Greg Zakowicz Greg Zakowicz

Examples of Post Purchase Email Marketing

When it comes to post-purchase email marketing, it may just be the most underutilized yet powerful email marketing tactic there is. A strategic, well-thought-out series can help increase customer retention and help build brand loyalty and advocacy. The best part of all is that these messages are automated, generating revenue while you sleep.

Creating a series of messages designed to enhance the purchase experience is something every retailer should implement.

Post-purchase email marketing may be the most underutilized yet powerful email marketing tactic. A strategic, well-thought-out series can help increase customer retention and help build brand loyalty and advocacy. The best part of all is that these messages are automated, generating revenue while you sleep.

Creating a series of messages designed to enhance the purchase experience is something every retailer should implement. With each message and series sent, taking into consideration the individual's purchase history is important. After all, a loyal customer may not need the same nurturing or messaging as a first-time purchaser.

Post-Purchase Email Metrics

Post-purchase email metrics (2024):

  • Open rate: 49.8%

  • Click rate: 4.4%

  • Conversion rate: 1.01%

  • Click-to-conversion: 22.6%

Scheduled campaign email metrics (2024):

  • Open rate: 26.6%

  • Click rate: 1.2%

  • Conversion rate: 0.07%

  • Click-to-conversion: 5.9%

Types of Post-Purchase Email Messages

As you can see, post-purchase messages well outperform regular email campaigns, and there are no limits to the types of messages you could send in a post-purchase series, including:

  • “Thank you” message (w/ or w/o an incentive).

  • Product care/tips and tricks.

  • How-to resources.

  • Customer service info/guarantees.

  • Product recommendations or cross-selling opportunities.

  • Social invites or crowdsourcing (Share a photo with us!).

  • Manage preference request.

  • Product reviews.

  • Reorder reminders.

  • Gift-giving or date reminder requests.

  • Refer-a-friend invitations.

When building your automated post-purchase marketing program, have fun, be creative, and, most importantly, make your customers’ purchase experience better.

Post-Purchase Email Marketing Examples:

Post-Purchase email subject lines

  1. Wow, thank you again! 💋

  2. Seafood Grilling Tips That Set You Up for Succulent Success

  3. Thanks For Your Order. Enjoy This Gift For You

  4. Tips to make the most of your Bosch appliance

  5. It’s happening – Your custom orthotics are on their way!

  6. This is so exciting! Your impression kit is here.

  7. Your personal exercise plan, Greg!

  8. Thanks for your purchase – here’s a BONUS coupon to use the next time you shop!

  9. Greg, read this before you set up your new TV.

  10. Stick Up Cam 101: Tips and Tricks

  11. How to Clean and Care for Your ______

  12. Our Best Recipe(s) Ever!

  13. Thank You!

  14. Meet Your Perfect Pair 😍💕

  15. Thank you for your recent purchase!

  16. Thank you for shopping at _____!

  17. [Video] Your Recent Coelho Purchase

  18. Has anyone ever told you that you're incredible!

  19. 20% OFF | Our Thank You Gift To You 💕

  20. Thanks again for your order

  21. Thank you for making a LEGO® purchase. (message 1 of 4)

  22. We hope yer hooked… (message 2 of 4)

  23. Captain Brickbeard is ready for ya… (message 3 of 4)

  24. 1 month 'til you find the treasure... (message 4 of 4)

Other post-purchase articles:

Creating a Post-Purchase Email Strategy with Simple, Smart Segmentation

3 Ways to Cultivate Post-Holiday Customer Loyalty

Why Post-Purchase Marketing Is So Important

How to Create Post-Purchase Emails that Renew the Customer Journey

»» Have any questions about post-purchase email marketing? Let me know.

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Greg Zakowicz Greg Zakowicz

Examples of Back in Stock Email Marketing, Complete with Subject Lines

Back-in-stock notifications may be the highest-performing automated emails a brand sends. In this post, you’ll find top-tier example subject lines, performance stats (60% open, 19% click, 5.8% conversion), and five immediate tactics you can apply to your e-commerce email flows.

How Effective are back-in-stock messages?

In 2024, Back-in-stock messages had a 59.2% open rate, 19.5% click rate, and a 5.3% conversion rate. This was the highest conversion rate of ANY automated message, by far. Consider these must-have automated email messages for brands — both automated and scheduled campaigns.

Here are a few tips for ecommerce brands looking to use back-in-stock messages to increase sales.

  • Provide early access with back-in-stock automation

  • Use a sense of urgency and fear of loss in your messaging

  • Don’t feel the need to discount

  • Tailor messages to specific products when necessary

  • Include product recommendations

Back-in-Stock Email Marketing Examples

What’s the best back-in-stock subject line to use?

The best back-in-stock subject line uses a sense of urgency and combines it with the term “back.” This combines the urgency with social proof (they sold out once, they will again). A good example is “Back in Stock, But Not For Long.”

Examples of The Perfect Back-in-stock email subject line

Here are some back-in-stock email message subject lines used by real brands:

  • Top Sellers Back in Stock😍

  • 🐍Back in ssssssssstock

  • Restocked! Ribbed Cotton Range Is BACK

  • Back in Stock: Lafeber Products

  • BACK IN STOCK: The Henley

  • THEY’RE BACK ⚡

  • URGENT: It’s Back In Stock!

  • Back in Stock 🌿 CBD Truffles

  • Back In Stock? Enough Said.

  • The wait is over: ramen is back!

  • Greg, SILK BEDDING BACK IN STOCK

  • Your fave Birkenstock style is BACK!

  • Back In Stock...

  • Back & Selling Fast!

  • Your fave camera bag is back in new colors!

  • LOOK WHO'S BACK 👀

  • Your favorite is back!

  • Favorites Back in Stock!

  • Everyone's adorable bestie is back 🎀

  • Your Favorite Lingerie is Back! (But not for long 👀)

  • Missed me? Back in stock

  • Back in Stock: A Knit to Know

  • WOW! Back In Stock: But Not For Long

  • Love Everybody 🖤 Back In Stock

  • MUST-HAVE BACK IN STOCK

  • Back in stock and going fast 💨

  • BACK IN STOCK You Have Been Waiting

  • Our holiday gift to you: back-in-stock best sellers

Have any questions about back-in-stock email marketing? Let me know.

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Greg Zakowicz Greg Zakowicz

Top Marketing Podcasts of 2019

As host of the Commerce Marketer Podcast, I conduct a lot of interviews. But choosing my favorite episodes is like choosing a favorite child (if my kids are reading this, I love you both the same). However, I forced myself to choose some of the episodes that really resonated with me for one reason or another.

Here are some of my favorite marketing conversations from 2019, in order of episode number. I hope you enjoy.

As host of the Commerce Marketer Podcast, I conduct a lot of interviews. But choosing my favorite episodes is like choosing a favorite child (if my kids are reading this, I love you both the same). However, I forced myself to choose some of the episodes that really resonated with me for one reason or another.

Here are some of my favorite marketing conversations from 2019, in order of episode number. I hope you enjoy.

  1. Episode 043: Super Bowl Commercial Recap Roundtable

    More than 100 million people watch the Super Bowl each year, but the commercials have become the must-see event within the event. This episode discusses the Super Bowl from a marketing and entertainment perspective. We’ll revisit the commercials, halftime show, and even how we interacted with our mobile devices during the big game - after all, what good is a $5 million commercial if everyone is checking their Instagram feed?

    Why I chose this episode: This episode was a three-person roundtable. The guests were fun, brought great perspective, and episodes like this are just fun to do because no one takes themselves too seriously.

    >> Listen Now <<

  2. Episode 046: Email Deliverability: Everything You Need to Know

    Did you know that having good email deliverability does not mean your emails reach the inbox? Understanding email deliverability is crucial, yet many marketers do not fully understand what goes into it.

    Why I chose this episode: My guest, deliverability expert Chris Kolbenschlag, tackles myths, best practices, things marketers shouldn’t do and other elements around email deliverability in an easy-to-understand manner — which is what I love about this episode.

    >> Listen Now <<

  3. Ep. 050: How Lifecycle Email Marketing Is Like a Fine Wine

    This episode discuss how one compani built their email program from the ground up using lifecycle email marketing to drive nearly half of their 2018 email revenue. We cover the strategies behind triggered campaigns, how to avoid the pitfalls of email fatigue with segmentation, mistakes made with their lifecycle campaigns, and lessons learned.

    Why I chose this episode: My guest was Ben Argov, president of International Wine Accessories (IWA). Ben and I met several years back and he is one of the nicest people I know. Ben is honest about what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be improved in his email program. What made this one special was that he sent me a spreadsheet of his email metrics to help guide the conversation. If you’re into email marketing, this episode is a must-listen!

    >> Listen Now <<

  4. Ep. 054: How Ikonick Uses Modern-Day Marketing to Drive Success

    I’m joined by Mark Brazil, co-founder of the canvas art company Ikonick, to discuss how he created a multimillion-dollar business in less than two years by combining email, video, social, and influencer marketing. Mark covers everything from social media, email marketing, content marketing, storytelling strategies, and how they measure success.

    Why I chose this episode: I met Mark while speaking at a conference in Quebec City in early 2019. After our initial conversation I knew I had to have him on the show. Mark is brutally honest, in a Gary V type of way (after listening you’ll know why), and shares some amazingly useful insights. This episode is great for entrepreneurs, and email and social media marketers alike. I forgot to mention, this dude is funny as heck!

    >> Listen Now <<

  5. Ep. 059: How Vera Bradley Designs a Modern-Day Retail Experience

    I’m joined by Harry Cunningham, vice president of retail brand experience at Vera Bradley, to discuss what goes into designing modern-day brick-and-mortar stores that appeal to consumers. Harry explains some of the driving forces behind Vera Bradley’s redesign of their storefronts, explains how the store design revolves around solving shopper challenges, and shares everything you can think of when it comes to the in-store experience.

    Why I chose this episode: It’s such a cool topic — and one I find fascinating. Harry is an engaging speaker and really brings you into his world of how he approaches store design concepts through stories that demonstrate the how and why he makes the decisions he does.

    >> Listen Now <<

  6. Ep. 60: The Behavioral Science of Marketing

    Nancy Harhut is a behavioral science marketer and chief creative officer at HBT Marketing, discusses how marketers can use behavioral science — like “eye magnet” words, the Von Restorff Effect, proper use of charts and images, tactile experiences, and landing page techniques — to nudge their customers and encourage purchase decisions.

    Why I chose this episode: Again, this topic is fascinating! This was a topic I had been wanting to cover for some time, and was fortunate enough to mention it to another guest of mine who coincidentally knew someone. That someone was Nancy. And boy, did she deliver! Nancy discussed so many tactics in an easy-to-understand manner, while providing specific use-cases for each. This episode has so many practical takeaways for marketers.

    >> Listen Now <<

Find out more about The Commerce Marketer Podcast

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Greg Zakowicz Greg Zakowicz

Email Expectations vs. Reality: Are You Letting Your Customers Down?

Consumer expectations versus reality. It is a complex topic for all retailers, but especially for those who sell online. Look at how Amazon has raised the bar on consumer expectations, such as with fast and free shipping. Consider how accessible mobile phones are, allowing consumers to find any product they are searching for, regardless of where they or the product is located. Social media, and its integration into the shopping experience, is providing a direct connection between brand and consumer.

Consumer expectations versus reality. It is a complex topic for all retailers, but especially for those who sell online. Look at how Amazon has raised the bar on consumer expectations, such as with fast and free shipping. Consider how accessible mobile phones are, allowing consumers to find any product they are searching for, regardless of where they or the product is located. Social media, and its integration into the shopping experience, is providing a direct connection between brand and consumer.

The best way to meet consumer expectations is to develop a more robust personalization program, especially when it comes to email marketing. According to a 2016 Flagship Research survey, nearly 60% of consumers expect gender to be used to make email messages more relevant. More than 60% of consumers expect emails to be personalized based on interests they gave in their profile, their birthday, purchases they made online, and what they looked at on their website. While these figures are telling, what is even more daunting for retailers is that 40% of consumers expect offline purchases to be used to make email marketing more relevant. I repeat, offline purchases!

The good news is that many of the necessary data points are already being collected by retailers. When it comes to email marketing, retailers often ask for this data at signup or inside of messaging itself. Consumers who provide this information do so willingly, but expect something in return: relevance.

Perception is Reality

Retailers aren’t meeting that expectation. Instead, consumers find marketing emails consistently useful only 15% of the time, and at the same time, consistently find emails not useful nearly 60% of the time. This is a drastic difference between expectations and reality.

The primary reason for this gap is the prevalence of batch-and-blast messaging. Too often, retailers have limited internal resources that prevent them from sending deeply segmented emails to their subscribers. The result is generic messaging aimed at the masses rather than the individual. Whether a subscriber purchased yesterday, last month, or never, they get the same message.

Retailers can upend that habit by honing in on those data points that can make their email marketing more relevant. For instance, retailers can look at the source of the email subscriber. The person signing up from the maternity section of the website is likely much different than the one signing up from the men’s clothing section. The same holds true for those clicking inside emails. The person clicking on maternity links in a message should receive different messaging than the men looking at button-down shirts. After all, they have different needs from your store.

Sixty-two percent of consumers expect their website browsing data to be used to personalize the emails they receive. Give them what they expect by implementing a browse recovery strategy. These messages can be a significant revenue driver for any email program. While these messages are generally clothed as promotional messages (pun intended), they are immediately relevant to the recent online window shopper. 

What’s It All Worth?

At the end of the day, does this all really matter? The answer is yes! One retailer did just this and implemented a unique second welcome series message based only on a specific link click in the first message. This targeted message was sent to just 3% of the new subscribers, but generated a 140% lift in total message revenue, compared to the generic second welcome series message. This is the power of relevance!

Only 15% of consumers say that marketing emails are consistently relevant. Your competitors likely know this. Take the initiative to meet consumer expectations before they do.

 

This was originally published on Multichannel Merchant.

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Greg Zakowicz Greg Zakowicz

Lapsed-Purchase Email Marketing Examples

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