How to Automate Follow Up Emails: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Automated follow up emails are a great way to build relationships with your customers, keep them informed, and ultimately increase sales. This type of email is sent automatically based on user behavior or predetermined criteria, such as signing up for an account or making a purchase. By automating follow up emails, you can save time and effort while still providing personalized messages that make customers feel valued.

Definition of Automated Follow Up Emails

An automated follow up email is an email message that is sent out automatically on a predetermined schedule or in response to user behavior. Automated follow up emails can be used to confirm purchases, welcome new customers, re-engage inactive customers, and much more. These emails are triggered by certain actions and are sent without any manual effort on the part of the sender.

Overview of Benefits

Automated follow up emails offer several advantages over manually sending emails. For starters, they can save time and effort, freeing up your staff to focus on other tasks. Additionally, automated emails allow you to send highly targeted messages that are tailored to each individual customer. This helps to increase engagement and can lead to increased conversions. Finally, automated follow up emails are great for keeping customers informed and building relationships over time.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Automated Follow Up Emails

Setting up automated follow up emails is relatively easy, but there are several steps you need to take in order to ensure success. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up automated emails:

1. Identifying the Goals and Objectives of the Email

Before you start setting up your automated emails, it’s important to identify the goals and objectives of the email. What do you want the email to accomplish? Are you trying to increase sales, boost engagement, or something else? Answering these questions will help you determine the best approach to take with your automated emails.

2. Choosing the Right Email Platform

Once you know what you want to accomplish with your automated emails, it’s time to choose the right email platform. There are a variety of options available, so take the time to research the different platforms and find one that meets your needs. Make sure the platform you choose has the features and capabilities you need to create and manage automated emails.

3. Creating Segmented Audiences

The next step is to create segmented audiences for your automated emails. This means creating different groups of recipients based on their interests, behaviors, demographics, etc. By creating segmented audiences, you can ensure that your automated emails are tailored to each recipient and have the greatest impact.

4. Writing Your Email Content

Now it’s time to write your email content. This is an important step, as the content of your emails will determine whether or not they are successful. Take the time to craft engaging and relevant content that resonates with your audience. You should also include calls to action in your emails to encourage recipients to take action.

5. Setting Up Automation Rules

Once you’ve written your email content, you need to set up automation rules. This involves determining when and how often the emails should be sent, as well as what triggers should cause the emails to be sent. For example, you might set up an automation rule that sends a welcome email to new subscribers within 24 hours of signing up.

Different Types of Automated Follow Up Emails

There are several different types of automated follow up emails you can send. Here are some of the most common types:

Welcome Emails

Welcome emails are sent to new subscribers or customers to introduce them to your brand and provide them with helpful information. They should include a warm greeting, a brief introduction to your company, and a call to action.

Abandoned Cart Emails

Abandoned cart emails are sent to customers who have added items to their shopping cart but have not completed the purchase. These emails should encourage customers to complete the purchase by offering incentives such as discounts or free shipping.

Confirmation Emails

Confirmation emails are sent to customers after they have made a purchase. These emails should thank the customer for their purchase and provide them with important information such as tracking numbers and estimated delivery dates.

Re-Engagement Emails

Re-engagement emails are sent to inactive customers to try and encourage them to come back to your website or app. These emails should include a compelling offer and provide a clear call to action.

Post-Purchase Follow Up Emails

Post-purchase follow up emails are sent to customers after they have made a purchase. These emails should thank the customer for their purchase and ask for feedback. They can also be used to encourage repeat purchases or upsell additional products or services.

Examples of Effective Automated Follow Up Emails

To get a better understanding of how automated follow up emails work, let’s look at a few examples of effective ones:

Example 1

This is an example of a welcome email from a clothing retailer. The email includes a warm greeting, an introduction to the company, and a call to action to shop the latest collection. The email also includes images of the latest products and a discount code to encourage customers to make a purchase.

Example 2

This is an example of an abandoned cart email. The email includes a gentle reminder of the items left in the customer’s cart, as well as a link to the checkout page and a discount code to encourage them to complete their purchase.

Example 3

This is an example of a post-purchase follow up email. The email thanks the customer for their purchase and encourages them to leave a review. It also includes a link to the company’s social media pages, as well as a coupon code for their next purchase.

Personalizing Automated Follow Up Emails

Personalization is key when it comes to automated follow up emails. By including personalization elements, you can make your emails more engaging and increase the chances of conversion. Here are some tips for personalizing automated emails:

Use Dynamic Content

Dynamic content allows you to tailor the content of your emails based on the recipient’s interests, behaviors, demographics, and more. This ensures that each email is tailored to the individual recipient and increases the chances of engagement.

Personalize the Subject Line

The subject line is one of the most important elements of any email, so it’s important to personalize it. Try using the recipient’s name or a relevant keyword to make the email stand out in their inbox.

Include Relevant Images

Including relevant images in your emails can help to make them more engaging and visually appealing. Try using images that relate to the content of the email, such as product photos or illustrations.

Tips for Testing and Troubleshooting Automated Follow Up Emails

Testing and troubleshooting are essential for ensuring that your automated follow up emails are successful. Here are some tips for testing and troubleshooting:

Test the Timing of Your Emails

It’s important to test the timing of your automated emails to make sure they are being sent at the optimal time. Try sending emails at different times of the day and week to see which times yield the best results.

Monitor Email Performance

Monitoring email performance is essential for ensuring that your emails are having the desired effect. Track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see which emails are performing best.

Analyze Open Rates

Analyzing open rates can help you understand why your emails aren’t getting opened. Look for patterns in the data to determine which emails are being opened and which are being ignored.

Tools and Resources Available to Help Automate Follow Up Emails

There are a variety of tools and resources available to help you automate follow up emails. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Email Marketing Services

Email marketing services such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact offer automation tools that make it easy to set up and manage automated emails. These services provide templates, analytics, and other features to help you create effective automated emails.

Automation Software

Automation software such as Zapier and IFTTT can be used to automate your emails. These services allow you to integrate your email platform with other applications and automate tasks such as sending emails based on user behavior or other triggers.

Third Party Integrations

Third party integrations such as Salesforce and HubSpot offer automation tools that make it easy to set up and manage automated emails. These integrations provide templates, analytics, and other features to help you create effective automated emails.

Conclusion

Automated follow up emails offer a great way to build relationships with your customers, keep them informed, and ultimately increase sales. This article provided a step-by-step guide to setting up automated follow up emails, as well as examples of different types of emails and tips for personalizing and testing. Additionally, we discussed the various tools and resources available to help you automate follow up emails.