Email Marketing for Shopify: What You Might Be Doing Wrong

As a marketing strategy, emails fluctuate in both popularity and effectiveness. We are currently at a point where email marketing is more effective than ever before. 

Unlike previous years, that upturn does not seem to be going anywhere. That means that, like video and images, email marketing is here to stay. 

If your previous Shopify email strategy was less than effective, or your current email marketing seems to be having little impact, then there’s a good chance that you’re making mistakes. 

Do not despair, though. These can be very simple to tackle, and by doing so you may be able to transform your Shopify e-commerce marketing strategy to develop greater conversion rates and more potent marketing campaigns. 

el Shopify experts at Blackbelt Commerce have compiled a guide on how to make the best email marketing campaign for your Shopify e-commerce store. 

Here are the most common email marketing mistakes and how to avoid them.

Mass Emailing

If you’re sending out a single mass email to everyone on your subscriber list, then you’re going to be ineffective. This can actually result in people unsubscribing because they’re not getting the relevant information that they need. 

The more generalized you are, the less impactful you will be. It may be a strategy that saves you time, but it will also cost you site visits, brand loyalty, and conversions. 

Shopify experts like Blackbelt Commerce will always aim for personalization. Break your audience down into different segments and tailor your email content to reflect those needs. 

“By segmenting, you can tailor your email content to what specific individuals will be looking for, making them feel valued.” 

– Martin Wilson, Marketer at OxEssays and StateofWriting.

Check the analytics that you have available, and compartmentalize your consumers by age, gender, shopping preferences, and their existing relationship with your Shopify services and brand.

Avoiding Seasonal Marketing

Every day is an International Day Of something. From cats to pizzas to mental health, there is a day for everything on the calendar. When you include national and international holidays as well, then you suddenly have a vast array of potential leads into your customer’s radar. 

Seasonal and relevant email content not only helps connect your Shopify services to those national or global events, but it also personalizes and humanizes your brand. If you’re trying to avoid the sense of automated mass-marketing, then these personalized communications will go a long way to making your Shopify brand feel like a real person is typing up your messages to the individual.

Ignoring Mobile

There’s no escaping the fact that mobile is the future of e-commerce. 

The stats speak for themselves. With a third of online sales coming via a smartphone, failing to factor those huge numbers into your email marketing is a massive and all too common error. Consider how different an email looks on a phone when compared to a PC. 

If 1.92 billion people are going to buy something online in 2019, then you want to tap into those sales quickly and effectively. 

Links are usually one of the biggest problems. You need to make sure that the links that you want your audience to click on are easy to find and responsive. It’s very different using your finger to select a link than it is to use a mouse and cursor. 

Prioritize easier to navigate emails, and they will be much more effective.

Just Using Text

A huge wall of text is going to be nothing more than a quick email to scan and delete. There’s no escaping the fact that the majority of marketing emails fall into the trap of being dry and dull, and one of the most effective ways to counter this issue is to incorporate images and videos. 

Video is the content of choice for the modern Shopify developer, so it makes sense to use it in your emails. 

Don’t make the mistake of trying to embed a video directly into your emails though. This can make them clunky and slow to load due to the large file size. Instead, use a screenshot or thumbnail that’s as enticing as the intro, and you can link directly to your website, your YouTube channel, or Vimeo series. 

“Stop thinking of ‘Video Marketing’ as this separate entity that is optional for your business. Video is an effective form of communication that needs to be integrated into each and every aspect of your existing marketing efforts.” 

– James Wedmore, author of ‘The YouTube Marketing Book’

Surround your video and images with relevant and enticing text, and you’ll find that your audience stays with you for longer. This simply adds to the strength and impact of your brand.

Weak Writing

The majority of your email content is going to be text-based. That means that you need to pay close attention to the basics. 

You might think that the odd typo or grammar error isn’t going to detract from your overall message. But it doesn’t just make you look foolish, spelling mistakes can have a noticeable effect on your sales too. 

When you send out an email with obvious grammatical errors then you don’t just lose credibility, you might also get fraud alarm bells ringing too. 

Digital consumers can be very alert to the possibility of phishing scams, and a poorly written email message could quickly look like it comes from a Nigerian prince rather than from your Shopify e-commerce brand. Make sure that you check, recheck and then check once again before hitting the send button.

“Reaching the inbox isn’t your goal – engaging people is.”

– Matt Blumberg, author of Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, and CEO of Return Path

Email marketing is an art form. It is not a tactic you can ignore, but it is, instead, one you must utilize. For help on how to market your Shopify store, the Shopify experts at Blackbelt Commerce are more than happy to lend a hand. After all, having a Shopify developer who can help with marketing trends is a handy tool for your business.

 ** As always thank you for visiting our company. We invite you to read our other great articles such as Cómo mejorar la marca para su tienda de E-Commerce Y What are the Advantages of E-Commerce? Learn more about what we can do for you.