Looking to get into Shopify Email Marketing & attract more customers?
Successful Shopify stores have one thing in common: great marketing. There are many different levels and areas of expertise but one tried and true method that has stuck around is email marketing. So, what is email marketing and how can you use Shopify email marketing to create a successful store?
What is email marketing & how can you use it for a Shopify Store?
Email marketing is a method used to develop a relationship with your customers and potential customers. A common mistake is that this just means blasting emails at a list but it’s actually about nurturing them, offering value and building the rapport with the long-term aim of having them convert to sales. It’s a very convenient way to let them know about new features, or simply remind them of what you offer, or that they have a cart waiting for them.
In order to get the most out of your marketing campaign, you should integrate it to Shopify. The base formula for this is: Shopify email marketing + personalization (based on the user’s browsing activity) + automation. This has the most powerful impact.
What is the difference between email marketing and email hosting?
If you are just beginning with your business and are new to the world of e-commerce and marketing in general, there are many terms that can be quite confusing. For instance, the difference between Shopify email marketing and Shopify email hosting. While Shopify email marketing consists of sending regular updates to your subscriber list with the aim to engage and generate sales, Shopify email hosting is something completely different. Shopify Email hosting (what we offer) is all about managing day to day email with customers and suppliers. Whereas Shopify email marketing is all about sending newsletters (or other kinds of automated email notification such as abandoned cart emails).
Email hosting then is actually having the means for your customers to send you inquiries about your products and services via hosted email servers, and you being able to reply to them. It’s standard email but built for ecommerce. There’s a number of Shopify email hosting options that are available from 3rd party vendors, since Shopify doesn’t have their own Shopify email hosting yet. At the time of writing we are the only dedicated Shopify email host in the world.
Shopify only offer email forwarding which is not the same thing as email hosting. It’s a form of email masking which isn’t very professional since your customers will be able to see your email address.
What tools can I use for Shopify email marketing?
While there is a wide array of tools that can be used in email marketing, we will highlight two that work very well for Shopify email marketing specifically.
One of them is MailChimp. It’s a very popular option for Shopify store owners because, it integrates well, it’s straightforward and easily used. Plus, it’s free up to 2000 subscribers on your list. All you need is a MailChimp account and your Shopify store to get started. You can sign up here.
Once you connect your Shopify store to Mailchimp, you can add your customers and their data to MailChimp, which makes it easy to create targeted email campaigns. The automation options are superb, and let you easily set up ad campaigns for your Shopify email marketing based on past customer interactions.
One nifty option is sending an abandoned cart email – basically a reminder to the customer that they have left items in the cart which creates a sense of follow up and personalisation to encourage them to complete the transaction. You can also add special offers to entice them to finish their purchasing process. Since Shopify has their own abandoned cart reminders, make sure to turn those off before you proceed so they don’t conflict.
Another great alternative to Mailchimp for Shopify email hosting is ActiveCampaign – they are an integrated marketing and CRM suite, with a focus on email marketing. They are specifically built towards small and midsize businesses, so they are a great pick for your Shopify email marketing (although not as good as Mailchimp for most merchants). You can create autoresponders with ease and automate most processes: send an autoresponder to new customers, send intelligent follow-ups and segment your customers. Plus you can enjoy full Shopify integration!
If you haven’t started your Shopify email marketing, you need to jump on board and get underway today.
You can find Shopify Mailchimp tutorials all over the web. To start your integration you’ll need to install the Shopify Mailchimp app which will connect your Mailchimp account with your store.
What tools can I use for Shopify email Hosting?
Shopify does not offer email hosting & whilst it’s not required to run a store – it’s strongly suggested. All successful Shopify stores use email hosting of one kind or another to send and receive email on their own domains. This means that you’ll need to use a 3rd party tool for your Shopify store email hosting such as Shopped Email.
We offer dedicated Shopify email hosting for $10 per month with a 2 month free discount for annual payments.
Or you can explore other hosting options which may be cheaper but won’t integrate as well with Shopify.
