Here are 6 types of emails a fashion brand should send their subscribers. A welcome email is the first 1-1 interaction your brand will have with the customer. It's like a first impression. So make sure it's impactful, has a unique style, and not too pushy. You surely don't meet someone for the first time and ask them to marry you, right? Same with emails. Don't push for a sale in your first email. Another reason welcome emails are important is that they receive the highest open rate, across industries. When people give you their email address and are ready to receive your newsletter, they are also intrigued by how it will look, or do you have any instructions or great offers for them in there. Hence, high open rates. So leverage your welcome email to create an emotional connection with the reader. And then you can mention your store and show them around, of course, virtually. Here are the things you can include in a welcome email:Types Of Emails in Fashion
1. Welcome Email
- A polite thank you for signing up
- If you have a unique brand story, tell that
- Deliver on any offer that you promised on the signup form
- Social media links to connect further
- Include a CTA: A welcome email is not pushing a sale but that doesn't mean it should not have a CTA. It can be to check out your blogs, your new collection, or create a lookbook.
2. Content Email
One thing marketers forget while crafting email campaigns is that a subscriber will engage and open emails if there is something for them.
The easiest way to retain subscribers is by giving them useful content. Some of the content ideas for fashion brands are:
- Tips on how to mix & match clothes in your wardrobe.
- Guide on how to keep shoe stink-free
- Styling interview with a fashion icon
- If you are making clothes for pregnant women, then you can host a webinar around how to bond with the baby better
Engagement will help you increase open rate and click rates thus signaling to inbox service providers & spam filters that your emails are valuable. And because of that, your emails will have a low probability of landing in the spam folder.
3. New Collection Launch
Whenever you come up with new designs, more colors of the same products, or introduce a different category in your store, you should create a buzz about it to attract people to new products.
Some email marketing tips to craft your new collection launch email:
- Link to check out the new collection: Don't just send people to the home page and leave it upon them to figure out where to find the new collection. But send them to the actual page where all the information regarding the new collection can be found in one place
- Image: Shoot professionals, aspirational image to create excitement around the new items. Fashion visuals are one of the most important parts. Help people imagine how they will look and feel through these visuals.
- Send multiple emails: Not all of your subscribers will see the first email you send announcing your new collection. So send multiple emails ( based on the size of audience and business) to create a buzz around your launch.
4. Sales Promotion Email
If you have a lot of inventory that you want to get rid of or want some quick influx of cash flow, sales promo emails are quite effective.
Whatever the offer is - 50% off, buy 1 get 1 free, free shipping, giveaways, etc., you have to portray in an exciting way to convert people.
Here are some points to do the sales promotional emails the right way:
- Scarcity: You can always use 'offer valid till stock lasts' scarcity but if you want to add on to it, you can also mention time-scarcity i.e. offer valid till a particular date.
- Instructions: Make it clear with steps and instructions on how to avail the discount. If there is a promo code, mention it in the email and provide an easy to copy method.
- Occasion: If possible, attach the promo with an occasion or them e.g. Year-end sale or your brand's anniversary sale, etc.
- Segmentation: Do note that if you are running a sale relevant for a particular type of audience, exclude the rest of the list.
For example, if you are running a sale on women's shoes, create a separate segment of women and send the promo emails to only them. Another example is - if you are running a promo for a particular kind of shoes, exclude people who would have recently bought those.
This practice is called segmentation. It ensures that you send only relevant content to people so they don't feel you are crowding their inbox. Thus it reduces the unsubscribe rate.
Here is an example of a discount offer email:
5. Abandoned cart Email
According to studies done by researchers, about 70-80 percent of people add items to the cart but don't complete the purchase.
That's a huge amount of high intent traffic not resulting in a sale at the endpoint. But the good news is, it's not all lost.
The researchers have also found that cart abandonment emails are able to recover 18-20 percent of this sale that was thought to be lost.
The reason for cart abandonment can be many such as getting interrupted by something, a failed transaction, an expired credit card, or just second thoughts.
Abandon cart emails, give people another nudge to buy the thing they like so much that it made it to the cart. So there is a high chance that they will convert.
This process can be automated if you are using an ESP that facilitates abandoned cart emails. But the responsibility of creating the structure for this email is on you. So let's see some of the crucial points to include in your abandoned cart emails:
- Include a picture of the item that's been left in the cart
- Offer an incentive to come back and buy in the form of free shipping or some discount
- Include links to customer support or instructions on how to find answers to common questions. Sometimes, people don't buy at the endpoint because they have some doubts e.g. will I be able to exchange the shoes if they don't fit me? Does the material of this dress shrink on the first wash?
- Use social proof to let the person know that others like them have bought the product and liked it.
These emails are sent within 1 day of the abandoned cart. You can test the number of emails you need to send people to convert. Usually, it should be about 2-4 emails.
6. Post-purchase Email
The journey of a customer with you is not finished once they have bought the product. You can use the post-purchase phase to:
- Get feedback or testimonials
- Request for referrals
- Ask them to share on social media
- Upsell or cross-sell other products
Thank them for their purchase and let them know that they can reach out to you if there are any issues, even after they have paid for the product.
Post-purchase emails enhance the customer experience and make it memorable so that they return to your brand the next time they have to buy something, thereby driving customer loyalty.
Conclusion
Fashion email marketing feels overwhelming with all the brands sending multiple emails every day. It takes time and effort to come up with new creatives, ideas, and offers every time. But it doesn't have to be. Use some of the best practices and ideas listed above.
For successful email marketing, a good email marketing strategy and proven tactics can make a lot of difference to your profitability. So I hope this helps your brand.
If you want to try implementing a few ideas and are looking for an easy-to-use email service provider I would invite you to try SendX. You won’t have to commit to anything as there is a 14-day free trial where you can experience all the features and send actual emails.
FAQ's
1. Why do I need email marketing for my fashion-business?
Email marketing allows fashion brands to establish and maintain a direct line of communication with your customers. By regularly sending out newsletters, updates, and promotions, you can build strong relationships with your audience. This helps in fostering loyalty and increasing customer retention.
2. What are the best practices for fashion email marketing?
Here are the 3 best practices for fashion email marketing:
- Use attractive visuals
- Segment your audience
- Personalize your emails.
