What is email automation?

Email automation—now an essential component of any email marketing strategy—is the process of sending emails automatically when subscribers take certain actions. Brands use a marketing automation platform to remove the manual work of sending emails to their subscriber lists. 

For example, new subscribers joining your email list might trigger a welcome email series. In this case, the sign-up process would trigger an email introducing your brand. The next few emails in the welcome series may expand on your brand story or introduce products relevant to different segments of your audience.

How to set up email automation for your business

Follow the steps below to implement email automation: 

1. Choose a marketing automation platform

Select a marketing automation platform to house your customer data from which you’ll generate your email automations. Look for a platform that offers:

  • Pre-built flow templates
  • Large list of behavioral triggers
  • Advanced A/B testing

2. Segment your audience 

Group your audience into different segments based on:

  • Past purchases
  • Past abandoned cart items
  • Product browsing behavior
  • Number of purchases
  • Lifetime customer value
  • Other actions taken on your website and email campaigns

Segmentation enables you to plan the content of your automated emails based on what a segment is most likely to interact with, maximizing engagement.

3. Set up triggers 

Choose which triggers you’ll create content for. For instance, customers abandoning their cart or making a purchase can trigger follow-up emails containing friendly reminders or order confirmations.

4. Create email content

Craft email copy that provides value to your customers. Match your content to each selected trigger, then personalize the content further to the segment. For example, set up emails that go out when a customer’s birthday is coming up and offer them a site-wide birthday discount to encourage sales.

Benefits of using email automation

Here are some benefits of using email automation as part of your digital marketing plan:

  • Save time: You only set up automated emails once, and they go out whenever your subscribers take a specific action. This way, you can spend more time on high-value tasks.
  • Improve customer experience: When subscribers receive automated emails with personalized content after completing an action, they’re receiving content that has been tailored to their experience of your brand.
  • Increase revenue: Sending personalized messages at the right time (such as a birthday or holiday) can encourage people to make a purchase.

Ready for your business to reap the benefits of email automation? Sign up for Klaviyo and explore 60+ flow templates and AI segmentation to reach your target audience effortlessly.

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