“Dear User. Thank you for signing up to our mailing list.”

When was the last time you saw one of those? Generalised, non-specific, and lacking somewhat in the personality department, these emails have now been replaced with highly personalised, dynamic, engaging messages that help you make a positive impression during that all-important first contact with a new customer.

Step away from the repetitive, manual data entry days of old and enter a bright new world of  our favourite time saver, automated email.

Let us tell you why automated email is going to be your new best friend.

Saving emails, one at a time

If you’re already a Pure360 customer, you’ll know how easy it is to set up an automated email. But why bother?

Simply put, automations save you time, money, and omit human error. How many times have you missed the opportunity to email a new subscriber because you didn’t manage to upload their details to the system in time?

If you have more than 10 subscribers on your list (and we hope that if you’re following our email marketing advice then you do) you’ll simply find that you don’t have time to catch each person who subscribes. Automation is a quick, easy, painless solution that will lend you a helping hand when you need it most.

Why set up an automated email?

Used correctly, automated emails can gently nurture your subscribers into visiting your site, increase brand awareness, build trust and generate sales. Looking at those benefits, can you afford to miss out?

Automated emails won’t do all the hard work for you, you’ll still need to produce high-quality content to keep those readers engaged, but an automated email to a customer incentivises the subscription to your list (think “sign up to receive exclusive members-only offers”), dangling that carrot will keep your readers interested, engaged and excited about your brand.

The key to a successful marketing campaign

With automation clearly being the way to go, we were trying to think of an industry where automated emails wouldn’t benefit you, and we came up short. Be it a retail business with an upcoming sale, an entertainment venue with tickets to sell, or a voucher that’s set to expire, automated emails can be invaluable in improving your results and getting a good return on investment.

These emails happen in response to your customers’ actions; they sign up to your subscription list and automatically receive a welcome email. It’s as important to make that first connection as it is to have friendly, smiling faces to welcome your customers through the shop door.

Think of the email as your friendly, smiling “hello” face, making personal contact a reality even when your customer isn’t actually in your shop. Magic!

Hello, is it me you’re looking for?

The days of non-specific “Hello User” emails have gone. Now, you can set up emails that are personalised to each recipient, your email platform should also allow you to filter who receives which email based on gender, location or preferences, all of which helps generate a truly meaningful inbox for your customers. You’re welcome!

Customer service

Setting up automations is simple, and can be a great way to reactivate dormant recipients or those who’ve teetered on the edge of buying (added it to basket) but not actually hit the “buy it now” button. Some common ideas for automated reactivation emails include abandoned basket, re-engagement and related purchase.

Conclusion

Email automation is what you make of it, and the time you’ll have freed up not having to enter the data manually will give you time for your creativity to go wild and come up with fantastic new ideas for your next campaign.

Amazon is a perfect example of how well-automated emails can work to drive sales. How often have you received an email from Amazon gently reminding you that the kitchen blender you were thinking of buying is still in your cart? Go on, buy it… You know you want to. It’s right there in your cart, it doesn’t get any easier.

You can see how these gentle reminders can be pivotal in actually driving your sales, and with Amazon raking in more than $88.99 billion US dollars in net sales in 2014, shouldn’t you be setting your sights that high too?