Email marketing automation streamlines your communication, saving you time while effectively growing your business. It enables you to send drip emails and manage your subscriber list with ease.
From our experience, email marketing automation is highly effective for WordPress websites. We have tested numerous tools and optimized email marketing automation across all our sites.
In this comprehensive guide, we will share our expertise and introduce you to the world of WordPress email marketing automation. You’ll discover valuable tips, tricks, and tools to kickstart your journey.
By the conclusion of this guide, you’ll be equipped to automate your email campaigns and enhance your marketing strategies.
Understanding Email Marketing Automation in WordPress
Email marketing automation is a strategic approach that enables businesses to send pre-written emails automatically based on specific user actions.
For example, you can trigger an automated email whenever a new user registers on your website or subscribes to your email list.
Rather than composing emails manually each time, you write them once and set up triggers. When a trigger occurs, the email is sent to the user automatically, requiring no further action from you.
A remarkable 80% of businesses that engage in email marketing leverage automated emails.
Email marketing automation not only saves time but also enhances effectiveness by enabling you to send targeted, personalized emails based on user behavior. This approach significantly boosts return on investment, with automated emails generating 77% of ROI for businesses.
Here are additional scenarios where automated emails can enhance your business:
- Send a confirmation email when a customer completes a purchase.
- Notify subscribers with emails when a new blog post is published.
- Send a reminder email if a user abandons their shopping cart.
- Implement drip email campaigns tailored for specific users.
This guide covers a variety of topics, and you can easily navigate to any section by clicking the links below:
- The Benefits of Automating WordPress Email Marketing
- How to Configure Email Marketing Automation in WordPress
- Ensure Your WordPress Emails Are Successfully Delivered
- Sending Automated Emails Using Constant Contact
- Automate WooCommerce Emails with FunnelKit Automations
- Automate WordPress and WooCommerce Emails with Uncanny Automator
- Email Marketing Automation Ideas with Practical Examples
The Advantages of Automating WordPress Email Marketing
Implementing email marketing automation on your WordPress site enhances your efficiency and effectiveness. Here are some compelling reasons why automating your email marketing is essential for your strategy.
Automation Saves Time by Minimizing Repetitive Tasks
With email automation, you can eliminate repetitive manual tasks, freeing up valuable time to focus on expanding your business.
Rather than crafting and sending emails manually, you can compose your messages once and set up triggers to automatically deliver them to your audience.
Enhances Personalization of Your Emails
Email marketing automation enables you to tailor your messages to each individual recipient.
Instead of sending a generic email to all users, you can deliver more relevant content based on their interactions with your WordPress site.
Personalized automated emails achieve an impressive open rate of 70.2% and a 152% higher click-through rate compared to manually sent, non-personalized emails.
Email platforms like Constant Contact utilize merge tags, allowing you to personalize emails with the recipient’s first name, increasing the likelihood of them opening the email compared to a generic address.
Transform Leads into Customers and Increase Sales
Ensure that your customers and potential leads receive timely responses by setting up automated emails. These messages can acknowledge receipt of their information and inform them that you will respond shortly.
For example, you can automatically send a confirmation email to users who complete the contact form on your website. This simple automation helps establish trust with your visitors.
In a similar way, you can automate emails for users who sign up or submit a form on specific landing pages of your site.
Reach out to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts on your online store to encourage them to complete their purchases.
Provide special discounts to customers during significant occasions such as holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays.
With automation, you can create email drip campaigns to maintain engagement with users and develop personalized email marketing funnels that increase sales.
Let’s explore how to implement email marketing automation on your WordPress website and the tools you will need.
Steps to Implement Email Marketing Automation in WordPress
There are several methods to establish email marketing automation in WordPress.
You can integrate various tools and platforms to enhance the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.
Discover the most effective methods to set up automated emails on your WordPress site.
Ensure Your WordPress Emails Are Delivered Successfully
First, verify that the emails sent from your WordPress site do not end up in the spam folder.
Utilizing SMTP is essential for delivering your emails reliably.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard for sending emails securely. It requires proper authentication (username and password) to confirm that the sender is authorized.
This is where WP Mail SMTP comes into play.
It is the leading SMTP plugin for WordPress, allowing you to easily send emails via SMTP.
Important Note:There is a free version of WP Mail SMTP that is fully functional and compatible with any SMTP or email service provider.
For more information, check out our guide on setting up WP Mail SMTP with any hosting provider or SMTP service.
Select an SMTP Email Service Provider for Transactional Emails
Transactional emails are messages sent to users as part of their interaction with your site, such as registration confirmations or receipts from online purchases.
Keep in mind that transactional emails are not managed by email marketing services, as they are separate from marketing campaigns, promotions, or newsletters.
For instance, when new users create an account on your website, they receive an email to confirm their email address and set a password. This type of email is known as a transactional email.
In the same way, a WooCommerce store can send customers their order details and shipping updates.
PRO TIP:Utilize a business email address to send these emails, which helps prevent them from being directed to your customers’ junk mail or spam folders.
Keep in mind that some business email service providers impose limits on the number of emails you can send and may flag your account for potential misuse.
Therefore, it’s essential to register with a transactional email service provider to guarantee the delivery of these important email communications.
We recommend SendLayer as it is the top SMTP service provider for WordPress and WooCommerce users.
SendLayer is designed for sending transactional emails at scale, ensuring high deliverability rates.
You can integrate SendLayer API with the WP Mail SMTP plugin, which features built-in compatibility for seamless operation.
Once connected, all your WordPress emails will be dispatched through the SendLayer API, providing enhanced delivery and scalability for your transactional email communications.
Now that you’ve ensured your WordPress emails reach users’ inboxes, let’s explore the top email marketing automation tools compatible with WordPress.
1. Automating Emails with Constant Contact
An email marketing platform enables you to send promotional and marketing emails to your audience.
While there are many email marketing services available, not all offer automation features.
We recommend Constant Contact as it is one of the leading email automation tools for small businesses.
It provides professionally designed email templates, tools for growing your email list, customer segmentation options, and robust marketing automation capabilities.
You can also create drip campaigns to automatically send emails to your users at scheduled intervals.
This helps onboard new customers and guide them towards conversions without any manual effort.
To get started, visit the Constant Contact website and sign up.
After signing up, follow our guide on creating an email newsletter to establish your first email list.
Once your email list is created, set up your automation campaigns by going to the Campaigns page and clicking the ‘Create’ button.
A popup will appear, allowing you to choose from various campaign types.
Select ‘Email Automation’ to proceed.
Here, you can opt for either single-step automation or multi-step automation.
Single-step automation sends a single email, like a welcome message.
Multi-step automation enables you to design a series of emails that are automatically dispatched to your subscribers. This allows you to inform them about your products and services, share special offers, and more.
In this guide, you will set up a multi-step automation for new subscribers joining your email list. Choose the ‘A contact joins a list’ option.
Next, you need to provide a name for your campaign.
Be sure to click the ‘Save’ button.
Constant Contact will prompt you to specify what action will trigger the email.
For example, the drip series is automatically initiated when a user joins your email list, opens an email, clicks a link, or makes a purchase.
You can select the default ‘Contact joins a list’ option as the trigger type, then pick the email list you created earlier.
Click the ‘Save’ button once you’re finished.
Designing Emails for Your Drip Campaign
After setting up your campaign, you can begin adding the emails you wish to send.
Click the ‘Create New Email’ button to compose your first email.
This will open the email wizard, allowing you to choose a template, draft your email, and save it.
Follow the on-screen prompts to compose your email. Then, you can adjust the time delay between emails by clicking the ‘Edit’ link above the saved email.
To create additional emails, simply click the ‘Add to Series’ button located at the bottom.
For further information, check out our comprehensive tutorial on sending automated drip notifications in WordPress.
You can also discover how to send automated emails in WordPress.
2. Streamline WooCommerce Emails with FunnelKit Automations
Automation is the most effective way to increase sales in your eCommerce store.
If you operate a WooCommerce store, your customers will receive various transactional emails.
These emails provide order confirmations, allow them to track their order status, receive invoices, and access more information about your online store.
You can personalize and automate your email campaigns or create new ones using FunnelKit Automations, a widely-used WooCommerce plugin for marketing automation. It is a complementary product to FunnelKit (formerly known as WooFunnels), which is a robust sales funnel builder designed for WooCommerce.
FunnelKit Automations is an essential toolkit for any WooCommerce store, membership site, or other types of businesses.
This tool enables you to automate lead generation, manage your contacts, and recover abandoned carts, ultimately enhancing your business’s productivity and sales.
To get started, install and activate the FunnelKit Automations plugin. For detailed instructions, please refer to our guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
After activating the plugin, navigate to the FunnelKit Automations » Automations (Next Gen) page and click the ‘Add New Automation’ button.
Next, the plugin will prompt you to select a template.
These templates are pre-designed automations for the most common campaigns, or you can choose to create one from scratch.
For this tutorial, we will utilize the ‘Post-Purchase Sequence’ template.
Click on the template to open and preview it.
You will see the trigger, delay, and actions associated with this automation on the preview screen.
This may not align perfectly with your expectations. For example, you might want to set this automation to trigger only for purchases exceeding a specific amount.
No need to worry. You can modify it as much as you want later on.
For now, click the ‘Import’ button located in the top right corner of the screen to begin using this template.
You will need to provide a name for this automation. Choose a name that makes it easy for you to identify, then click the ‘Create’ button.
FunnelKit will now import the template and open it in the automation editor for you.
At the top, you’ll see the trigger that initiates this automation, followed by the delay and the action it will execute.
You can click the Add (+) button between these steps to insert a condition, delay, goal, action, jump, or exit from the automation.
Remember to update the Action step. For this campaign, the action involves sending an email to the user.
Click on ‘Action’ to open it. Here, you can edit the email that will be sent to the user.
Utilize Merge Tags to incorporate dynamic elements into your email message.
Once you finish editing, click the ‘Save and Close’ button to exit the action editor.
To activate the automation on your website, simply toggle the switch at the top from Inactive to Active.
You are welcome to create as many automations as necessary.
FunnelKit is compatible with all major WordPress plugins and can also be integrated with Zapier, enabling actions across over 5000 web applications.
3. Automate Emails for WordPress and WooCommerce Using Uncanny Automator
Studies indicate that users are more likely to engage with marketing emails that are personalized and sent at the right time.
You can achieve this by sending tailored messages to users on your WordPress site based on their interactions.
For example, you can suggest products to customers who have purchased a particular item.
What if you also want to generate a one-time coupon for that customer, send their information to your CRM, or remind your sales team to follow up with a call?
This is where Uncanny Automator becomes essential.
It is one of the top automation plugins for WordPress, enabling you to create seamless automated workflows for your site.
It integrates with popular email marketing services, WordPress contact form plugins, eCommerce platforms, and much more.
Begin by installing and activating the free Uncanny Automator plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
Once activated, navigate to the Automator » Add New page to set up your first automation recipe.
In this guide, we will automate an email to WooCommerce customers who have made a purchase, encouraging them to leave a review.
You’ll be prompted to select the type of recipe you wish to create. Choose ‘Logged-in users’ and then click the ‘Confirm’ button.
This will take you to the ‘Edit recipe’ page.
Start by giving your recipe a title that will help you easily identify it.
Next, select an integration where your trigger will operate. The available options may vary based on the plugins installed on your site.
Choose ‘WooCommerce’ to proceed.
The Automator will now display a list of WooCommerce triggers that can initiate your recipe.
For this tutorial, we will select ‘A user completes, pays for, and lands on a thank you page for an order with a product.’
After selecting a trigger, you can click on the highlighted conditions to modify them if necessary.
For example, instead of selecting all products, you can choose a specific product by clicking on ‘a product’.
When you are done, click the ‘Add Trigger’ button.
Next, you will create an action, which is the task you want to execute as a result of the trigger you set earlier.
Clicking on Action will display a variety of integrations available for use. For this tutorial, we will be using the ‘Emails’ integration.
Next, you will see the actions you can take for your chosen integration.
Since we selected Emails, the only action available is to send an email.
This will open the email editor.
Here, you can complete all the fields, including the ‘from’ address, recipient email address, subject line, and more.
Click the star (*) next to a field to insert a dynamic value.
For example, you can include the customer’s billing email in the ‘To’ field, use the product title in the subject line, or personalize the greeting with the customer’s name.
Do you want to add a delay between the trigger and the action?
Click the ‘Delay’ button at the top of the action.
After that, you can select a delay duration.
For this tutorial, we are setting the delay to one week (7 days).
Adding a delay enhances the effectiveness of your email.
In this case, it’s important to set a sufficient delay to allow for product shipping and give the customer a few days to test it.
Once you are happy with your setup, remember to change the ‘Draft’ toggle to ‘Live.’
Your setup is now live and will activate the next time a customer makes a purchase.
To discover more about the Uncanny Automator and the exciting features it offers, check out our tutorial on creating automated workflows for your WordPress site.
Email Marketing Automation Ideas with Examples
Curious about how to effectively implement email marketing automation on your WordPress site? Here are some examples of automated emails to inspire your own campaigns.
1. Example of an Automated Welcome Email
You can create an automated welcome email for new customers or users who subscribe to your mailing list.
Here’s how MonsterInsights, a well-known WordPress plugin, greets new users.
The email not only welcomes users but also directs them to useful links to maximize their purchase.
2. Example of an Automated Abandoned Cart Email
Did you know that 70% of shoppers who add items to their carts do not complete their purchases?
This situation is known as abandoned cart sales, indicating that customers are interested in the products but face obstacles that prevent them from finalizing their orders.
For instance, here’s an example of an abandoned cart email from Pacsun that creates a sense of urgency by warning that the items may sell out soon.
According to OptinMonster, abandoned cart emails achieve nearly double the open rates compared to standard marketing emails.
Related: Discover additional strategies to recover abandoned cart sales.
3. Automated Sales Emails Tailored to User Interests
Another popular type is automated sales emails sent to users based on their individual preferences.
Here’s an example from Emirates airline, notifying users about additional flight options available for booking.
4. Automatically Send Win-Back Emails
You can set up automated emails for users who haven’t logged in or made a purchase recently.
Here’s an example from Buffer, which highlights new features that users may be missing out on.
You can also send automated discount coupons to re-engage customers who haven’t made a purchase in a while.
We trust this guide has provided you with valuable insights into WordPress email marketing automation and its potential to enhance your business growth. Additionally, consider exploring our recommendations for the top email verification tools or our comprehensive guide on building an email list in WordPress.
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