Email marketing is an incredibly powerful marketing strategy for Shopify stores as it can:
- Help you get more sales
- Build customer loyalty
- Increase customer lifetime value
But getting started with email marketing can be a bit daunting, which is why we created this beginner’s guide that covers everything you need to know, so let’s get started…
1: Choosing The Right Email Marketing App
When it comes to setting up email marketing on Shopify, you are going to need to install an app and as with everything on Shopify, there are plenty to options to choose from and you need to choose the right one for your business, so how do you choose?
Well, there are a few things to think about when it comes to choosing an email marketing app, including:
Fortunately, many app providers offer a free trial or free plan, which gives you the opportunity to try the app and see whether or not it is going to be the right choice for your store, we’ve tested all the popular options to find the Best Shopify Email apps to help you out.
2: Setting Up Your Email Lists
Once you have chosen which email marketing app to go with, you then need to get it set up on your store and once connected, ensure that customer data such as purchase history, browsing behavior, and preferences are synchronized between the two systems.
This synchronization enables you to segment your email list effectively, sending tailored campaigns based on customer interests and behaviors along with being able to automate processes such as abandoned cart emails, product recommendations and post-purchase follow-ups.
You do need to regularly monitor and maintain this integration to ensure data accuracy and consistency as any glitch or issue could cause you to lose out on sales, which obviously, you don’t want to do.
Segmenting Your Email Lists
A big mistake many Shopify stores make when it comes to email marketing is not segmenting their email list and just sending out emails to anyone and everyone who has subscribed to their email list.
This can not only result in poor performance of email campaigns but can also cost money depending on the size of your email list, so how do you begin to segment your email list?
Some email marketing apps will offer tools to help you do this and offer suggestions but if you want to take a more hands-on approach, you can begin by analyzing your customer data to identify common traits and behaviors and use this information to create distinct segments that reflect the unique preferences and needs of each group, for example, you can create segments for:
- Loyal customers
- First-time buyers
- Customers interested in specific product categories
This allows you to tailor your email content and promotions to resonate with each segment, increasing relevance and engagement.
You can also use automation tools to streamline the segmentation process and ensure timely delivery of targeted campaigns and you will need to monitor and refine your segments based on evolving customer behavior and feedback.
3: Building Your Email List
Choosing which app to use for your email marketing and getting everything set up is probably the easiest part of the process (sorry to say), one of the most challenging parts is building your email list.
This is because pretty much every ecommerce store is looking to convince people to join their list so what can you do to encourage people to join yours?
Choose The Right Email Collection Points
The first step in building your email list is providing ways for people to sign up and there are many different options, including:
- Website popup – there are many different types of pop-ups you can offer, such as entry, action and exit pop-ups
- Product pages – having a sign-up option directly on your product page
- Checkout page – having a checkbox on your checkout page that easily allows people to sign up
- Confirmation page – once a customer has completed a purchase, provide them with a sign-up option
- Footer – having a sign-up option in your site’s footer
- Notification Bar – a prompt to join your email list in the notification bar at the top of the page
Which one you choose will depend on the platform you are using for your store, what the email platform offers and also active testing to see which one provides the most sign-ups.
Offer a Lead Magnet Incentive
A sign-up box on it’s own won’t lead to many sign-ups as people don’t want to just hand over their email address, you have to give them a reason to sign up and this is what is called a lead magnet and there are a few options you could offer:
- eBook/Guide – this can work well for certain produce types
- Discount coupon – you can offer a discount on their first order or next order (good for confirmation page sign-ups)
- Free shipping coupon – if you charge for shipping, then you can offer a free shipping coupon on their first order
- Checklist/template – similar to the eBook/guide
As with where to place your sign-up box, what is going to work best will come down to testing as you need to see what encourages people to sign-up and it has to be something of value to your customer.
Make Signup Forms Clear and Simple
The final step for building your email list is to make your sign-up forms as easy to use as possible as this increases the chances of people signing up to your list and this includes things like:
- Limit required fields – don’t ask for too much information, first name and email address should be all you need but make sure you comply with any data protection requirements such as accepting your privacy policy etc
- Use clear, benefit-focused copy – clearly tell your customers what benefit they get by signing up to your list
- Ensure forms are mobile-friendly – make sure that your sign-up forms can be easily used on mobile devices
The aim of your sign-up form is to make it as easy as possible to join your list and these simple steps will help you achieve it and increase the chances of building your email list.
4: Creating Effective Email Campaigns
Once you have got everything set up on your store, know everything is working and have got some people on your list, it is time to start using email as a marketing tool.
Different Types Of Ecommerce Email Marketing Campaigns
Not all emails are the same and you want to use multiple different types of email marketing campaigns to engage with customers and drive sales, some of the different types include:
- Welcome Series – Introduce new subscribers to your brand, highlight key products or services and encourage them to explore your website further
- Abandoned Cart Emails – Remind customers who have left items in their cart to complete their purchase, often including incentives like discounts or free shipping to encourage conversion
- Product Recommendations – Based on customer browsing or purchase history, suggest relevant products to upsell or cross-sell, increasing average order value
- Promotional Campaigns – Inform subscribers about sales, discounts, or special offers to incentivize purchases and create a sense of urgency
- Re-engagement Campaigns – Reach out to inactive subscribers with targeted content or exclusive offers to rekindle their interest in your brand
- Post-Purchase Follow-ups – Thank customers for their purchase, provide order details, and invite feedback or reviews to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Event-based Campaigns – Celebrate milestones such as birthdays or anniversaries with personalized messages and exclusive offers, strengthening customer relationships
- Educational Content – Share valuable content such as how-to guides, product tutorials, or industry insights to establish your brand as a trusted authority and nurture long-term engagement
By using these different types of ecommerce email marketing campaigns, you can effectively engage customers, drive conversions and build lasting relationships with your audience.
Writing Compelling Subject Lines
After getting people to sign up to your email list, getting them to open your emails is the most challenging part of email marketing and by crafting compelling subject lines it helps your emails stand out in crowded inboxes and encourage recipients to open them, so how do you do this:
- Start by keeping them concise, preferably under 50 characters, to ensure they’re fully visible on mobile devices
- Use personalized language, addressing recipients by name or referencing their past interactions with your brand, to create a sense of relevance and connection
- Incorporate urgency or curiosity to prompt immediate action or intrigue, but ensure it aligns with the content of your email to maintain trust
Once again, testing is very important to find ways of increasing open rates, so try different subject lines to gauge their effectiveness and refine your approach over time and pay attention to analytics and feedback to understand what resonates with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Ultimately, writing compelling subject lines requires creativity, empathy, and a deep understanding of your audience’s preferences and behaviors. By continuously refining your approach, you can increase open rates and maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts.
Personalize Email Content
Pretty much everyone can spot a generic email these days and generally, these perform quite poorly and this is where personalizing email content by using customer data enhances engagement and builds stronger connections with your audience.
This is where segmenting your audience into distinct groups can be very helpful as it allows you to tailor your email content to each segment’s preferences, interests and needs.
And by addressing recipients by name, recommending products based on their past purchases or browsing history and customized promotional offers can really help to improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.
This can be done by using dynamic content blocks that automatically adjust the email content based on each recipient’s profile, ensuring relevance and maximizing engagement.
But be sure to regularly update and refine your customer data to ensure accuracy and effectiveness in your personalization efforts and continuously monitor performance metrics such as open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates to gauge the impact of personalized content and make adjustments as needed.
Designing emails for mobile devices
Mobile devices are a big part of today’s ecommerce landscape and you will find that a significant portion of email opens occur on smartphones and tablets.
So you want to ensure your emails are mobile-responsive, with a layout that adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes, along with:
- Keeping the design clean and uncluttered
- Prioritizing essential content and calls to action
- Using legible font sizes and white space to enhance readability on smaller screens
- Optimize images and graphics for quick loading times and use alt text for images to ensure accessibility
You want to regularly test your emails across various mobile devices and email clients to identify and address any display issues as this can help you can deliver a seamless and engaging experience to your mobile audience, which can lead to higher open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates.
Using Email Automation
Automation is your friend when it comes to email marketing and while with certain campaigns, you want to do this manually, there are times you want automated emails to be sent you based on triggers such as:
- Abandoned carts
- Product purchases
- Website visits
This can be done by leveraging data and behavior-based triggers as this allows you to send personalized emails at the right moment.
There are many different automated workflows you can create to streamline your email marketing efforts, from welcome series to post-purchase follow-ups and these workflows allow you to deliver targeted content and offers automatically, saving time and ensuring consistency in your messaging.
Once again, you want to regularly analyze performance metrics and refine your automation strategies to optimize engagement and conversion rates.
5: Analytics & Optimization
We’ve mentioned this numerous times throughout this guide but tracking and analytics are hugely important as without these, you won’t know what is and isn’t working, which means you can’t refine and improve your strategy.
Important Email Marketing Metrics
Understanding key email marketing metrics is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of your campaigns and optimizing your strategy for better results, some important metrics to track are:
- Open Rate – this is the percentage of recipients who opened your email
- Click-Through Rate (CTR) – this is the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link or call-to-action within your email
- Conversion Rate – this is the percentage of recipients who completed a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter
- Bounce Rate – this is the percentage of emails that were not delivered successfully to recipients’ inboxes
- Unsubscribe Rate – this is the percentage of recipients who opted out of receiving future emails
- Revenue per Email – this is how much revenue was generated from each email campaign
By regularly analyzing these metrics, you can begin to identify trends, areas for improvement and refine your email marketing strategy to maximize engagement and ROI.
A/B Testing
One of the key tools for getting the most out of your email marketing campaigns is A/B testing, also known as split testing and involves sending two variations of an email to different segments of your audience and comparing their performance to determine which version generates better results.
Common elements to test include:
- Subject lines
- Email copy
- Call-to-action buttons
- Images
- Sender names
And by analyzing metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, you can identify which elements work best with your audience and you can then apply these to future campaigns.
The reason why A/B testing is so useful is that it allows you to make data-driven decisions to improve campaign effectiveness and maximize ROI rather than just guessing what you think will work and it should be an ongoing process as things can change.
Improving Email Deliverability
You can do everything right but if your email doesn’t land in your customer’s inbox, it won’t do any good and that is why improving email deliverability is crucial so that your emails reach inboxes rather than being flagged as spam or ending up in the promotions or junk folder.
Some tips to improve email deliverability include:
- Maintaining a clean email list by regularly removing inactive or invalid email addresses to improve sender’s reputation
- Use a recognizable sender name and email address to establish trust with recipients
- Craft engaging subject lines and relevant content to reduce the likelihood of recipients marking your emails as spam
- Authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to verify your identity and prevent spoofing
- Monitor and manage your email sending frequency to avoid overwhelming recipients and triggering spam filters
- Honor unsubscribe requests promptly to maintain compliance with email regulations and demonstrate respect for recipients’ preferences
By following these steps, you do increase the chances of your emails actually being seen by your customers but it isn’t always a guarantee.
Managing Subscriber Preferences & Consent
Managing your subscriber preferences and consent is essential for maintaining a positive relationship with your email audience while ensuring compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
Be sure to provide clear and accessible options for subscribers to control their email preferences, including frequency of emails, types of content, and communication channels.
You also want to obtain explicit consent from subscribers before adding them to your email list and keep detailed records of consent to demonstrate compliance with regulations.
Along with offering easy ways for subscribers to opt-out or unsubscribe from your communications and honor these requests promptly.
By doing this, not only does it maintain your relationship with your audience but it also keeps you on the right side of regulations.
Conclusion
Bringing together the various things that have been covered in this guide, you can build the backbone of an effective email marketing strategy, to summarize:
- Choose the right email marketing app for your business and get it set up on your Shopify store
- Segment your audience
- Personalize your email content
- Leverage automation
- Pay attention to metrics
- Conduct A/B testing
- Prioritize email deliverability
- Manage subscriber preferences and consent
Not only do this help you build a high-quality and profitable email list but it can also build trust with your audience and make sure you are compliant, all of which are crucial for long-term success.
But remember, success in email marketing is an ongoing journey of refinement and adaptation to the evolving needs and behaviors of your audience, which is why it does take work and effort but the rewards can be huge.
Hi, I'm Paul, the Owner and Founder of EcommerceGold.
I ran my own Ecommerce Business for over 7 years and now help others start their own online retail empires!