Over the last 10 years or so, we’ve heard rumblings of the “death of email.” How our inboxes are as overflowing as our mailboxes once were with spam and sales pitches (true). How newer technology (like chat software) is replacing email (partly true). How we aren’t opening or aren’t relying on email anymore (not true). 

Yet, since 2017, the number of emails sent and received per day worldwide just continue to grow, and for most businesses, email marketing remains an effective way to reach and engage customers. 

No, email isn’t dead — but it has evolved. That’s where email marketing automation comes in. 

What is Email Marketing Automation?

Email marketing automation is the use of software to automate and streamline email marketing tasks. This can include tasks such as sending welcome emails, birthday emails, abandoned cart emails, and more. By automating these tasks, businesses can save time and resources while still delivering personalized and timely messages to their customers.

There are several benefits of email marketing automation for small businesses and startups, including:

1. Time savings: Email marketing automation allows businesses to save time by automating repetitive tasks, such as sending welcome emails, so that they can focus on other important aspects of their business.
2. Improved customer experience: By sending personalized and timely messages to customers, businesses can improve the overall customer experience and build stronger relationships with their customers.
3. Increased engagement: Automated emails can be triggered based on specific actions, such as abandoned carts, and can help to re-engage customers and drive conversions.
4. Cost savings: Email marketing automation is a cost-effective way for small businesses and startups to reach their customers and can provide a high return on investment.

Implementing Email Marketing Automation

To implement email marketing automation effectively, small businesses and startups should follow these best practices:

1. Define your goals: Before implementing email marketing automation, it’s important to define your goals and identify which tasks you want to automate.
2. Choose the right software: There are several email marketing automation software options available, so it’s important to choose the right one that fits your business needs and budget.
3. Segment your audience: To ensure that your automated emails are personalized and relevant, it’s important to segment your audience based on their behavior, preferences, and demographics.
4. Create engaging content: Automated emails should include engaging content that is relevant to the recipient and drives them to take action.
5. Test and measure: It’s important to test and measure the effectiveness of your automated emails to refine and improve your email marketing strategy over time.

Use Cases for Email Automation

What specifically can you automate an email flow for? Almost anything, really. But as aforementioned, starting with repetitive tasks that offer an opportunity for personalization can be a good place to start. This might include:

• Welcome Emails
• Thank you/registration confirmation emails
• Abandoned cart emails
• New sale/product announcements

In most email automation tools, you can set up triggers, or signals for the tool that will tell it when you send someone an email. For instance, when someone submits a registration form, they get the registration confirmation email. Or, when someone purchases a product form a certain category, they’re tagged to receive future emails about sales in that category. 
Not sure where to start? Check out this resource for comparing some of the top email automation tools, or start researching on your own today.