How to use email marketing to promote your retail store

Whether your goal is to build relationships with and interest potential customers in making a purchase or to reconnect with long-term customers who have not shopped from your business in a while, you can trust email marketing to do the job for you.

Here are the key strategies to promote your retail business online through email marketing successfully:

1. Contents

   1 Building a mailing list

   2 Welcome emails

   3 Shopping guides

   4 Abandoned Cart emails

   5 4) New product announcements

   6 Announcements for sales, offers, and promotions

   7 Birthday/special occasion emails

   8 Best practices of email marketing

   9 Create an email marketing campaign

   Building a mailing list

This is the first step towards email marketing; finding the people to send your emails to.

Here are some useful ways to build a mailing list:

• A sign-up form with a call-to-action (CTA) on your website. CTAs can include discounts for first-time shoppers, free shipping, or early access to upcoming sales for those who subscribe to your emails.
• Exit intent pop-ups that appear when a visitor is about to leave your website. These can offer last-minute incentives to subscribe.
• Encouraging customers to sign up through customer feedback and loyalty programs.
• Offering customers the option to subscribe to your email list during the checkout process. This can take place both in-store and online.

Once this email list is in place, regularly send emails to your subscribers. With PosterMyWall, designing and publishing engaging emails is a hassle-free experience. You can easily customize our professionally designed retail email templates, and then send them out after creating your sender profile and adding your audience(s).

2. Welcome emails

Start your relationship with your email recipients on the right foot by sending them welcome emails. They are great for introducing people to your brand’s values, products, and/or services and giving them incentives to remain subscribed to your emails, such as exclusive offers.

Other than the necessary information mentioned, it should include a CTA or a button to perform a task that a user will be most interested in at that particular point in their customer journey.

For instance, fashion retailer Monki’s welcome email lets users know the products offered by them and the benefits of being on the list, along with incentivizing them to make a purchase with a discount code and a “let’s shop” button.

3. Shopping guides

To aid your customers in shopping from your business, provide them with a handy shopping guide in their emails. It can include details about seasonal trends or gift ideas, your best-sellers, and use cases for your products.

You can also recommend complementary products or upsell higher-end versions of products that your subscribers have been interested in [by buying or adding them to their carts and wishlist]. These personalized recommendations are even more likely to prompt them to make another purchase.

4. Abandoned Cart emails

Window shopping happens online too, with many website visitors adding stuff to their carts but not buying them. This is the time to send them abandoned cart emails.

To convert your online window shoppers into buyers, your email can include:

• A link back to the shopping cart. Add images of the products in the shopper’s cart to remind and show them the things they are interested in so they are more tempted to buy them.
• Offer for free shipping. As this is one of the top factors behind abandoned carts, offering free shipping (that too, for a limited time) is very likely to prompt your customers to complete their purchases.
• A message informing people that the things in their carts are running out.

4) New product announcements

Ensure the success of new products by sending well-crafted announcement emails to your subscribers. Send them as a series in the following order to create hype around the launch:

• A sneak peek email two weeks before the launch. This can also include an eye-catching teaser video of the product.
• An email reminding your subscribers about the launch two days before it takes place
• An email notifying your subscribers when the product is released

In this way, product announcement emails can help you find your first buyers without any cost.

5. Announcements for sales, offers, and promotions

These are the emails containing news of an upcoming sale or offer such as:

• Free shipping
• Gift with purchase
• Buy one get one free
• Exclusive deals and early access to a sale for subscribers or loyalty program members
• Seasonal or holiday sales (e.g., Black Friday)

They are undoubtedly the main incentives for people to sign up for your mailing list; therefore, they are essential for promoting your brand and driving sales. Research has shown that 68% of millennials say promotional emails have influenced their purchase decisions.

6. Birthday/special occasion emails

Make your customers feel valued and cherished by sending them emails on their birthdays and other special occasions such as Christmas and New Year, etc. Offer your subscribers a discount code for their birthday, along with warm greetings and well wishes.

We also recommend sending customer feedback forms to your subscribers on these occasions to ask them about their experience with your brand. Then you can use this data to improve your business and build trust with your customers.

Best practices of email marketing

To run successful email campaigns, keep note of a few important things, namely:

• The timing and frequency of emails. Test send emails during different times of the day and week to find out when your subscribers are most responsive.
• Optimize your emails for mobile. A substantial number of emails are opened on mobile devices, as people have their phones on them throughout the day. Hence, making emails readable on phones is necessary.
• Automated email campaigns. These let you send targeted messages at certain times or based on specific actions, like a sign-up or a purchase. This way you do not need to spend time manually writing and sending emails.
• Segment your email list and send relevant emails to each segment based on their purchase history, demographics, and interests.
• Include eye-catching graphics (images and videos, etc.) in your emails to efficiently convey information.

Create an email marketing campaign

Email marketing is necessary for your retail business. It can help you generate leads, form relationships with your customers and drive sales. Brands can get a return on investment 42 times the amount they invest in email marketing. This is your sign to start email marketing for your business today!