Of all the campaigns within your email marketing strategy, confirmation emails could be considered one of the most important.

This type of email works differently from other emails. The goal with this email is not to sell but rather to increase engagement, build trust, and establish your reputation. These emails also help to drive customer retention.

When confirmation emails are done properly, they can help you connect to customers in a way that improves the user experience. When you stick to boring, generic emails, you will lose out on the chance to increase your click-through rates, and ultimately your conversion. Before we share some strategies to help you craft better confirmation emails, let's take a look at the primary types of confirmation emails sent within a typical email marketing strategy.

There are a few confirmation emails that you would send a customer at different stages of their journey. These include:‍

• Subscription confirmation emails. Sent after someone subscribes to your email list or opts in to receive a lead magnet, this type of email is typically kept short and simple. It is best to include a double opt-in to stay on the right side of compliance. This gives subscribers an easy way to leave if they change their minds about being added to your list.

• Order confirmation emails. These are sent directly after the order has been made. In this email, you will present the customer with details of their order and provide any other information that may be relevant. You can use this email to increase engagement and sales by adding useful links to your social media pages, FAQ, support, and any other content that would make customers feel glad to have made their purchase or signed up for your services.
• Shipping confirmation emails. For online stores, the next type of email is shipping confirmation. This is the email that lets customers know that their order is en route. Rather than a bland email simply giving the tracking number and thanking them for their order, you can use this to make a memorable impression and encourage repeat purchases. You could use animation and other graphics and craft wording that engages customers.
• Booking confirmation emails. If you are running an Airbnb or accommodation business, your booking confirmation offers the chance to give guests a taste of what they can expect. You could include the basic information relating to their booking, dates, and add-ons. You could also add additional information such as things to see and do in the area, restaurants nearby, travel tips or anything else that makes guests look forward to their stay.
• Cancellation confirmation emails. What happens when someone cancels their subscription, booking or purchase? For whatever reason this may happen, you need an email that cuts right to the chase without wasting time. But, you can also make it easy for cancellations to be undone. You could recommend similar products subtly, for example, or provide an email address for someone higher up than standard support in case the customer needs help.

Now that you have a better idea of the common types of confirmation emails, how can you get the most out of these for your email marketing results?

Email Marketing Strategies to Improve Confirmation Emails

As we mentioned above, using templated, generic emails seldom works as well as crafting unique, carefully planned emails that are designed specifically for each type of confirmation. This will give you the best chance of engaging while also increasing click-through rates. Some of the ways that you could improve confirmation emails to use them within your email marketing strategy include the following:

• ‍Use personalisation. Now is the time to use personalisation, to make your audience feel as though you are talking directly to them. That does not only mean using {first name}. It also means creating personalised emails based on behaviours and other triggers, such as products viewed, similar products, and other things that could help to create a more unique experience. In a booking email, a personalised list of suggestions would work extremely well.

• ‍Keep it simple. Make sure that you keep these emails short and to the point. You do not want to create any confusion or make it hard for recipients to find details or their order or transaction. Lengthy paragraphs of text are seldom read, while flashy graphics and backgrounds distract from the main point. Subject lines and email body text should both be simple and focused purely on the reason for the email. You can add one or two additional features but these should always be below the fold and unobtrusive.

• ‍Promote carefully. That brings us to our next point – promotion. You do want to subtly promote related products and services, of course. That does not mean going overboard and making the email into a sales pitch. Essentially, your goal here is to add value to your reader. You want to offer a few suggestions that may help, without going for a heavy sales pitch before their order has even arrived.

• ‍Offer incentives. You can use these emails to offer rewards or other incentives, however. Points for referrals work very well with these emails. You can also offer discounts on the customer's next purchase or something like a free glass of wine for restaurant booking confirmations and a free voucher for a local gym for accommodation booking confirmations. Think about how you can add value and make the right impression in a way that encourages your reader to want to come back again.

• ‍Test and test again. And that brings us to our final – and possibly most important tip – testing. Testing is essential for every single type of email marketing campaign. For confirmation emails, it is every bit as important. Testing is the best way to see what is working and what needs to be improved. You will be able to test everything from subject lines to opening headers and body copy, images, footers, and various other aspects of the email. You will quickly be able to make changes if certain parts of the email are not getting as high a click-through rate as other parts. You can then consistently improve your emails to get the best possible results. Automating your email marketing is the best way to send all types of confirmation emails without having to manually plan and send.

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‍Contact Grapevine Interactive today to find out more about our omnichannel digital marketing platform that enables you to plan and execute a wide range of email marketing campaigns.