Must-Have Email Automations for BFCM on Shopify
We’re already in Q4 and you don’t have your core email automations in place? Please don't freak out, but these email automations are musts to have in place if you’re going to be getting an influx of traffic right as we kick off the holiday season.
Before we get into email automations and funnels for your ecommerce store, I want to point out why it is SO important to capture emails first. All eCommerce businesses have the objective to first drive traffic to their website and then convert them to buyers. Most people drive traffic to their website through paid advertising and that costs money. So if you're already driving them to your website, you have to take advantage of that moment and capture their email.
By capturing their email, it will allow you to stay connected to that customer and build out a relationship with them. You have direct access to that customer and you can always bring them BACK to your website through a newsletter without having to spend money on ads for that same customer. They can return a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time back to your website at a much lower customer acquisition cost compared to other forms of marketing, like social media.
By having their emails, you can put them through what we call email automations or flows. These are the emails that will make money for you 24/7, essentially a way to keep your brand top of mind through different funnel stages.
Email Automation #1: Sunset Flow
The first email automation I would focus on implementing before BFCM is the Sunset Flow. The purpose of a sunset flow is to give people the chance to unsubscribe or re-engage.
So we'll want to clean your list before the holidays through a Sunset Flow, and in order to do this, in Klaviyo, you'll create a segment with subscribers who haven't opened or clicked on an email in a long time, usually a 3-6 months time period. You'll want to do this to make sure your email deliverability is in great shape if you want your emails to reach your subscribers' inboxes, and avoid the spam folder.
- Say that you've missed the user
- Remind them of what they have missed
- Add an incentive offer
- Give the user the option to unsubscribe and manage their preferences
Email Automation #2: Welcome Flow
The second email automation I would focus on implementing before BFCM is the Welcome Flow. Your welcome series is a sequence of emails sent directly after someone signs up to hear from your brand. Your welcome series is new subscribers’ first interaction with your brand, so it’s important to put your best foot forward with this automation.
A welcome series can have a couple of different types of goals. Keep your goal in mind when creating the content for your welcome series flow. For example, you can talk about your brand mission, why you started the company, or you can offer an incentive and showcase your best sellers
Things to include in this flow:
- Welcome + Offer
- Brand Story
- Social Proof
Email Automation #3: Abandoned Cart Flow
The third email automation I would focus on implementing before BFCM is the Abandoned Cart Flow. Abandoned cart emails are one of the most valuable emails for any eCommerce business. They’re an email or sequence of emails sent to someone who added an item to their shopping cart, but failed to complete the purchase. HENCE why we call it an abandoned cart flow. So, not contacting these customers is leaving money on the table - almost 70% of shopping carts are abandoned on average!
Just think about the last time that you shopped on a website, and just as you were adding to your cart, you got distracted by a TV show, a text, kids or even social media and you never went back to complete your purchase. If a brand reminds me of what I left behind, my probabilities of completing my purchase is much higher!
Based on research from thousands of Klaviyo eCommerce customers, both Klaviyo and I have found that sending 2-3 abandoned cart emails in your Abandoned Cart flow leads to optimal performance.
Things to include in this flow:
- Reminder of what they left behind (Klaviyo has dynamic blocks which will automatically show the customer what they left behind in their cart)
- Reviews + Testimonials to showcase trust & credibility
- Reasons to Buy in order to get them over the hump and uncertainty of making their purchase
Email Automation #4: Post Purchase Flow
The fourth and final email automation I would focus on implementing before BFCM is the the Post Purchase Flow. Sending post-purchase emails are essential for growing your brand. They turn a shopper into a loyal and repeat customer. So just because a customer already made the purchase, it doesn't mean that you forget about them and don't continue to nurture them.
According to Klaviyo's research, post purchase messaging sees a 217% higher open rate, over 500% higher click rate, and 90% higher revenue per recipient than your average email campaign. Just think about the last time that you made a purchase on a website. You're constantly refreshing your email to see if that brand sends you any post-purchase emails right? This flow is different than your transactional emails like order and shipping confirmation.
Personalizing your messaging is a great way to get customers to return back to your brand and complete another purchase, so you'll want to talk to a first-time buyer differently than a repeat purchaser. For instance, when setting up this flow for my eCommerce clients, in Klaviyo you can put filters in a flow where you can send one email with people who have purchased for the FIRST time (so saying something like "thanks so much for your first order with us, Jess" and another email to people who came back and purchased a 2nd time.
Things to include in this flow:
- How to use an item or how to take care of it
- The benefits that it'll provide
- Product Review requests
To Recap...
Here are the top 4 email automations to include in your eCommerce business before BFCM:
- Welcome Flow where you'll nurture them
- Cart Abandonment Flow where you'll remind them about what they left behind in their cart
- Post Purchase Flow where you'll turn a shopper into a loyal & repeat customer
- Sunset Flow where you'll clean out your list and try to re-engage subscribers
Which email marketing platform should I go for?
If you're looking for an email marketing platform for your product-based business, I actually recommend Klaviyo, which is specifically designed for ecommerce. If you have a Shopify store, Klaviyo integrates seamlessly with the platform and it's actually it's preferred partner when it comes to email marketing - so much so that Shopify recently invested $100M in Klaviyo. You can click here to try it out!
Don’t have the mind space or time to tackle this project in Klaviyo before BFCM? I can help!
Jess Romero
