Most marketers would like to send a few extra emails out to their subscribers, to stay top of mind and possibly generate a few more sales. But there’s always the possibility of over-mailing if your not providing value.
If all of your emails are “buy now” ones, then, yes, you’ll most definitely be annoying if you send more of those. However, if you get even just a little bit creative, you can come up with all kinds of excuses to send more email—that subscribers will like to get.
To get your creative juices, we offer up 18 such ideas below…
There are—of course—the obvious reasons to send more email that you’re probably already doing:
- “Thank you for your order” emails
- Shipping confirmations
But why not keep them in the loop and send an email somewhere between the order being placed and the order being shipped? Why not a…
- “We’re working on your order” email?
Also, those “thank you” emails that you send when someone buys, registers or subscribes can be turned into something more, when you do a welcome series that can be just one email or several.
- Use a welcome email to acknowledge that someone has joined your list, and then follow up with a series of emails that educate them about your brand.
And on that note, you can…
- Do about anything as a series, and that gives you several excuses to email. You can do a “how to” series, for example, just as how to clean/use/maintain/get the most out of something they just bought or downloaded.
Then there’s introducing them to something new, while staying relevant to what they’ve already bought or expressed an interest in:
- “You might also like” emails aren’t just for retail. B2B marketers can use them too, to promote additional webinars or whitepapers, for example.
Another way to send more email is by asking your subscribers and customers for input. These kinds of emails not only give you an excuse to show up in the inbox, but can gather you invaluable information as well:
- Ask for feedback on a recent purchase, download or webinar.
- Ask for feedback on the emails you regularly send. You could ask for the input on the offers, content, frequency and/or design.
- Ask for feedback on a website redesign you’re considering or already launched.
- Ask them for ideas: What kinds of products or services would they like you to offer?
You can also send more email and be quite helpful when you send:
- Reminders about renewal dates, deadlines, sales, and when product is about to run out and should be reordered.
Then there are the more creative reasons to send emails, including:
- In celebration of an unusual holiday. Imagine the fun if your customers caught you celebrating Ferret Day, Tiara Day or Get Caught Reading Month, all of which take place during May. If you need ideas for unusual holidays to turn into reasons to send emails, try the Days of the Year
- Send a happy anniversary from the day they first subscribed or purchased. This is a chance to show appreciation for their patronage, and maybe re-engage them if they haven’t been engaged in a while. Plus it shows you’re paying attention!
- Speaking of re-engaging, “We miss you” emails can be very creative and can also be done as a series.
- You can also give them seasonal ideas that might or might not be related to what you’re selling. These can be summer yard care tips or ideas of Mother’s Day gifts…it should be something that’s at least a little bit connected to your business, but it should primarily be useful, helpful and seasonal.
- Tell them about upcoming events of interest, whether yours or someone else’s. Perhaps the nonprofit your business gives to is doing a fundraising event, or there’s a movie coming out that has some kind of connection to your business. Turn it into an inbox excuse!
- Tell them about something that happened, like opening a new store or branch office, or winning an award. These can be very engaging—not boring—emails if done right! People like to know whom they’re doing business with after all.
- And then there’s the “Just because…” email. What if—for no reason whatsoever—you sent an email just because, and you offered them a free download or a discount or you sent them a funny cartoon or video link? No sales pitch, not strings, just because you thought they’d enjoy the “just because…”
These are only ideas to get your creative juices flowing. There are probably as many reasons to send emails as there are subscribers, so go ahead and start brainstorming some today…and find a few more reasons to show up in that inbox in a way people will appreciate.
Gerald Marshall is Head of Operations at Email Industries, the folks behind Indiemark and BlackBox.