Ecommerce is the way of the future.
With more and more individuals opting in to online shopping rather than visiting brick-and-mortar stores, it’s no wonder so many big and small names in retail are turning to platforms such as WooCommerce and Shopify for building their online presence.
However, is simply creating an online store enough to help you generate sales? The answer is rather simple: no.
Instead, you’ll want to combine multiple marketing efforts to ensure that you’re generating the revenue you’re looking for.
One excellent way to approach this is by combining WooCommerce, email marketing, and other online promotions.
Why you should consider combining email marketing with your WooCommerce shop
Having a storefront on WooCommerce and an email marketing strategy is an excellent start to your digital marketing strategy.
However, if you haven’t combined the two efforts into a single strategy, then you’re simply creating more work than necessary.
By combining WooCommerce and email marketing, you’re bringing your storefront to your audience in a more personalized manner.
With an average conversion rate of online shoppers in the US in Q1 of 2019 coming to 2.72%, it’s clear that combining WooCommerce and email marketing is worth the investment.
Combine that with the average ROI of $38 for every $1 spent, ecommerce and email marketing are a winning combo.
With nearly 80% of Americans shopping online and more than half of them making purchases off their mobile devices, it’s essential that you make your promotional content easy to view for those on mobile devices.
Responsive emails are an excellent way to do this, and, when you combine WooCommerce with the right email marketing software, you can design spectacular response emails that your customers will love.
Source: Campaign Monitor
Still not convinced on combining WooCommerce and email marketing? Then consider this stat: Email marketing accounts for nearly 23% of sales.
Combine that with its remarkable ROI; it’s a powerful tool that should be considered when trying to get everything out of your ecommerce shop.
If you’re ready to combine your WooCommerce and email marketing efforts, but are unsure where to start, fret not.
Read on for 4 basic steps you need to take to combine your WooCommerce and email marketing efforts in order to help you create an unstoppable combination guaranteed to get you the results you want to see.
Combining WooCommerce and email marketing in 4 simple steps
Combining your WooCommerce shop with your email marketing strategy is an excellent way to help drive revenue and make the most of each channel. Here are 4 simple steps to help get you started.
1. Choose a compatible email marketing app.
Depending on the platform you are using, WooCommerce can be combined with a variety of powerful email marketing apps that can help you combine WooCommerce and email marketing.
When it comes to choosing the right email marketing app to combine with your ecommerce shop, you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions:
- What features are considered “must-haves”?
- Are you looking for an app with its own support team?
- Are you looking for a free account or paid account?
Again, these are only a handful of the questions you’ll want to ask yourself before you settle on an email marketing app to work with your WooCommerce shop.
One app that’s compatible with WooCommerce is Campaign Monitor’s newly launched CM Commerce platform, which provides users with several great features, including:
- Quick integration
- Supercharged segmentation
- Conversion driven, ready-to-use workflows and campaigns, including abandoned cart emails, receipts, newsletters, and follow-up emails
- A variety of analytic reports designed to help you keep track of your campaigns
- Customer feedback options
- Ability to collect product reviews to display on your WooCommerce shop.
Source: WordPress
2. Start growing your email list.
Once you’ve settled on a compatible email marketing app that works with your WooCommerce shop, you’ll want to either continue or begin working on growing your email list.
If you already have an existing email list, then you’ll want to make sure it’s up to date. Start by taking these steps to analyze the health of your current list:
- Assess what you already have – do you have an active, engaged list? Or do you have a list riddled with outdated, inactive members?
- Get rid of any excessive fluff – anyone that isn’t active should be removed. These are people whom you’ve tried to re-engage with but have had no luck. There’s no reason to send emails to subscribers that aren’t taking the time to engage with you.
If you’re new to email marketing and starting entirely from scratch and building an all-new email list, then you’ll want to make sure you’re following a few best practices:
- You’re following all email marketing laws and regulations, including GDPR and CAN-SPAM
- You’re using a double opt-in method to ensure that subscribers genuinely want to receive your marketing content
- Maintaining email list hygiene to prevent inactive subscribers from clogging your list
3. Start segmenting your email list as more people opt in to it.
Email list segmentation is vital when combining WooCommerce and email marketing. The entire point of doing this is to ensure that you’re sending only the most relevant content to your subscribers.
Some ways to segment your email lists include:
- Gender
- Geo-location
- Browsing history
- Purchase history
- Purchase interest
- Buying frequency
- Average spending bracket
- Content-type
- In-store vs. online store visitors
- Cart/form abandonment
- CTA clicks and more
Source: WordPress
Are you a bit unsure where you should start when it comes to asking new subscribers for information?
Then consider adding an email preference center to your subscriber’s account set up! This allows them to tell you exactly what they want to see in their inbox, helping you make sure you’re only sending the most relevant content possible.
4. Email campaigns to help drive revenue.
Finally, once you’ve chosen your email marketing app, compiled your emailing list, and segmented your list into hyper-detailed lists, then you’re ready to start creating email campaigns to help you drive revenue.
Not quite sure where to start? Here are 4 necessary email campaigns that you should be using for your WooCommerce store:
Welcome campaigns
The welcome email is vital to making your new subscribers feel as if they’re more than just another subscriber.
These messages should be personalized with at least your new subscriber’s name and should introduce them to your brand. It should also detail what they can expect from you, as far as content types go.
Source: Really Good Emails
Inventory updates
Inventory updates are specialized emails that can be used to help shoppers stay on top of their favorite products.
Instead of making them come back to your website for updates, consider segmenting your lists by viewing history, so that triggered campaigns can be sent out to those looking for a particular item of interest.
Source: Campaign Monitor
Promotional emails
Promotional emails seem a bit obvious, considering these are emails for your ecommerce store. However, these promotional emails need to follow email marketing best practices and be customized to each of your subscribers.
If you’ve taken adequate time to segment your email list properly, then you’ll be able to create dynamic content that’ll only show the most relevant information to each of your subscribers based on the segment you’ve chosen for that particular email message.
Source: Really Good Emails
WooCommerce followup and post-purchase campaigns
Finally, you’ll want to create WooCommerce followup and post-purchase campaigns. These can come in several different formats, including:
- Post-purchase receipts
- “Your items have shipped” campaigns
- Shipping updates
- “Thank you for your purchase” campaigns
Source: Really Good Emails
The purpose of these email messages is to help keep your readers engaged with your brand, all while showing them that you’re catering to their specific needs. The more invested you are in them, the more appreciated they’ll feel, and the more likely they’ll be to return for future purchases.
Wrap up
Combining your WooCommers and email marketing efforts isn’t nearly as difficult as it may initially seem. Simply follow our 4-step process to get started:
- Choose a compatible email marketing app
- Start growing your email list
- Begin segmenting your email list as more people opt in to it
- Plan and design a variety of email campaigns to help drive revenue
Curious about what Campaign Monitor’s new CM Commerce platform can help with your ecommerce activities? Sign up for more information today!