Email etiquette can be tricky to master- especially for a company that relies on eCommerce sales to succeed. However, the more suave you become in the art of email writing (and delivering), the more you will see your sales increase. If you’re struggling with conversion, click-through-rates (CTR), and revenue, here are four email marketing tactics that will increase eCommerce sales.

1. Promotional eCommerce Emails

Promotions are the number one way to drive eCommerce sales. So it makes sense that promotional emails are a driving force for eCommerce websites- aka, they will increase sales. A promotional email is simply an email that offers an incentive to the customer to go and shop - for example this can be either a discount on products or even just free shipping.

Photo courtesy of: Wayfair

Whatever incentive strategy you choose, you should keep your customer persona in mind as well as where they are in the buyer’s journey:

• Customers with a high Average Order Value (AOV): This customer will respond best to higher promotions and promotional bundles. Instead of selling them a shirt for 15% off, advertise a shirt and hat bundle for 10% off. These customers are more likely to buy in bundles, because they tend to buy all the items they need at once, hence their high average order values.
• Customers who love discounts: These customers typically only buy an item when it’s on sale. Saving money is way more important than brand loyalty to this customer.
• Face value customers: Discounts don’t encourage these customers to buy, because the majority of their purchases are at face value. Instead, these customers are driven by newness, limited quantities, or uniqueness of products.

2. Abandoned Cart Emails

If a customer you have in your database leaves an item in their cart, this is an email you send to remind them that they left items behind unpurchased. This One Touch Abandoned Cart Email is usually sent 24 hours after the customer abandons the cart.

Another way to send an abandoned cart email is to use an Abandoned Cart Series. In this scenario, several emails (usually three) are sent to the customer to remind them of the items in their cart. The first email is sent an hour after  the customer abandoned their cart. The second email is sent 24-hours from the time the customer was shopping; and the third email is sent seven days from the original abandoned cart date and time. With the final email, many retailers offer the customer an incentive to complete their purchase - either a discounted rate for the products or even free shipping (that expires within a certain time frame).

Photo courtesy of: MAC Cosmetics

3. Up-Sell/Cross-Sell Emails

When a company incentivizes a customer to purchase a more expensive item, through an upgrade or add-on, this is considered an up-sell. Up-selling is a great strategy to try and make a sale more profitable. Similarly, cross-selling is when you sell a totally different product to the customer before they check out with their current items.

Both up-sell and cross-sell tactics yield a higher conversion rate because you are taking previous customer data and putting it to good use. For example, if you notice people who put a tablet in their cart immediately start looking at tablet covers and glass covers - you can say with confidence that customers who bought this “also bought this” or “also viewed that”.

Photo courtesy of: Amazon

4. Re-Engagement/Customer Loyalty Emails

All emails have a purpose, and one of those purposes should be to engage in a symbiotic exchange with your customers. For example, you give the customer shipping information, and in return, they give you a (hopefully stellar) review. These emails can also aid in building a stronger bond between customers and companies because they encourage people who aren’t already regular customers, or have had a negative experience in the past, to engage or re-engage with the brand.

Photo courtesy of: Walmart

Email marketing can easily be overlooked, so it is important that you and your team come up with a strategy that works for you and your brand. Above all, do not neglect your reach through email, because email is one of the easiest ways to increase sales and engage your customers.