Use the newsletter to boost sales of your e-shop

Monday 6 november 2023

Between the daily management of your e-commerce and the use of social networks, we know, you are already very busy! However, if this is not yet the case, we advise you to add a complementary dimension to your communication: emailing, better known as a newsletter.

And if we are talking to you about the newsletter today it is because, contrary to popular belief, it is the marketing tool that offers the best return on investment. This is even more true when we talk about newsletters in the context of e-commerce.

What is a newsletter?

A newsletter is an email that we send to our subscribers, i.e. to people who have expressed interest and given their consent to receive them.

Unlike a classic email (sent directly from your mailbox), the newsletter is sent using a system specifically created for this and which allows, among other things, to:

Create beautiful layouts that are faithful to your brand and your graphic charter
Give your subscribers the opportunity to unsubscribe by clicking on a link in your newsletter (= obligatory)
Allow your subscribers to modify their data if they wish (example: their email address)
Send a large number of emails at once (while you risk being blocked if you do this with your classic mailbox)
Analyze data such as: the opening rate, the click rate or even the purchases that your newsletter will have caused on your e-shop
“Segment” your subscribers to send them more targeted content.

Why launch your newsletter as part of your e-shop?

It is often said that it is simpler and less expensive to retain a customer than to attract new ones. And, as such, a newsletter will create a much more reliable connection with your customers than social networks.

Instead, imagine: your newsletter arrives directly in your customers' mailboxes and remains there until it has been processed (read, filed or deleted). You will admit that the same cannot be said of your publications on social networks which are dependent on “bad algorithms” and the presence or not of your customers on the networks when you communicate. They are much more volatile than an email.

Should we abandon social networks anyway? Not at all.

It is even the combination of the 2 channels which will give the best result.
We could summarize things like this:

Networks are ideal for discovering your e-shop, for staying “top of mind”, for paid advertising, for sending your followers to your site or even… to the registration form for your newsletter.
The newsletter is perfect for creating a more successful relationship with your customers, to build their loyalty, to gain their trust and to bring them back regularly to your e-shop.

What do we say in a newsletter?

Whatever you want as long as it interests your subscribers and they benefit from it. This benefit can of course be financial (promo code, sales, special actions) but there are also other benefits that your subscribers can derive from your newsletter:

Useful information
Training
Inspiration
Entertainment
A feeling of belonging or exclusivity

Well, we're not going to lie to you... In the context of an e-shop, the most successful newsletter will almost always be the one which will offer something concrete to its subscribers and which will allow them to save money: a delivery free, a reduction, a free item.

You don't want to start the promo code race so as not to make more sales? Isn't that a calculation to be made? Something to try?

Below we will present you with inspiration for your newsletters according to 2 categories:

Automatic emails
“Spontaneous” or “on-demand” emails

Automatic emails

Automatic emails or automations work without intervention on your part behind the scenes of your e-shop. Of course, you have to make the effort to imagine them, create them and program them. But, after that, they “do the job” without you having to think about it.

How it works ?
For each automatic email, you will define a trigger (= trigger in English). This is an event which, when it occurs, automatically triggers the sending of the email that you have prepared in advance.

Below we review some automations and their triggers.

The welcome email

Trigger:
Registration of a new subscriber.

To send what:
A single email or a series of emails whose objective will be, for example, to:

Welcome your new subscriber
Introduce your activity
Tell your story or introduce your team
Explain what you will find in your newsletters and at what rate they will be sent (reassuring your subscribers)
Offer a welcome code which entitles you to a reduction, free delivery, a small gift with the next purchase

Birthday email

Trigger:
A specific date.

To send what:
An email to wish your subscriber a happy birthday. Generally, you add a promo code valid for a defined period on your next purchase.

The follow-up email

Trigger:
A purchase on the site.

To send what:
X days after purchase, an email is sent to:

Give usage tips or inspiration related to the purchased product
Ask the customer to give feedback, a testimonial or publish a review on Google (and possibly to reward for this)
Personalize your communication by recommending products based on previous purchases

Email to reward loyalty

Trigger:
A predefined purchase amount (in one or more orders) is reached.

To send what?
Do you have loyal customers? It's a good idea to let them know that you appreciate their support of your e-shop. You can send an automatic email to thank them, offer them a code for a reduction or a small gift valid for their next purchase.

The email to convert an abandoned cart

Trigger:
A (potential) customer has placed an item in their cart but has not completed their order.

To send what:
A customer can abandon their shopping cart for various reasons:

Because he filled several baskets on several sites without making up his mind yet
Because he had an internet connection problem
Because he was distracted or remembered a meeting

It is therefore not because a customer has left your e-shop by abandoning their basket that they no longer intend to buy at all.

The objective is clear: to bring the customer back to their basket so that they can finalize their purchase. The easiest way to get them to come back is to save their cart and display the items they wanted to purchase with a direct link to their abandoned cart. So he will only have to finalize his order.

The email can therefore be:

A simple reminder: “you forgot something”
A reminder with a small incentive to purchase (like offering free shipping or a discount)
>Information reminding us that the stock is decreasing rapidly (sense of urgency)

In conclusion

Here we have presented to you the simplest automations to set up as long as you have an e-shop compatible with an emailing system. You then “just” need to link your site with your emailing tool to be able to start working with these different triggers.

Most e-commerce CMS (like Shopify, WooCommerce or Prestashop) are compatible with major email providers (like Mailchimp, Mailerlite or ActiveCampaign).

“On-demand” emails

In addition to emails that are triggered automatically, you can of course send emails that you will create as you need them.

Here are some examples :

Present new products or the new collection
Take a specific action (promo code)
Announce sales
Give inspiration or tips for use
Stick to the news
React to a competitor's action

Note: These emails can also be prepared in advance and scheduled to send on a specific date.

Conclusion

As you will have understood, the Belgian e-shops team is convinced of the usefulness of a newsletter to boost the sales of your site.

If you embark on this adventure, the effect may not be immediate. It will indeed take a little time to build up your list of subscribers but it would be a shame to miss this opportunity.

Our advice: don't delay offering subscription to your newsletter even if you don't start sending emails right away.

Some strategic places to offer the subscription: