Automated Emails: The Bread and Butter of Successful Email Marketing

One-off email campaigns and newsletters will always be part of your email marketing strategy, but smart companies know that setting up automatic email campaigns that are triggered by subscriber’s actions is a must. Automated emails (known as triggered emails, behavior-driven emails, or flows), are emails automatically sent by your email service provider in direct response to a subscriber’s specific actions on your website, for example, once they abandon a shopping cart, browse your website, or view a specific product.

Sitting between transactional emails (one-to-one emails that contain information that completes a transaction the recipient has started with you), and traditional emails (emails sent out manually to a list or a segment, also known as manual emails, or campaigns), automated emails allow you to follow-up with an individual customer automatically, but also allow for a wider palette of content options beyond mere transactional/profile details.

Top 5 reasons why you need to set up automated emails

1. RELEVANCE – When a subscriber receives an automated email, it’s because they’ve taken an action that warrants that email (abandoned a cart, browsed through the website, etc.). This is why they usually have the best metrics and engagement rates, which segues into more $$$.

2. BRAND BUILDING AND LOYALTY – Automated emails allow your customers to receive timely information about your business and your products, as well as assistance with personalized cross-sells and upsells, which makes it easy for you to interact with them and ensure their loyalty for years to come.

3. RETENTION – Customers feel more valued when they receive personalized assistance and real-time communication, which translates to consistent, long-term users.

4. ACTION-TO-REVENUE – One of the reasons automated emails are so powerful is that they target people who are further down the sales funnel and more likely to take the steps you want them to as customers. After receiving a timely, relevant automated email, customers are more likely to finish entering their billing information, upgrade their account, or return as an active user when they’re messaged at the perfect time with just the right prompt.

5. CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE (CLV) – Finally, automated emails represent a key tool in maintaining and increasing your customer lifetime value. Automated emails can help increase your customer’s purchase frequency, which, multiplied with the average order value (something a relevant cross-sell or upsell automation can help with), gives you the customer value, an important factor (besides the average customer lifespan, which can also be influenced by an automated customer nurture sequence, and other automated emails) in determining your CLV.

To understand how you can increase eCommerce ROI with automated emails check out the recording of our latest webinar.

Still not convinced? Book a call with us, and we’ll explain exactly how Essence of Email can help you build out your flows – trust us, we’ve built every single one in existence at least once!



Stefan, 27, loves beer and hard rock. Loving son and boyfriend. Selling email marketing services to people who understand how important it is to communicate with customers in just the right way.

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  • Heath Weaver

    Managing Director, Principal

    Heath Weaver has almost two decades of eCommerce digital marketing experience. He has run multiple agencies, headed up Search Engine Marketing for the consumer electronics division of Sony, and served as a Vice President at Trilogy Software. He enjoys working day-to-day with clients to level up their retention marketing game.

  • Xiaohui "X" Wang

    Founder, Principal

    Xiaohui "X" Wang is a veteran of the email marketing industry. In the last decade, he has led the strategic and tactic retention marketing efforts for over 300 ecommerce brands ranging from small mom & pops to IR500 retailers. He's passionate about all things eCommerce, email, and SMS.