Issue #174 All About Email

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #174 of All About Email!

Last week, we took an unscheduled break from looking at email flows as Google did something very unexpected, and so did Microsoft.

This week, we get back to looking at the basics of email flows by concluding with part two.

Let’s go! 👇

Email Flow Basics Continued

⚡️ If you missed Part One, you can check it out in Issue #172, in which we looked at “An introduction to email flow basics” and these types of flows/automation:

• Welcome Series

• Browse Abandonment

• Abandoned Cart

• Thank Yous

• Instructional

This week in Part Two, we look at five more flow types (with more of an eCommerce focus) to get you started. 👇

Product Reviews

This next automation will help you identify your brand ambassadors.

The product review automation is your chance to hear from your customers about their experience with your product (UGC for the win).

Using a time delay, you can let time pass after a customer places an order and then trigger the product review series to request product reviews from your customers.

⏳ These delays are important as you don’t want to ask for a review before the product arrives!

This example is from one of my favourite brands! 🥣

Cross-Sells and Up-Sells

Use this automation to showcase some of your other products or services.

You can do this by:

• Handpicking some of your flagship or best-selling items,

• Seasonal item promotion,

• Or leveraging automated product recommendations that make suggestions based on a shopper’s purchasing history and that of similar customers.

Replenishment

For brands that sell products that customers repeatedly purchase within specific timeframes - most often consumer packaged goods (CPGs) - replenishment automation can be a welcome reminder.

These automations inform customers that their supplies may be running low and that it’s time to get a refill.

🧠 Drip has an in-depth article on optimising replenishment emails, and it’s well worth a read.

🧠 Omnisend also offers detailed insights with some excellent examples.

Back in Stock

Regardless of your industry, all eCommerce business owners have a common goal: the desire to generate revenue.

That’s why back-in-stock automation is so important: to ensure you don’t miss out on a sale.

As a sender, these might not be exciting, but as a receiver, waiting for weeks on end, wondering when you will get your next sip of golden nectar can mean the world to them and money in the bank for you. 🤑 

Birthday Celebrations

🎂 This might be my favourite automation or at least the one I like to receive most.

A birthday email automation leverages information you gather up front (zero-party data) to make a deeper personal connection with your customers.

🥳 With birthday automation, you can celebrate with your customers on their special day by offering:

• A discount,

• Free shipping,

• A free birthday gift,

• Or simply acknowledging the day.

I do this with one of my eCommerce clients and tie in a birthday celebration with bonus loyalty points, just like Nintendo does below. 👇

So, friend, we’ve now covered ten automations across these issues and Issue #172.

That’s not all the automation you can do with email marketing (another favourite of mine is RSS to email); the automations you use will depend on your industry and the software you use.

🤔 Did I miss one of your favourite automations/flows? Please reply to this email and let me know.

That’s it for this week 👋

⏭️ Next week, we continue our series “Taming the Email Beast“ as we look at tips for building consistency in your email marketing.

See you next week! 😀

Sponsorship Opportunities

🚨 If you’re interested in sponsoring the “All About Email” newsletter, you can find all the details in this Google Doc. I currently have “Classified” slots and a Main Sponsor slot available.

Email Marketing News & Tips

This week's excellent and insightful email news & tips:

• 🤣 Hilarious - These are perhaps the best email stats I never knew I needed. (Omnisend)

• Lifecycle Marketing - Data Management’s Impact on Email and Lifecycle Success. (Litmus)

• Hearstopper - The Best 84 Valentine's Day Email Examples in 2025 (Really Good Emails)

• Email Designs - Where do y'all look for email inspo? (Kat Garcia)

• Alarm Bells? - Open rates aren’t accurate, never were. (Lauren Meyer)

• Blue or Red? - The better experience a subscriber has when they're reading your email, the better your chances of remaining in the inbox. (Alison Gootee)

• How’s that work? - As any email developer knows, creating something random in an email, especially an image, is hard. (ActionRocket)

• Accessibility Checklist - 10 steps to comply with the European Accessibility Act. (Email Tooltester)

• Returning Support - 17 Tactics to Engage New Paid Subscribers, Members, Donors, or Customers. (Inbox Collective)

• Industry Thoughts - Gmail and Yahoo’s sender requirements: “The after-effects.” (Stripo)

• Compliance & Connection - Why businesses must embrace email accessibility. (Litmus)

If you have a question about this email or email marketing, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

I hope you have a great week! 👋