marketing requires a comprehensive strategy designed to establish brand authority and positioning amidst your competition. The essential components of creating a highly effective lifecycle marketing include:

Establishing a holistic understanding of your customer(s)

A product or service without an audience isn’t going to do well. Start your strategy with a deep understanding of who your audience is. Move beyond conventional buyer personas. Leverage data-driven insights from customer service interactions, customer satisfaction surveys, reviews, social media–anything that would be considered the “Voice of the Customer.” This will provide the groundwork for personalized and impactful engagement strategies.

Tailored content for every stage

Let’s start here: How and where you communicate with your prospects and customers needs to adjust based on the lifecycle stage they occupy. The specific needs and wants may change, the decision makers may change, and the end users may change, too.

Let’s take a look at some high-level tactics you can use at each stage of the lifecycle to provide relevant and valuable information:

1. Awareness

  • Employ an omnichannel approach to reach potential customers on diverse platforms.
  • Develop shareable content, including infographics, quotes, and concise videos.
  • Invest in display and social media ads, influencer marketing, and guest blog posts to enhance brand visibility.

2. Consideration

  • Create compelling lead magnets and landing pages to get prospects signed up to receive more information via email, phone, etc.
  • Implement a robust email marketing strategy, driving engagement and directing users to your website, mobile app, internal sales people, and more
  • Offer free trials and encourage hands-on user interaction where possible.
  • Create comparison-based content showcasing your product’s unique value.
  • Leverage easy-to-navigate landing pages, video product demonstrations, and industry research whitepapers for effective engagement.

4. Conversion

  • Ensure a seamless buying experience to instill confidence and remove friction from potential customers.
  • Incentivize loyal customers to leave reviews and testimonials, building trust and credibility.
  • Establish a responsive support team and a comprehensive knowledge base to address customer issues promptly.

5. Post-purchase support

  • Design an effective onboarding process to showcase the immediate value of your product.
  • Utilize push notifications to keep users engaged, providing ongoing support and highlighting the value of your app.
  • Implement deep linking in notifications and email communications to drive users to specific pages within your app or website for a seamless experience.

6. Recovery or win-back

  • Identify and re-engage customers showing signs of disinterest or inactivity.
  • Execute winback email campaigns with aggressive offers and personalized incentives based on past interactions.
  • Treat reactivated customers with exclusive bonuses and special treatment to foster renewed interest and loyalty.

7. Loyalty and advocacy

  • Harness machine learning to enhance user loyalty efforts, predicting and responding to individual preferences.
  • Track repeat purchases and measure loyalty through new versus repeat buyer comparisons.
  • Leverage your customer support team communications (and push for increased investment in that team as well) to enhance the user experience and foster long-term relationships.

Precision in personalization

80% of consumers are likely to purchase from a brand providing personalized marketing experience. And personalization goes beyond “Hello First Name” as well. Personalization speaks to the relevance of the messaging with regard to placement within the lifecycle. Utilize your customer data gathered at each lifecycle stage to elevate your marketing efforts and deliver a customized experience based on individual behavior.

Leverage smart automation

Streamlining repetitive tasks and ensuring consistency across the customer lifecycle can be achieved through advanced automation technologies. Workflow automation platforms can trigger personalized emails and communications based on specific customer behaviors. This not only saves time but also enhances the relevance of your messaging touchpoints.

Monitor customer acquisition costs (CAC)

Lifecycle marketing encompasses both the acquisition and retention sides of the customer lifecycle. One way to gauge the impact of your messaging and marketing strategies is to consistently monitor your customer acquisition cost (CAC). Over time, prioritize delivering an exceptional customer experience, recognizing its significant impact on customer acquisition efforts.

Leverage your “Voice of the Customer” for continuous improvement

Actively seek direct engagement with existing customers to gather insights into their experiences, preferences, and challenges. Use customer feedback as a powerful tool for iterative refinement and improvement. Addressing concerns and incorporating customer insights fortifies relationships and facilitates continuous strategy enhancement.

Leverage your Advocates to champion portions of your marketing

Differentiate your strategy by embracing innovative tactics that transcend conventional lifecycle stages. Harness the influence of loyal advocates within your user base for impactful influencer marketing. Motivate advocates, including your team and external partners, to champion your product and leverage their networks more effectively than traditional marketing campaigns.

Implement CRM for comprehensive insights

Deploy a robust customer relationship management (CRM) tool to document interactions and customer engagements across all channels systematically. It ensures a holistic understanding of the customer journey, allowing businesses to analyze touchpoints, trace unique customer paths, and deliver a more personalized and cohesive brand experience.

Examples of Lifecycle Marketing Campaigns

A well-rounded and effective lifecycle marketing strategy involves crafting diverse email campaigns to elevate your brand’s engagement, conversion, and customer retention. Some brands do it better than others. Let’s see some examples that you can “borrow” from for your own lifecycle and email marketing campaigns.

Awareness campaign

In this initial stage, potential customers become aware of your brand, product, or service. Your efforts should focus on building brand recognition and reaching a broad audience.

The beauty and skincare brand Glossier leverages user-generated content on social media. The brand creates a visually appealing and authentic online presence by encouraging customers to share their makeup looks using Glossier products and branded hashtags like #GlossierGirl

This approach attracts potential customers and builds a community around the brand, fostering engagement in the awareness stage.

#glossiegirl

Consideration campaign

In this stage, the goal is to engage with potential customers who have actively shown interest in your brand and get them to actively consider your product or service. Your content should focus on providing valuable information on features, benefits, case studies, product descriptions, and so much more.

Dells-Consideration-campaign

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Dell does this well by providing a clear comparison of features, prices, and performance metrics for various laptop models on their website. This transparency makes it easy for customers to assess the value proposition and choose Dell over competitors based on their specific needs.

Conversion Campaign

At this stage, your prospects are already in the funnel and likely know what they want to buy. They might be receiving your nurture emails, blogs, and other social media content. But that’s not enough.

Research states that 53% of buyers abandon online shopping if they can’t find easy checkouts. So, it’s essential to insert clear call-to-action buttons like ‘Buy here’ or ‘Add to cart’ to make purchasing easier. Additionally, ensure your site is optimized for mobile responsiveness, as customers will likely use their phones for shopping.

You can, of course, leverage email marketing to rescue these abandoned carts. Rael does a nice job here showcasing the contents of the abandoned cart while leaning into their brand.

Raels conversion campaign

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Amazon strategically places an ‘Add to cart’ button alongside customer ratings and product details, streamlining the purchasing process. The seamless transition from product exploration to checkout minimizes friction and increases conversion rates.

Post-purchase support campaign

After a purchase, customers need support and reassurance. Meeting customers’ post-sales needs transforms a single purchase into repeated transactions. You must incorporate ongoing communication and strategic content use to maximize post-purchase value.

Proactive problem solving and swift responses create customer confidence, prevent issues, contribute to a seamless customer experience, and foster loyalty. In fact, customer service decides brand loyalty for 97% of global consumers.

Apple has a Support Page that contains lots of self-help content. It has also introduced post-purchase support through its Apple Support App, offering troubleshooting guides and live chat assistance. I’m sure this plays a role in the many reasons why Apple has a customer satisfaction score of 82 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Recovery campaign

The ‘Recovery’ or ‘Win-Back’ stage employs highly relevant and personalized re-engagement communications to retain customers long-term rather than allowing them to lapse. This targeted approach ensures businesses reconnect effectively, turning a potential loss into a revived customer relationship.

BareMinerals recovery campaign.

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BareMinerals, the renowned cosmetics brand, employs a heartfelt “We Miss You” email campaign to re-engage customers displaying inactivity. Tailoring their approach with precision, BareMinerals leverages past purchase data to offer exclusive discounts on previously favored products. This strategic and personalized reconnection effort not only entices customers but also reaffirms BareMinerals’ commitment to understanding and meeting individual beauty needs.

Loyalty and advocacy campaign

Satisfied customers become promoters, influencing others and contributing to brand advocacy. To entice more repeat business, you should provide unparalleled customer service by using loyalty programs and incentives for repeat customers, listening to their feedback, and personalized product recommendations.

Nikes Loyalty campaign

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Nike builds loyalty by offering a personalized experience through its Nike app. Users receive exclusive product recommendations, early-release access, and customized training plans based on their activities. It enhances customer loyalty and encourages long-term engagement with the brand.

Nikes-advocacy-campaign.

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Wrapping Up

Lifecycle marketing requires a commitment to understanding, engaging with, and retaining customers throughout their unique journey with your brand–from awareness to advocacy. It requires nuanced strategies and targeted content for each lifecycle stage to ensure a seamless and value-driven customer experience.

Take a deep look at your current product or service lifecycle. Ask yourself where the customer decision points are. And then ask yourself: Does my marketing cover these decision points?

Then take inspiration from the insights and lifecycle marketing campaigns presented here and go on to craft the right strategy for your business and marketing needs or contact InboxArmy an email marketing agency based in US.

Welcome to the digital era, where banks dive headfirst into email marketing. The quality of your email marketing strategy could very well be the deciding factor in your bank’s lead acquisition and retention. 

Email marketing saves banks time and energy while simultaneously improving the ROI of their marketing efforts. 

In this all-encompassing guide, we’ll explore the importance of email marketing for banks, the strategies that work, the types of campaigns to unleash, the critical aspect of deliverability, and best practices to keep your bank ahead. Let’s dive in!

Importance Of Email Marketing For Banks: Stats and Benefits

So, why does email marketing deserve your attention? Because email marketing is one of the top strategies for banks and financial institutions to capture and retain customers. 

Take a look at these stats gathered between 2022 and 2023:

  • Email marketing generates an average ROI of $36 to $42 per $1 spent, making it one of the most effective marketing strategies.
  • Email marketing will become the top marketing channel, boasting an impressive open rate of 37.65%.
  • In 2022, financial services emails had an open rate of 27.1% and a CTR of 2.4%. High-performing financial service providers were converting up to 23%, but the average conversion rate was 4.3%
  • In 2023, the open rate is now 41.44%, with a CTR of 4.9%

According to a survey by Statista, 60% of consumers in the United States prefer to receive updates from companies via email, highlighting the effectiveness of this channel. Clearly, email marketing is a highly effective strategy that your bank would benefit from fully implementing.

Benefits Of Email Marketing for Banks

Email marketing provides a diverse range of benefits. 

Take a look at some of the top benefits:

Cost efficiency

Email marketing is the most cost-efficient marketing strategy for businesses of all sorts.

Reduced Human Resources Costs

Email marketing enables your marketing team to automate personalized emails and communicate more efficiently with potential leads and current customers. 

Better Personalization

Personalized marketing messages perform better than generic messaging. Email marketing lets your bank personalize each email to the specific recipients’ needs, desires, and behaviors. 

Thorough Lead Nurturing And Reputation Management

Effective lead nurturing and reputation management are paramount for banks. Reputation is pivotal, influencing the decisions of leads entrusting their finances. A pristine reputation positions your bank as the top choice. Email marketing is instrumental in building and sustaining trust. Delivering informative content empowers leads to make confident decisions. 

Best Practices And Tips For Email Marketing For Banks

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Consider these best practices when you write your next email:

Ensure Compliance with Regulations

Stay updated on financial regulations and ensure your email campaigns comply with relevant laws, such as CAN-SPAM or GDPR. Non-compliance can lead to severe consequences and damage your reputation.

Create and Maintain a Consistent Content Calendar

Establish a consistent email marketing calendar. This helps maintain regular communication without overwhelming your subscribers and allows for strategic planning of campaigns.

Prioritize Security and Trust

Ensure your emails highlight your bank’s security efforts and build trust. Your customers want to know you have their back and actively protect their money and financial goals. As you update and improve your security, inform your subscribers of these improvements. 

Use Targeted Product and Service Recommendations 

Leverage data analytics to provide personalized product or service recommendations based on a customer’s transaction history and preferences. Automation will be your best friend here! 

Share personalized service and product recommendations with each subscriber when they show interest. This targeted approach can significantly increase the relevance of your emails.

Encourage Customer Feedback and Iterate As Needed

Create a feedback loop by encouraging customers to share their thoughts and opinions. Use surveys or feedback forms to gather insights to guide your email marketing strategy and address customer needs.

Implement changes quickly when you identify an opportunity to improve your services, security, or customer experience. Once you make improvements, use this opportunity to strengthen customer trust by informing your customers of the adjustments and how they will benefit them. 

Consider Sustainability

Individuals worldwide are becoming more concerned with a business’s sustainability initiatives. Showcase your bank’s commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Highlight initiatives like paperless statements or eco-friendly practices to appeal to environmentally conscious customers.

Email Deliverability For Banks 

Email deliverability for banks is the unsung hero in the symphony of successful email marketing. It ensures your carefully crafted emails reach the right inbox at the right time. 

The spam folder is the adversary here; no bank wants to be forgotten in the crowded spam folder. Maintaining a high level of deliverability means avoiding any spam triggers. Follow these tips to ensure email deliverability:

Build and Maintain a Quality Email List

Ensure that your email list consists of engaged and opted-in subscribers. Avoid purchasing or renting email lists, which can lead to many spam complaints and negatively impact your deliverability. 

Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive or bounced email addresses. High bounce rates and inactive users can signal to internet service providers (ISPs) that your emails are unwanted, affecting your sender’s reputation.

Use Double Opt-In

Implement a double opt-in process to confirm subscribers’ intentions and reduce the likelihood of fake or mistyped email addresses entering your list. This adds an extra layer of authentication, contributing to improved deliverability.

Segment Your Email List

Segment your email list based on user behavior, demographics, or engagement history. Sending targeted and relevant content to specific segments enhances user experience and reduces the chances of your emails being marked as spam.

Craft Clear and Compelling Subject Lines

Write email subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your emails, and avoid using spammy phrases or excessive punctuation. Clear subject lines not only improve user engagement but also help in bypassing spam filters.

Authenticate Your Emails

Use email authentication protocols like SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). These technologies verify that your emails legitimately come from your domain, boosting your credibility with ISPs.

Monitor and Analyze Engagement Metrics

Monitor email engagement metrics such as open, click-through, and unsubscribe rates. Analyzing these metrics can help you identify issues early and adjust your email strategy.

Provide Clear Opt-Out Options

Make it easy for subscribers to opt out of your emails by including a visible and accessible unsubscribe link. This not only complies with regulations like CAN-SPAM but also reduces the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

Avoid Using URL Shorteners

URL shorteners are often associated with spam, and some ISPs may view them suspiciously. Use complete, clear URLs to link to your content whenever possible and avoid any unnecessary red flags.

Test Your Emails Before Sending

Before launching your email campaign, conduct tests using spam filters and email deliverability tools. This allows you to identify and rectify potential issues that might impact your deliverability and ensures your emails land where they’re intended—in the inbox.

Achieving good email deliverability is an ongoing process that requires vigilance, adherence to best practices, and a commitment to providing value to your subscribers.

What Kind Of Email Strategy Is Best For Banks?

What Kind Of Email Strategy Is Best For Banks Banner1

Now let’s let’s talk strategy. Your email marketing strategy is the foundation for every single email you send. Skip this step, and you might as well give up on email marketing altogether because you won’t see the results other banks attain with a solid strategy. With that said, let’s see the strategies you need to include in your email marketing efforts. 

Segmentation is Your BFF

Certain emails, like your welcome emails, policy changes, and announcements, will be sent to all your subscribers. But don’t send the same email to all your customers regarding regular marketing emails. 

According to a report by Campaign Monitor, segmented email campaigns have a 14.31% higher open rate than non-segmented ones. Break down your customer base into groups based on demographics, behaviors, or preferences. This way, you can send personalized messages that resonate.

Automation: Your 24/7 365 Assistant

Roughly 49% of businesses currently utilize some form of automation, with 75% of email revenue generated from trigger campaigns, including welcome and abandoned carts emails. Automation is highly efficient and takes care of simple personalizations and trigger emails so you don’t have to. 

Set up automated campaigns to onboard new customers, send transactional messages, or nudge inactive account holders. The behind-the-scenes automation keeps your customers engaged without wasting extra time and energy. Automation can also help you with the next strategy: personalization.

Personalization

Remembering a customer’s name is great, but remembering their preferences will garner next-level results. Personalization isn’t just about slapping a name on an email; it’s about tailoring content based on what your customer likes. 

To personalize your subscriber’s email, you must know their goals, interests, demographics, and current financial situation. Some information can be collected when they subscribe, but the nitty gritty will take time. Analytics can track subscribers’ interests; surveys can collect other data points. Consider using free resources and educational content to collect subscriber information.

Once you have this information, use your analytics and customer data to create unique emails tailored to each subscriber’s recent interests and ever-changing needs. 

Email Marketing Campaign Examples For Banks

So, what does an email marketing strategy for a bank look like in real life? Take a look at these examples:

Account Creation

greenslight email examples

This would be a trigger email sent when an individual sets up an online or in-person account at a local branch. Take a look at this example from Greenlight. Bank Of America also has a good example. 

Transactional Messages 

Bank Transfer email

This would be another trigger email that can be handled using automation. This email would automatically be sent to the sender and possibly the receiver when a transfer or transaction is initiated or received. Take a look at this example from Venmo. 

Money Withdrawal 

Most of us have seen the withdrawal notification through email or text. This standard email is triggered when a user withdraws funds from their account. While this email may seem simple, it goes a long way to improve security and put users at ease. 

Up-Sell

Venmo email exAmple.

Up-selling encourages customers to spend more to access more value for their money. When a customer is interested in a product or service, share an email with the next “step up” option. Take a look at Venmo’s example.

Cross-Sell

Cashback venmo email example

Croll selling also improves your CLV. When a customer purchases a product or service share related products and services, this strategy aims to boost your sales and works well because your customers already know and trust you. They have already made a purchase and can be more easily persuaded to make another. Take a look at this email example from Venmo. 

Informational

wealthsimple email example

Information and education are readily available online. Customer wants to improve their financial literacy like never before. And the individual or business that helps them improve their literacy becomes a trusted advisor. 

You want to be that trusted business. Regularly share valuable and actionable information so customers become accustomed to trusting you for financial advice and, eventually–their money. Take a look at this example from Wealthsimple.

Promotional 

yoco email example

Use holidays, sales, and special deals to promote your services or products. Here is an example of Yoco’s B2B promotional email

Improved Services and Features

simple email example

This email campaign builds trust with your customers and is top-of-mind. Share new features, service, or product that provides value with your subscribers. Simple has a great email showcasing improvements and new features. 

Takeaway

Mastering email marketing is not just an option; it’s a crucial determinant for lead acquisition and retention. The efficiency and ROI boost offered by email marketing make it an indispensable strategy for financial institutions.

To begin email marketing or improve your current strategy, utilize the best practices and information in this article. A few simple changes can go a long way. 

If you want to go further, consider working with an email marketing partner. At InboxArmy, we develop and deploy email marketing strategies that grow your subscribers, leads, and conversions or Contact InboxArmy an email agency to learn how our solutions can help you!

In our fast-paced digital age, where inboxes are overflowing with messages, crafting the perfect email subject line has become a critical skill to capture the recipients’ attention. The subject line is arguably the most powerful part that distinguishes your email from being read or ending up in the dreaded abyss of unread emails. 

In this article on the best retail email subject lines, we’ll explore the strategies and creative approaches that can elevate your retail email marketing, enhance your professional communication, and ultimately increase your chances of making a lasting impression in the recipient’s inbox. Whether you’re seeking to boost open rates, improve engagement, or make more sales, crafting compelling subject lines is a valuable skill that can be mastered with the right insights and techniques. 

20 Best Retail Email Subject Lines

I scream you scream… by Bored Cow

Bored Cow Email

We’re all familiar with this iconic lyric that finishes with “We all scream for ice cream.” The Bored Cow ice cream company utilizes their audience’s knowledge of this famous line and colorful designs to promote their easy 3-ingredient chocolate ice cream recipe. This subject line is an instant eye-catcher that prompts the reader to finish the lyric, so make sure to get creative.

A Best Seller for a Reason by West Bourne

West Bourne

The “best seller” hook is commonly used to draw subscribers in. It makes them curious about your business’s best products and entices them to explore more. Promote your best products with an engaging but brief tagline, and watch your click-through rates increase. 

Where is Wally? by Eastpak

Eastpak

Subscriber’s favorite products incorporated with a fun theme is how Eastpak’s “Where’s Wally?”  campaign thrived. The collection focuses on essential travel items that perfectly match the famous traveling cartoon. Play around with fun themes for your best products and incorporate them into your subject lines. 

Find New Airports. Find More Deals. ✈️ ✅ from Scott’s Cheap Flights 

Scott's cheap flight

Scott’s Cheap Flights, now branded as Going, consistently promotes its worldwide travel deals. This subject line emphasizes how subscribers searching for travel promotions can find more deals by exploring new airports worldwide. Readers are pulled in by the promise of finding more (or better) deals on travel, especially as prices continue to increase. Ensure your subject lines are enhancing your business’s best deals and offers.

Black Friday: 6 awesome deals FTW 🎉 by KIDLY

Kidly email

Black Friday deals are always a hit and KIDLY offers its customers six great deals that subscribers can’t pass up. This subject line is an instant “I need to know more” hook and gets your subscribers to click through to learn the details of these exclusive deals. To secure not only higher open but also click-through rates, don’t list the deal details within the email; place a CTA like “Shop Now” or “Discover More” that links to your business’s products directly to increase traffic.

Weekly Top 10 Sales Curated Just for You by Dot and Bo

Dot & Bo email

Dot and Bo highlight their extensive product sales in one email for customers to explore. By curating weekly sales and giving them a personal touch, customers are highly incentivized to click through the sales that attract them and purchase. Always highlight any sales or offers your business runs for any product so your customers know they’re getting a great deal.

Find the Golden Ticket, win $250 to Urban📍 by Frontname

Frontname gains more visibility by partnering with the famous clothing brand Urban Outfitters to sell their products. They play off the Willy Wonka golden ticket surprise to entice shoppers at top locations. With a chance at a $250 gift card, customers who love Urban are double dipping with this opportunity, all while shopping at the same store. Collaborations like this with a fun prize or incentive will significantly increase your business’s engagement and click-through rates.

Have a read of this – you could learn a latte ☕ by AO

AO Email

AO’s clever play on words makes the reader stop in their tracks and even chuckle. They don’t emphasize specifically what the customer will read just from the subject line, which is precisely what we want. This creates a sense of wonder and mystery and people will be naturally curious to learn more and click on the email. Craft your subject lines with the intent of creating a sense of wonder and mystery. The majority of people can’t resist.

8 New Patches, Just Dropped! by Hellcats

Hellcats email

The “just dropped” subject line is a great way to promote your business’s new products. Customers who already love your brand will be very interested in seeing what else you offer them, and new subscribers will be interested in learning more. 

😱 Expiring soon, [Name]: Your $10 discount! by Afterpay

afterpay email

Studies have shown that using emoticons in email subject lines increases clicks. Use these fun graphics to do A/B testing on your retail emails. Create various options with an incentive like free shipping or a discount to send to your subscribers and see how influential they can be. 

You left something behind by Molekule

Molekule email

People have a lot of things going on in their lives and can be forgetful. It happens. This is a great chance to remind them that they forgot something in their cart and even throw in a small discount to incentivize them more. Make it a deal they can’t pass up.

Final call: $60 off a year of CLEAR by CLEAR

Clear Email

Security screening for frequent travelers has never been easier. With an original annual fee of  $179, securing a $60 off deal makes enrolling in the CLEAR program even more appealing. The “final call” phrase creates a sense of urgency to the reader and encourages them to take action quickly or they’ll miss out. Phrases like “final call,” “last chance,” and “a few hours left” are several options you need to have in your subject line stock.

We’re really into these right now by Warby Parker

Warby Parker Email

The famous eyeglasses brand concisely promotes their favorite items without giving away too much information in the subject line. Be enticing but not too specific to encourage your customers to shop more. 

LIMITED EDITION D.V.L. Tote Bags 🍃 by Straightforward

Straightforward Email

“Limited edition” is a well-known hook that is proven to be effective. This phrase, similar to “final call” and “last chance,” creates a sense of urgency that your customers must act fast if they want the product or deal of the year. 

Our Virtual Frame-ists = Your Personal Stylist by Eyebobs

eyebobs email

“This = That” can create a sense of personalization between your brand and your customer. Eyebobs does a fantastic job of offering its virtual (and convenient) product to fit your customer’s aesthetic. Find a way to incorporate a personal touch in your subject line.

You Have Great Taste by Everlane 

everlane email

Everyone loves a compliment, and Everlane’s high-quality products showcase great taste. This compliment could even be more personalized by adding the customer’s name in the subject line.

Hims is now available at Target 🎯by hims

hims email

Hims is now more accessible by its partnership with Target, a widely-loved retailer. If your customers can purchase your products more easily (in any way), let them know how and where.

Epic new deals available now by Amazon

amazon email example

“New deals” and “available now” trigger the reader to immediately click through because they won’t want to miss out. 

Selling Fast: Ultra-Soft Performance Legging – 25″ Inseam by Quince

quince email

Emphasize the demand for your products from other customers. If you show the popularity of your products to your entire customer base, others will be itching to purchase. Modify this phrase to “Selling Fast: [insert name of popular product]”.

See Something You Like? By FashionNova

fashion nova

A simple question to your customers about their interests in certain products is a great way to engage them. Encourage them to scroll through your product options with a clear CTA.

In email marketing, there’s no such thing as “set it and forget it.” Responsible marketers know that good marketing requires continuous assessment and improvement. In this article, we’ll be exploring the intricacies and benefits of email marketing audit.

What Is An Email Marketing Audit?

An email audit helps you identify what’s working and what’s not working. Through an audit, you will assess your email data, analytics, and strategy to understand the performance of crucial email marketing variables including contact data, audience and list segmentation, email templates, design, and more.

An email marketing audit gives you the data you need to review progress and make necessary, data-driven changes to optimize your email marketing strategy. The audit will also help you stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends so you don’t lag behind competitors.

Why Should You Do An Email Marketing Audit?

Why Should You Do An Email Marketing Audit?

When done right, an email audit can steer you in the right direction and help you improve key performance metrics like click-through rates and conversions. With this data, trends, and insights in hand, you can make the right decisions for lasting business success.

An email marketing audit is essential for a number of reasons:

1. Understand Your Audience

An email audit helps you better understand your audience’s preferences and the type of content they best respond to. Using these insights, you can tailor your email copy and design to meet their expectations and deliver value.

Example
: You may discover that your subscribers are more likely to open emails with subject lines with discounts or offers. You can then use this insight to be creative with subject lines, and A/B test different versions to pinpoint the trends in top performers.

2. Improve Deliverability Rates

Through an deliverability audit, you’ll evaluate your email lists and segments and potentially uncover deliverability issues. By finding these now, you can enhance your deliverability and minimize your risk of landing in the spam folder.

Example: You may find that a specific domain is facing deliverability issues (i.e. Microsoft) when compared to other domains. By gaining the knowledge of the make-up of your lists, you can address these issues head-on by splitting sends by domain and engagement levels to customize content and send frequency to improve your email deliverability rates.

3. Boost Engagement

The audit can help you identify your best-performing emails and allow you to replicate their success in future campaigns, increasing engagement rates and ensuring your emails stand out.

Example: Your audit may show that emails sent on a Tuesday morning generate more engagement than those sent on other days. With this knowledge, you can then change your sending cadence to maximize your best days, improve engagement, and potentially grow your list.

4. Identify Gaps and Uncover Growth Opportunities

An audit can help you both find “the holes” in your program as well as discover hidden growth opportunities you may have missed and capitalize on them for better results.

Example: You may notice that specific segments of your list have better engagement rates than others. You can prioritize these segments in your campaign strategy in the short-term to boost conversion while building broader test plans for other audiences.

5. Stay Up to Date with Trends:

Audits also ensure you stay competitive in your industry and capitalize on these changes to keep your campaigns fresh and engaging.

Example: You may find that certain types of visuals or subject lines are trending in the industry and can test incorporating them into your campaigns to drive engagement.

6. Measure Success

It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day or week-to-week grind of email marketing. It ensures that you are looking at both short-term and long-term performance metrics to determine the places where you’re seeing success and the places where you’re not. It also ensures you’re looking at the right data points, and not just “vanity” metrics.

Example: You may be tracking open rate, click-through rate, and other metrics but not paying attention to the overall ROI. An audit can help you spot these gaps and improve your campaigns.

7. Increase Return on Investment (ROI)

This is ultimately what you want: Revenue and ROI. The audit provides a basis for you to optimize your email marketing strategy, send more relevant and engaging emails to your subscribers, and ultimately improve your ROI.

How To Do An Email Marketing Audit

How-To-Do-An-Email-Marketing-Audit_Banner

A good email audit takes time and diligence. Let’s examine the steps to successfully performing a comprehensive audit.

Find Your ‘Why’

What’s your goal? Why did you launch your email program in the first place? You need to define clear goals for your email program and align with your entire team so everyone is on the same page.

Set Your Benchmarks

You can’t know where you want to go until you know where you’ve been. And no audit can be completed without setting a baseline against which to measure your progress.

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) immediately. Focus on practical metrics like orders, purchase rates, revenue per email, SQLs generated from emails, etc. View “vanity metrics” like open rate as directional and never the end-all-be-all. Then establish what those current performance metrics are so what you know what to measure your program changes against.

Define What You’re Auditing Specifically

Make a list of email elements you want to audit, such as subject lines, content, sender name, etc. This will help you structure the audit process and ensure that every element is evaluated confidently.

Gather Data

Gather all the data required to evaluate each email element and compare it against your set KPIs. This should include past performance reports, customer feedback, industry benchmarks, survey results–basically anything that is relevant to your program and your business.

Analyze And Identify Patterns Within The Data

Dig into the data and see what’s working and what’s not working. Look out for trends in engagement rates, list growth, bounce rates, order rates, average revenue, etc. Look for patterns in engagement and conversion–particularly around time-of-day or day-of-week sends, customer segments, or targeted content and messaging.

Identify Opportunities For Improvement

Call the baby “ugly.” Declare no “sacred cows.” Whatever it takes to be honest and straightforward to get a good solid list of necessary improvements and test ideas down on paper (or OneNote, or whatever). No great email program is ever finished.

Take Action

Implement your changes and track their performance over time using the KPIs you set at the beginning of the audit process. This will help you understand whether actions taken are making an impact.

Here’s a bonus step plus a free general tip:

Bonus Step: Put your next audit on the calendar to review regularly

We just said it. No great email program is ever finished. So go ahead and schedule your next audit to repeat this process. Reviewing your email program regularly is important to adjust to changing email trends, customer needs, and performance.

Tip: Always optimize for mobile

Mobile devices are increasingly becoming the main channel of email access. So it is vital to optimize your emails for mobile viewing. This means ensuring that all content is formatted correctly and appropriately displayed on various devices.

How InboxArmy Performed an Audit – an Example

How InboxArmy Performed an Audit an Example_Banner

InboxArmy was tasked with conducting a thorough email audit for a New York-based seafood retailer to assess their current email campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Here’s how we went about it:

Established Key Performance Benchmarks And Gathered Key Data

We first aligned with the business on their key performance metrics. We gathered automated flow and campaign performance data from the previous 90 days as a start. These key data points included, among others:

  • Unsubscribe rate
  • Click-through rate
  • Average cart size
  • Average order value
  • Order return rate

Analyzed Email Campaigns And Automations

One of our goals was to identify any inefficiencies or areas of improvement within their automations. Our analysis focused on their welcome, browse abandon, and post-purchase thank you email series. We also thoroughly analyzed various automations, including:

  • Feedback auto-reply
  • Facebook welcome series
  • Delivery, in-transit, and shipping messaging

Conducted A Design Analysis

As part of the audit, we conducted a design analysis, focusing on the visual elements, call-to-action (CTA) placement, and overall navigation of the emails. We provided suggestions for significant design improvements, including consistent branding, prominent CTAs, an improved navigation bar, better social media links, and increased usage of images and icons.

Identified Areas of Improvement

Based on our findings, we made several recommendations to optimize PescatoreNY.com’s email campaigns:

  1. Send campaigns to engaged and unengaged subscribers separately and on different days to maximize engagement.
  2. Implement significant design improvements, such as consistent branding, prominent CTAs, an improved navigation bar, better social media links, and more use of visual elements.
  3. Conduct A/B testing of subject lines and CTAs to identify which resonates best with subscribers.
  4. Optimize automation to drive repeat sales better, ensuring that customers receive timely and relevant messages.
  5. Implement segmentation targeting based on location, price, and level of interest to provide personalized experiences.
  6. Maintain list hygiene to improve deliverability and ensure emails reach the intended recipients.
  7. Decrease copy length and add more visual elements to emails to make them more engaging and easily scannable.
  8. Continuously conduct A/B testing of subject lines, CTAs, day and time of sending, etc., to refine and improve campaign performance.

By implementing these and more such recommendations, PescatoreNY.com can expect to see improved results from their email marketing campaigns, including increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and, ultimately, a boost in revenue.

Email Audit Checklist

Email Audit Checklist_Banner

If you plan an email audit anytime soon, this would be a good starting point. Based on where you are in your campaign process and what your goals are, you can use this checklist to understand how to improve every key campaign variable.

Email lists

  • Do you have an up-to-date list of customers?
  • Is the list segmented according to customer interests and preferences?
  • Are you proactively removing inactive customers to clean your email lists?
  • Are your email lists compliant with data privacy laws and regulations?
  • Is there a strategy in place to build and grow your email lists?
  • Have you implemented double opt-in to ensure quality over quantity?
  • Are bounced emails being tracked and cleaned regularly to maintain list health?
  • Are you personalizing and customizing your emails based on the segments of your email list?
  • Are you regularly analyzing your unsubscribe rate and making the necessary adjustments?

Email content

  • Does the email content reflect your brand values and voice?
  • Is the language used appropriate for your target audience?
  • Is your content easy to read and understand?
  • Is there a clear call to action included?
  • Is the content optimized for mobile devices?
  • Are images used to enhance the content?
  • Is the content clear and concise?
  • Are you using A/B testing to evaluate how users interact with different content versions?
  • Have you included social sharing buttons to encourage engagement on other platforms?

Segmentation And Automation

  • Are you segmenting your customers based on where they are in your product or service lifecycle?
  • Are you leveraging personalization tactics to increase customer engagement?
  • Is the email content tailored to reflect customers’ buying behavior and interests?
  • Does the automation strategy prioritize relevant content for each customer segment?
  • Are you using dynamic content personalized for individual customers based on their preferences?
  • Have you implemented segmentation rules to ensure customers receive the right emails at the right time?
  • Is there a email testing process to measure the effectiveness of content and email marketing automation?
  • Have you created specific customer journeys for different stages of the purchase cycle?

Marketing Performance

  • How well are subject lines performing?
  • Do your preheaders engage customers and communicate the value proposition?
  • Are your hero images and headers effective in driving customer engagement?
  • Are you leveraging compelling visuals to support your message?
  • Are customers clicking on the CTA buttons?
  • Are you using tracking links to measure performance across campaigns?
  • Are you A/B testing different versions of your content to identify peak engagement?
  • Do you have insights into customer loyalty and churn rates across campaigns?
  • What are the average open, click-through, bounce, and unsubscribe rates?
  • What days of the week drive the best engagement?
  • What times of day drive the best engagement?
  • What types of content drive the most engagement?

Design And Customer Experience

  • Are customers able to view the email content on any device?
  • Is the email design responsive and optimized for mobile devices?
  • Does the email follow a consistent brand style guide?
  • Is there enough white space between elements to make it easy to read?
  • Are all visuals, fonts, buttons, and colors uniform across different campaigns?
  • Are the emails visually appealing and inviting to drive customer action?
  • Have you implemented accessibility standards in email design to support users with special needs or disabilities?
  • Is there enough contrast between background images, text, and other elements on the page for better readability?
  • Are you providing an easy way for customers to opt out of future emails?

Frequency And Timing

  • How often are you sending emails to your customers?
  • Are the timing and frequency of emails appropriate for each customer segment?
  • Are you using time zone settings to ensure emails reach customers at the right time?
  • Is there a consistent cadence in email campaigns, or have they become sporadic over time?
  • Are you taking into account customer preferences in email frequency and timing?
  • Are there any seasonal or holiday trends that may influence the timing of emails?

Infrastructure And Deliverability  

  • Are emails being sent from reliable email service providers with high deliverability rates?
  • Is the sender domain configured correctly to maximize inbox placement?
  • Are you using sender authentication mechanisms like DKIM and SPF to ensure that your emails are not marked as spam or suspicious?
  • Do you have insight into email delivery performance over time, including open and click-through rates?
  • Are you using tracking technologies like Google Analytics to monitor the campaigns?
  • Are emails being tested across different devices and browsers for a better user experience?
  • Are you optimizing content for mobile users more likely to access emails on their phones?

Accessibility

  • Are emails being tested for accessibility issues like color contrast and font size?
  • Are images, videos, and other assets accessible to users with disabilities?
  • Is there enough visual hierarchy in the design to make essential elements stand out?
  • Are you correctly using semantic HTML tags like headings and list items for better accessibility?
  • Are you using Aria tags to enhance the overall accessibility of email campaigns?

Code & Compliance

  • Are emails being coded using semantic HTML that follows web standards?
  • Are all images and assets optimized for faster loading times?
  • Is there enough text in the design to ensure compliance with CAN-SPAM laws?
  • Is the unsubscribe link clearly visible at the bottom of each email?
  • Are you including a valid physical address in the footer of each email?
  • Are you providing a clear link to update personal information with each email?
  • Is there a privacy policy link at the bottom of each email?
  • Are all links valid and pointing to the right destinations?
  • Are emails being subjected to anti-spam tests before they are sent out?

Analytics & Reporting

  • Are you tracking the performance of each email campaign?
  • Are all important email metrics being collected and analyzed, such as open rates, click-through rates, conversions, etc.?
  • Is there a process in place to track revenue generated from emails?
  • Are you using A/B testing to optimize messaging, subject lines, and design?
  • Are you using segmentation to target different audiences more effectively?
  • Are you tracking user engagement across multiple channels, such as website visits, social media interactions, etc.?
  • Is there a system in place to monitor customer feedback about emails?
  • Are reports being generated regularly to track email marketing performance?

Automation, Schedule, And Workflow

  • Are you leveraging automation to streamline your campaigns?
  • Are emails being scheduled at optimal times for higher engagement?
  • Is there a workflow in place to ensure timely delivery of emails?
  • Are automated emails personalized with relevant content for each customer?
  • Can the team keep track of customer preferences and interactions to personalize emails further?
  • Is there a process in place to test and optimize automated emails?
  • Are automated emails being tested on multiple devices before they are sent out?

These questions are just an outline for how comprehensive a good email audit should be. It should cover all facts of a successful email marketing program and help you get your program to achieve peak performance.

What Should You Do After Your Email Audit?

A great starting point would be to compile all the information you gather into a digestible report to share with your marketing team and other stakeholders. It will give everyone on your team a better understanding of performance, what your plans are to improve performance, and hopefully earn you buy-in to complete them.

The next step, as previously mentioned, would be to schedule the next round of the audit–set at a time in the future when you’ve had a reasonable amount of time to take action on your recommendations. This way, you have it on your calendar to regularly review both your past audit reports as well as your current KPIs to maintain a current view of your program’s performance.

Choosing the right email marketing platform can be challenging. Before deciding, it is essential to consider many factors, such as features, costs, and support. Omnisend is one such all-in-one marketing platform that provides users with powerful tools to help them grow their businesses. In this article, we will look closer at Omnisend pricing plans and see how they stack against each other. 

Omnisend Pricing Plans

Omnisend has three primary pricing plans. Let’s take a quick look at each of them:

1. Free Plan

Ideal for aspiring entrepreneurs or those looking to dive into Omnisend’s offerings. The free plan allows you to send up to 500 emails, 60 SMS, and 500 web push per month to 250 contacts. It also gives access to critical features such as email templates, pre-built automation, unlimited segmentation, A/B testing, pop-up & sign-up forms, etc. However, all sign-up forms and landing pages come with Omnisend branding.

The free plan is a perfect gateway to Omnisend, especially if you want to check its features and explore the UI/UX before going all in!

2. Standard Plan

The Standard plan is perfect for growing businesses and SMEs that need more advanced marketing tools to boost engagement and generate more opportunities. The pricing changes based on the number of recipients in your contact list.

It starts from $16 per month for 250 contacts and goes up to $1120 per month for 150,000 contacts. Anything more than that falls under the custom pricing category. No matter the tier you opt for, the number of emails you can send is 12 times the number of contacts in your list. For instance, if you select the tier with 1500 contacts, you can send 18000 emails monthly.

Regarding the features, Standard Plan includes everything under the Free plan along with a customer success manager from $400.

3. Pro Plan

Perfect for senders who handle high email volumes and want to enhance their outreach by integrating SMS functionality. The Pro plan gives you access to an unrestricted number of emails and web push notifications per month, which makes it an excellent choice for e-commerce stores. It also has additional features like advanced reporting to pinpoint the best-performing campaigns and workflows, plus 24/7 priority support.

The pro plan is available from $59 per month for 250 contacts and goes up to $1650 per month for 150000 contacts. The number of SMS available also varies with these tiers, starting from 3933 and going up to 110,000 per month.

Omnisend Pricing Plans and Tiers – Comparison Table

Email list size Standard Plan / month Pro Plan / month Free plan / month
0-250 $16 $59 $0
251-500 $16 $59 NA
501-1000 $20 $59 NA
1001-1500 $25 $59 NA
1501-2000 $30 $59 NA
2001-2500 $35 $59 NA
2501-3000 $40 $70 NA
3001-3500 $45 $75 NA
3501-4000 $50 $80 NA
4001-4500 $60 $85 NA
4501-5000 $65 $90 NA
5001-5500 $70 $105 NA
5501-6000 $80 $115 NA
6001-6500 $85 $125 NA
6501-7000 $90 $135 NA
7001-9000 $110 $145 NA
9501-10000 $115 $150 NA
10001-10500 $125 $170 NA
10501-11000 $130 $190 NA
11001-11500 $135 $210 NA
11501-12000 $140 $220 NA
12001-12500 $150 $240 NA
12501-13000 $160 $250 NA
13001-13500 $165 $260 NA
13501-15000 $180 $290 NA
15000-16000 $190 $310 NA
16,001 – 17,000 $200 $330 NA
17,001 – 18,500 $220 $340 NA
18,501 – 20,000 $230 $350 NA
20,001 – 21,500 $235 $360 NA
21,501 – 23,500 $240 $365 NA
23,501 – 25,000 $245 $370 NA
25,001 – 26,000 $250 $390 NA
26,001 – 27,000 $255 $410 NA
27,001 – 28,000 $260 $430 NA
28,001 – 29,000 $265 $445 NA
29,001 – 30,000 $270 $460 NA
30,001 – 31,000 $275 $480 NA
31,001 – 32,000 $280 $490 NA
32,001 – 35,000 $285 $530 NA
35,001 – 37,500 $290 $550 NA
37,501 – 40,000 $300 $570 NA
40,001 – 45,000 $310 $600 NA
45,001 – 50,000 $330 $650 NA
50,001 – 55,000 $360 $700 NA
55,001 – 60,000 $400 $750 NA
60,001 – 65,000 $440 $800 NA
65,001 – 70,000 $480 $850 NA
70,001 – 75,000 $520 $900 NA
75,001 – 80,000 $560 $950 NA
80,001 – 85,000 $600 $1,000 NA
85,001 – 90,000 $640 $1,050 NA
90,001 – 95,000 $680 $1,100 NA
95,001 – 100,000 $720 $1,150 NA
100,001 – 105,000 $760 $1,200 NA
105,001 – 110,000 $800 $1,250 NA
110,001 – 115,000 $840 $1,300 NA
115,001 – 120,000 $880 $1,350 NA
120,001 – 125,000 $920 $1,400 NA
125,001 – 130,000 $960 $1,450 NA
130,001 – 135,000 $1,000 $1,500 NA
135,001 – 140,000 $1,040 $1,550 NA
140,001 – 145,000 $1,080 $1,600 NA
145,001 – 150,000 $1,120 $1,650 NA
150,001+ Custom pricing Custom pricing NA

Features Across Different Omnisend Pricing Plans

 Features Across-Different Omnisend Pricing Plans_Banner

One good thing about Omnisend email marketing is that it gives you access to all its main features, regardless of the plan you opt for (even the free one). Here are key features that are common across all plans:

  • Facebook custom audiences
  • Google customer match
  • Email, SMS, and Push notifications automation
  • Pre-built Ecommerce Workflows
  • Email A/B Testing
  • Customer Segmentation
  • Customer Profiles
  • Customer Lifecycle Stages
  • Web Tracking Data History
  • Exit-Intent Forms
  • Custom Targeting & Timing
  • TCPA & GDPR Consent Collection
  • SMS Opt-In Collection
  • Popups
  • Teasers
  • Landing Pages
  • Wheel of Fortune
  • Discount Coupon Codes
  • Email Templates
  • Image Editor
  • Product Recommender
  • Product Listing
  • Conditional Content Blocks
  • Personalized Recommendations
  • Sales Reporting
  • Campaign Reports
  • Campaign Clickmaps
  • Audience Growth
  • Signup Form Reports
  • Automation Reports
  • Segment Reports
  • Advanced Reporting

You can visit this link for a complete list of features across all plans.

Key Differences Between the Standard and Pro Plans

The Standard and Pro plans look similar at first glance. However, a closer look reveals specific differences between the two.

The most apparent difference is in the pricing structure: while the Standard plan starts from $16 per month, the Pro Plan begins at $59. The Pro plan gives you more of everything – more emails, SMS, and web push notifications to get the most out of your campaigns. The emails you can send in the Standard plan are fixed at 12 times the number of contact in your list. On the other hand, the Pro plan gives you unlimited emails. It also comes with advanced reporting capabilities.

Does Omnisend Have A Free Plan?

Yes, Omnisend does indeed offer a Free Plan. However, it’s important to note that access under this plan is restricted to a maximum of 250 contacts. While this may suffice for small-scale marketers or startups, it might be limiting for those dealing with a larger customer base. In such scenarios, where your contact list exceeds the 250 limit, an upgrade to a paid plan is necessary.

How To Select The Perfect Omnisend Pricing Plan For You?

Selecting the perfect Omnisend plan for your needs can be influenced by various factors. Here are some key considerations to help guide your decision:

  • Monthly budget: Each plan has a different pricing structure. The Free plan is obviously the cheapest, while the Pro one is the most expensive. Consider your budget and select the best option for you accordingly.
  • Contact list size: As depicted in the table above, the number of contacts in your email list will dictate the Omnisend plan you should opt for.
  • Omnisend branding: If you want to remove the Omnisend logo from your emails, then a Standard or Pro plan is necessary. Omnisend branding is optional in these two plans and mandatory in the Free plan.
  • Unlimited emails: If unlimited email sends per month are a must for you, then a Pro plan is the way to go. Although do note that the maximum number of emails send that Omnisend offers monthly is 60x your email list.
  • SMS needs: If your marketing strategy involves heavy use of SMS, you’ll need to consider the allotted SMS numbers in each plan. The Pro Plan offers more SMS options. You can also buy additional SMS credits that cost $0.015 per SMS in the United States. Pricing differs from one country to another.

Considering all these variables, you can identify the most fitting plan for your needs. Whatever option you choose, it’s essential to remember that Omnisend is constantly improving its platform and may offer additional features to current plans in the near future.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

  1. Does Omnisend integrate with Shopify?

Yes, Omnisend does integrate with Shopify. It’s a seamless integration that lets you sync your Shopify store data directly with your Omnisend account, enabling you to track customer behavior, implement targeted marketing campaigns, and improve your overall e-commerce strategy.

  1. Is it easy to get started with Omnisend?

Yes, it’s beginner-friendly to get started with Omnisend. The platform has a user-friendly interface and a gentle learning curve, meaning even those new to email marketing can easily understand and begin using its features. The UI/UX is designed to be intuitive and straightforward, making managing campaigns simple and efficient.

  1. Does Omnisend email-builder require coding knowledge?

No, the Omnisend email builder does not require any coding knowledge. It features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to create professional-looking emails easily. This means you can arrange elements like images, text, and buttons on your email template as you see fit without coding skills. It’s designed to be user-friendly and accessible.

  1. Is Omnisend suitable for huge email lists?

The suitability of Omnisend for huge email lists is subjective and largely depends on your budget. For example, if you have around 25,000 contacts, the Standard plan would cost you $245 per month, while the Pro plan would be $370. Although Omnisend offers a range of robust features, these costs may be substantial for some. If cost-effectiveness is a major concern for you, it is worth considering other alternatives to Omnisend that could be a more financially sound decision.

  1. I have an e-commerce store. Does Omnisend provide migration support?

Yes, Omnisend offers comprehensive support during migration. With numerous integrations, connecting to your e-commerce store platform is easy. Omnisend also provides 24/7 customer support to address migration-related issues. And if you qualify for a customer success manager, the support is exceptionally seamless.

If you are still confused or exploring other ESPs too then check out:

Activecampaign Pricing
Mialchimp Pricing
Sendinblue Pricing
klaviyo Pricing

Data is the lifeblood of your email marketing program. What I’ve learned over the years is that understanding data is really about asking the right questions. Today, I’m going to give you seven big questions you can ask your data team to give you a fuller picture of performance.

But first, story time.

For years, I’ve been struggling with how best to report on email program success. Most reports are still focused on opens, clicks, and direct conversions from clicks. But this question always nagged me from the back of mind:

Is this everything?

A few “lives” ago, I was determined to dig deeper. I connected with my data analytics team and asked them for this data:

  • Of everyone who received our broadcast emails last week, how many customers converted to a sale within 48 hours (regardless of channel attribution)?
  • Of those customers who converted in that window of time, how many of them opened the email?
    (Note: This was pre-iOS 15, so this was a more accurate number.)

Let’s focus on that second question: How many conversions opened the email versus did not open the email? The answer staggered me:

40% of revenue and conversions came from non-openers.

Ever since then, I’ve believed this statement with all my heart and soul: Last click attribution sucks.

It assumes a completely linear path to conversion: Send > Open > Click > Convert. And how often does that happen? You’re dealing with human beings after all. People who do not follow directions and rarely act in a linear fashion.

With this in mind, let’s start with the most important question:

Question 1: How Are You Defining Conversions?

Every email you send should have a desired action – what do you want your recipient to do with it? It could be to purchase a product or service, download a whitepaper, visit your website, or download your app. You need to define what success looks like for each campaign so your metrics can align properly.

Question 2: How Are You Measuring Influence On Conversion?

Let’s go back to story I told earlier. The first question I asked boils down to this question: Do people who receive your email convert? Email has a branding effect. Simply being in the inbox could be enough to get customers to act.

The second question was specific to opens, yes. But it’s more about human behavior. Customers triage on their phone all the time. They may come back later to your website and convert, and not click through the email when doing so.

A great example I love to use is an email with the subject line stating, “Your bill is due.” If this campaign generated a 30% open rate, a 50% click-to-open rate, but an 80% customer conversion rate, how would you report on it? Would you only measure on the 15% of customers who received/opened/clicked/converted? Or would you give yourself at least partial credit for the customers who saw the email and went to pay their bill?

(I hope you picked the latter option.)

Question 3: What kind of Traffic Impacts Do You See On Send Days?

Email drives traffic—both directly through clicks and indirectly through other channels. (Yes, paid channel managers, it does works both ways.) You’re essentially looking for the “Halo Effect” your email campaigns will have on website and other channel traffic.

Work with your data team to get a baseline on overall traffic to your website, your app, essentially wherever your calls to action may be directed. (You can even look at phone call volume if that’s relevant.)

From there, measure the influence on traffic in the immediate aftermath of sending out your email campaigns. I would fully expect to see spikes in traffic within the first few hours, all the way out to 24-72 hours afterward. If you mail daily, your influence window would be shorter, obviously.

Question 4: How Well Did We Sell What We Promoted?

This question is about defining the bottom-line success of your email campaigns. This may seem like an obvious question, but sometimes we focus on overall sales and not specifically the promoted product or service. And since every email you send will sell *something*, it’s important that you add this layer of reporting.

Look at overall sales across all channels the day of your send and the day after. If you’re sending an email promoting a specific line of T-shirts, how many T-shirts did you sell? If you’re promoting a tax prep professional service, how many appointments did you generate? If you’re using product recommendations in your email (particularly if they’re static options), how many of those recommended products did you sell?

Question 5: How Are Our Coupon Codes Being Used?

Let’s start here with two important tips:

  1. Get email campaign-specific coupon codes for ease in tracking.
  2. Build your email code to auto-append the coupon codes into your URLs to auto-populate in shopping/checkout. Remove this source of friction where possible.

Why are email-specific coupon codes important? Customers don’t act in expected ways. How many times have you had email open on your phone while making a purchase on your iPad or laptop (or vice versa)? Being able to track the code, regardless of the path to purchase, is critical.

It also further enables the messaging of an “email-exclusive offer.” You can personalize it as well, make it one-time use, you name it.

Yes, there will likely be heavy overlap between your last-click conversion metrics and coupon code usage. But you should expect some additional halo usage as well—including from new customers due to current customers or subscribers sharing the code with family and friends.

Question 6: What Is Our Impact On Repeat Purchase Rate?

Email occupies a unique place in the overall marketing ecosystem. Whereas paid media is largely directed toward new customer acquisition, email covers tons of ground—the first purchase, the next purchase, etc.

I like to call email “Repeat’s best friend.” After all, it’s not just about that first purchase. It’s about that next logical purchase. It’s about nurturing. It’s about being a reliable, relevant presence to keep your brand top of mind.

So when it comes to the specific sub-questions here, ask: What is the percentage of sales driven from email that come from existing customer? How many second, third, fourth, etc., purchases come from email? Break it down and find the numbers—they may surprise you (hopefully in a good way).

Question 7: What Is Our Impact On Product Usage?

There’s a reason “email” and “CRM” are often conflated terms. Email is the main channel responsible for managing customer relationships. And, I would argue, it’s “product’s best friend,” as well.

I guarantee you that your paid media team isn’t spending money on ads to get customers to actually use the platform after the purchase is made. The attention turns to the email channel (and in some cases, the mobile app) to drive product and feature adoption. And you’re likely being measured on it whether you know it or not.

Look at product adoption rates. If you don’t have an email program tied to product adoption, establish your baseline now then build a program. Measure the effect these communications have on adoption rates. Once (or if already) you have a program, use the same questions you would for a promotional email and apply them here. Adoption would equal conversion, in this case.

Conclusion

What are the expectations of your email program? Consider your touchpoints and reverse engineer your own questions you need to ask so you can find the right answers. And if you’re still reliant on last click attribution, I’m not going to say there is no value in it. It is accurate, for what it’s worth. But it doesn’t ask for nor tell the whole story – and may be a key reason why your email marketing program isn’t getting the full attention it deserves.

 

Don’t settle just for the metrics that your email service provider is giving you. Get down to the customer-level metrics that are crucial to prove your worth and build the case for you to build a bigger team, get promoted, etc.

 

And one last thing: Become best friends with your data and your data team. They’ll want the success stories, too!

 

 No matter how well you plan your email marketing campaigns, it gets chaotic. With different campaigns, segmented lists, and varying send times, keeping everything in order is difficult. But fret not! I will introduce you to your new best friend – the dynamic email marketing calendar.

Now, you may be thinking, “Another calendar? Really?” But this isn’t just any calendar. It is your go-to solution against inbox anarchy. This blog covers the process of creating and organizing a dynamic email marketing calendar. Let’s check it out.

What Is An Email Marketing Calendar?

An email marketing calendar visually represents your email marketing strategy. It is a living, breathing document that keeps you in the loop of all your email activities. This includes:

  • Details of the target audience
  • Content of the emails
  • Send times and campaign schedules
  • Targeted email services providers
  • Significance of email cadences

Thus, it helps you create a roadmap that details each step of your email marketing journey. The calendar ensures consistency, improves team collaboration, and significantly improves deliverability scores, keeping your campaign on track at all times.

What All You Should Add To Your Email Marketing Calendar?

A few key ingredients make up every successful email calendar. These include:

  • Campaign Name: This is your email campaign’s identifier – a simple way to understand the theme or purpose of the emails being sent.
  • Email Owner: Signifies the person who is responsible for the campaign. Having clear ownership ensures accountability and streamlines communication.
  • Status: Denotes if the campaign is in progress, scheduled, or completed. Keeping track of the status of each campaign helps track progress and identify potential bottlenecks.
  • Target Email List: This is where you specify which segment of your audience will receive the particular email. It helps tailor the content and timing to suit their specific preferences.
  • Send Time: Specifies when the email will hit your subscriber’s inbox, allowing you to optimize open rates and engagement.
  • Email Content: A brief overview of the content of the email. This could include the subject line, key ideas, and CTAs.
  • Goals: Whether boosting sales, nurturing leads, or increasing website traffic, specifying your goal will keep your campaigns focused and purposeful.
  • Metrics: (KPIs) to track could include open rates, click-through rates, conversions, etc. It will help measure the success of your campaigns and drive future strategies accordingly.
  • Visuals and Assets: Identify and track the visual elements and other digital assets necessary for the campaign.
  • Review and Feedback: Includes details of post-campaign analysis—lists down what worked, what didn’t, and any insights gained for future campaigns.

Email Marketing Calendar Templates To Get Started

Email Marketing Calendar Templates To Get Started (1)
We have created this google sheet that you can start using right away.

How To Create A Email Marketing Calendar

How to create a email marketing calendar

With the foundational knowledge, let’s dive into creating and organizing your calendar. Here are the key steps to follow:

1) Select The Right Tool

First, you must choose the right tools to bring your calendar to life. Spreadsheets like Google Sheets or Excel or more robust project management tools like Trello or Asana work well. Select a tool that fits your team’s workflow and is flexible enough to accommodate all email marketing needs.

2) Input Key Elements

Once you have your tools in place, the next step is to start populating your calendar with the essential elements we discussed earlier:

Key Element Description
Campaign Name Identifier of your email campaign.
Email Owner Person responsible for the campaign.
Status of Email Campaign Indicates if the campaign is in progress, scheduled, or completed.
Target Email List Segment of your audience that will receive the email.
Send Time The time when the email will be sent to the subscriber’s inbox.

Remember, such detailing is crucial. It provides a quick snapshot of your campaign at any given moment.

3) Determine Your Avatars

An ‘avatar’ is a detailed profile of your customer segments. To define them, you must focus on demographics, interests, buying behaviors, etc. Understanding your avatars will guide the rest of your email marketing strategy.

For instance, you’re a technology company that sells software solutions to different customer segments. Here’s what your avatars might look like:

Avatar Demographics Interests Buying Behaviors
Tech Enthusiast Age 18-30, Students or early professionals, Mixed gender Latest tech trends, Coding, Gaming Purchases during sales, Interested in new product launches
IT Professionals Age 25-45, IT job role, Mixed gender Productivity tools, Software updates, Industry news Consistent buyers, Value quality and customer support
Corporate Decision Makers Age 35-55, Managers or Executives, Mixed gender Business growth, Technology upgrades, Cost-effective solutions Strategic buyers, Value long-term benefits and ROI

4) Segment Your Audience

Next, match your avatars to your email lists. In practice, this is equivalent to segmenting your audience. Segmentation ensures that your emails hit the right inboxes, increasing your chances of engagement. 

For instance, the following table summarizes how you can use segmentation to your advantage for improved engagement:

Audience Segment Matching Avatar Specific Email Campaigns
Young Professionals Avatar 1 Career Development Webinar, New Product Announcements
Tech Enthusiasts Avatar 2 Tech Tips Newsletter, Exclusive Software Previews
Retirees Avatar 3 Health and Wellness Tips, Special Discounts

5) Determine Optimal Send Times

Send times can make or break your email campaign. Thus, it is vital to identify when your audience is most likely to open emails. Don’t forget to consider time zones if your audience is spread globally.

For example, data analysis might reveal the following optimal times for specific demographics:

Audience Segment Optimal Send Time
Young Professionals Tuesday 1 PM
Tech Enthusiasts Saturday 11 AM
Retirees Wednesday 10 AM

6) Add Goals and KPIs

In your calendar, add a column or section for your goals and KPIs. These could include targets for open rates, click-through rates, conversions, etc. It’s essential to have these in view as they’ll inform your strategy and measure success.

Email Campaign Goal Key Performance Indicators
Campaign 1 Increase website traffic Click-through rate
Campaign 2 Boost sales Conversion rate
Campaign 3 Nurture leads Open rate, click-through rate

7) Plan The Email Cadence

Email cadence dictates the frequency with which you send emails to subscribers. Plan this to maintain consistency and avoid overwhelming your audience. Remember, quality over quantity!

Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1 New Product Announcement Weekly Newsletter
2 Special Discount Offer Weekly Newsletter
3 Upcoming Event Invite Weekly Newsletter
4 Customer Success Story Weekly Newsletter

8) Ideal Subject Lines and Content

Start brainstorming compelling subject lines and engaging content for your email campaigns. Jot these down in your calendar to guide your copywriting process. Also, ensure each aligns with your brand voice and campaign goals.

Email Campaign Subject Line Content Highlight
New Product Announcement “Introducing Our Latest Innovation!” Details about the new product’s features and benefits.
Special Discount Offer “Exclusive Discount Just For You!” Announcement of the discount with promo code.
Weekly Newsletter “Your Weekly Dose of Inspiration” Curated content relevant to the audience.

9) Integrate Digital Assets

Whether it’s visuals, downloadable content, or links, digital assets are a big part of your email campaigns. Organize and track these in your calendar to ensure everything’s ready when it’s time to hit ‘send’.

Here is an example table that highlights how you can map critical assets to respective campaigns:

Email Campaign Visuals Links Other Assets
New Product Announcement Product images Landing page link Downloadable product brochure
Special Discount Offer Discount graphic Direct purchase link Promo code
Weekly Newsletter Thematic images Relevant blog posts Infographic

10) Reviewing and Updating

It is critical to treat your calendar as a living document. Regularly reviewing and updating it based on campaign performance, team feedback, and changing business goals will only boost engagement in the long term by weeding out bad strategies.

Email Campaign Initial Goal Actual Result Updates Needed
New Product Announcement 25% open rate 30% open rate None
Special Discount Offer 15% conversion rate 10% conversion rate Improve call-to-action
Weekly Newsletter 35% click-through rate 28% click-through rate Improve content relevance

11) Constant A/B Testing

Lastly, don’t forget the importance of constant A/B testing. Testing different elements of your emails (subject lines, send times, content, etc.) will help you identify what works best for your audience. Note these tests in your calendar to ensure you’re constantly improving and optimizing.

Email Element Variant A Variant B Winner
Subject Line “Save Money Now!” “Exclusive Discount Inside!” Variant B
Send Time Tuesday 1 PM Tuesday 3 PM Variant A
Content Product-focused Storytelling Variant B

Email Marketing Calendar Best Practices

Email Marketing Calendar best practices

Here are some email marketing calendar best practices you can follow to get the best results

1) Align Email Marketing Goals With Overall Business Objectives

Ensure that your email marketing efforts are not taking place in isolation. Instead, they must be closely tied to your broader business objectives. For instance, these may include boosting customer engagement, increasing product awareness, growing sales, or nurturing leads. Your email marketing efforts should take shape per the end goals of such objectives.

Steps To Align Your Email Marketing Goals With Your Overall Business Objectives:

Identify your business objectives: Start by clearly defining your overall business goals. They could range from boosting brand awareness to increasing revenue.

Define relevant email marketing goals: Next, determine how your email marketing can support these business objectives. For example, if your business goal is to increase product sales, an email marketing goal could be to grow your click-through rate.

Develop targeted email campaigns: Once your goals are defined, create email campaigns that aim to fulfill these goals. This might involve promotional campaigns, newsletters, or lead nurturing emails.

Measure and Adjust: Finally, track the success of your email campaigns in achieving these goals, and adjust your strategies as necessary.

Callout Box: Remember, aligning your email marketing goals with your business objectives ensures that all your marketing efforts are working towards a common goal.

This strategic alignment not only makes your email marketing more effective but also contributes to your company’s overall bottom line. Always keep the big picture in mind!

2) Use A Relevant Email Calendar Template

An email marketing calendar template serves as your roadmap for all email communications. It helps you plan, organize, and track all your email campaigns effectively. However, one size doesn’t fit all. Your chosen template should cater to your needs and align with your marketing strategy.

Steps To Implement :

  • Assess Your Needs: The first step is understanding your email marketing requirements. Do you send out daily newsletters? Weekly product updates? Or perhaps seasonal promotions? Your unique needs should guide your choice of template.
  • Research Templates: Spend time researching different templates. Some may offer advanced features like task assignment and real-time collaboration, while others might be simple spreadsheets.
  • Customize the Template: After selecting a template, customize it to fit your needs. You might want to add fields for the campaign name, target audience, send date, key performance indicators (KPIs), etc.
  • Implement and Adjust: Start using your chosen template and be open to making adjustments along the way. The best templates evolve with your changing needs and provide the proper support for your email marketing initiatives.

Callout Box: Keep in mind a well-chosen and customized email calendar template can significantly streamline your processes and improve your campaign’s efficiency. It’s more than a simple tool. It is the backbone of your email marketing strategy. Choose wisely, and don’t hesitate to refine it along the way.

3) Keep Your Calendar Updated At All Times

An up-to-date calendar ensures that all team members are on the same page and that there are no surprises or missed deadlines. An outdated or inaccurate calendar can lead to confusion, missed opportunities, and even harm your brand’s credibility.

Steps to ensure your email calendar is continually updated:

  • Assign Responsibility: Appoint a dedicated person or team responsible for keeping the calendar up-to-date. This accountability will ensure regular updates and checks.
  • Automate Updates: Where possible, integrate your email service provider with your calendar for automatic updates. This could include scheduling emails or updating campaign results.
  • Regular Reviews: Hold regular team reviews to discuss upcoming campaigns and verify the calendar details. This team-wide visibility promotes collaboration and helps catch any potential oversights.
  • Embrace Flexibility: Lastly, understand that changes are a part of any marketing strategy. Be prepared to make changes and adjustments to your calendar as needed.

Callout Box: Remember, a well-maintained calendar is the key to staying organized and on track with your campaigns. It’s a living document that needs consistent attention and updating. Consistent, small efforts here can go a long way to ensure the success of your email marketing efforts.

4) Create A Separate Calendar For Each Major Campaign

Each marketing campaign you run likely has unique goals, timelines, and target audiences. By creating a separate calendar for each, you can maintain a clear focus, ensure better organization, and prevent cross-campaign confusion.

Steps to create and manage separate calendars for each significant campaign:

  • Identify Major Campaigns: Start by identifying your major campaigns. These could be seasonal promotions, new product launches, or customer nurturing sequences.
  • Create Dedicated Calendars: For each identified campaign, create a separate calendar detailing the specific emails, send dates, and target segments.
  • Integrate with a Master Calendar: Also maintain a master calendar that provides a high-level view of all ongoing email marketing activities.
  • Monitor and Adjust: Regularly review each calendar and make necessary adjustments based on campaign performance or changes in strategy.

Callout Box: Maintaining separate calendars for each major campaign allows you to be more focused and organized, ensuring no email goes out without a purpose. Meanwhile, a master calendar provides a bird’s-eye view to ensure consistency and avoid campaign conflicts. The key is to find the right balance that works for your team.

5) Make Your Calendar Accessible And Editable For Better Collaboration

Email marketing is a collaborative effort. By making your calendar accessible and editable by all teammates, you encourage a more transparent work environment. This leads to improved coordination, shared responsibility, and fewer errors.

Steps to make your calendar more collaborative:

  • Choose a Collaborative Platform: Select a platform that supports real-time collaboration, like Google Sheets, Trello, or Asana.
  • Set Access Levels: Grant access to relevant team members. However, manage access levels to maintain control and avoid any unintended changes.
  • Encourage Regular Updates: Make it a team policy to update the calendar regularly. This keeps everyone in sync and up-to-date with relevant activities.
  • Promote Transparency: Encourage team members to communicate changes or updates on the platform. This keeps everyone informed.

Callout Box: Remember, collaboration is the key to successful email marketing. By making your calendar accessible and editable, you’re promoting a collaborative culture that can result in more successful and efficient campaigns. After all, teamwork makes the dream work!

6) Use Color-Coding Extensively

Color-coding your calendar is a practical way to add clarity, reduce confusion, and make navigating easier. By assigning different colors to various campaigns, statuses, or email types, you can quickly get a bird’s eye view of everything.

Steps to color-code your email marketing calendar:

  • Differentiate Categories: Start by assigning different colors to different types of emails (e.g., newsletters, promotions), campaign statuses (e.g., draft, scheduled, sent), or even other teams.
  • Maintain Consistency: Be consistent with the color scheme you decide. The color should represent the same category across all your calendars and campaigns.
  • Create a Color Key: For easy reference, create a color key or legend. This will help all team members understand what each color signifies.
  • Avoid Overcomplication: While color-coding is helpful, don’t go overboard. Too many colors can become confusing and counterproductive. Stick to a practical number.

Callout Box: Remember, color-coding can be a game-changer for your calendar. It simplifies complex information, saves time, and aids in visual comprehension. So, grab that digital paintbrush and let your calendar be your canvas!

7) Plan For Holidays And Special Events

Holidays and special events are golden opportunities for email marketing. These occasions often mean higher open rates and increased engagement, as subscribers are more likely to respond to seasonal content. Planning for these in your  calendar ensures you don’t miss out on these key marketing moments.

Steps to plan for holidays and special events:

  • Identity Key Dates: Mark all essential holidays and special events relevant to your business.
  • Plan Special Campaigns: For each marked date, plan a unique email campaign. These could be holiday greetings, special offers, or themed content.
  • Start Early: Remember, subscribers may search for holiday deals or special event information well in advance. So, plan to send your emails early enough to cater to these early birds.
  • Monitor and Learn: After each holiday or special event, monitor the performance of your emails. Use these insights to improve your planning for the next occasion.

Callout Box: Keep in mind that holidays and special events are more than just dates on the calendar. They are unique opportunities to connect with your subscribers more personally. So, embrace the festive spirit and let it reflect in your email campaigns.

8) Keep An Eye On Your Competitors’ Email Strategies

Monitoring your competitors’ email strategies lets you gain insights into what works and doesn’t in your industry. It can inspire new ideas and help you avoid their mistakes.

Steps to track your competitors’ email strategies:

  • Subscribe to Their Emails: Subscribing to your competitors’ email lists gives you a firsthand look at their email strategies.
  • Analyze Their Content: Pay attention to the type of content they send. Note their tone, style, frequency of emails, subject lines, and calls to action.
  • Monitor Their Engagement: If possible, check how their audience engages with their emails. Search for social proof or expert insights.
  • Use Competitive Analysis Tools: Use tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, or Mailcharts to get a more detailed analysis of your competitors’ email strategies.

Callout Box: Remember, keeping an eye on your competitors’ email strategies is not about copying what they do but learning and understanding the market better. Use the insights you gain to enhance your strategy and stand out from the crowd.

9) Implement A Consistent Branding Strategy And Editorial Style Guide

Consistency in branding and editorial style makes your emails instantly recognizable, increases trust, and enhances the overall subscriber experience.

Steps to implement a consistent branding strategy and editorial style guide in your emails:

  • Define Your Branding Elements: Determine your brand’s color scheme, logo placement, typography, and imagery guidelines.
  • Develop an Editorial Style Guide: Your style guide should detail your brand’s tone of voice, writing style, grammar and punctuation preferences, and industry-specific terminology guidelines.
  • Train Your Team: Make sure all team members contributing to email content are well-versed with your branding and style guidelines.
  • Review and Maintain Consistency: Regularly review your emails to ensure they adhere to your guidelines. Make necessary adjustments to maintain consistency.

Callout Box: Note that a consistent branding strategy and editorial style are fundamental to a successful email marketing campaign. They help you create a solid and cohesive brand image in the minds of your subscribers. So, make it a priority early on.

10) Keep A Backlog of Email Ideas For Last-Minute Changes

In the fast-paced world of email marketing, you often need to be flexible and adapt to last-minute changes. Keeping a backlog of email ideas can be a lifesaver in such situations. It ensures you always have a plan B ready, and you can respond quickly without compromising the quality of your content.

Steps to maintain a healthy backlog of email ideas:

  • Regular Brainstorming Sessions: Encourage regular brainstorming sessions with your team. This not only yields fresh ideas but also fosters a culture of innovation and creativity.
  • Keep an Idea Repository: Create a repository to store all your email ideas. This could be a shared document, a project management tool, or dedicated software.
  • Categorize Your Ideas: Organize your ideas by categories. For instance, promotional emails, seasonal greetings, educational content, etc. This will make it easier to find a suitable idea when needed.
  • Review and Update: Regularly review your idea backlog and update it with new ideas, and remove or revise outdated ones.

Callout Box: Remember, a backlog of email ideas is your safety net. It keeps you prepared and ensures your email strategy stays flexible and adaptable. So, keep those creative juices flowing and fill up that idea bank!

Summary

And there we have it! You’re now equipped with a deep understanding of what an email marketing calendar is, how to construct one, and some stellar best practices to guide you along the way. 

Remember, the key to a successful email marketing calendar lies in thoughtful planning, regular updates, and consistent review. It’s about balancing creativity and analytics, strategic thinking, and real-time adaptation. if you need help then check our email marketing management services

Don’t be afraid to experiment and tweak your strategies as you progress. After all, email marketing, like any other field, is about continuous learning and improvement. For more information you can contact us. we are one of the top email marketing companies in usa serving global clients.

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