Inbound Marketing Blog for Executives | digitalJ2

How Email Marketing is Changing How We Market to eCommerce Customers

Written by Alessandro Lannes | June 22, 2018

Smart email marketing has perhaps never been as important to eCommerce as it is today. In an era of advertising fatigue, thousands of spam emails, and rampant brand distrust, it’s critical to break through the noise and set yourself apart. You must establish yourself as a fun, reputable, and trustworthy brand with exactly what your ideal buyers need, all in a matter of seconds. How do you accomplish this without burning out your audience? A savvy email marketing strategy for eCommerce that focuses on one key element: personalization.

 

What’s Wrong with Traditional Marketing Methods?

It would be faster to list what’s right with traditional email marketing methods. Traditional email campaigns quickly reached the end of their lifespan as customers grew tired of inboxes full of emails that weren’t relevant to them or their needs. Sending a mass email to everyone on your contact list won’t get you new leads or customers – in fact, it’s more likely to turn people off your brand. That’s because the statistics for traditional email marketing attempts aren’t promising:

  • Only 16 percent of people read emails from brands regularly.
  • About 43 percent of people wish businesses would email them less often.
  • 48 percent say they desire more information in email campaigns.

 

This isn’t to say that email marketing is dead. Quite the opposite, in fact; marketers rate email as the most effective and least difficult digital marketing tactic, according to Marketing Charts. Marketing is certainly still a powerful medium, but only if a company breathes new life into its strategy. Mass emails simply aren’t cutting it in front of a modern audience. The solution? Campaign personalization.

 

The Importance of Personalizing Your Emails

First impressions are everything. Don’t ruin your chances of becoming a go-to brand with an ugly mass email attempt. That will get you nowhere but the trash bin, or worse – the “Mark as Spam” button. Instead, create poignant, personalized emails that will really hit home with your readers. Establish a more personal feel to get on the same level as your prospective clients, relating to them in a way they appreciate and respond to, not via generic mass advertising.

 

According to a 2016 consumer email tracking study, a whopping 77 percent of email marketing returns on investment stems from targeted campaigns. That’s an enormous amount of revenue a company could be missing out on if it relies only on generic mass emails. The problem with old emailing methods is that today’s consumers are savvy to traditional ad techniques. They’ve grown up around digital advertising and don’t give emails with generic subject lines the time of day. Instead, they’re searching for the extra effort. They want customized, hyper-personalized emails.

 

The easiest way to personalize your email marketing campaign is with an established eCommerce strategy. Taking the time to create an email marketing strategy instead of blindly pressing send on a mass email can make all the difference in the ROI of your effort. Having a real strategy means using customer data to create custom content, making your marketing efforts personal, and going the extra mile to show your customers you care.

 

How to Improve Your eCommerce Email Marketing Campaigns

You can increase the success of your marketing emails in several ways. Crafting each individual piece of the email is essential for capturing and keeping audience attention. You must create a subject line that’s concise, immediately grabbing the eye and enticing the recipient to open the email and read the rest of your message. One research study found that personalizing email subject lines increased the likelihood of the user opening the message by 50 percent. Another study found that subjects with 30 characters or less performed best.

 

Once you’ve cultivated the perfect, custom subject line, you must make sure your email will pass through the spam radar. Otherwise, customers could blacklist your company for spamming. Passing the spam filter takes avoiding certain red-flag words in subject lines. These words will vary according to your industry. In eCommerce, they include dollar signs ($), “buy,” “cash,” “save,” “subscribe,” and “click.” Avoid certain spam-related words to improve your chances of making into the email inbox.

 

Finally, make sure the text of your email really hits home if a reader does do you the honor of opening the message. The key is to send relevant emails to the right customers. Your readers and subscribers will not be impressed with emails that have nothing to do with them or their unique needs. Only by targeting the specific concerns of a desired buyer will you maximize your odds of lead conversion.

Get eCommerce Email Marketing Help at digitalJ2

Email marketing strategy for eCommerce is changing the way we market to current customers. Feeling overwhelmed about building a successful, highly personalized email campaign for your eCommerce site? DigitalJ2 can help. We provide customized inbound marketing solutions for eCommerce companies around the country. Our team uses proven techniques and data analytics to create strategies that are 100 percent personal for your target audience. If you want to achieve your full potential with a stellar email marketing campaign strategy that works, let us help. Talk to our experts today!

 

Similar Posts: