9 Must-have Email Sequences For e-Commerce Stores

Each e-commerce business is unique like there are no two copy-pasted cities in the world. However, like there are similarities across cities there are some general characteristics of each successful online stores.
 
Surely, at scale, these email sequences make an impact. Smaller shops should not even bother. If they are just starting out, before investing in email automation, they should have at least $20k MRR and the know-how to do their own automation aka DYA.
 
If the eCommerce shop is already packed with loyal clients purchasing more and more, then it is very important to update the content every three months to stay relevant. Loyal clients are ‘in love with the store’. Successful entrepreneurs treat the relationship like a bond that needs to keep reinventing itself to continue merrily into the future. When any party stops trying to be relevant, something has already gone astray.
 
Here are the basic sequences an e-commerce store has to have:

1. Warming up value emails for qualified but somewhat cold leads
2. We want you back emails for people who visited the website
3. Abandoned cart email sequences
4. Welcome emails for purchasers aiming to build loyalty
5. Upsell & cross-sell emails
6. Keeping the relationships healthy emails
   1. Special dates and special occasions emails
7. Client appreciation emails
8. Win-back emails for people who haven’t been active for some time
9. Triggers-based sequences when visitors take any action in the store

 
Now I’m going to walk you through the thematic email sequences above and explain why they matter. I will also present some of iSEE's preferred tools and best practices.
 
Warming up emails for qualified but somewhat cold leads
 
Cold mass emailing is just not right. It is even illegal in most developed countries. Spam me and ‘you’ll die’, or at least pay a fine. But this is true only when the email is spammy, or out of the recipient's relevant interest scope. However, if the email satisfies the criteria below you can still mass email cold contacts legally:

1. Relevant interest. The cold leads are a niche audience i.e. offering an Airbnb SaaS to Airbnb hosts, or targeting banking IT executives for banking IT services. These segments have a relevant interest to receive the email.
2. Public interest. What the company or charity offers is in the domain of the public interest as it improves the lives of random individuals. 
3. Working unsubscribe button. The email has a functioning unsubscribe button both in the header and in the footer.
4. Legally obtained contacts.The contacts were obtained legally or from publicly available information. The company can prove the legality in case of litigation.

 
If the above conditions are met, then the company is free to send mass cold emails. While these sequences work, they ARE NOT OPTIMAL compared to careful and deep mindful connecting to prospects. Automated emails make sense if you send more than 1 million emails per quarter. It means you have large enough eCommerce audience. 
 
Example: USA-focused discounted dog food e-store can legally send emails to dog owners in the USA as long as it fulfills the criteria above. Cold emailing is NOT illegal. Abuse is illegal. Dog owners should be happy to learn about discounted pet food full of vitamins and sold at a bargain. But if the company sends dog food e-store emails to someone who owns a cat and hates dogs, then it may get into trouble.

If the company sells dog food, why not connect to veterinarians and dog NGOs instead to use their mailing lists?
 
If you believe that cold emailing is something the marketing strategy can handle and that you can find a large pool of qualified leads who have both personal and public interest to receive your email, then consider extensive A/B/C testing before starting.
 
This warm house does not implement cold emailing tactic as its clients were usually risk-savvy and well-funded. They did not need to go down this frugal route that can also stir negative sentiment and branding concerns. However, if needed, iSEE can execute massive customized cold emailing seamlessly and legally.

The rest of the article gets updated.