Most ecommerce sellers and subscription box owners are so focused on finding the social media “secret sauce” that they are ignoring one of the most valuable marketing channels: email.
Many marketers claim that the inbox is a ghost town where spammy content and promotional clutter go to live unopened, but sending a good email is still the best way to capture leads and drive sales. In the last four years, customer acquisition through email has quadrupled. Adopting an email marketing campaign lets you enter the personal lives of people who have already “opted in” to receiving information and deals from your company.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, email has an ROI of 4300%. This is easy to believe ,with simple and cheap solutions such as MailChimp helping ecommerce storeowners automate and personalize attractive email campaigns. An effective email strategy requires time and planning, but you can jumpstart your creative process with these five awesome subscription box emails.
Campaign 1: Welcome to Our Community
As a subscription box business, your customers are automatically returning customers. Once they sign up, it’s important to welcome them into your community and encourage them to explore your offerings. This Bespoke Post email is great because it’s short, concise and reminds the customer of the company’s value proposition. The email has a clear call-to-action that matches their brand’s voice and provides a visual display of the three things the recipient now has access to: the subscription box, individual ecommerce goods, and style/product tips. The welcome email is also a great place to plug any press mentions and provide “social proof” that demonstrates you are trustworthy and legit.
Campaign 2: Your Box Is On the Way
Depending on how you manage signups and cutoff dates, new and old subscription box members may get antsy about when their product will be delivered. The “Your Box is On the Way” email is a great way to let your customers know that you haven’t forgotten them and the estimated date of arrival. Stitch Fix does an awesome job of taking this type of email to the next level by adding a link to their FAQ and direct customer support. They also add a mutually beneficial incentive for customers to refer their friends and earn credits for future purchases. The result is threefold: increased brand loyalty, awareness, and sales. It’s important to note how they customized a generic confirmation email with their own voice and brand-related words such as “fix” and “style.”
Campaign 3: Look, A Sale!
According to this survey, 70% of people make use of the discounts or coupons that enter their inbox. A good sales email highlights the discount with clean design, awesome product images and easy-to-read fonts. Although you want to avoid clutter, Conscious Box makes longer copy work by explaining in a conversational tone what the product can do and why the customer should use it. When writing sales emails, it’s important to avoid gimmicks and excessive punctuation. Keep it timely, beautiful and exciting without all the flowery language.
Campaign 4: Last Call/Exclusive
JewelMint’s “Last Call” email is a prime example of activating your customers to buy without the pressure of a sales pitch. This email shows popular items from the member community and plainly states there aren’t many left. The clean format and beautiful pictures nestled next to simple copy is a huge email marketing win. Your subscription box members will feel like they’re being given exclusive access to scarce products that will be gone any minute. This taps into the age-old saying that “We always want what we can’t have.” If used correctly, this type of email can help move old inventory and translate into serious sales.
Campaign 5: Unboxed Reviews & Ratings
Birchbox’s “Unboxed” email campaign accomplishes many things at once. First, they are following up with their customers to make sure they were satisfied with the products, a gesture that goes a long way. They are rewarding customers who give product reviews with points, compliments and a chance to win a relevant prize with actual value. If you are a subscription box partnering with different companies and brands in order to get samples, solid and constructive product reviews from their targeted audience are great for relationship building. On a more basic level, collecting product reviews is a great way to engage your customers and capture insight that will improve your offerings and subscription business as a whole.
