From improving customer engagement to boosting conversion rates, the benefits of email marketing are endless (we know, we know). But manually sending email campaigns is so 2015 (yawn). For all the B2C marketers out there, automated email marketing campaigns are the real deal now.
As it happens, email marketing automation helps you engage with your subscribers through personalized emails at each stage of their customer journey. Because automation never stops working! This enhances customer experience, which, in turn, boosts engagement.
In fact, according to MoEngage’s latest email marketing benchmarks report, emails personalized based on customer behavior achieve up to 300.7x conversion rates compared to non-personalized emails. How cool is that?
That said, we’re about to review some of the best automated email campaigns from 7 different brands. But first, what are the types of automated email campaigns? Let’s have a look.
7 Types of Common Automated Email Marketing Campaigns
Creating an email marketing strategy isn’t enough nowadays. You need to know how to get started with email marketing automation.
It’s okay if you don’t, though. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of common email automation campaigns just for you:
1. Welcome email series
A welcome email series is one of the most common automated email marketing campaigns.
Think of the moment when you subscribe to any brand’s email list. You’ll mostly find an email in your inbox, welcoming you to the brand’s family and introducing you to their products. These warm and inviting emails are meant to make you feel at home with the brand. And the next thing you know, you start trusting them a bit and expecting more emails from them on your own customer journey!
2. Anniversary and birthday emails
Customers love it when you remember anything about them—be it their birthday, anniversary, or even the first day they bought something from you. Why? Because it makes them feel special!
C’mon, weren’t you secretly thrilled when Nike wished you a happy birthday with free shipping? (We know you were.)
3. Order confirmation emails
Another kind of automated email marketing campaigns is the transactional email, like order or payment confirmation emails. A transactional email communicates customer-specific updates like login codes, password changes, and more.
For example, the minute someone buys a product, they might receive an email confirming the following details:
- What product they’ve ordered
- How much they’ve paid for it
- When they can expect to receive the product
- How they can track their order
Such transactional emails are meant to reassure customers that the brand has received their orders, no worries.
4. Product feedback requests
After a customer buys a product, it’s a good idea to send them a survey or ask them for a product review. For one thing, doing so makes customers feel like you value their feedback. And for another, their feedback can help you improve your product as well as your customer experience.
5. Re-engagement emails
Sometimes, customers stop engaging with your brand because they’re simply too busy. A quick nudge might be all it takes to stir up their desire to shop for something new! This nudge is often in the form of emails offering special discounts and coupons.
For example, Pearly sends emails offering 20% off bubble tea. But there’s a catch—customers have only 48 hours to claim the deal. All the more reason for them to remember the brand and rush to grab the deal before it’s gone!
Some brands also send automated discount emails to celebrate milestones and achievements. Here’s an email from Etsy offering a $5 discount to celebrate their ‘Etsyversary’.
6. Abandoned cart notifications
How many times have you been sidetracked after adding your favorite accessories to your cart?
The same thing happens with your customers (human nature, tsk tsk), which is why it’s important to remind them about the products they’ve left behind in their carts. That’s exactly what abandoned cart notifications do: remind these customers to complete their purchases.
7. Back-in-stock alerts
It’s a bummer when you want to buy a pair of sunglasses online, and they’re out of stock. But wouldn’t it be awesome to receive an automated email a few days later, letting you know the item is available again?
Products going out of stock tells customers they’re coveted enough to be sold out. On the flip side, products coming back in stock tells customers they need to be purchased soon—what if they get sold out again? See the sense of urgency-due-to-scarcity at play here?
Okay, you must have a good idea of the different campaign types by now. But nothing helps you understand automated email marketing campaigns better than real-world examples.
7 Email Marketing Automation Examples to Help Guide Your Campaigns
Here’s a list of the best automated email campaigns from real brands. Who knows – some of these email marketing examples might get your creative juices flowing and inspire your next campaign!
1. Gemini: Automated welcome email
How Automation Enables This Example: Let’s say Google wants to onboard a new user of their GenAI tool, Gemini. A welcome email workflow is triggered as soon as someone signs up for the tool on Gemini’s website.
This email marketing automation example from Gemini introduces the recipient to the GenAI tool. The two-line description clearly tells the recipient what to expect from Gemini.
Additionally, Google knows it’s vital to keep users engaged from the moment they sign up for the tool. That’s why their welcome email includes tips and ideas the recipient can use to get started with Gemini.
The CTAs, like ‘Try Gemini’ and ‘Chat with Gemini’, are also clear and concise. At the same time, the recipient gets clear instructions on how to write effective prompts for the tool — with a CTA letting them check a sample prompt.
Pro tip: Once you send a welcome email, make sure to send more emails consecutively highlighting the most popular posts on your blog, your most-ordered products, and so on. This can help your email subscribers move forward through the funnel and become your customers.
2. Nintendo: Automated birthday email
How Automation Enables This Example: This particular email is triggered by a milestone (the customer’s birthday), not by the customer’s actions. Once an individual signs up for Nintendo and specifies their birthday, they are sent an automated email when that special day comes.
Birthday emails like the ones from Nintendo can warm anyone’s heart. Not only are they wishing the customer a happy birthday, but they’re also hoping the customer has a great day. Aww… thank you!
Secondly, they’re offering two different discounts at once—300 “My Nintendo Platinum Points” and 15% off select merchandise. Finally, the ‘Treat yourself’ CTA makes the customer feel happy that Nintendo went the extra mile to give them a birthday treat.
3. Poshmark: Automated re-engagement email
How Automation Enables This Example: This email could be automatically sent to those customers who have been inactive on the brand’s website or app for a specific time period.
