3 types of automated emails every business should be sending.

When it comes to email marketing, many people still think the way to get results is to batch and blast your entire database with the same message at the same time.But over the last 15 years of email marketing being in existence, the way we engage and are engaged with through this channel has significantly changed.We are constantly overwhelmed by overflowing inboxes, junk mail and a mountain of marketing messages from our favourite (and not so favourite in some cases) brands. So how do you stand out in the crowed inbox these days?The answer is in the results, automated email campaigns (AKA autoresponders/triggered emails) not only generate 96% higher open rates and 125% higher click through rates than standard marketing messages*, but they meet the basic marketing need:Automated email campaigns offer the benefit of relevance and allow you to get highly personal with your subscribers, using their behaviour or known information about them to trigger a specific email campaign.So whether you’re an advanced marketer sending to millions of subscribers or a budding entrepreneur with only 50 people on your list, here’s my run down of the top 3 automated campaigns you NEED to be sending……

1. The welcome email

When someone registers for your email programme, the first email they should receive from you (after a double opt in/confirmation email, if applicable) is your welcome email. It is the first impression subscribers have of your brand through the email channel (and perhaps of your brand altogether) and helps to set a groundwork for your entire relationship with your list.A study by Experian found that welcome emails have 10x higher transaction rates and revenue than bulk emails. They also have 5x more opens and 4x more clicks. **Your welcome email should thank people for subscribing, reiterate the benefits that they will now receive from you, provide immediate value and even provide other elements such as offering a discount. Where retailers take this strategy and give an offer in their welcome emails, they often see 9X higher transaction rates than bulk mailings & 8X higher revenue!***

2. Reactivation series

It is inevitable that throughout your email marketing efforts, there will be subscribers who stop engaging with your campaigns, and these subscribers should be reactivated.How you classify inactive subscribers may differ depending on your business and sending frequency; for example, this may be when subscribers have not engaged with your emails (opened/clicked) in the last 6 months (if you’re sending bi-weekly/monthly).Once you have classified at which point you classify subscribers as turning inactive, a series of emails can then be automatically triggered with the aim of catching their attention (by doing something a but different), letting them know what they are missing out on, updating them on new features, or allowing them to change their preferences.If after a series of emails have been sent a subscriber has not reactivated, I recommend removing them from your future ongoing sends if not your database altogether, by unsubscribing them.If subscribers are not engaging with your emails after a period of time, why keep flogging a dead horse?!

3. The Sales funnel

Got a product/service/course to sell? Automate the process and save yourself time as well as generate leads/revenue while you sleep with an automated email sales funnel!Using email marketing as part of your sales funnel allows you to deliver relevant, value information to subscribers (based on their individual preferences or behaviour through segmentation) directly to their inbox leading up to the sale.These automated email campaigns are a great way to stay in the front of prospects minds without being overly pushy and in their face. In both Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relationships, but particularly in the B2B markets, you need to gain their trust, let them get to know you and build a relationship before asking for the sale; you need to show your value before people will invest in you, and this is where a series of emails can help you to provide this information without overwhelming prospects.What automated email campaigns are you currently deploying in your business? Let me know in the comments below!* [Source: Direct Marketing Association’s Email Experience Council and Epsilon 2012]** [Source: Experian Marketing Services report]*** [Source: Experian – The welcome email report 2010]

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