Startup Guides > 6 Smart Email Triggers for Marketing Automation

Targeted emails - or emails triggered by an event or action - can be a great way to deliver the right content at the right time to the right people. A thank you, confirmation, or abandoned cart message that automatically follows a specific behavior someone took on your website can be the difference between a very happy customer and losing a contact altogether.

As long as the automated email is relevant, timely, and provides value to the recipient, triggered emails can be used to save marketers a tremendous amount of time and, more importantly, better engage your contact database.

Take a look at these great examples for some expert ideas of targeted emails you can incorporate into your own email marketing campaigns:

1) The Welcome Email


Uber sends an automated welcome email to anyone who registers for their services. The welcome email is simple and straightforward, welcoming new users and thanking them for signing up for Uber. To assist the new users and to encourage them to actually start using the car service, the welcome email also explains how Uber works in three simple steps, followed by a few tips on getting started with Uber. We love how Uber capitalizes on this opportunity to further educate their users.

2) The Re-engagement Email

Dropbox uses a triggered email to re-engage people who signed up for Dropbox, but have not actually installed the software on their computers yet.

The first great thing about this email is it uses personalization tokes to address the recipient directly, using his first name. The body of the email is very brief, which is nice. The text identifies a few specific ways Dropbox can assist you in organizing your files and a large blue CTA is noticeably positioned directly in the middle of the email. It's short, sweet, yet still informative -- exactly what people in a re-engagement campaign need.

3) The Date/Time Tigger Email

ModCloth sends this email to people who have been subscribed to ModCloth's email list for six months to celebrate their anniversary together. Of course, the true purpose of this email is to drive contacts back to their website - and maybe make a purchase. To encourage recipients to visit ModCloth's site and make a purchase, the anniversary email offers a coupon code for $5 off the contact's next purchase. It's a small thing for ModCloth to give up in exchange for repeat business.

4) The Thank-You Email

Amazon uses this triggered thank-you email to drive customers back to their site and gain information about the consumer that can be used to suggest additional products in the future.

In addition to thanking the customer for their recent purchase and personalizing the message using the consumer's full name, the email also asks the recipient to review their new product. And chances are, people are only going to review products they feel strongly about. Based on the products they review and how they review the product, Amazon can show them products they may like in the future. Plus, if the person ends up leaving a review, it could convince someone else to buy that product, too.

5) The Confirmation Email

No one likes waiting day after day for a package arrive, wondering whether or not the item was ever actually shipped. To quell unnecessary anxiety, Zappos sends an automated email to customers as soon as their package is shipped. The email is personalized as it provides a picture of the specific item(s) the consumer purchased as well as the shipping address, a link to the order information, and the anticipated delivery date.

As the bottom of the email states, one of the core values at Zappos is to create fun and a little weirdness. The email clearly adheres to this value addressing the recipient as "Zappos Zealot" and closing the intro to the email with "XOXO, Zappos.com."

6) The Unsubscribe Email

Urban Outfitters automatically sends this email to people when they request to unsubscribe from the clothing store's emails. The purpose of this automated email is a last-ditch effort to convince recipients not to unsubscribe. To appeal to their young adult target audience, this email creatively plays on the idea of a salvaging a relationship.

Rather than simply providing a checkbox to either confirm the unsubscribe request or remain on UO's email list, this email features an amusing image of a text messaging conversation that expresses Urban Outfitter's desire to avoid "breaking up" with the recipient who is shown as contact "BFF" on the mobile phone. We love how this email is something that their buyer persona can definitely relate to.

Conclusion:

While social media may appear to be the center of many small business marketing strategies, an effective email blast could be a more dependable way to increase your customer base. It also allows you to create a personal voice for your existing customer base - the people who have already expressed an interest in purchasing from you.

Twitter is one of the most popular websites for social media marketing. However, as with many social media sites, their algorithms are always changing. Today, if you don't spend money advertising with social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, then the chances of your followers actually seeing your posts are minimal.

However, sites like 40Billion.com have made this easier by broadcasting and promoting your business to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for businesses - including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads, future retweets, and promoted company listings were created for small business entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising.

With email marketing, though, you call the shots. You are the one deciding how often your list hears from you. Also, you can track precisely how many clients are actually opening your email. A successful email campaign can take time to build, but that's true with any good marketing plan.

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