WooCommerce Automated Emails: The Ultimate Guide To Driving Revenue on Autopilot
Editorial Team
July 13, 2023
Setting up WooCommerce automated emails is the practical solution to automatically boosting your online store's profits automatically.
Automated emails have 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher CTR as compared to 'business as usual' emails.
Automated or triggered emails produce far better results than email blasts because they're based on the user's actions and interests.
There are elements of personalization, relevance, and right timing weaved into such emails.
In this post, we will show how you can set up WooCommerce automated emails from the WordPress dashboard itself.
We are also going to reveal to you the 9 types of WooCommerce automated emails that your business needs to up the engagement and sales.
So, let’s begin.
Contents
WooCommerce automated emails are a set of pre-defined emails automatically sent out to your customers based on an action they took on your website or the triggers you set.
These emails generally fall into two distinct camps:
Triggered email based on an action or event: This email gets sent when a user takes an action on the site. One of the automated triggered emails includes transactional emails such as order confirmation emails, product shipping/delivery emails, etc. Other examples would include cart abandonment emails, win-back emails, anniversary emails, etc.
Drip-content emails: You can enroll people into a drip feed campaign and send them content at predefined intervals of time. Your email subject and body may change based on whether the previous email was opened, whether they clicked on a link in the previous email, etc.
Now let’s talk a little bit about why you should utilize WooCommerce automated emails on your online store.
There are several benefits of setting up WooCommerce automated emails to your eCommerce store. Here are the top ones:
1. Save Time
The most significant advantage of email automation is that you don’t need a person to draft an email on the fly and manually hit the send button.
You can carefully plot your WooCommerce automated email strategy, set up the triggers, and go live!
Well, WooCommerce automated emails are a one-time setup and work like a workhorse for life.
2. Higher Open & Clickthrough Rates
Isn’t it irritating when you receive emails from a website that are irrelevant to you? It's so easy to slam the unsubscribe button or tuck it into the spam folder.
With WooCommerce automated emails, you know exactly where your prospects and customers are on their journey - so you can send out relevant and helpful content to their inboxes.
Did they subscribe? Shoot a welcome email. Did they click on the button in the previous email? Send them to the next automation. No, they didn't. Let's follow up!
3. Personalized Emails
Addressing them by their first name is one part of the personalization strategy.
By personalizing the emails, you can send emails to your prospects and customers based on the products they bought, order total, and more.
Imagine the limitless possibilities with all those emails!
Let's know about the default WooCommerce automated emails.
WooCommerce automatically sends emails to inform users about their WooCommerce order status.
For example, WooCommerce sends an email to users when they place an order. Another example would be sending an email after their order has been packaged and shipped.
Here is a list of emails WooCommerce sends to users automatically depending on their interaction with the online store.
You’ll be able to find these email settings at WooCommerce ⇒ Settings ⇒ Emails.
Here, you get some customization options such as Header Text, Footer Text, Base Color, Background color, etc.
But, the default WooCommerce automated email options don’t really give you enough control or customize the content on emails.
However, you can customize your emails by using a WordPress CRM plugin.
Later in this blog, we will show you how to create a custom automated email with personalization, before that let’s check how to strategize an email automation strategy.
The objective of email automation boils down to three things:
1. Converting visitors into subscribers
2. Converting prospects into customers
3. Engaging with customers post-purchase to increase their lifetime value
Based on this, you can break down your automation strategy into three segments:
Whichever segment of the marketing automation strategy you are designing, keep in mind the importance of personalization when creating automated emails. Personalized emails come across as if you are talking to the customer one-on-one, which makes users feel special
Along with personalization, you should also keep in mind to give space between emails. Automated emails need to be set up once and they run automatically.
However, that doesn't mean you should bombard users with multiple emails one after another. Instead, you should add delays between emails to allow users the necessary time to engage with each of your emails.
Now that you know how to make an automated email strategy and what to keep in mind while sending WooCommerce automated emails, let's check how you can send one.
To send WooCommerce automated emails, we are going to use FunnelKit Automations.
You can create any type of automated aka triggered emails such as welcome emails, anniversary emails, win-back emails, order confirmation emails, etc., using this WordPress plugin.
FunnelKit Automations offer many pre-built ready-to-use recipes. You can easily import and customize them to quickly set up automated email marketing campaigns. FunnelKit Automations also gives you options to create your automated email campaigns from scratch.
You can track active contacts for a campaign, total order, average order value, etc., from the user-friendly dashboard.
Before starting the process, ensure you have installed and activated FunnelKit on your WooCommerce store.
Follow these steps to create WooCommerce automated emails:
Note: Here we are going to set up an automated email where users will receive a product recommendation email after their purchase.
To send WooCommerce automated email first you need to create a new automation. For that, navigate to FunnelKit Automations ⇒ Automations (Next Gen) and then click on Add New Automation.
Now you should see a lot of email templates. We are going to select the “Post Purchase” template user, where users receive a “Thank You” email after placing an order.
Now to import, click on “Import”, provide a name and click on “Create”.
Here is the automation that will be imported. This automation has 3 steps:
Now are going to add a Delay of one week or 7 days and then send users an email with product recommendations.
To add Delay, click on the “+” icon after the “Send Email” step.
Now select the “Delay” option.
Add a delay of 7 days and click on “Save”.
Now we are going to add the send email action where we will send product recommendations to users. For that, click on the “+” icon after the Delay you just added and click on “Action”
Under the “Messaging” Tab, select “Send Email” and click on Done.
Now write the email subject line and preview the text. You can personalize the email subject line by adding the customer's first name using the merge tag feature of FunnelKit Automation.
Note: We are using “{{contact_first_name}}” here to dynamically bring the customer's first name to the email subject line.
After that, it’s time to create the email content. To customize the email content FunnelKit Automations provides three options: Rich Text, Raw HTML, and Visual Builder.
Here we will choose Visual Builder. After choosing the Visual Builder click on Start.
Now to make the email look on-brand, we will add a logo on the top. For that, drag and drop the Image widget and upload the logo.
To add content to the email body, drag and drop a text widget.
Now add the text content.
To offer relevant products, we will offer cross-sells of the product the user purchased here. You can add the related product using the merge tag.
We have shown you how to add content and related products. You can customize the content according to your preference.
If you want to recommend your best sellers, you can do that as well with FunnelKit.
For that, use a two-column or three-column layout and drag and drop the Product widget. After that, click on ‘Add Product’ to select the product from the list.
Repeat the same process to add as many products as you want.
After customizing the email content, on the “Body” tab, you can change its style as well. For example, we are here changing the background color to White.
Once you are happy with all the changes, save the email.
Here is how the email we just designed will look on the user end:
To activate the campaign, turn on the toggle button.
And that’s it! Your automated email campaign is ready!
In this section of the post, we're going to look at the types of WooCommerce automated emails you can send out to your customers.
We will also share some examples and action tips so you can implement them too.
A welcome series goes out to the user when they subscribe to your newsletter and share the email address with you.
The content of this type of WooCommerce automated emails depend on what your opt-in box offers.
If you've promised them deals - let them know they'll be getting those in subsequent emails. And if you've promised to offer a coupon code - share it first and then introduce them to your brand.
For example, Sweaty Betty - asks people to sign up to get a 15% discount and free delivery.
Take a look:
The welcome email takes the conversation forward by giving the new subscribers a 15% off code right at the beginning.
Notice how their call to action is at the top and not lost in a block of text. It is what makes this email captivating and action-producing:
Also, observe how the email continues to persuade them after giving the coupon code above the fold. They say, "We're famous for the bum-sculpting leggings"- so you instantly know their USP (unique selling proposition).
Action Tips: Be sure to carry forward the conversation you started on the website. Give subscribers what you promised right in the beginning - treat your welcome email as an opportunity to start a relationship and set the expectations right.
A cart abandonment sequence is one that gets triggered when someone adds an item to the cart - lands on the checkout page and leaves the process in between after giving their email.
There could be several reasons for cart abandonment, like - a technical glitch while completing the purchase, user distraction, the card didn't work, etc.
It's always good to reach out and check what the problem is so as to recover the abandoned carts effectively.
As per several studies, you should be sending out three cart abandonment automated emails:
Here's an example of a well-crafted cart abandonment email from Beardbrand:
The above email appears as if it's coming from the next door guy, Keith who is a beard specialist.
By the way, what a cool designation to have! 😉
Here's another example from Birchbox - perhaps it's the second or third email in the WooCommerce automated email sequence for abandoned carts:
Action Tips: Make sure you don't just create one cart abandonment email to customers- but a series of 3 emails. The first one should just offer help. The second one may plug a coupon code and go slightly more aggressive on cart recovery. The third one can use elements of urgency (i.e., discount expiring/items running out) to close the sale.
If they don't buy even after this, add them to your list of newsletter subscribers to keep in touch and send them regular promotional emails.
A shipment check-in email is a follow-up email asking the customers for feedback about their shopping experience.
This email is different from a product review email, where you exclusively ask for a public review of the product(s) they’ve bought.
Feedback emails are more personalized and encourage them to give an honest assessment - it may be positive or negative. It also shows that you're willing to move the needle if anything needs to improve.
Here's an example of a WooCommerce automated email from Moo:
The email is brimming with personality and is from a character - Little Moo, the print robot. It's a breath of fresh air to read automated emails like these - they’re rare in an inbox full of dull emails howling for sale.
Action Tips: Keep the subject line short and exciting (don't include the order number). Something like - “How was it?” “Did you like what we sent your way?” “Can you spare a minute to share your experience at <>?”
Also, tell them what they can do if they haven’t received their order yet.
Finally, establish the need for feedback and then let them know that the process is not going to take long.
A customer is more likely to open and click on your email after he has bought from you than when he is just a prospect.
So it makes a lot of sense to send them relevant emails containing product recommendations based on the item(s) they have just bought.
Have a look at an incredibly persuasive WooCommerce automated email from Mackenzie:
As you can notice, Mackenzie shares a coupon code to encourage repeat buying, and the code has an expiry period of 30 days - that's good.
Action Tips: Recommend up to 3 most relevant products in this WooCommerce automated email. Avoid exceeding that number. Keep in mind that your new customers are also likely to recommend your store to their friends or relatives. So, nudge them to share by incentivizing them.
Educational content offers value to your customers while building rapport helps promote the feeling that you’re truly invested in their success and aren't after making a quick buck.
Product use cases, ideas, maintenance, best practices, or even back-stories that went into their production - can all make a positive impression.
Here's an example of BOOM! By Cindy Joseph. Take a look:
Notice Boom is not pitching for a sale here but priming readers for the next purchase.
This is how you build rapport - you let people know that you’re genuinely invested in them, care for them, and are worthy of their trust.
Action Tip: Craft automated emails that teach people about your products, give them ideas on how to use them, and focus on their major pain points. Your emails should make them feel that you care for them and understand what they need to solve problems.
Review collection emails are highly effective WooCommerce automated emails.
As per a study conducted by Bright Local, 88% of people trust reviews online from strangers as much as personal recommendations.
Hence, if you want to be a store that people trust, you must have many reviews. Reviews are not only good for SEO but also increase conversions.
Here's an incredible example from Biscuiteers that converts at a jaw-dropping 18% - well above the industry standard of 3%. Take a look:
The email is on-brand and looks beautiful. What works is that the white background makes the text easy to read. Plus, headlines in pink quickly tell the user what they're expected to do. There's no beating around the bush!
Moreover, it lets people know what others love about the store, giving them a lead to follow.
Action Tip: Make sure you design this email in a way that is on-brand, infused with personality, and the objective is evident in the beginning. Avoid beating around the bush here.
It’s a great idea to put a couple of testimonials so that they can follow the lead of the other customers.
After they submit the review, send a thank you email to build a strong relationship with them.
Purchase anniversaries email gets triggered a certain number of days after your customers make their first purchase. It may be their 3-month or 6-month anniversary with you. These types of WooCommerce automated emails are great in ensuring you form a strong bond with your customers.
Here's an email from True Citrus:
The headline here is pretty captivating. When they say, “Good things come in threes”- one wants to read more to see what they're talking about.
Notice how the background is mostly white, so the text attracts attention.
Further, True Citrus makes it a point to highlight the deadline of the coupon code for the anniversary sale - i.e., 48 hours!
Action Tips: Acknowledging anniversaries or thanking people for being a customer or subscriber can lead to increased loyalty, additional sales, and brand advocacy. So do set up automated email sequences on strategic days from the date of their purchase.
Replenishment emails are sent out to the customer when a product they bought from you is about to run out.
Many store owners are missing out on the opportunity to engage with their customers when a product is going to finish by not encouraging them to re-stock.
A study published by Listrack.com found that replenishment campaigns had the highest CTR compared to any lifecycle emails.
Love this email from Just Right by Purina:
From the question at the top to the call to action button copy -everything is quite aware of what the buyer needs.
Action Tip: Think of how often your customers would be using the product and when you should reach out to them for replenishment or refilling. Two emails work better than one - you can send the first one ten days in advance and the other 3-4 days before.
You don’t have to offer a discount because they already need the item, so why train them to expect a coupon every time for replenishment? Reminding on time is good enough.
When you launch a new product in your store, create a sequence of emails introducing the product to your users. Don't just send a one-off email and let each email lead to the next one.
The first email should simply announce the arrival of the new product in your store. Take a look at an email from BOOM! By Cindy Joseph:
Subject: Meet our *NEW* all-natural Boom…
The subject line of this email is crafted to create curiosity. The email body shows what the product looks like, what it does, and what differentiates it from the pack.
The CTA button reads - 'Check out the item' and not 'Buy Now' - which is how it should be.
This first email should be followed up by 4-5 strategic emails that lead people to the sale. These can be about product ingredients, testimonials, FAQs, etc.
Action Tip: Plot a series of well-crafted and well-thought emails to educate and then convert them. In the first email, use powerful words like “Introducing,” “Meet the new,” and “Announcing” in your subject line as they capture more attention.
The other automated emails in the sequence can let people know about the ingredients of the product, share testimonials, and emphasize the FAQs.
The final email can nudge them to buy. Pretty strategic!
WooCommerce automated emails are sure to make your life easier and strengthen your bond with customers. Just set them up once, and you're good to go for a long time!
Setting up becomes even easier when you use FunnelKit Automations, a WooCommerce plugin that helps you create successful automated email campaigns by providing valuable insights.
Once you have knowledge of how the campaigns are performing, you can make necessary adjustments to ensure better results.
The best part is that FunnelKit offers a wide range of triggers and actions, allowing you to create practically any kind of automated email campaign in WooCommerce.
So, get yourself a copy of FunnelKit and start sending WooCommerce automated emails today!