Early Stage Growth Tips
Feb 23, 2024
TLDR
Ivana Watts shares five powerful email marketing tactics to boost eCommerce sales on Shopify. These tactics include crafting irresistible subject lines, personalizing content, leveraging FOMO, using visual storytelling, and A/B testing. Key metrics to track success include open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, revenue generated, average order value, A/B test results, and return on investment. By implementing these strategies and monitoring metrics closely, Shopify entrepreneurs can optimize their email marketing efforts and drive significant sales growth.
Are you a budding entrepreneur in the world of Shopify, eagerly awaiting that sweet surge in sales?
In this blog, Ivana Watts, eCommerce strategist and email marketer, is dishing out five tantalizingly effective ways to rev up your eCommerce game using email marketing, along with the metrics you should be tracking to measure their success.
Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and let's dive right in!
Craft irresistible subject lines
Imagine your email subject line as the flashy neon sign outside a bustling nightclub. It needs to be catchy, intriguing, and irresistible enough to make your audience stop dead in their tracks and click open.
Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Use emojis sparingly (they're like the sprinkles on a cupcake – a little goes a long way), and don't shy away from injecting a hint of humor or urgency.
For example:
Exclusive deal inside: Unbox happiness today 😍
Limited time offer: Get your shopping spree on
New to clearance
Just for you: A special treat inside 🎁
Unlock your VIP access
Stay away from using excessive punctuation, a lot of symbols, and all capitals. These are tactics used by spammers and may make it more likely that you’ll land in the spam folder.
Metrics to track:
Open rate: A high open rate indicates that your subject line was compelling enough to capture attention. Aim for an average open rate of 30% or higher.
Click-through rate (CTR): Track the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link or call-to-action (CTA) within your email. A high CTR indicates that your subject line and email content enticed subscribers to engage further. Aim for an average CTR of 2.5% or higher.
You can get a report of these metrics for your Klaviyo campaigns by using Airboxr’s Campaign Performance Hop.
Personalization is key
Gone are the days of generic, one-size-fits-all marketing. Today's savvy consumers crave personalization – they want to feel seen, heard, and understood.
And that's where the magic of data comes into play. Leverage your customer's past purchase history, browsing behaviour, and preferences to tailor your emails to perfection.
Start by addressing your subscribers by their first name – it's like a warm hug in the digital world (and it’s super easy to do).
Then, segment your email list based on demographics, interests, or buying patterns to send hyper-targeted campaigns.
Whether it's recommending products similar to their past purchases or sending birthday discounts, personalized emails are the secret sauce to building long-lasting customer relationships.
Metrics to track:
Conversion rate: Measure the percentage of email recipients who completed a desired action, such as making a purchase. A high conversion rate indicates that your personalized content resonated with your audience and drove them to take action.
What’s considered a “good” conversion rate will vary by industry. A general rule of thumb in eCommerce is to aim for 1% or higher.
Using the Customer Segment Builder Hop, you can create different segments of your customer base and reach out to them for your marketing campaigns. Here’s a guide on different customer segments you can build for your various marketing purposes.
Harness the power of FOMO
Ah, the fear of missing out – it's a powerful motivator that can send your sales soaring to new heights.
Incorporate scarcity and urgency tactics into your email campaigns to create a sense of FOMO that's simply irresistible. Think limited-time offers, flash sales, or exclusive discounts for VIP subscribers.
Here's a pro tip: Use stock level alerts to add an extra layer of urgency. Nothing gets hearts racing like seeing the "Low Stock Alert" flashing in red. It's the digital equivalent of a virtual adrenaline rush.
But don’t “fake” urgency. If you’re not actually running low or selling out of a particular product, don’t say you are. Your customers are savvy and will see right through fake urgency tactics.
Metrics to track:
Revenue generated: Measure the total revenue generated from your FOMO-driven email campaigns. This metric will help you assess the direct impact of urgency tactics on your bottom line.
To plan which products to advertise FOMO on, use the Sell-Through Rate Hop and find your fastest selling products or products with the lowest inventory.
Nail the art of visual storytelling
In a world where attention spans are shorter than a goldfish on caffeine, captivating visuals are your secret weapon.
Elevate your email game by incorporating stunning imagery and eye-catching graphics that tell a story. Whether it's showcasing your latest product lineup, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of your brand, or featuring user-generated content, visual storytelling is the key to capturing hearts, minds, and wallets.
Pro tip #1: Optimize your visuals for mobile devices because let's face it – your customers are probably scrolling through their inbox on their smartphones while waiting in line for their morning latte. Make every pixel count!
Pro tip #2: The image-to-text ratio in your emails is a very fine line. The general rule of thumb is 60% text, 40% images. You may want to tighten this up even more with 80% text and 20% images, when possible. This is to help you stay out of spam folders.
Metrics to track:
Average Order Value (AOV) from email campaigns: Measure the average amount spent by customers who make a purchase as a result of engaging with your email campaigns.
Tracking the AOV specifically from your email campaigns provides insights into the effectiveness of your visual storytelling content in driving higher-value purchases.
By monitoring the AOV from email campaigns, you can identify trends and patterns in purchasing behaviour, such as whether certain types of visual content or storytelling approaches lead to higher average order values.
While there is no universally defined "good" AOV, aiming for continuous improvement and alignment with your business goals is key.
Determining a good AOV for an eCommerce business can vary depending on factors such as industry, product pricing, target market, and business objectives.
Evaluate whether your current AOV is sufficient to cover your operational costs and generate a desirable level of profit. Consider factors such as margins, overhead expenses, and customer acquisition costs when assessing the financial health of your business.
Don’t forget to consider the relationship between AOV and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). A higher AOV can contribute to a higher CLV if it leads to increased repeat purchases or customer loyalty over time.
This can easily be calculated using the Checkout Performance by Email Campaign Hop.
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A/B test like there's no tomorrow
Last but certainly not least, never underestimate the power of A/B testing.
Experimentation is the name of the game when it comes to email marketing, so don your lab coat and start tinkering with different variables – subject lines, CTA buttons, layout designs, you name it.
Test, analyze, tweak, and repeat until you find the winning formula that resonates with your audience like magic.
And don't be afraid to think outside the box – sometimes, the most unexpected combinations yield the best results.
Metrics to track:
A/B test results: Compare the performance of different email variations (e.g., subject lines, CTAs, visuals) to identify which elements drive the highest engagement and conversions.
Return on investment (ROI): Measure the revenue generated relative to the cost of your email marketing campaigns (this should include platform fees, agency fees, etc.). This metric will help you determine the effectiveness and profitability of your email marketing overall.
If you’re not at the very least breaking even, it’s time to re-evaluate how email fits into your overall marketing strategy.
In conclusion
There you have it – five wickedly effective ways to supercharge your eCommerce sales using email marketing, along with the key metrics you should be tracking to measure their success.
Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, so be patient, stay creative, and keep experimenting until you find what works best for your Shopify store.
Go ahead, unleash the power of email marketing, track those metrics like a boss, and watch your sales skyrocket like never before. Your customers are waiting – are you ready to wow them?
Guest Author
About the Author
Email marketing consultant Ivana Watts helps growth-driven Shopify merchants generate at least 20% of their online revenue predictably and profitably using email. With 9 years of experience working with Shopify merchants of all shapes and sizes, from early-stage and growing merchants to mid and enterprise level merchants, Ivana has helped numerous brands surpass their first $100K in sales, or their first $1M+ in sales. She has taught email marketing at Shopify meetups in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, New York, and Las Vegas and operates her own eCommerce strategy and email marketing consultancy. Check out her website, or connect with her on LinkedIn.