Email marketing automation is one of the most powerful tools for growing your business and building lasting relationships with your customers. With the right automation strategy, you can save tons of time while also increasing your email open rates, click-through rates and sales.
Whether you’re just getting started with automation or want to optimise an existing campaign, these tips will help you craft target emails, improve your content, increase engagement, and analyse your results.
What Is Email Marketing Automation?
Email marketing automation refers to the use of software and services to automate your email marketing campaigns. It allows you to automatically send target emails to subscribe and potential customers based on their actions or inactions.
How does it work?
Email automation uses triggers like:
- Someone subscribes to your email list
- A customer makes a purchase
- A contact clicks a link in an email
- A lead downloads content from your site
Based on these triggers, a sequence of automated emails is sent. For example:
- A welcome email when someone subscribes
- An email with a special offer a few days later
- A “Did you forget something” email if a cart is abandoned
- A nurturing email to contacts who haven’t opened an email in a while
Using email marketing automation, you can send the right message at the right time to the right person. It allows you to:
Save time by automating repetitive tasks. No more manually sending each email.
Provide a personalised experience. Emails are triggered by individual actions and tailored to contacts’ needs.
Improve your email marketing results. Automation has been shown to increase open rates, click rates and revenue.
Scale your email marketing results. Automation makes it possible to send target communications to thousands of subscribers.
Streamline your custom journey. Map out an automated path to guide customers from first contact through purchase and beyond.
Gain valuable insights into your contacts’ behaviour and see what’s working so you can optimise your campaigns.
Email marketing automation takes the guesswork out of email marketing and helps turn your contacts into loyal customers. By triggering the right message at the right time, you can build better relationships and boost the success of your email campaigns.
How To Set Up Effective Email Marketing Automation
To set up effective email marketing automation, follow these tips:
Choose an email service provider
Select a reputable ESP to handle your email marketing automation. They offer intuitive interfaces to easily set up email sequences, drip campaigns and autoresponders. Look for one with useful features like A/B testing analytics, and integrations with your CRM or e-commerce platform.
Build your contact lists
Important your customer and prospect contact information from your CRM software or website contacts into your ESP. Group contacts into relevant lists based on attributes like location, purchase history or interests. This allows you to target emails to specific segments.
Creating an onboarding email sequence
Welcome new subscribers with an automated onboarding series. Explain what they can expect from your emails and any incentives for subscribing. This helps to build trust and engagement right away.
Set up campaigns
They are great for lead nurturing, product education or promotions. Map out a sequence of 4 - 6 emails to send over weeks or months. Include a call-to-action in each one to move subscribers down your sales funnel.
Build autoresponder emails
Autoresponders are triggered by specific subscriber actions like filing out a form on your website. Set up autoresponders to instantly reply to customer queries or send a thank you message when someone makes a purchase. They add a personal touch and fast response time.
Test and optimised
Use A/B testing to optimise your emails for the best open and click-through rates. Test different email subject lines, content, images, buttons or send times to see which variations perform better.
Look at analytics to determine how your contacts are engaging and make improvements to boost future email effectiveness.
Continuously improving your email marketing automation through testing and optimisation is key to achieving the best results and ROI from your efforts. Provide value to your subscribers and they’ll reward you with more opens, clicks and conversations.
Tips For Creating High-converting Email Campaigns
To boost the success of your email marketing campaigns, focus on the following tips:
Personalise You Emails
Use your subscriber’s first names in the subject line and content. Mention their interests or past purchases. Personalised emails get higher open and click-through rates.
Choose An Attention-Grabbing Subject Line
The subject line is the first thing people see. Make it interesting and relevant to encourage opens. Ask a question. Mention a benefit or call to action. Test different subject lines to see which gets the best results.
Keep Your Content Concise
Keep your emails under 50 words. Use bullet points and numbered lists when possible. Break up long paragraphs into short ones. Your readers will appreciate crisp, scannable content.
Include Visuals
Add images, graphics, screenshots, or videos to bring your emails to life and keep readers engaged. But don’t overcrowd the email. Choose high-quality, relevant visuals and give them plenty of space.
Focus On Benefits
Tell your readers exactly how they will benefit or what’s in it for them. Focus on solutions, not features. Clearly state the key benefits of your offer or content in the headline and opening paragraph.
Call Them To Action
End your email with a strong call to action, like “Buy now,” “Learn more,” or “Contact us.” Give readers the next step to take. Tell them exactly what you want them to do. Make your CTAs straightforward and prominent.
Regularly test different email elements like subject lines, headlines, images, and CTAs. See which versions get the best open rates and click-throughs. Then optimise your campaigns based on the results. Even small tweaks can lead to big improvements.
Be Mobile-Friendly
With more people reading emails on mobile devices, make sure your emails are optimised for small screens. Use a responsive email template and design. Keep content minimal, with large text and buttons. Your readers will thank you.
Analyse Your Results
Check your email metrics regularly to see open rates, click-through rates, and sales conversations. See which campaigns are most effective. Look for trends and insights to improve your future emails. Fine-tune or overhaul underperforming campaigns.
Stay Consistent
For the best results, send regular newsletters, promotions and campaigns to your list. But don’t overload subscribers with too many emails. Find the right balance for your particular audience and industry. And stick to a consistent schedule so people come to expect your emails.
Using Automation To Generate B2B Leads And Sales
Email marketing automation can help generate quality B2B leads and drive sales. By setting up automated email workflows, you can engage your subscribers and move them through the sales funnel without needing constant manual input.
Use drip campaigns
Drip campaigns send a series of emails to subscribers over time to educate them about your product or service. For B2B, focus the content on solutions to common pain points and challenges. Include case studies, product comparisons, and free resources to build trust and authority. Keep the content highly relevant to your target customers.
Nurture leads
Once someone downloads a content offer or fills out a contact form, put them into an automated email nurturing workflow. Send a series of 3 to 4 emails over 2 to 4 weeks. The emails should provide value and help the lead to get to know your company better.
Include a call-to-action to schedule a product demo or start a free trial. Nurtured leads are more likely to convert to sales.
Re-engage old contacts
Look for contacts who have gone “cold” over the last 6 to 12 months and set up a re-engagement campaign. The emails should remind the contacts of the solutions and value you provide. Give an incentive. Like a discount or content upgrade, to schedule to call. Many old contacts will re-engage when the timing is right for them.
Upsell and cross-sell
For your current customers, set up automated upsell and cross-sell workflows. Upselling encourages customers to upgrade to a higher pricing tier or purchase add-on products. Cross-selling suggests complementary products that meet other needs. Include discounts and time-limited offers to encourage customers to take action.
The key is to to not get overwhelmed by all the options and features. Start with the basics, choose a platform that fits your needs and budget, build your lists steadily, create engaging content, and analyse and optimise as you go.
Be sure to stay consistent and before you know it, you’ll have an automated email marketing machine that’s driving sales and growth for your business on autopilot.
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We use various digital channels like email marketing, social media ads, SEO, and more. With our experience, industry know-how, and access to advanced tools, we stay ahead of the curve, helping your business stay competitive in today's ever-changing market.
In the highly competitive world of B2B lead generation, our services are essential for your business's success. By embracing specialised solutions like ours, including market mapping, your business can simplify its lead acquisition process, tap into expert knowledge, and maximise its revenue potential.