Email Marketing: A Guide to Ecommerce Newsletters

A lot of people will tell you that sending newsletters isn't worth the effort. They'll say it's time consuming, expensive, and doesn't provide enough of a return on investment. I disagree.

Newsletters are a versatile and inexpensive way to reach your audience and deliver a targeted message. Here's a guide to help you understand what newsletter marketing can do for your online store, and give you some best practices to follow while you're getting started:

What can a newsletter do for my online store?

• Capture new leads
• Communicate with current customers
• Position yourself as an industry expert
• Nurture leads until they become customers

What should I say?

Let me first begin by saying that content is king. I can't stress that enough. All it takes is one off-topic / sub-par newsletter and you can find your subscription number drop significantly. You need good content. Also, remember that variety will help you retain customer interest. Mix your content up to include:

• Sales and discount offers
• How to tips & tricks
• Links to articles your customers will find interesting
• Current trends
• Company news

Stay away from anything overly self-promotion. It's okay to mention a sale, but that can't be the focus of the correspondence. 

Here's an Example

I'm going to use our November Shopify Newsletter as an example. Not everything here will be applicable to you, but it should at least give you an idea on where to start:

 

Notes

• Nobody wants to get an email that starts off with "Dear Valued Customer" or something like that. Take the time and use their name... you know, like a real person would. 
• Starting things off with a deal or a giveaway is a great way to get the readers attention. In the example above we gave away a $75 Amazon Ad credit to everyone - no strings attached. 
• Offer advice - it can be tips,  tricks,  help, guides, walkthroughs... whatever!  Above, you'll see that we decided to help merchants promote their store through our social media network. 
• Give important and interesting news. We list (and link) to the most important feature updates, popular blog articles, and new Shopify Apps and Themes. 

How do I Send a Newsletter?

Once you have your newsletter written, you need to consider your delivery methods. A web based service provider is a cost-effective solution that allows you to adhere to the strict anti-spam laws that govern direct mailing.

The most popular options are MailChimp, Mad Mimi, and Campaign Monitor and all three of which integrate seamlessly with your Shopify store. 

You can manage your database online, which gives you the opportunity to enter in contacts, clean up your account, and create separate streams based on your targets. The advantages of signing up to an automated service (like the three listed above) is that it’s way easier, and far less likely to be considered spam,  and it allows you to track and analyze each newsletter campaigns results. You can see who opened your email, how many of the links bounced, and who ignored it.

How do I get subscribers?

You’re ready to send out your newsletter, but how do you get a list of potential customers email addresses? You might be tempted to purchase a list, but reputable vendors can be expensive. That's also a little sleazy. Play it classy and get your subscribers through the following means:

 

1. Include a subscription box on your home page inviting visitors to subscribe to your newsletter. You might want to offer them an incentive by way of a free ebook, downloadable report, or a discount on goods purchased. If you integrate with Mailchimp or Campaign Monitor, it's super easy to cut and paste the liquid code into your theme. 
2. Promote your newsletter both online and offline such as social networking sites, trade shows, and through multimedia advertising.
3. Create a landing page designed especially for your newsletter can work well to capture leads. You can also upload social networking buttons onto this page as a sharing tool. Update your message as often as you need to capture fresh leads.

For more information on email marketing check out: 

• Basic Email Marketing for Ecommerce
• Email Marketing for Vegetarians: 5 Reasons to Hate SPAM

11 comments

• 
  Shopaholla E-Commerce

  January 07 2012, 07:40PM

  Great points and suggestions Mark!

• 
  Mark Hayes

  January 08 2012, 10:08AM

  Shopaholla E-Commerce: Thanks so much! :-)

• 
  Justin Winter

  January 10 2012, 12:33PM

  So silly question but how do we get on Shopify’s newsletter? I don’t know if you started that after our shop started but I would love to get a summary of updates about what is happening instead of trying to remember to go check out the blog every once in a while. Thanks and great article!

• 
  Mike Freeman

  January 11 2012, 10:43AM

  Hi Justin,

  We added the primary email address in people’s Shopify accounts to the newsletter. I can add your email to the list. Thanks for the interest!

• 
  Kashif Saeed

  July 22 2013, 10:48PM

  Thanks for sharing wonderful information here. For news latter and email campaign I would suggest you to check Banckle Campaign ( http://banckle.com/apps/campaign/overview.html ) which allows you to create, manage, send and track online newsletter and email campaigns efficiently.

  Signup FREE: https://apps.banckle.com/action/signup

• 
  bharathi.b

  May 27 2014, 01:13AM

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• 
  bharathi.b

  May 27 2014, 01:14AM

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• 
  RAvi

  July 29 2014, 05:38AM

  It was really impressive.I would also recommend a worthy feature wherein you can send bulk emails with ‘schedule time’ option.

  www.indusemail.com

• 
  Download Email Marketing Software

  August 08 2014, 03:34AM

  Email Marketing Software ( free download 2015 )

  http://download2015.com/email-marketing-software/

  It may be something of an elder statesman now, but as we showed in our earlier guide, email can be one of the most cost effective tools in your digital marketing toolkit.

• 
  veerakumar

  August 25 2014, 03:27AM

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• 
  jack

  November 17 2016, 01:12AM

  better