What’s the highest priority email marketing task for e-commerce brands?
If you asked me that question, I’d say, without hesitation, it’s the first 90 days after the customer’s first purchase.
And yes … there are your welcome sequences and cart abandonments.
I get all that.
But the reality is, if you’re at least half-serious about growing your e-commerce business, you probably have some sort of cart abandonment sequence set up.
And most people that sign up to your email list have already decided whether they’re gonna buy or not.
They’re just there for the discount.
My point is, there’s a clear cap to what you can achieve with those sequences.
But the post-purchase sequence is a bit different.
The most tangible value of email marketing is turning one-time buyers into repeat buyers.
And most brands aren’t leveraging this nearly as much as they should.
Today, we’re looking at a post-purchase email I set up for an Italian luxury accessories brand Von Baer.
I have a feeling you’re gonna love this one.
I worked with the founders Albert and Igor for a couple of months last year. They’re great people, and their products are top notch.
I’m not surprised that people like the CEO of Shopify and Hollywood stars use their products.
The cool thing about this email is that it’s super simple to write and set up.
You could finish reading this article, cook up the email in less than 30 minutes, sit back, and watch sales come in.
This one is a silent moneymaker when it comes to increasing customer lifetime value (CLV).
Before we get into it, just in case you’re new here…
What is Emails That Sell?
Each week, I break down an email from a DTC e-commerce brand. Some of these brands are absolutely killing it when it comes to email marketing.
My goal with this series is to challenge conventional email marketing. Expect to learn different copywriting techniques, sales psychology, and consumer behavior. Everything that moves you away from hard-selling discount campaigns and other mass-market tactics.
If you have an email you’d like me to break down, please send it to me on LinkedIn or at marketing@siimpettai.com.
Let’s get into it now:
Before I analyze any copy, I wanna give you some context:
This automated email has only been sent to a small segment of 150 people.
Here are the results so far:
63% open rate, 6.7% click rate, $1.57k revenue.
The brand we’re talking about here only has a couple of thousand people on their list.
If you have a bigger email list, just imagine how much extra money you could make by sending a simple post-purchase email like this.
Anyway, let’s break it down…
Subject line: How to keep your Von Baer accessory looking new
Leather bags aren’t usually impulse purchases, especially if it’s quality stuff.
You don’t advertise a $2,000 bag on Meta and expect people to buy right away.
Prospects do their research. They watch YT videos from influencers, browse Reddit, and ask for brand recommendations.
Once they’re ready to buy, they want the bag to last for a long time, if not a lifetime.
The subject line promises useful information to the reader, which I believe is one of the main reasons why the open rates are so high.
Now, let’s look at the body copy:
Notice how the email is completely non-salesy.
The goal here is not to make a quick buck…
It’s to educate the customer and build some good-will.
We’re sharing a few leather maintenance tips so they don’t have to throw away their bag within a few months (which is the last thing they want).
We tell readers if they want their bag to age gracefully, they should clean it regularly while avoiding harsh chemicals or cleaners.
Only at the end of the email, we subtly mention that they can buy a leather cream to keep the material soft, shiny, and crack-free.
We’re simply cross-selling a back-end offer to complement the front-end offer.
Just like Apple sells you a charger when you buy an iPhone.
That’s the whole point.
The offer is strategically placed as a PS at the end of the email.
Believe it or not, research shows that 9 in 10 people read the PS section in the email.
If you want your offer to get noticed, you might want to keep this in mind.
Another major factor of this email is the timing.
This is an automated email sent a few hours after the customer receives the package.
When doing market research, I looked at the customer reviews and quickly noticed a pattern emerge.
Most people were immediately blown away by the quality of the leather.
Some described the “rich smell” of the leather, while others raved about its “sturdyness.”
I knew that when customers opened the package, their first reaction was “wow.”
This is usually followed by:
“I’m gonna have to take good care of this.”
And this email is like a hammer to a nail that’s sticking out.
TL;DR
Key takeaway #1: Focus on building a relationship first.
Key takeaway #2: Educate the customer about the main product.
Key takeaway #3: Soft sell a low-ticket, complimentary product.
Key takeaway #4: Use the PS section strategically. Up to 90% of people read it.
Key takeaway #5: Nail the timing of the post-purchase email.
Key takeaway #6: Write conversational copy.
What’s next
Identify a complimentary, low-ticket product you could cross-sell alongside your main product.
If you sell sunglasses, can you offer a protective case?
If you sell running shoes, can you offer performance socks?
If you sell olive oil, can you sell a recipe book?
You know the deal!
Send a post-purchase email to build good-will and increase customer lifetime value (CLV).
Good luck!
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