Would you like to send targeted, relevant messages to your contacts on an ongoing basis without lifting a finger? What about a seeing a steady stream of revenue without logging into your favorite ESP?
You can when you set up automated (or triggered) messages!
There are many different types of communications that you can set up to run in the background of your email program while you concentrate on the messages that need to be uniquely created and set up.
Not sure how to start?
Think about what information (usually fields in a database) you have for your contacts that you can leverage to send one-off, extremely targeted mailings.
Here are some automated messages ideas to consider based on this kind of information:
1. The birthday email. A classic. Offer a great discount to readers on their big day.
2. The “renewal” or “It’s been a year since…” reminder. If you run a subscription-based business, setting up automated reminders prompting folks to renew is essential and time-saving. You can also use this same idea to remind folks that they took a certain action this time last year and they may want to consider doing so again (great for annual fundraising or events!).
3. Balances updates each month. Running a loyalty program? Want to update your customer base on the points they can redeem now before they expire? Set up an email with a dynamic balance field to go out at the same time each month.
4. Gift reminders. Have a business based around special occasions? If I bought a bouquet or box of chocolates for Alexandra’s birthday last year, why not remind me that her birthday is coming back around and offer me gift ideas? (Note: You can do this retroactively, but it’s even better if you ask customers to set up gift reminders at point of sign-up.)
5. Product reviews. Send an email asking for a review of an item purchased (or event attended!) a number of days after the purchase date (when you believe the customer would have received the product and had time to use it). This helps the customer feel that their voice matters and you get reviews to use in future marketing efforts or on your Web site.
Don’t have as much customer data as you’d like? Take a survey, ask contacts to update their info and incentivize them to so.
You can also set up automated message based on email behavior, such as:
6. A welcome message for new sign-ups. A must!
7. A follow-up email to those who click through on particular messages.
8. A remail of a message that is not opened a certain amount of time later (with a new subject line, of course!).
9. A follow-up email for those who abandon shopping carts.
10. A “helpful hints guide” for using the widget just purchased. This is a great way to build customer relationships.
Some of these practices are expected, such as sending a welcome email after a sign-up, while others can/should be more subtle pushes (or gifts) based on behavior. You definitely want to beware of creating a Big Brother/”We’re watching you!” vibe and alter your messages accordingly.
Bottom line: Setting up automated message rules is one of the most effective ways of targeting your emails and getting the results you want. Spend a day or a week setting some up and see what happens. Once you find that your messages are working and tweaked to be optimal, you can let them run on their own in the background- at least until sometime later in the year when you wisely re-evaluate all your automated campaigns.
So, get moving and let me know how they work!
Kristen Gregory
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto
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