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The 6 Marketing Emails Your Brand Should Send

Angie Tran

Content Marketing Manager @ AdRoll

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By now, you’ve probably realized there’s no shortage of emails your brand needs to send. From the moment you capture a potential shopper’s attention to the minute their package is delivered, emails are what keeps your marketing flywheel spinning. To make your email strategy as effective as possible, you’ll need to write, design, and test every single one of your emails before they land in a customer’s inbox. Don’t know where to start? Here’s our ultimate guide to all the marketing emails every brand should create. 

1. Welcome Email

The purpose of this email is to welcome a new customer to your brand. It’s a chance to introduce what your brand stands for, what products you sell, and what value you can offer. 

marketing emails pic glossier

Glossier’s welcome email encourages subscribers to check out their Instagram feed.

The key to a great welcome email is establishing a connection with a potential new customer. This could mean thanking them for subscribing or offering them a small token of appreciation, such as a 10% off coupon for their first purchase. 

2. Order Status Email

Per its name, order status emails inform a customer of their purchase status. This can be as simple as confirming that their order has been shipped and providing a tracking link. Even better, ask the customer if they have any questions regarding their purchase, with buttons linking to different customer service channels. 

3. Cart Abandonment Email

Ever wish you could shout “Hey! You forgot to check out!” to shoppers who have added items to their cart but never completed the checkout process? You’re not alone — the average cart abandonment rate across all industries and devices is a whopping 77%

cart abandonment example

A great example of a clean and straightforward cart abandonment email.

Here’s the good news, though: Cart abandonment retargeting emails can massively help you recover these lost conversions. One study found that the average ecommerce abandonment cart marketing email can yield nearly $6 in revenue per recipient — that’s a huge return on investment (ROI)! 

To boost the effectiveness of your cart abandonment emails, you can: 

  • Offer a small incentive, such as free shipping or a 15% coupon
  • Add a timer that counts down the hours and minutes until their carts expire 
  • Use FOMO-inducing language, such as “selling quickly” or “before it sells out” 
  • Remind shoppers of the products they abandoned and their various value propositions 

4. Promotional Email

Offering an incredible limited-time sale? Promotional emails can get shoppers flocking to your digital storefronts in no time. Make the most out of your promotional marketing emails by:

  • Including the offer (e.g., 50% off all new arrivals) in the email header to grab attention
  • Using bright and bold graphics that drum up excitement
  • Adding images of top products that shoppers can snag if they act fast

5. Review Reminder Email

The marketing emails shouldn’t end when a customer receives their package. Given the importance of word-of-mouth marketing and social proof, it’s crucial that you send an email reminding shoppers to leave a review of their latest goodies if they haven’t already. 

example of a review email from chapelle jewlery

Keep your review reminder email simple, with a prominent “Write a Review” CTA button that shoppers can’t miss.

6. Check-In Email

Just like how we occasionally check in on friends with whom we haven’t interacted in a while, brands should regularly reconnect with past customers. Think of it as a friendly “what’s up?” that keeps your business top of mind, reminding them of how your products can improve their lives or solve their problems. 

As these shoppers have stuck alongside your brand for some time, consider using this opportunity to thank them for their loyalty, too. This provides a great segue — you can offer a “thank you” token in the form of a freebie, deal, or shipping perk that applies to their next purchase. 

You’ve Got Mail! 📧

While this list covers all the basic emails every brand needs, you can develop bonus ones if you have the bandwidth and creative initiative. Some ideas are:

  • Loyalty anniversary emails. Has it been one year since a customer joined your loyalty or rewards program? Celebrate that by offering something of value, such as bonus points or a small gift. 
  • Quiz emails. Make it fun for customers to learn about your brand by designing a Buzzfeed-style quiz that reveals the perfect product for them. 
  • Recommendation emails. Are there certain products that you know a particular shopper (or audience segment) will love? Pairing your tracking data with product recommendations can go a long way in encouraging shoppers to explore your catalog. 

Pro Tip: With AdRoll, you don’t need to design all of these emails from scratch — we’ve got you covered with hundreds of beautifully designed (and optimized!) templates. Check them out now

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