Why Is Email Marketing Necessary For Your Shopify Store?

Around the world, 36% of people use Emails. Ecommerce email marketing has become one of the most powerful and easiest ways to connect with people.

No wonder why many stores prefer Shopify email marketing to any other medium to interact with their customers.

Email marketing campaigns offer a more dynamic, personal, and targeted way of communication with clients/customers. Yet many eCommerce store owners are unaware of Shopify email marketing and its benefits.

If you are one among them, then you are at the right place. In this article, let us discuss more on Shopify email best practices and why do you need email marketing on Shopify.

What is Ecommerce Email marketing?

Ecommerce Email marketing is a prominent marketing strategy followed by eCommerce businesses around the world. It is the process of sending emails to prospects in order to interact and engage with them.

Emails help eCommerce stores to convert their leads into buyers and then into loyal customers through personalized interactions.

The reason why Ecommerce Email marketing on Shopify is more favorable among other marketing mediums is because of its cost-effectiveness and flexibility.

Welcome email, Transactional email, Referral email, Thank you email are some of the emails that merchants send as part of their eCommerce email marketing strategy.

How does eCommerce email marketing work?

Ecommerce Email marketing works in a series of processes. Firstly, you build your email list of your potential customers who are likely to become your loyal ones.

You can keep adding members to the list as your campaign goes on.

Secondly, you create your assets(newsletters, templates, etc.) that you are going to send to your customers. It is recommended to devise a proper Shopify email marketing strategy beforehand.

At last, you can find a good Email service provider to send your emails effortlessly. Availing ESPs is one of the best email marketing practices.

Why do I need an email service provider?

Email service providers are specifically built to send and manage eCommerce email marketing campaigns. It increases your email deliverability.

Tools like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook are designed for personal use. If you send promotional email series through these tools, it will probably be flagged as spam.

That is why you need an ESP, it can help you send an email blast and also improve your deliverability.

ESPs like,

• Sendinblue
• MailerLite
• MailChimp
• ConvertKit
• HubSpot

Can help you send and manage your eCommerce email marketing campaign effectively.

Once your eCommerce email marketing campaign is live, you have to constantly track its metrics to see what is working for you and what’s not.

There are some crucial KPIs that you must track which we will discuss below.

By tracking these KPIs, you can re-strategize your marketing strategy and streamline your campaign once again.

Why is email marketing necessary for your Shopify store?

Alright, as of now, we have seen what is email marketing and how it works, but the question that many eCommerce stores ask is why do I need it? Is it necessary for my store?

Well, the answer is, Yes. You do need it and here is why.

It is cost-effective

The first reason as to why email marketing is necessary is that it is one of the most cost-effective marketing platforms. It allows eCommerce store owners to engage with hundreds of customers within seconds and with minimal cost.

If you are launching your new business then eCommerce email marketing can make wonders for you.

A recent study says that eCommerce email marketing is one of the effective tactics for lead generation and customer acquisition.

Traditional marketing methods like posters, banners, advertisements, etc can cost you more money and manpower.

Whereas with email marketing on Shopify, the cost to set up is virtually zero and you can also minimize your manpower through campaign automation using your Email service providers. It also costs much less than social media marketing campaigns too.

Email marketing is effective than Social media

Not only does the eCommerce Email marketing strategy cost you less than Social media, but it is also more effective.

Is Social media a bad marketing medium?

No, not really.

Social media is still one of the major marketing mediums for many eCommerce stores. It creates chances for better interaction with your customers.

But when it comes to converting leads into loyal customers quicker, then email marketing on Shopify will win the race.

Also, while acquiring new customers, social media doesn’t perform quite well like Email marketing.

Why?

Because email marketing is more direct, it falls right into your customer’s inbox, so the engagement is high. And let us not forget that you can personalize your emails with amazing WordPress plugins to entice your customers.

Reports say that emails, in general, have a 79% delivery rate and have a higher conversion rate than social media.

So, there you go, this is another major reason why Shopify email marketing is necessary for your store.

Emails have greater reach

Another importance of Shopify email marketing is it has better reach. Social media users have reached a whopping 3.7 billion. That’s quite a reach for a marketing platform.

But what many people don’t see is the reach of emails. 4 billion, yes this is the reach of emails, quite surprised?

A common misconception in the marketing world is that social media has a better reach than emails, but it’s not. Emails have been used for quite a long time and almost every user uses them often.

You can clearly see in the above image how email is far ahead of other platforms. Also, just think about it, without an email you cannot log in to any social media.

You can find many people without a social media account but not without an email. And that’s why it is easy to engage with customers through email.

No wonder email is called ‘the currency of the internet’, you cannot access anything without a proper email and that is why it has a wider reach.

Emails have better conversions

The crucial goal for any marketer is to achieve better conversions. And that is why they flock to eCommerce email marketing.

Shopify email analytics prove that emails are the undisputed king among other channels in achieving conversions like converting a lead into a customer, referral into a repeated customer, etc.

To put it to perspective, Twitter has a click-through rate of 0.5%, whereas Email’s click rate is 3%. This proves that emails can persuade a customer to click on a link than Twitter.

Like we said before, Emails are direct, it falls right into the customer’s pocket and you can entice them to take action through the email preheaders and subject lines, thus intriguing them without even opening the mail.

You can also send Follow-up emails and convert them into loyal customers through constant engagement. This is something that more marketing mediums can’t offer.

There you go, we have just listed another crucial reason why your store needs a Shopify email marketing campaign.

Emails have the highest ROI – Let us not forget

Another major reason why email marketing is necessary is that it produces the highest ROI.

Surprising, isn’t it?

The return on investment for every $1 spent on emails is higher than any other marketing medium.

As mentioned earlier, Emails have better open rates and click-through rates than any other mediums. Also, it costs you much less to send an email.

These factors contribute to its higher ROI.

Measuring eCommerce email marketing is easy

Many eCommerce store owners do not initiate an email marketing campaign easily. It is because they think that it will be tough to track and measure it.

But this is a major misconception, Shopify email marketing campaigns are very easy to measure.

All you need to do is to calculate some crucial KPIs, formulate and consolidate the measurement data. And you will know how good your campaign has performed.

Crucial KPIs to be measured,

• Open Rate
• Click-through rate
• Bounce rate
• Conversion rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• Delivery rate

These KPIs will help you understand how well your email campaign is performing. Then you can optimize your eCommerce email marketing strategy and even some improvements can be done.

Emails can be targeted better

Using personalized email marketing tactics, you can increase your customer’s loyalty.

And emails let you do that effortlessly, you can create and send targeted campaigns to your customer, unlike any other marketing medium.

Also, you would have already created Buyer personas for each customer. You can segment them into separate lists and target your campaigns.

This kind of personalization sets email marketing apart from any other social marketing mediums.

Emails are used by almost everyone

A simple reason why email marketing is necessary for your Shopify store is, it is used by everyone.

Yes, as simple as that. Gone are those days where everyone used to have an account on social media. Now not everyone is interested in them.

But emails are evergreen, it is hard to kick it out of the market.

You do not need to spend much, you do not need to choose a certain social media. You just need an Email and a service provider, your email marketing campaign is good to go.

Alright, maybe these facts proved you the importance of Shopify email marketing. Many eCommerce stores have already agreed upon it, it is time you do it too.

Types of email marketing campaigns

So, now you know why email marketing on Shopify is necessary for your store. But do you know what types of emails available to send to your customers?

As a part of your email marketing campaign, you can send many emails to your customers using Shopify email marketing apps. All in an effort to increase your engagement with them.

Here are some of the most prominent emails that most eCommerce stores include in their email campaign.

Welcome Emails

Shopify welcome emails are one of the best email types sent when your customers sign-up to your store, subscribes to your newsletter, or purchases the product.

Shopify welcome emails will probably be your first engagement with the customers, so make sure to have a clear CTA and enticing design.

Newsletter Email

You can send updates of your store, new product updates, special offers through Shopify newsletter emails.

Shopify newsletter emails give you a chance to educate your customers about your brand. So, don’t avoid them.

Follow Up Emails

If you want your customers to stay loyal to your store then you’ve got to send follow-up emails after they make a purchase.

It may be after they place an order or subscribe to your newsletter but you must acknowledge their effort by sending an email.

Offer Emails

If your store is offering any special offers or discounts or a holiday season sale. You can alert your customers about it through Special offer emails.

Giving your customers a heads up will drive them to gear up for the sale and it will fetch you more revenue.

Abandoned cart email

These are the emails that you send to your customers who have abandoned their cart at checkout. They can bring back your lost revenue.

You can create an Abandoned cart campaign in your store using Shopify email marketing apps like Retainful and send a series of cart recovery emails to your customers, requesting them to return to your store and recover their cart.

Review Email

You can send these emails as part of your eCommerce email marketing strategy to your customers and request them to write a review for your product or store.

Add a direct link to the review section in the email to make it easier for the customer to post a review. It is a great way to increase your social proof.

Referral Email

Emails pave a great way to acquire new customers. Simply you can send a Referral email to your existing customers and request them to refer their friends to your store.

Also, include the Referral rewards in the email that they can earn by referring their friends. This will help you increase your customer loyalty and build a new customer base.

Thank You Email

This is one of the mandatory emails in your eCommerce email marketing strategy along with the Welcome email.

You can customize your Thank you email as an order confirmation email, Referral email, Review request email, etc. based on your requirements.

You can also send Next order coupons through these emails and encourage your customers to drive repeated purchases in your store.

So, these are some of the popular email types that eCommerce stores send to their customers using Shopify email marketing apps to keep them engaged. It also increases your customer loyalty.

How to measure eCommerce Email marketing?

Like we said before, one of the major reasons for eCommerce stores to prefer email marketing is because eCommerce email marketing is easy to track.

To gauge the success of your Shopify email marketing strategy, there is a set of crucial Shopify email analytics that you must keep an eye on. These KPIs will give you the verdict of your campaign.

Let us list out those Shopify email analytics/KPIs,

Open Rate

Open rate is the measure of the number of emails opened by the customer or recipients to the total number of emails delivered.

Crisp and Clear subject lines can increase your open rates.

Click-Through Rate

Click-through rate is a measure of the number of clicks your email has received. Good content and an enticing CTA will increase the click rate.

If a customer has clicked on a link in your email then it means that your content is engaging enough. As a result, you get your conversions.

Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is a measure of undelivered emails. This can help you re-strategize your email deliverability.

It is further classified as Hard bounce and Soft bounce. When there is no recipient email then it is a Hard bounce, if it is undelivered due to other reasons like ‘Inbox is full’ then it is a soft bounce.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is the measure of customers who opened your email, clicked on a link, and went on to complete a purchase, Refer a friend, etc.

This helps you identify your quality leads and you can entice them into becoming your loyal customers.

Unsubscribe Rate

Unsubscribe rate gives you the percentage of people who have opted out from your email service.

If your unsubscription rate is more than 1% then you must scrutinize your content to make it more engaging. Providing valuable content can help you minimize your unsubscription rate.

Delivery rate

The delivery rate gives you the percentage of total emails delivered to your customers. It will never be equal to the number of emails sent.

Some emails would have bounced. Subtracting the bounced emails from the number of emails sent will give you the delivery rate.

Include these Shopify email analytics/KPIs in your eCommerce email marketing measurement plan, will show your campaign performance. You can easily calculate these KPIs and strategize your plans accordingly. Tracking these metrics is one of the best email marketing practices that can help you increase your conversions rates.

Conclusion

Email marketing is one of the cost-effective marketing mediums that can help you promote your store and build your credibility effortlessly. But still, many eCommerce stores are oblivious to the benefits of email marketing.

That’s why we created this ultimate guide on email marketing to show you, why your Shopify store needs it and the best email marketing practices to make sure that you don’t get oblivious of it too.

Ecommerce Email marketing is cheaper than any other medium, if you don’t get hold of it then you are missing out on a gold mine. There are plenty of Shopify email marketing apps that can help you refine your email marketing campai