Email is a foundational digital marketing strategy for any business, but email retargeting takes it to another level. If your goal is to convert site visitors into buyers, email retargeting can be an effective way to achieve this. It stands out even among other digital marketing tools, like social media and search engine optimization (SEO).
Experienced marketers know just how to take advantage of retargeting email campaigns to reconnect with users who have previously engaged with their brand. This approach significantly increases conversion rates and maximizes marketing efficiency.
Are you intrigued by what email retargeting is and how it can revitalize your marketing strategy? Keep reading as we delve into the specifics of this approach and explore various scenarios where email retargeting proves most effective.
What is email retargeting?
Email retargeting is a marketing tactic designed to reach people who have previously shown interest in your brand but didn’t complete a specific action.
For example, if someone considered buying an item, signing up for a webinar, or downloading a report but didn’t follow through, email retargeting helps bring them back to complete the task.
This approach is particularly effective in several key situations. If you have high shopping cart abandonment rates, email retargeting can remind customers about what they’ve left behind. Including a special offer can help encourage them to complete the purchase.
Email retargeting is also useful for converting website visitors into buyers on sites that get a lot of traffic but see few sales. After all, with email retargeting, you send messages tailored to their interests.
Additionally, the approach is great for strengthening relationships with existing customers. With email retargeting, you can send personalized promotions based on the browsing history or past purchases of customers. This makes them more likely to respond and interact with you.
Overall, retargeting emails make your recipients feel valued and understood. They provide a tailored experience that meets their needs and expectations.
How does email retargeting work?
Understanding the mechanics of email retargeting is key to leveraging its benefits effectively.
At its core, email retargeting entails tracking how people interact with your website, whether it’s browsing products, adding them to their shopping cart or more. When they leave without making a purchase, email retargeting steps in to bring them back through two primary methods:
- Pixel retargeting: This method involves placing a small, unnoticeable code, known as a retargeting pixel, on your website or within the HTML templates of your emails. When someone interacts with these emails or the site is loaded in a browser, the pixel sends relevant data like page views, email clicks and more directly back to the server. This is unlike a cookie, which is embedded in a user’s browser to track behavior.
The customer data collected from this pixel is used to send targeted emails or display ads.
- Email addresses in your ESP: Without using a pixel, you can segment email subscribers based on their historical interactions with your brand and where they are in the customer journey directly in your ESP.
For example, you can group together those who showed interest in a specific product (maybe they called sales to inquire about it) but didn’t make a purchase. Then send them personalized emails to re-engage them possibly by offering a discount or highlighting new features.
Why use email retargeting? Because it effectively reconnects your brand with potential customers through personalized messages.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Statistics show that 26% of users will return to a website as a result of remarketing efforts.
5 Steps for a successful email retargeting campaign
Now that you know the basics of email retargeting, let’s look at what you need to do next. Here’s a guide with proven tips to help you effectively reconnect with potential customers and boost your sales.
1. Set your goals
Firstly, it’s crucial to clearly define what you want to achieve with your email retargeting campaign. This will help you determine your target audience. It will also help you know what specific actions you want your recipients to take, whether it’s completing a purchase, signing up for a service, or engaging with your brand in another meaningful way.
For example, if your main goal is to reduce cart abandonment, your campaign would target users who left items in their shopping cart. You can then send emails that encourage them to complete their purchase, and possibly offer a discount or free shipping as an incentive.
This clarity in goals also helps guide the design of your targeted emails. For instance, in our cart abandonment example above, your email would probably include images of the product the recipient left in their cart.
Once you’ve set your main goal, set specific and measurable objectives based on that goal. If your goal is to reduce cart abandonment, you could have as an objective increasing sales by a certain percentage, for example. Other possible objectives are boosting the number of newsletter sign-ups or enhancing engagement with particular products or services.
Establishing clear goals and objectives will help you track progress and make the necessary adjustments to optimize your email retargeting strategy.
2. Build your email and subscriber list
A robust email and subscriber list is essential for any successful email retargeting campaign. These lists should consist of audiences who have shown interest in your brand. That way, you increase the likelihood of converting leads into loyal customers.
Collecting email addresses doesn’t have to be hard. To build your list, start by integrating engaging sign-up forms in high-traffic areas of your website, such as alongside popular blog posts or during the checkout process. Utilize pop-ups effectively to capture the attention of users who spend a significant amount of time on specific pages.
Incorporate lead magnets. These are incentives like discounts, freebies, or exclusive content, to entice users to subscribe. Lead magnets provide value in exchange for customer data, making them a powerful tool for growing your list.
Additionally, expand your reach by including sign-up options on your social media profiles and during online events or webinars.
When collecting data, ensure compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR or CCPS. This means being transparent about how you’ll use the data, obtaining clear consent, and providing an easy way for users to unsubscribe.
Adhering to these standards will help build trust and maintain the integrity of your customer relationships. This ensures that your list remains filled with engaged and interested subscribers.
3. Segment your audience
Segmenting your audience is a vital step to refining your retargeting email campaign. This strategy allows you to send more personalized email marketing campaigns and relevant messages to your audience.
You can segment your audience using a variety of criteria. Behavioral segmentation involves categorizing subscribers based on their actions on your website, such as the pages they visit most often or the products they seem to be interested in.
Geographical segmentation entails tailoring your email campaigns according to the subscriber’s location. This can be particularly effective for regional promotions or local event notifications.
Demographic details such as age, gender, or income level, as well as past purchase behavior, also provide a basis for segmentation.
For instance, you might send different email campaigns to first-time web visitors and repeat customers. You might also customize promotions for users based on the products they’ve shown interest in, as in the example above.
4. Create great emails
Creating awesome and compelling personalized email campaigns is critical to success. Each element of your email should focus on grabbing your reader’s attention and driving them to take action.
Start with focusing on the personalization of your email. Ideally, this should go beyond just using the recipient’s name. You should look at past interactions on your website. This way, you’ll know what specific products to mention based on what recipients have viewed or include their previously purchased items.
Furthermore, focus on the subject lines. The subject line is the first chance you get to engage your recipient. There’s no hard-and-fast rule for how long subject lines should be. However, a GetResponse study found that subject lines that are 61 to 70 characters long get the highest open rates.
Once recipients open your emails, they should see clear, compelling headlines. Use these headlines to convey exclusive offers or valuable insights. The goal is to spark their curiosity or promise real benefits for your customers.
As for your main message, just make it short and sweet. Avoid beating around the bush.
It’s also important to guide recipients toward action with calls to action (CTAs). Make your CTAs bold and direct, with phrases like “Shop Now” or “Claim Your Discount.”
Remember to also place these CTAs strategically within the email to lead the reader smoothly from initial interest to actual action.
Social proof leverages elements like testimonials, user reviews, or case studies to build credibility. In the email above, for instance, the brand showcases its excellent Trustpilot rating. By highlighting positive feedback from satisfied users, it aims to reinforce customer confidence and encourage potential buyers to take action.
Positive feedback from other customers doesn’t just add a layer of legitimacy to your message. It also reassures new customers about the quality of your products or services. This can in turn nudge them towards making a purchase.
5. Use automation
Modern email marketing services utilize sophisticated automation to ensure your communication with prospects is timely and relevant.
These systems automatically dispatch emails at optimal times when users are most likely to engage, such as shortly after they’ve visited your website or when they’ve abandoned items in their shopping cart. This precision ensures that your messages are read at the precise moments leads have the highest potential for conversion.
But advanced automation platforms go beyond simple email dispatch. They can also dynamically segment your audience based on real-time interactions with your site, demographic data, or past purchase behavior.
This capability allows you to tailor your emails precisely to different groups, enhancing the relevance of your messages. For instance, you might send a product recommendation based on previous purchases to one segment, while another might receive a re-engagement email after a period of inactivity.
Moreover, these tools provide the ability to monitor the performance of your campaigns in real-time and make adjustments on the fly. If certain emails are performing exceptionally well, your system can automatically scale these successes to reach more of your audience or adjust messaging to capitalize on what’s working.
By automating routine tasks and campaign adjustments, you free up valuable time to focus on more strategic aspects of your marketing efforts. This streamlines your operations and ensures that your campaigns are more adaptable to existing customer needs and market trends, ultimately driving better results from your email retargeting strategies.
Types of email retargeting campaigns
Here are the most common types of email retargeting campaigns:
- Cart abandonment: This campaign is directed toward your online store users who added products to their shopping carts but left the website without making a purchase. Emails reminding these consumers of what they forgot to buy might be sent to them together with incentives like free delivery or discounts to entice them to finish the transaction.
- Browser abandonment: Engage web users who browsed products or visited certain pages but did not take any action. You can send them customized emails showcasing the products they looked at. You can also possibly add reviews or other information that will urge them to return.
- Cross-selling and upselling: This email marketing strategy involves recommending products related to those a customer has already purchased or suggesting upgraded or premium versions of items they’ve shown interest in. For instance, if a customer bought a camera, an upsell email might showcase higher-end models, while a cross-sell email might suggest complementary accessories like lenses or tripods.
- Offers for active subscribers: Reward users who consistently open and interact with your emails. This could feature exclusive deals, early access to new products, or special loyalty discounts that reward their participation while also encouraging continuous connection and sales.
- Re-engagement emails: These are aimed toward users who haven’t used your website or emails in a long time. The retargeting emails can include updates on what’s new, special comeback offers, or a simple message requesting input on why they haven’t been active.
As you can see, each email retargeting campaign is tailored to the customer. If automated, they become an effortless and effective way to engage various audience segments and encourage actions.
Examples of retargeting emails
Now that you understand the benefits of this strategy, let’s review some real-world retargeting email examples to inspire your own campaigns.
HiSmile sends retargeting emails to its existing customers who purchased its whitening kits and will need gel refilling. The brand uses automation to send out personalized emails two weeks after the initial purchase.
Another great example of a brand that rocks retargeting is Very. The top brands online retailer segments users based on their behavior and previous purchases to suggest goods that match visitor’s interests.
According to Moz, typical ecommerce conversion rates range from 2% to 4%. Yet, the conversion rate for email retargeting can soar to as high as 41%, showcasing its effectiveness in re-engaging potential customers.
Conclusion
With a solid understanding of the basics and strategic application of these tactics, you can create a personalized email retargeting campaign that resonates deeply with your potential customers.
Start by personalizing your retargeting emails based on customer interactions. Implement audience segmentation to deliver targeted messages and create great content to capture attention. Plus, leverage automation to ensure timely and efficient communication.
The key to any successful email strategy is ongoing adaptation and improvement. Keep pace with changing consumer behaviors and advances in technology.
Implement email retargeting and start seeing a significant increase in both sales and customer loyalty.