Introduction to Marketing Automation: How to Leverage Email Automation

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By definition, marketing automation is the process of using software to automate marketing campaigns and activities throughout the buyer's journey, from initial interactions with the customer to after-sales support.

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It helps businesses define the most effective processes for each stage of the sales funnel based on data related to a prospect and how they interact with the business.

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Email automation is one of the essential tools of a good marketing automation strategy. Here's a look back at a process that has proven itself.

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What does email automation allow?

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Email marketing automation is a way to send personalized, relevant, and timely email campaigns to individual contacts when they take a specific action, such as signing up for your email list or making a purchase on your online store. For example, when you sign up for the Spaag newsletter, you receive a Spaag confirmation email.

Thanks to email marketing automation, you can:
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• Offer the same experience to your first subscriber and your 20,000th subscriber.
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• Save time, as you only need to plan your email campaign once and automation continues it. Your teams can focus on high-value-added projects.
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• Choose the order, frequency, and targeted content of the message. Once the sequence is set up, the emails are sent automatically.
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What are the benefits of email automation? 
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The benefits of email automation depend on your company's goals, but the main advantage is that automation saves time while creating a better experience for your customers. In this regard, 30% of professionals surveyed stated that the main benefit of marketing automation was the time it saved them.

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As your business grows and customers (and potential customers) start to flood in, it becomes even more difficult for you to offer amazing experiences to everyone who interacts with your business. Email automation helps you take care of your existing customers as well as new prospects who sign up for your email list.

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If executed correctly, email automation offers highly personalized and timely experiences that will convert new prospects into customers, or initial customers into loyal customers.

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Is email marketing automation the right choice for me?‍

51% of companies currently use some form of marketing automation. Why? Because it works. So why isn't everyone using email automation? Some think they don't have time to learn how to set up email automation or that it's too complicated.
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Are there any challenges or disadvantages to email automation?‍

The only downside to email marketing automation is that it often requires a bit of work and planning upfront. Planning is easier when you have an idea of what you want the final result to look like.

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To get you started, we've listed below some specific examples of automated email campaigns that are perfect for beginners.

1. Automated Welcome Emails

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In a competitive market, the first impression is crucial. If someone signs up for your mailing list, it's up to you to immediately enchant them with interesting and useful content and enticing offers.

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The easiest way to do this is to send a series of attractive automated welcome emails fulfilling three functions:

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• Welcome new subscribers and thank them for signing up.
  
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• Invite them to connect further (by following your social networks, visiting your website, coming to your store, etc.).
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• Learn more about your subscribers to continue sending them emails tailored to their interests.

Automated welcome emails reach new subscribers as soon as they sign up – at a time when they are new to your list and eager to hear from you. Without automation, you risk manually sending a welcome email several hours, or even days later, when your new subscribers have already shifted their attention elsewhere. Automation allows you to reach them when the impact is most significant.
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A welcome email is an excellent way to start moving prospects along their customer journey. However, this is just the beginning. Why not go a bit further by multiplying email series? Perhaps instead of a series of welcome emails, you want to create a series of emails that help turn one-time buyers into loyal customers. The possibilities are endless and can be tailored to your specific needs and goals.
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2. Birthday and Holiday Emails

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Everyone loves receiving something special for their birthday or holiday. Thanks to email automation, it's easy to please your customers on their special days. You can keep your customers engaged and let them know they are important to your business.

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Start collecting birthday information whenever a new subscriber signs up. Regardless of how interested a person is in your business, it's natural for them to lose a bit of interest after being on your mailing list for some time.

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It's a great opportunity to thank them for their ongoing support and offer them a special birthday gift, whether it's a small freebie or a useful guide.

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3. Newsletters and Blog Updates

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If you regularly update your company's blog, you may have a lot of timeless content that isn't as viewed as before. Consider repurposing this content in automated email campaigns for new customers who haven't yet seen this content.

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Some ideas to keep in mind:
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• Review and make sure your posts are still relevant and up-to-date.
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• Ensure the sequence builds on ideas and that there's enough variety to be as engaging as possible.
  
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The same goes for email newsletters. The content of your newsletter can vary widely: it could be updates about your business, announcing the launch of a new product, or encouraging customers to participate in your Facebook contest.

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• Make sure to schedule the sending of your newsletter at least once a month. You can use it to promote a new blog post, introduce a member of your team, or even distribute a free, downloadable resource that your customers could benefit from, like a Christmas gift guide, for example.

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4. Promoting Events and Webinars
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Email marketing campaigns are perfect for promoting events, meetups, or webinars organized by your company.

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Would you like to be supported by experts in setting up your email automation strategy? Our team is at your disposal: contact us.

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