Triggered email marketing is a strategy where emails are automatically sent based on specific consumer behaviors, conditions, or events — often referred to as “triggers”. The main goal of triggered emails is to deliver relevant information when it's needed.
These triggers can include actions such as viewing a product, scheduling an appointment, subscribing to a mailing list, and even sending messages on special occasions like a customers’ birthdays or anniversaries.
In this blog, our experts cover everything you need to know about triggered email marketing — from how it works and its different types to creating them and following best practices.
Key Takeaways
- Triggered emails are sent instantly when a customer takes a specific action like buying a product or subscribing to a mailing list.
- Unlike traditional marketing emails, triggered emails are only sent when the action occurs. They are automatic and can be sent to multiple recipients at once.
- To run an effective triggered email campaign, consider setting clear goals for each trigger, using direct messaging, and creating unique content.
- Some of the most common types of triggered emails include welcome emails, transactional emails, subscription renewal emails, and promotional offer emails.
- Triggered email marketing helps increase conversions, strengthens customer relationships, saves money and time, improves productivity, and keeps your clients updated on their orders.
Table of Contents
How Do Triggered Email Campaigns Work?
Triggered email campaigns work by pre-setting triggers that automatically send an email once a user takes a particular action. Unlike cold call emails, which are sent to users without establishing prior contact, triggered emails are only sent to users who have interacted with your brand in some way.
When a specific action is taken, your marketing automation software sends out triggered emails, also known as transactional or behavioral emails. These emails:
- Are sent only to consumers who have shown interest in your brand and content through their actions.
- Depend on customer behavior as they progress through the conversion funnel.
How Do Triggered Emails Differ From Marketing Emails?
While both are essential parts of email marketing, triggered email campaigns differ from traditional email marketing in several ways. Here’s how:
- Timing: Marketing emails can be sent at any time to promote and sell products or services without needing a “trigger,” while triggered emails are based on a specific action a consumer has taken.
- Automation: Promotional emails are sent manually, while triggered emails are preprogrammed and delivered automatically.
- Targeting: General promotional emails are often sent to multiple recipients at the same time, while triggered emails are delivered on a one-to-one basis.
- Personalization: Marketing emails are often less personalized, whereas triggered email campaigns typically include a personalized subject line and content specific to the recipient’s actions.
Types of Trigger Emails
Trigger emails can be used to reach both individual clients and as part of a B2B lead generation strategy. Depending on your industry and business goals, here are several examples of emails you can include in your trigger campaigns:
- Welcome emails
- Onboarding emails
- Account emails
- Offer emails
- Cart abandonment emails
- Transactional emails
- Subscription renewal emails
- Personal event emails
- Milestone emails
- Real-time trigger emails
1. Welcome Emails
The welcome email is the first email your customers will receive from you, establishing the initial connection between them and your brand. Today, nearly every brand has a welcome email. Once new users sign up for your newsletter or create an account, send them an email to welcome them to your brand’s community. This email should provide information about your company and encourage future engagement.
For example, some brands, like Slack, include a list of tips in their welcome email, guiding users on how to download the app, create channels, and more.
2. Onboarding Emails
If a new client has signed up for a service, onboarding emails are a great way to provide them with more information about your products and services. By listing your resources and offering assistance, you set the grounds for future interaction.
A good example of this is Printiful. The company always sends out integration emails with basic steps to help users integrate the service with a Shopify store.
3. Account Emails
When your users add, remove, or update their personal or account information, such as password changes or a new phone number, send them an automated account email. These emails are also sent when account verification is required. This ensures users that their accounts are updated and safe.
One example is Facebook’s password change verification email:
4. Offer Emails
If a subscriber has shown interest in your brand but has not used their account, send an automated email with special discounts. This can help encourage them to take the next step.
For instance, check out the example above from NordVPN. By offering a discount on one of its services, NordVPN gives customers incentives to keep using its services.
5. Cart Abandonment Emails
Cart abandonment is a common issue in online shopping, with research indicating a global rate of over 75%. The reasons for abandonment can range from losing interest in the product to frustration with the payment process.
Reminding customers that they haven’t completed their purchase can encourage them to finalize it. This is well illustrated in the example below. By notifying the customer of the items left in their checkout bag, displaying them, and including a checkout button, Moment helps customers seamlessly complete the checkout process.
Use fear of missing out (FOMO) phrases such as “Offer ends tomorrow” or “Only 10 left!” to reinforce your message. Additionally, include pictures of the abandoned items or offer a discount code to help push the recipient to convert.
6. Transactional Emails
Transactional emails are one of the most common types of triggered emails. These emails keep your customer in the loop by confirming orders, sending shipping notifications, providing purchase receipts, and more.
Shopify does this in a very simple manner, allowing store owners to customize their emails, though they generally follow a format like the example below.
To promote further engagement, consider inviting your users to follow you on social media and share reviews about your products and services.
7. Subscription Renewal Emails
If your customer’s subscription is nearing its end, you can send a subscription renewal email to encourage them to renew. Set up an automated email to go out a month before the subscription expires, reminding them they need to take action.
If no action is taken, send a follow-up email a week before the subscription ends. To show your appreciation and increase the chance of renewal, add an incentive for subscription renewal, such as a discount or loyalty reward.
Spotify provides a good example of effective subscription emails. Their template includes the subscription start and end dates, the amount you’ll be charged, and options to change your plan or renew.
8. Personal Event Emails
Want to show your customers you care about them? Set up emails for important occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events to congratulate them and thank them for their loyalty and support.
For example, consider creating an email like New Balance’s approach in the example below. Their birthday email clearly outlines what you can get for your birthday and even suggestions on where you can spend your discount.
This strengthens your relationship with your consumers and boosts trust and loyalty, encouraging future interactions.
9. Milestone Emails
Set up milestone emails for your customers who have reached milestones with your brand, such as completing one year as a customer or making 10 purchases. Consider adding special offers on these occasions to strengthen engagement and loyalty.
For example, Vimeo sends milestone emails to celebrate its customers’ one-year anniversaries. Not only that, Vimeo also offers a promo code to get a little extra for their loyalty.
10. Feedback Emails
Getting feedback from your customers lets you know if your service was satisfactory, or if improvements are needed. You can request feedback after a purchase or once the product is shipped or inquire about their shopping experience.
Some companies combine feedback emails with offers. For instance, Printify asked its customers for feedback on the platform’s services, rewarding a $100 gift card to 10 participants.
Trigger-Based Marketing Email Benefits
Trigger-based marketing has multiple advantages:
- Keeps your customers updated
- Boosts conversion
- Creates a bond between your customers and your brand
- Saves time
- Improves productivity
1. Keeps Your Customers Updated
Trigger emails confirm actions taken by customers to keep them updated on the checkout process and provide reassurance. For instance, a customer purchased shoes online and you send an email with a thank you note, purchase receipt, and a link where they can track the shipment. This confirmation shows the customer that the transaction was successful, and their new shoes are on the way.
2. Boosts Conversion
Triggered emails can help boost conversions by providing updates on product availability and cart abandonment. By analyzing customer behavior, these emails can reach them at the right time and send updates, reminders, discount codes, and other details to increase conversion.
3. Creates a Bond Between Your Customers and Your Brand
Triggered emails serve as a two-way communication channel: your users take action and receive personalized responses. This shows consideration for your customers and builds trust and loyalty, supporting customer retention.
4. Saves Time
Through automation, triggered emails can be created quickly and set in advance, reducing manual work. The only thing you need to do is identify the trigger event and create the email — your automated software tool will handle the rest.
5. Improves Productivity
Automation tracks user activities on your site, ensuring that you don’t miss a single opportunity to interact with them. This efficiency means you can continue to engage customers and drive revenue, even while you’re not actively working.
Best Practices for Triggered Emails
In addition to the general email marketing best practices, here are some tips for successful trigger email campaigns:
- Research and select the right tools to automate your trigger email campaigns, such as Mailchimp, HubSpot, or ActiveCampaign.
- Set clear goals behind each trigger.
- Segment your customers to target the right audiences and ensure a personalized feel. Segment by age, gender, user behavior, location, or family status.
- Create different trigger emails for different purposes.
- Use a short, clear message that is relevant to the trigger action.
- Align your subject lines with the triggered action.
- Provide valuable content.
- Plan your email schedule carefully to avoid overwhelming your customers with too many emails.
- Monitor your key campaign metrics like open rate so you can determine how well each email is performing.
- Run tests to optimize your results.
Why Hire an Agency for Your Triggered Email Campaigns?
A professional agency, such as a top IT service company, can help your triggered email campaigns in various ways, such as:
- Identifying and setting up your email triggers using marketing automation software that meets your business needs.
- Implementing and maintaining complex systems to ensure your triggered email campaigns run smoothly.
On the other hand, collaborating with digital marketing agencies can boost your marketing efforts by providing the following services:
- Crafting engaging copy for each of your triggered email campaigns,
- Automating repetitive marketing tasks
- Measuring the results and determining how to continuously improve your triggered email marketing strategy.
Triggered Email Marketing Takeaways
Triggered email marketing helps you engage with your customers whenever they interact with your brand. Overall, triggered email campaigns can boost conversion rates, save you time and money, and improve productivity.
Examples of trigger emails include:
- Welcome emails
- Account emails
- Personal event emails
- Milestone emails
- Subscription renewal emails
- Transactional emails
- Cart abandonment emails
- Onboarding emails
- Early activation emails
- Real-time trigger emails
Partnering with an email marketing agency can help you determine the key actions you want to respond to, craft personalized messages, and measure the success of your triggered emails. They can also help you continuously improve your strategy to boost brand loyalty and conversions.
