Email Marketing ROI: How To Sell More with Email

Did you know email marketing ROI is higher than any other digital marketing medium? When it comes to actual return on investment (ROI), eblasts will always be your highest performers.

Why is this? Email marketing ROI is so strong because the cost of sending emails is quite inexpensive compared to some other paid advertising options. More importantly, it offers you a highly personal way to build customer loyalty and in turn, repeat business. 

Goodness knows we get more email than ever these days. With that in mind, take it as a compliment every time a customer gives you access to their inbox. They’ve essentially told you, “I care about your brand and I want to know more.”

How to Measure Email Marketing ROI

For small business owners with countless other responsibilities, figuring out your email marketing ROI is often an afterthought (or not even on the to-do-list). How do you know if your hard work is paying off?

It’s actually pretty simple. Firstly, measuring your email marketing ROI comes down to tracking how many people visit your website directly from your emails.

You can find this metric in Google Analytics or your merchant provider like Shopify.

Secondly, you can even see how many people convert directly from email and track actual conversion rates.

Thirdly, you can review success metrics within your email marketing platform. Look for high open rates and click through rates as indicators for success.

When compared to your other marketing efforts, don’t be surprised to see how many sales comes straight from your eblasts.

Now that you know how easy it is to measure email marketing ROI, let’s talk about how to use emails to make more sales.

How to Make More Sales with Email Marketing

Simply creating the emails can seem daunting – coming up with topics, writing the email itself, tracking the results – the list goes on. However, you can actually streamline these efforts quite easily. The trick? Automation.

No time to plan, create and send monthly newsletters or bi-weekly product eblasts? Don’t worry!

Your email marketing can generate more revenue through automation even if you’re short on time. 

Tools like Mailchimp offer you the ability to set up automated campaigns such as a Welcome Series or New Customer Series, among others. If you are just getting started, simply choose one automation and invest about half of your day to set everything up. Half a day! That’s all it takes.

But wait…didn’t I just say email marketing is highly personal? How is automation personal? You may be surprised to learn that automations allow you to insert customer names, feature products they’ve recently viewed and update them with relevant promotions, among other things. These tools actually create a more personalized experience than a general product announcement ever could.

The most effective way to use email marketing comes down to one golden rule:

Provide tangible value every time you reach out. 

To illustrate this, let’s review how to create one of my favorite automations: the New Customer Series.

How to Use a New Customer Series to Make More Sales

Whether you’re selling a product or a service, following up with a new customer is imperative. Use a three-step automation to enhance your customer service and build loyalty. It looks like this:

Email #1 – Thank You for Your Business | Send Immediately

Welcome your new customer and authentically thank them for supporting your small business. Include basic but valuable info that buyers have come to expect, like delivery date and return policy (if applicable). Link to your social media platforms and kindly invite them to become part of your social family.

Email #2 – Product Arrival or Service Update | Send ~3 Days After Arrival

This email should arrive shortly after your product is delivered, or within a few days of your services being retained. How do you provide value here? Check in with your customer and offer them easy ways to reach you for help, if needed. Then, find out if their product arrived safely OR if they have any questions about the service you provide. This email should show how much you care about their satisfaction.

Email #3 – Review + Incentive | Send ~4-5 Days Later

Positive reviews are worth their weight in gold. That’s an article for another time, but trust me, you need to actively solicit reviews. An email that only asks for a review does not provide value to your customer. And remember, every email MUST include value.

Incorporate an incentive so you don’t wear out your inbox-welcome. Try any of these ideas:

• A percentage off their next purchase
• A chance to win a gift card
• A freebie they can redeem immediately

You can choose something your customer will truly find valuable and use it to further cement their fondness for your company.

Have time to create a fourth email? Your New Customer Series will be even more likely to produce additional revenue with this:

Email #4 – Limited Time Promotion | Send ~7-10 Days Later

Your new customer has now had enough time to fall in love with your product or service. They’re primed to become a repeat buyer! Provide a time sensitive promotion a few weeks after their initial purchase and highlight the LIMITED TIME aspect.

This email should include some featured products / services similar to what they recently purchased. Great news! These features are automatically tailored. They’re based on individual customers’ browsing and purchase behavior. You don’t have to customize it every time. Amazing, right?

Conclusion

I hope this article helps your email marketing become a growing revenue stream. And, you don’t have to be a graphic designer or an incredible writer to be successful! Utilize templates and automations to build beautiful and effective campaigns.

Learn more about digital marketing on my blog!

Let me know if these email marketing tips work for you by emailing me at rachel@bellestrategies.com or dropping me a line on social media @rachelcreveling.