You have a thriving Amazon eCommerce business. A solid website. A growing customer base. And perhaps most importantly, an email subscriber list. Now what? It’s time to market your online wares using email marketing strategies.
And if you think email marketing for Amazon SMBs is dead, you’re wrong. Driving an ROI of $36 for every dollar spent, email ranks higher than any other marketing channel. Close to 4 billion people on the planet still open their emails daily.
They’ll even open emails from your company and click your CTAs.
And if they do, you’d better be prepared. Email marketing takes strategy and time. But it’s the fastest and cheapest way to reach your prospects and one of the most powerful ways to convert your prospects into buyers.
So how do you build an email strategy for your Amazon eCommerce business that actually works?
eCommerce email marketing: not just about promotions
The note you write to someone you’re dating will sound a lot different from the note you write to the person you’ve been married to for the last 15 years. It’s no different in eCommerce email marketing. Your customers and prospects don’t have the same relationship with you. Therefore, you must segment your email list into different groups like the following:
- Product aware leads
- New customers
- Long-term customers
A larger email list will have more segmentation. By segmenting your subscriber list, you can more effectively build an email sales funnel and address your customers or leads where they’re at in their buyer’s journey. This is also known as creating a subscriber lifecycle and is another way to personalize your email communications.
Personalization is not just about writing the names of your customers in the subject line or in the greeting. It’s about understanding who they are, what they need, and what they’re ready to hear from you based on whatever action they have taken (i.e signed up for your email list, purchased a product, sent a review, etc.). If you send a new prospect a sales email before they’re ready to buy, they’ll likely move your email straight to their spam folder.
That said, below are three categories of emails that you can use to upsell your current customers or engage your leads and convert them into customers.
Relationship/Nurturing emails
Relationships emails are usually sent once your subscriber has opted in to your email list. But they can also be used at other points in the subscriber’s lifecycle. While you can offer a promotion like a discount code within these emails, the main goal is to connect with your readers and interact with them. Emails in this category may contain the following content depending on where your readers are at in their customer lifecycle:
- Welcoming content thanking your reader for signing up for your list
- Information about your company, your mission and vision (for new customers)
- Mini customer success stories to demonstrate social proof
- Photos or videos of your product in action
- Instructions or tutorials on how to use your product
- Surveys to see how you can better serve your existing customers
Every email should include a CTA (call-to-action) that takes them to the next step in their buyer’s journey.
- Read more about founder X’s life story
- Find out how we manufacture our eco friendly glass bottles
- Explore our unique sizing chart
- Read more about where we source our leather
- Take the survey and receive 20% off your next purchase
Transactional emails
For eCommerce sites, transactional emails are sent for the following reasons:
- A purchase confirmation and receipt
- To address an abandoned cart
- To request a review via Amazon
- To ask a lead to re-subscribe to the email list if they recently unsubscribed
In addition to providing important reminders or confirmations, eCommerce businesses can use these transactional emails to upsell their products.
For example, they can educate their customers about similar products, provide discounts, or offer new product information.
Promotional emails
Promotional emails are those that you send out to your subscribers to motivate them to make a purchase. Out of all the emails you send out, promotional emails tend to be the most direct and are geared towards converting your leads into buyers. eCommerce businesses use this category of emails to promote a sale or to promote a new line of products. Common CTAs include:
- Shop now
- Check out our new X line
- Choose your new X
- Get your 50% discount now
Promotional emails are generally sent once your prospects are further along in their buyer’s journey as they are product aware and more prepared to make a purchasing decision.
The ultimate CTA (call-to-action)
As you craft your email campaign, remember, every email is driven by one goal: to get your prospects and customers to act.
Therefore, know your end goal in advance. Because ultimately you want to move your reader to an action that will eventually lead to a sale, your CTAs need to fit the context of your email content.
Here’s an example.
If you’re promoting a new line of winter boots, you can start by addressing the pain point of your reader:
We know in your parts that icy sidewalks and driveways can deter you from leaving your house.
Then, offer your solution:
So, we’ve created a one of a kind winter boot sole with grooves that grip the ice and prevent falls.
Add some social proof:
In fact, our customers are raving about our newest line of x winter boots:
“As an older adult, I am super careful about putting myself into situations where I might fall. This winter, my x winter boots have changed my life. While I’m still careful, I can now venture out with more confidence because I feel more physically stable with
these amazing boots.”
And now, add the call to action:
Find out more about these unique boots and the material we use to create a safer winter boot for our customers.
Learn more
The CTA provides a logical next step for your new lead to follow to gain more information about your unique winter boot.
You need to automate
To create email marketing campaigns at scale, you need automation software like Mailchimp, Hubspot, Klavio, Keep or Salesforce. Automation software enables you to conduct an email marketing campaign with essential tools like:
- Auto-responders and schedulers
- Analysis and metrics
- Editing and graphics
- Email templates
Stay in touch
By communicating with your subscribers with personalized emails from the beginning of their buyer’s journey and throughout their customer journey, you’ll have a better chance of gaining new customers, retaining them and making more sales.
Do you need help building your email marketing strategy from scratch? Do you already have a system in place, but it could use some tweaking?
Contact us if you’re ready to focus on your email marketing strategy and improve your ROI.
