As a marketer, the chances are that you’ve heard all about email marketing automation and the benefits it can provide for your business. In fact, the chances are that you’re using it in some form or another already. However, the question today is; are you using it to its full potential?

Email marketing automation brings about a range of new and exciting possibilities that haven’t been previously available or would have come at far too much cost to a business. Today, we’re going to explore 11 ways you can take full control of your automation platform, allowing you to maximise your marketing opportunities.

11 Email workflows you should use

1. A welcome email

Of course, if you’re not using this already, then you need to drop everything and implement it right now. When someone signs up and hands over their email to your marketing list, the first email they should ever receive is one that welcomes them to your business.

This means saying hello, sharing links to your website and any content they may be interested in (especially if they have selected topics they want to look at), links to your social media pages and contact information in case they want to get in touch. Basically, you’ll want to send everything they need in order to know what they’re doing next.

When it comes to these welcoming emails, you’ll want to make sure they are perfect because online first impressions count. You can either invest in a copywriting guid like State of writing to create these emails on your behalf, or Viawriting to check your grammar and spelling.

2. Relevant page views

By using automated triggers on your website, you can see just what pages your readers are looking at which can allow you to send relevant content directly to their email inbox. These can include other blog content they might want to read or even information on products related to the content they are looking at.

“For example, let’s say you’re a website that’s related to pets and you manage all things relating to pets. If a reader is looking into dog content and reading about the best food to feed their dogs to keep them healthy, you may then want to email with links to dog food and other links on how to keep their dog healthy”, – says Billie Terrell, an Email Marketer at Studydemic.

3. Lifecycle journey

This tends to relate to new customers, but after a customer has signed up to your mailing list, you can then use automated emails to lead them on a journey from a reader to a paying customer. In these emails, you’ll be detailing about all the options that your reader has available to them, as well as providing helpful tips and advice when they may need them.

4. Relevant click content

When somebody is signed into their account, there are all kinds of content they could be interacting with, for example, social media posts, page links, pictures, product pages and even page forms. By taking note of what is being clicked, you can send out emails that you believe that user will be interested in.

Of course, everybody will interact with your website and content in a different way which is why automated email processes are essential for creating and sending these emails. In this situation, because a reader is already engaging with your content, they are much more likely to engage with more relevant content that you’re sending them.

5. Lead nurturing emails

All your customers are going to be at different stages of your sales funnel. For example, while some may have visited your website for several minutes and vanished, making them an unlikely customer, others will be far more interested in what you have to say and may have spent time reading through your content and perhaps even downloading your eBooks and content.

These are the customers you’re going to want to nurture and may need a little push. For example, emailing them a little discount code or coupon may be all they need to make a purchase.

6. Lead generation emails

Hand in hand with the consideration above, when it comes to the readers that appear on your website but don’t seem very interested in your content, known as the bottom of the sales funnel, a similar approach, perhaps offering a larger discount or coupon code, may be all they need to make a purchase.

You can use tools like Writingpopulist or Mywritingway to keep these emails short and precise, so your customers aren’t bored reading them.

7. Event management email

If you’re running an event through your business, such as a webinar, real-life event or even a ‘sales’ event, using email automation can be a great way of keeping everybody informed and up to date.

For example, you can send out your invitations to the relevant people, send out important reminders for times and dates and all the information they need to know, contributing to a successful event.

To keep these emails organised, make sure that you’re using professional subject lines, which can be generated using tools like Academadvisor, and they are formatted properly using guidelines like those found on Simplegrad.

8. Re-engaging lost customers

Sometimes, you’ll have customers that will seem really interested in your business and may have even made a purchase, but then they tend to disappear without a trace. Using email automation, you can craft specific emails that can help you re-engage these missing customers and bring them back into your business.

9. Shopping cart reminder

One of the most common problems businesses face is people loading up items into their shopping carts on your website and then leaving them unattended. Using email automation, you can gently remind these customers that they have items pending, which is a far better approach than just leaving them to sit there, especially if they have genuinely forgotten.

10. Regular purchase reminders

If you notice any buying patterns within your customers, such as monthly purchases or repeat buys, you can take advantage of this pattern by setting up reminder emails that can remind your customer that they may want to think about buying your product again, such as diapers, a magazine subscription or even cleaning products, etc.

11. Past purchase recommendations

If a customer has purchased something from you in the past, you can be sure that this is the type of product that they are already interested in, so it only makes sense that you’re going to email them using relevant products and information based on their previous purchases.

Summary

As you can see, when it comes to making the most of your email automation marketing software, there are so many opportunities available for you to take advantage off, all of which will contribute to the increase in success of your online business!