Lesson 4: Keeping customers engaged
Remember, a potential customer is making a commitment when they subscribe to your email list, so make sure the emails are worth their while. You can keep your customers engaged and excited about your emails with some intentional planning. We’ve collected some handy tips to help you keep your customers intrigued with your emails.
Time your emails just right
The right email, at the right time, can make all the difference. Keep seasonal, monthly, weekly, and daily timing in mind. Go through the calendar plan promotions at times that make sense for your business, like major holidays or seasonal changes.
You can also take advantage of little holidays like donut day or hug-your-hound day to add a touch of fun. Monthly newsletters are a great way to start a regular cadence of communication through sharing how-tos, upcoming events, or news. Other great times to send emails are on your customers’ birthdays or during new product launches or sales.
PRO-TIP
Decide on a certain number of emails you want to send out–two per month is a good number to start with. If people respond well to that, maybe add a third email and a fourth. When you see your unsubscribe rates go up, stop and go back one level.
Make your emails visually appealing
Emails have more text than your social media posts, but that doesn’t mean you need to shy away from stunning visuals. Introduce new products with their own photoshoot and include them throughout the email. You can also use videos to get potential customers to click play–they can’t resist!
Create a sense of urgency with coupons and promotions
Everyone loves a good deal, right? The most common way to keep customers coming back is to offer weekly or monthly deals. Consider sending your existing customers a special referral code or offer exclusive discounts to help reward subscribers. Add a deadline for coupons and deals to bring urgency to the sale.
Capture reluctant customers and turn them into subscribers
Shoppers sometimes add items to their cart but don’t checkout. Abandoned carts can be a real problem! To reel people back in, you can offer exit intent discounts. This is when you show an offer or coupon code to reluctant buyers as they try to leave the website.
You can pair the offer with a sign up for your email list, which not only turns them into customers but also gets them on your email list so you can continue to build a relationship with them.
PRO-TIP
GoDaddy’s Websites + Marketing tool can help you send email reminders to shoppers who add items to their cart but do not checkout–you can even offer them a discount on the order if they complete it. This is a proven way to close more sales.
Think outside the box with ads, referrals, and diverse platforms
While emails are an important part of your marketing and customer engagement, it’s more important than ever to use a variety of avenues to reach customers in today’s growing marketplace. You can also pair your email efforts with influencer or referral programs, ads, and other customer touchpoints.
For example, partner with influencers in your niche and create special referral codes they can share on their blog or social media. This serves as an endorsement of sorts that can help you boost your credibility and attract a new audience to your store.
Take advantage of retargeting campaigns and ads on Facebook and Google to further entice customers to follow-through on a purchase. And, make sure you’re engaging customers on popular platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp.
Try different combinations of these strategies to see what works best for you
Engaging subscribers is a continuous journey. Experiment with what works for timing and content. Try out different combinations of the above, and make note of successes and failures so you can adjust.
Case study: Karly Burke, Hashtag Lunchbag
Email marketing builds connections and helps make your audience aware of what’s important to you. For example, Karly has lots of inspiring stories and important information to share with her audience. After seeing her father battle addiction and homelessness, Karly started a Seattle chapter of Hashtag Lunchbag to help feed people experiencing homelessness and to inspire others. You can learn more about Karly’s story on GoDaddy’s Made Here podcast.
