We’re often asked by our customers questions like, “How soon after a purchase should I schedule post-purchase emails?” or “How do I avoid pestering customers with abandoned cart emails too soon after they abandon their carts?”

There are no magic answers to these questions, but we do have several suggested starting points for setting up triggered emails. We’ve outlined the types of triggered emails you should send for your eCommerce store and our suggestions of when you should send them out.

Download the cheat sheet here!

Pro-tips for triggered emails

Abandoned Cart Emails – After you send the first Abandoned Cart Email to all shoppers who bounce from your site without purchasing, send a second email with a promo code only to first time visitors. You don’t want to train your regulars to abandon their carts for a few days in order to get a discount.

Welcome Emails – This email has the highest open rate for our customers who implement triggered emails, so turn it on early! Make new customers feel welcome by customizing the email’s “sender” field to make it look like it is being sent from someone in your business like the CEO or a Customer Success Agent. Instead of just sending an order confirmation after first purchases, send your new customers an email that communicates the message, “Welcome to the family!”

Anniversary Emails – You can thank customers for their loyalty at any increment of time like 6 months or 1 year. Also consider collecting date of birth information from regular customers and sending them special discounts or offers for their birthday. These emails will strengthen your relationship with your customers and increase brand loyalty.

Post-Purchase Emails – Google sees customer reviews as new content, so asking your customers for reviews after their purchase can be a great way to boost SEO. Even if you don’t have reviews set up on your website, still engage with customers in other ways like asking them to follow your brand on social media (and let them know the benefits of doing so like receiving exclusive offers and content).

Win-Back Emails – For this email, you can start by sending emails to customers who haven’t purchased in 4 months. Test other lengths of time like 3 months and 5 months to see which group has the highest conversion rates.

For all of these emails, it’s imperative that you test and adjust them to increase open, click-through, and conversion rates. Don’t set it and forget it!

Which triggered emails do you send? What behavioral parameters do you set for your triggered emails?