Straight to your inbox
Get the best email and digital marketing content delivered.
Join 250,000 in-the-know marketers and get the latest marketing tips, tactics, and news right in your inbox.
Subscribe
Find out 3 of your email marketing practices you should keep doing.
Find out 3 email marketing practices you should add to your strategy today.
Learn how to create high-converting emails using Campaign Monitor’s best practices for subscriber automation and…
Email marketing isn’t dead but it is changing. Email marketing is evolving, and as marketers,…
No more stale emails. Here are 8 types of email content to refresh your strategy….
There’s no doubt about it—email is an incredibly effective way to extend your marketing reach and encourage subscribers to take action. In fact, it seems that 77% of consumers want to be marketed via email. The next runner-up is direct mail with just nine percent of the market. That means your email marketing needs to be on-target and finely honed—but how can you stand above the rest? Read on and enjoy the examples you can use to amplify your email marketing results. 6 best autoresponder email template examples 1. The personal touch email In a paper entitled, The Power of Personalization, thought leader Forrester Consulting determined that personal marketing is more effective. “Personalization is more important today than ever before. The proliferation of devices and channels, such as mobile and social, has fundamentally changed the way that customers interact with companies and brands. This has led to what Forrester calls the mobile mind shift: the expectation that you can get exactly what you want in your immediate context and at your immediate moment of need.” In general, their analysis showed that: Marketers that want to increase engagement must use personalized marketing to be effective. The more pain points you have for your customers, the more challenges you’ll have personalizing your marketing. Many firms don’t use customer interaction to discover how to best personalize their campaigns. While you may—or may not—be on top of all those tasks, the first one is the most important. If you’re not already using personalized email marketing, it’s time to start. Here’s an example of a brand that’s got it down to a science, Sephora. This email is bright, bold, and personal, the perfect way to entice their customers back into the store. While this email is only using the customer’s name that can be enough to move someone to purchase. You can combine that with showing them similar products to the ones they’ve purchased in the past for further personalization. Add the special savings and it’s a formula that just can’t lose. 2. The confirmation email More people than ever are ordering online. Numbers from Statista show that figures are going to skyrocket in the next few years—topping out at over 230 million people in 2020. That’s a lot of customers and—if you’re a smart email marketer—that’s a lot of emails, too. Nothing says you care more than an email letting your customer know that their order went through and is being shipped. It’s instant relief and instant gratification all rolled up into one smartly-done email. And no one does this better than online shopping giant Amazon. Here’s a look at one of their autoresponder confirmation emails, sent within 30 seconds of the order. Notice what else they have built into their autoresponder series? A shipping confirmation. Another great idea for your email idea box. Here’s what theirs looks like: Notice how simple and uncluttered this email is. Just the facts, but ones that will help your customers feel like you have their backs. 3. The welcome email One of the most important emails in a series, your welcome email helps customers feel appreciated, showcases your brand, and prompts them to take the next steps in getting to know—and love—what you’re offering. Look how art and craft supply giant Michaels wows new customers with their welcome email. Notice the “crafty” way they nail their brand image with graphics and layout that makes the whole email look like a big project. They not only express gratitude for their new customer, but they add a coupon as an enticement. Once you know that their emails might hold this kind of value, you’ll be sure to open every single one. 4. The support email The right support email can take that frown and turn it upside down for your frustrated or unhappy customers. There are varying kinds of support emails, depending on where you and your customer are in the situation resolution pipeline. These can range from: We’re working on it. We’re still working on it. We’ve resolved the issue. Did we do a good job? Here’s how you can fix the problem yourself. For the purposes of this post, let’s focus on the most common, the “We’re working on it” email. This email is critical because it lets your customer know that you’ve received their query and that you’re taking it seriously. To make them even happier with your service, personalize this email. Here’s an example from Jet.com. It’s clear, concise, and most importantly, personalized. Note that you’re also letting them know you appreciate their loyalty. 5. The “follow us” email In 2017, 80% of the U.S. population had at least one social media profile. With over 4 billion people online across the globe, that adds up to a lot of social media users. And guess what? Nearly 75% of social media users made an online purchase last year. Know how many people who didn’t use social media made online purchases? Forty-six percent. That means social media users make fantastic customers. One great way to get more of them engaged in your social media campaign is to invite them with an email. Quiz Clothing gets customers involved with emails like this: This goes both ways as well. Invite email subscribers to follow your brand across social media channels for exclusive offers and discounts, and give your social media followers a special offer when they subscribe to your email. While New Look does it a bit differently, they still make it super easy for customers to Pin, Tweet and post their little hearts out. How you choose to set up your social media email will depend on your brand’s style and customer base, but either of these is a great place to start. 6. The review email Reviews make the marketing world go ‘round. In fact, online product reviews can increase sales by 75%, which makes reviews worth fighting for. When you have the right autoresponder email template, though, you don’t have to exert a lot of effort to get your customers to give feedback. In fact, keeping it simple for customers to understand, and respond, is the best option. Look how cleanly this auto center handled their request for feedback. If you like, you can offer a voucher code for discounts, but be aware that some consumers see that as a way to “buy” their review. Notice the personalization in all the examples? That’s no coincidence. Customers tend to act more often when you use their names. Wrap up There’s no need to be overwhelmed by the thought of creating autoresponder email templates when there are so many good examples out there. We’ve provided example templates for some of the most common—and basic— autoresponder emails for you to use in your own marketing campaign. Change them to suit your brand’s message, what you’re offering, or the vibe you’re projecting and watch how easy it is to automatically engage with your customers to keep the conversation—and profits—going.
Thanks so much to everyone who joined us yesterday for our webinar, “3 ways to dramatically improve your email results.” During the webinar, Nora Snoddy (Director of Communications here at Campaign Monitor) shared a ton of tips and tricks for getting more out of your email marketing program. Here’s a quick recap of what she covered—or, if you’d like to go ahead and check out the recording of the webinar, you can find that here! Email is a big deal (when done right). Email marketing has been around for a long time, but it’s still incredibly effective. According to our 2018 Industry Report, 59% of marketers said email generates more ROI for their organization than any other digital channel. But here’s the kicker: Even though it has the potential to be such a high performer, plenty of people are still getting so-so results from their email marketing. The problem is that because email marketing has such a lower barrier to entry (it’s inexpensive, easy to send, easy to build in most email platforms, etc.), marketers often put their programs on autopilot and neglect to optimize their email strategy over time. In fact, according to that same report I just mentioned… • 39% of marketers say they never personalize their emails. • 63% of marketers say less than half of their emails are segmented. • 51% of marketers haven’t started automating their emails. Email has the ability to generate an unmatched ROI for your brand, but to get there, you have to focus on the right things. But what are they? 1. Personalize the inbox experience. To help illustrate the importance of email personalization, Nora shared a quick story. Most days, she stops for coffee on her way to work. There are two shops close to Campaign Monitor’s Nashville office: Pinewood and Little Mosko’s. When she goes to Pinewood, the experience is perfectly fine—she orders her coffee, gets her coffee, and goes on her way. But when she goes to Little Mosko’s, the baristas there actually know her. They greet her by name, ask about her life, and offer her a piece of fresh banana bread they know she’ll like. Where do you think she goes more often for her morning java fix? The fact of the matter is, the brand that creates the better, more personal, more human experience will always win—and that’s especially true when it comes to inspiring customer loyalty and conversion. According to Infosys, 86% of consumers say personalization plays a role in their purchase decisions. Personalization works because you’re putting the focus of your message right where it should be: on the subscriber, not on your brand. Here’s an example of email personalization in action from our friend Jay Baer. These two emails are essentially asking for the same thing: an NPS score. The first email was one he got after a hotel stay at the MGM Grand. There’s a first name in there, but otherwise, it’s pretty impersonal. The second was one his wife got after ordering from a local food truck. It contains the same basic ask, but it feels much more personal. They include her first name, a photo of the chef, and even the specific items she ordered. And while Jay didn’t respond to the email from MGM, Allison did respond to the food truck. Segment whenever possible. All marketers tell themselves the same lie: If my emails aren’t doing well, it’s because my audience is too busy. Sure—no one is out there begging for more email, but I’m willing to bet there are a few brands you almost always pay attention to. That’s because they serve up content, offers, and invitations that are actually relevant to you. Relevancy creates time and attention, and segmentation is how you get there. Here are a few easy ways to start segmenting: • How they signed up • Location • Purchase history • Birthdays and anniversaries • Response results • Most engaged • Least engaged But what if you don’t have the data you need to effectively segment? Just ask! Most people are willing to part with personal information if it means getting offers tailored to their interests. Scale your efforts with automation. Automation is the most effective way to scale your email marketing efforts, but not many marketers are actually using it in their email programs. If you aren’t sure where to start with email automation, these three types of emails will help you lay a really solid foundation: 1. A welcome email or series. Welcome emails are incredibly important, so if you aren’t already sending one, it’s time. Your subscribers expect to receive them, it’s one of the most-opened emails you’ll ever send, it helps boost long-term brand loyalty—the list goes on! A pro tip: In your welcome email, be sure to reference exactly how your subscriber ended up on your list. Continuing that connection from signup to the inbox helps create context and sets your brand up for a better, longer-lasting relationship with subscribers. 2. Date-based emails. Along with a welcome after signup, it’s important to automate messages based on key dates like birthdays and anniversaries. Remember: Creating relevance is all about remembering what’s important to your subscriber, not just your brand. Plus, these emails really perform. According to ClickZ, birthday emails can lift conversion rates 60% over non-birthday email messages with the same offer. 3. Behavior-based emails. Let’s talk about behavior-based automation. You can automate emails based on behavior outside the inbox (like browsing a certain section of your website) or behavior inside the inbox, like clicking a link to a particular type of content. These emails help you cater the offers and content you send to individual subscribers because you already know they’ll be interested. Watch the full webinar. Hungry for more actionable email tips and tricks? You can watch the recording here!
Personalizing your emails using dynamic content can be easier than you expect.
Check out our 2018 Predictions and see what the experts see in the future of…
Join 250,000 in-the-know marketers and get the latest marketing tips, tactics, and news right in your inbox.
SubscribeWith our powerful yet easy-to-use tools, it's never been easier to make an impact with email marketing.
Try it for free