Crafting eCommerce Emails That Beg to Be Opened
Emails remain a powerful tool for connecting with customers and driving sales. Yet, in a time when inboxes are inundated with messages, crafting emails that not only capture attention but also compel recipients to open them is both an art and a science.
Listen to the Real eCommerce Podcast episode about eCommerce email marketing with bestselling eCommerce author Chloë Thomas
Emails are perfect for retargeting, allowing businesses to reach out to users who have shown interest but haven't made a purchase. By segmenting email lists based on user behaviour and preferences, companies can send personalised offers, abandoned cart reminders and tailored content that re-engages potential customers. This targeted approach helps convert casual browsers into loyal buyers, maximising the value of the collected data.
We’ve put together a detailed guide on how to design eCommerce emails that stand out, drive engagement and boost sales, ensuring your messages not only reach your audience but also resonate with them.
Keeping Your Email List Updated
An updated email list is crucial for effective email marketing. Regularly clean your list to remove inactive subscribers, incorrect email addresses and spam traps. This practice not only improves your engagement rates but also helps avoid deliverability issues. Plus, it ensures that you’re reaching people who genuinely want to hear from you.
Double Opt-In
Implementing a double opt-in process can further enhance the quality of your email list. This means that after a user signs up, they receive a confirmation email asking them to verify their subscription. This step ensures that the email address is valid and that the subscriber is genuinely interested in receiving your emails. It helps to prevent fake sign-ups and reduces the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.
Key Takeaway: Regularly updating and cleaning your email list, along with implementing a double opt-in process, ensures higher engagement rates, better deliverability and a more genuine audience interested in your communications.
Crafting Irresistible Subject Lines
The subject line is your first impression and it's crucial to get it right. A compelling subject line should be:
1. Short and Sweet
Keep it brief, ideally 6-10 words. Mobile devices often truncate longer subject lines, so make sure your key message is upfront. For instance, "Exclusive Sale Just for You" or "New Arrivals You’ll Love."
2. Personalised
Emails with personalised subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.¹
Use the recipient's name or reference their past behaviour or preferences. Personalisation makes your email feel more relevant and engaging. For example, "Sarah, Check Out These New Styles" or "You Left Something Behind, John."
3. Enticing
Create a sense of urgency or curiosity. Phrases like "Exclusive Offer Inside" or "Limited Time Only" can pique interest and encourage immediate action. However, balance urgency with authenticity to maintain trust.
4. Clear and Honest
Avoid clickbait. Ensure the subject line accurately reflects the email's content to prevent disappointment or frustration. Misleading subject lines might increase open rates initially but often lead to unsubscribes and spam complaints.
5. Use Humour
A dash of humour can make your subject line stand out and create a positive connection with your audience. For example, "You Knead This Doughnut Deal!". Humour can make your email more memorable and engaging, encouraging higher open rates.
6. Provide Value
Clearly state the value that your email offers. Make it obvious why the recipient should open the email. For instance, "Get 20% Off Your Next Purchase" or "Unlock Exclusive Access to New Arrivals". When the value is apparent in the subject line, recipients are more likely to feel compelled to open the email.
Key Takeaway: The most important part of crafting an irresistible subject line is ensuring it is personalised, as emails with personalised subject lines are significantly more likely to be opened, making your message feel relevant and engaging to the recipient.
Engaging Preheader Text
The preheader text is the preview snippet that follows the subject line in many email clients. This secondary line can greatly influence whether the email gets opened. Make sure it:
1. Complements the Subject Line
Provides additional context or teases the content of the email. For example, if your subject line is "Exclusive Offer Inside," the preheader could read "20% off on your next purchase – limited time only."
2. Adds Value
Highlight benefits or offers. For example, "Free shipping on orders over £50" or "New members save 10%."
3. Stays Concise
Keep it between 40-50 characters to ensure it displays correctly on most devices. A succinct preheader text like "Shop now and enjoy exclusive deals" can effectively entice readers.
Key Takeaway: Writing engaging preheader text that complements the subject line, adds value and stays concise can significantly influence your email open rates by providing additional context and enticing readers with clear benefits.
Personalisation and Segmentation
Generic emails are easily ignored. Tailoring your messages to the individual preferences and behaviours of your customers can significantly boost open rates and engagement. Here are some strategies to consider:
1. Behaviour-Based Triggers
Send emails based on specific actions, like cart abandonment, browsing history or past purchases. If a customer has left items in their cart, an email with a subject line like "Still Interested in Your Cart Items?" can encourage them to complete the purchase.
2. Dynamic Content
Use dynamic fields to insert personalised recommendations, names and other relevant information. For example, an email might start with "Hi Emily, we thought you might like these new arrivals" and showcase products similar to her past purchases.
3. Segmentation
Segmented emails drive 30% more opens and 50% more click-throughs than unsegmented ones.²
Group your audience by demographics, purchase history and engagement levels to send more relevant emails. For instance, new subscribers might receive a welcome series introducing them to your brand, while loyal customers could get early access to sales.
Key Takeaway: Personalisation and segmentation are crucial for increasing email engagement; tailoring messages based on individual behaviours and preferences, and using segmented lists, can significantly boost open rates and click-throughs.
Visually Appealing Design
A visually appealing email can make a significant difference in whether recipients engage with your content. Consider the following elements:
1. Clean Layout
Use a clean, uncluttered design with a clear hierarchy. Ensure that key information stands out and that your email is easy to scan. Employ white space effectively to prevent the email from feeling overwhelming.
2. Mobile Optimisation
About 53% of emails are opened on mobile devices.¹
Ensure your emails look great on all devices. Over half of emails are opened on mobile, so use responsive design techniques. Test your emails on multiple devices and email clients to ensure they are universally accessible.
3. High-Quality Images
Use vibrant, high-resolution images that align with your brand. Visuals should enhance the message without distracting from the content. For example, if you're promoting a new product line, use professional images of the products in various settings.
4. Compelling Call-to-Action
Including a call-to-action button instead of a text link can increase conversion rates by as much as 28%.³
Your CTAs should be prominent and persuasive. Use contrasting colours and actionable language like "Shop Now," "Discover More," or "Get Started." Position the CTAs strategically within the email to maximise visibility and encourage clicks.
Key Takeaway: A visually appealing email with a clean layout, high-quality visuals and compelling CTAs that is optimised for mobile devices can boost recipient engagement and conversion rates significantly, making your email marketing more effective.
Engaging Content
Content is king, even in emails. Keep your audience engaged with:
1. Concise Copy
Get to the point quickly. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to make your email easy to read. Avoid large blocks of text that might deter readers. For example, instead of a lengthy description, use "Top features: Lightweight, durable, stylish."
2. Storytelling
Share a compelling story or behind-the-scenes look at your products. Storytelling can humanise your brand and create an emotional connection with your audience. For example, narrate the journey of how a product is made or highlight customer success stories.
3. Exclusive Offers
Promote limited-time discounts, early access or special promotions. Make your subscribers feel valued with exclusive deals. For instance, "Subscriber-Only Flash Sale – 24 Hours Only" can drive urgency and make subscribers feel special.
Key Takeaway: Engaging content, characterised by concise copy, storytelling and exclusive offers, is essential for keeping your audience interested and driving action in your email marketing campaigns.
Timing and Frequency
Timing can significantly impact your open rates. Test different times and days to see what works best for your audience. Some general tips include:
1. Optimal Timing
Research suggests that mid-week and mid-morning times are often effective for email opens, but this can vary based on your audience. Conduct A/B tests to determine the best sending times for your specific customer base.
2. Avoid Overwhelming
Bombarding your subscribers with too many emails can lead to unsubscribes or spam complaints. A well-planned schedule that balances regular engagement without overwhelming your audience is key. Consider a frequency that maintains interest but respects your customers’ inboxes.
Key Takeaway: Finding the optimal timing for your emails and maintaining a balanced frequency are crucial for maximising open rates and engagement while avoiding subscriber fatigue and potential unsubscribes.
Avoiding Spam Filters
Nothing is more frustrating than producing the perfect email only to have it end up in the spam folder. Here are a few tips to avoid spam filters:
1. Use a Reputable Email Service Provider
A good provider will have built-in tools to help you avoid spam triggers and ensure your emails are delivered.
2. Authenticate Your Emails
High bounce rates or spam complaints can hurt your sender reputation. Use SPF, DKIM and DMARC to prove your emails are coming from a legitimate source. This builds trust with email clients and helps improve deliverability.
3. Avoid Spammy Language
Words like "Free," "Guaranteed," and excessive punctuation or capital letters can trigger spam filters. Be mindful of your language and keep it professional.
4. Include an Unsubscribe Link
Ensure there’s an easy-to-find unsubscribe option. This not only complies with regulations but also shows respect for your audience. It can also help to maintain a clean list and provides insight into why customers choose to leave, helping you improve your strategy.
Key Takeaway: To avoid having your emails end up in the spam folder, authenticate your emails using SPF, DKIM and DMARC. This helps establish your legitimacy and improve deliverability, ensuring your carefully crafted emails reach your audience.
Testing and Analytics
Continuous improvement is crucial. Use A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines, send timing, designs and content. Analyse your results to understand what resonates with your audience and refine your strategy accordingly. Key metrics to track include:
1. Open Rates
Indicate how well your subject lines and preheaders are performing. Low open rates may suggest a need for more compelling or relevant headlines.
2. Click-Through Rates
Measure the effectiveness of your email content and CTAs. High open rates with low click-through rates could indicate that while your subject line is enticing, the content inside isn’t compelling enough.
3. Bounce Rates
Monitor bounce rates to identify issues with email deliverability. High bounce rates can indicate problems with your email list quality or technical issues that need attention.
4. Conversion Rates
Track how many recipients take the desired action, such as making a purchase. This metric helps you understand the overall effectiveness of your email campaigns in driving sales.
Key Takeaway: Regularly conducting A/B testing and analysing key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates is essential for refining your email strategy and ensuring continuous improvement in engagement and effectiveness.
Additional Tips
Use Social Proof
Incorporate customer reviews, testimonials or user-generated content to build trust and credibility. Social proof can be a powerful motivator for hesitant customers.
Engage Inactive Subscribers
Re-engage inactive subscribers with a targeted campaign. Offer a special discount or ask for feedback to understand why they’ve disengaged. This can help reduce churn and increase the effectiveness of your email list.
Whether you're launching a new product, promoting a sale or simply nurturing customer loyalty, each email you send is an opportunity to connect with your audience. By following these guidelines and staying focused on delivering value, you can create email campaigns that not only get opened but also inspire action and foster long-term customer engagement.
