Why you should be using email flows

WHAT ARE FLOWS AND WHICH FLOWS DO I NEED TO SET UP?

Email marketing is an invaluable tool that can nurture relationships and boost sales, and today, we're talking about flows. 

So, what is an email flow, and how does it work? Flows are a set of pre-written emails triggered by a specific audience behaviour or list. Lists could include new subscribers, people who have just purchased, VIPs who have purchased more than three times...you get the gist. Using specific lists as triggers means you influence which audience members go into each flow based on their behaviour.

Now, let's dive into which flows you want to set up for your email marketing. 

As with everything, you want to start with a warm welcome! Get your welcome series flow set up as a priority. Give your subscribers an incentive to be there; maybe offer a discount or free shipping as a thank-you for signing up. Incentivising early on is a great way to keep the list engaged, and you can cross-market products to encourage the audience to purchase. Do this further down the line, though; you don't want to hit them over the head with it, to begin with. 

Typically, you want your welcome series to be about five emails, sent over a month period, so you're not harassing but gently reminding the audience that you are there, giving them a bit of an insight into your story (to build brand loyalty) and that you have great products/services. 

Now you've welcomed, let's get them to check out, through browse and basket abandonment flows. The two are subtly different but have the same goal - to get the customer to complete their purchase. 

Browse abandon flow - sends an email if your customer spends time on a specific product page but doesn't add to their basket. 

Basket abandon flow - sends an email if your customer adds an item to their basket but doesn't complete the checkout process. "We caught you looking"/"Don't miss out! Check out now" are our favourite hooks to encourage checking out. 

Our tip here is not to offer a discount/free shipping right off the bat. Remind the user first, then in a second email (if they've not purchased) that's when you hit them with a discount/free shipping. 

So now you've encouraged a customer to check out, you still want to nurture them to either leave a review, purchase again, or just keep your brand in mind. This is where your post-purchase flow comes in very handy! 

Similarly to the welcome series, this flow should be about 5 emails long over the course of a month, as you don't want to be too keen. Typically, you want to thank the customer for their purchase, then you might want to ask them how it's going, maybe remind them of how to take care of or use your product. 

It's also nice to send an "About your company" email so they know who they have supported by making the purchase! You can also add an email about your social channels and where they can find you. 

The 3rd/4th email (just as long as it's not immediate) is the time to ask for a review, again offering them an incentive for leaving a review - a discount off their next purchase/free shipping/a free item with their next order are all great motivators! 

The more you get to know your customers you can also implement a win-back flow, to target unengaged subscribers, but again we must stress, don't be pushy! Offers and discounts are always a good idea in this respect, you want to incentivise these customers to come back and buy your products and services. If you're still not seeing results, clean the list and stop emailing. No one likes a needy ex… 

Need some more support with your email marketing and flows? We've got you. We offer a package to take the strain off you!