Tag: email strategies

How to Automate Ecommerce Email Marketing and Sell While You Sleep

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on How to Automate Ecommerce Email Marketing and Sell While You Sleep

Welcome back, Empire Builders! Today we’re going to go over how to make sales while you sleep. Most people who start dropshipping think the only way to do that is to drive more advertising. Today, I’ll be showing you a completely different strategy. With a solid understanding of how to automate ecommerce email marketing, you get more ROI for your time investment. I’ll also go over how to set your business up in a way that doesn’t require spending more on ads. This will allow you to make money 24/7, even while you sleep.

What You’ve Been Missing About How to Automate Ecommerce Email Marketing

Most of you are driving traffic to your site and then relying on people to make a purchase on the spot. There’s no follow-up sequencing in place. I don’t mean retargeting campaigns. I’m talking about email marketing. 

There should be consistent emails going out to both customers and leads convincing them to make a purchase.

When you drive traffic to your site, most people aren’t going to buy right away. While they’re on your site, though, they give you their email address. Then you can send follow-up emails to bring them back to complete their order. That’s called the abandoned cart sequence. Many of you are doing this part right. The part you’re missing out on are the ones who do make a purchase. What you should do is have something else to sell them afterward and send emails to them, too.

Screen grab showing the missed value of marketing to customers

These are what I call money lines. They’re small things you can do that make a drastic difference. The best part is that you only have to set it up once, and it immediately starts increasing revenue and working for you. So, let’s go over, step-by-step, exactly how to automate ecommerce email marketing.

1. Set up ActiveCampaign 

To put this together, we’ll be using ActiveCampaign. There are plenty of other email marketing providers out there. But personally, I’ve been using ActiveCampaign for years, and I love it. I can’t recommend it enough. If you use our affiliate link to purchase ActiveCampaign, email [email protected] afterward. As a way of saying thank you for supporting the channel, we’ll give you 8-figure funnel templates, all the emails written out, and everything you need to plug and play with this yourself.

When you go into ActiveCampaign, you’ll want to start by creating lists. On the sidebar to the left, click “Lists” and add a new list for non-buyers. Then create another one for buyers. No matter which platform you’re using for your business, they all integrate well with ActiveCampaign. So, go to your ActiveCampaign integration and add anyone who hasn’t made a purchase to your non-buyers list and anyone who has made a purchase to your buyers list.

Then, I like to take it a step further by going to contacts and adding tags for buyers and non-buyers. After the initial setup, your integration will allow you to set it so that visitors automatically get tagged when they join and either make or don’t make a purchase. Keep it simple and organized to get the most out of it. Once you do this, it’s on autopilot.

2. Create Your Email Types

There are two kinds of emails you can send in ActiveCampaign: broadcasts and automations. 

The first type is broadcasts for promotions. This is under the “Campaigns” tab on the sidebar. If you click “Create your first campaign,” you can make a standard one called “Promo [Date],” and next, it will ask which list you want to send it to. Click on non-buyers. 

After that, you can choose one of the templates and just fill out the subject and body using the templates we’ll give you so that it’s all done for you already. That’s all you have to do to send emails out manually with ActiveCampaign.

The second type is automations. This is going to be very similar to campaigns. Go under “Automation,” choose the option to start from scratch, and create. Then you’ll see it on your dashboard with a red dot, meaning it’s inactive until you’re done setting it up. On the right side, you’ll see how many people are in the automation, how many emails or “campaigns” it has, and the “Goals” button.

3. Set up an Automation for Your Non-Buyers

Screen grab of how to create lists and actions in Active Campaign

Let’s get into the technical steps for automating your process. First, go into your newly created automation and start by naming it “Non-buyers” to make it easy. Then click “Add a start trigger,” make it “Subscribes to list,” and select the non-buyers list. 

Then, since you probably have abandoned cart emails, add a wait time of 3 days. After that, click “Add” again, navigate to “Sending options,” and add an email. Name it “Email #1.” 

Now you’re ready to actually create the email content. I usually start from scratch instead of using the templates found in ActiveCampaign. You can then use the email templates we’ll send when you use our link to sign up. 

Choose another waiting period of one day, and then add another email. This will build a continuous chain of emails. You can’t have too many emails here. You don’t have to send one every day, but if you have three or four months of emails two or three days apart, you’ll vastly increase your likelihood of converting the leads. Even if you’re just starting, have at least five emails over a week or two. Focusing on converting your non-buyers will really make your email list work for you and grow your business into a full-time operation.

3. Set up an Automation for Your Buyers

Now that you know how to automate ecommerce email marketing for your non-buyers list, go through the same process for your buyers list. The first “yes” is the hardest to get. So once you have that, it’s much easier to sell to your buyers. 

This time, as you’re creating your list, name it “buyers list,” and wait at least five days (or more if you want them to receive the product before getting any follow-up emails). Then start adding those free emails we gave you. Again, there’s no limit to the number of emails you can add.

Learn More About How to Automate Ecommerce Email Marketing and Grow Your Dropshipping Business

Dropshipper working hard to create his templates and automations

If you want to learn more, sign up for my masterclass where I’ll teach you how I made a full-time income online with a 5-page funnel — without touching a product, building a site, or investing in ads. I’ll even give you the $100k funnel template free, just for showing up! Get ready to build your empire.

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How to Use a One Product Sales Funnel to Build a Profitable Dropshipping Store

by Peter PruClickFunnels Training / One Product Dropshipping2 Comments on How to Use a One Product Sales Funnel to Build a Profitable Dropshipping Store

If you want to create a profitable dropshipping store that sells a single product, you can do so by using Clickfunnels sales funnels. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we typically use sales funnels to attract and acquire customers in the front end, while Shopify is used in the back end to sell premium-priced products and make additional sales. Regardless of your specific strategy, it’s the one-product sales funnel that will serve as your primary moneymaker and generate profits for your dropshipping business.

How a One Product Sales Funnel Works

One of the first things you’re likely to notice upon encountering a one product sales funnel is that it’s quite different from a Shopify store. On Shopify, people land on a page full of products and various elements, to the point where it can be a bit overwhelming for users. A sales funnel, on the other hand, will direct users to a much simpler page known as a squeeze page. Oftentimes, the squeeze page will request visitors to leave their email in exchange for a free product or discount offer. 

After a user leaves their email address on the squeeze page, the user will then be directed to an order form where they will enter their shipping and billing information. This order form shows up in far fewer clicks than users would typically experience when shopping on Shopify, which is why a sales funnel is so effective.

Once the user completes the order form, they will encounter an upsell page that encourages the customer to buy more of a product at a lower unit rate. You can create as many upsell pages as you want as long as customers can clearly see the value of the upsell.

Through the entire sales funnel, the entire process can be completed within just a few clicks. That’s much more appealing than the potentially daunting task of going through the Shopify platform. Experiment with the process with this free funnel template on Clickfunnels.

The Benefit of Bypassing the Shopping Cart

One of the key reasons you’re more likely to experience success with a one product sales funnel through Clickfunnels is that you can avoid the pains of a shopping cart. Normally, Shopify customers would need to add products to their cart — which is often where customers abandon the customer journey.

Customers ordinarily browse an online store and add items to their cart. But once they get to the checkout page and they see the total (including tax and shipping and handling costs), they’re far more likely to turn away from the store entirely. The sales funnel, on the other hand, omits the shopping cart process, leading customers to a quick and easy one-time purchase.

Why Getting Email Addresses Through the Sales Funnel Is Crucial

screen grab of how to set of targeted, delayed emails in Clickfunnels

Before the customer makes a purchase through your sales funnel, they’ll first submit an email address that goes into your database. That email is an invaluable asset for your business because you can follow up with them via email and other marketing channels.

You can use an email address to launch retargeting ad campaigns that help bring customers back to you, or you can launch email campaigns that notify prospects of offers and promotional sales that they’re likely to care about. In the process, you can build trust among those users. As they become more familiar with and trusting of your brand, you’ll have a greater chance of getting them to make a purchase. In this article, I talk more about how to convert non-buyers and get the most value out of every lead.

Remember: while many people may go through the sales funnel and make a purchase right away, most people won’t. In fact, the average conversion rate for a sales funnel is around 10 percent. (But compare this to the under two-percent conversion rate that you would otherwise experience with a Shopify store alone.)

Focus on a Single Valuable Product

screen grab of how to add upsell options to a one product sales funnel

One key mistake that many businesses make with a sales funnel is using it to push too many products, which can overwhelm the user much in the same way a Shopify store might. Instead, focus on a specific product that makes it clear to customers what they should buy.

Ultimately, people prefer to be plainly told what the best value is. They also want businesses to direct them to the ideal product. The last thing they want is to be faced with too many options, particularly if they’re encountering a new, unfamiliar product for the first time. 

The best strategy to approach a sales funnel is to focus on a best-selling product that people are more likely to buy. Build your campaign around it. You can then push that product and over-deliver on it with a discount or free shipping, which further drives sales. 

Once the customer is ready for an upsell, you can offer another variation of that product, including a higher volume with a discount. You don’t even need to bring the customer to an upsell page. Simply add a bumper to the order form that makes it even easier to add more to their purchase.

In short, spend your energy pushing one high-value product on the front end, and sell more through your Shopify store on the back end.

Keep Prospective and Past Customers Engaged

couple making an online purchase after receiving engaging reminders

Keeping in mind that around 90 percent of people won’t actually make a purchase when going through the one product sales funnel, it’s important to do what you can to follow up with as many users as possible to maximize sales. 

Using Clickfunnels Automation tools, you can follow up more easily with people based on certain events. For instance, you can create and send out emails for different groups, including:

  • Emails geared toward everyone who’s submitted their email address.
  • Users who saw the page but never made a purchase.
  • Users who made a purchase and are more likely to buy from you again. 

We recommend that you create at least three emails for these three groups, which will help you get the most from your sales funnels.

Make sure to set a delay for each email, starting with a delay of around one hour, one day, and then two days later for people who’ve visited the squeeze page but never made a purchase. This will help remind people to come back without being too pushy. For people who’ve actually purchased, it’s often best to set a delay of around two days before sending an enticing upsell offer.

Clickfunnels makes it incredibly easy to format and customize each email, so you should have these campaigns up and running in no time.

Other Ways to Optimize Your One Product Sales Funnel

In addition to automated email campaigns, you can also automate upsells. You can set up reminders for visitors who never purchased those upsells. If they decide to buy, they’ll be automatically billed, which means you earn a quick sale and the customer makes a hassle-free purchase. 

However, it’s important to let people know that they will be billed automatically in these cases. One way to turn away a customer is to leave them with unpleasant surprises. You also have the option of sending order confirmation emails to customers after they make a purchase, which people always appreciate.

Consult With the Pros

Taking the time to create and optimize your Clickfunnels sales funnels will help you increase sales while making things easier for yourself as a Shopify store owner. If you want to learn more about how to run a successful dropshipping business using sales funnels, reserve your seat at the Ecommerce Empire Builders free ecommerce masterclass today. You’ll find out how to create a full-time income online.

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How to Scale Your Dropshipping Business to $20,000/Month

by Peter PruDropshipping Case StudiesLeave a Comment on How to Scale Your Dropshipping Business to $20,000/Month

When the excitement of opening your ecommerce store and selecting your first products begins to wear off, the real excitement begins. You are ready to scale your dropshipping business up with more sales and profits. You are ready for what we call ecommerce empire building.

Unfortunately, scale-up also is where a lot of us get stuck. The effective scale-up of sales and profits demands not only marketing strategies and sales techniques, but also adapting them to new technology and new online buyer habits. Let’s start by getting the big picture clear and our basic strategy solidly on track. Tactics do matter, of course, but tactics can’t save a flawed strategy.

The classic sales funnel (or buyer journey) is still the best framework for thinking through how to convert buyers at each step. That requires attracting initial contacts, informing them and gaining credibility with them, presenting your products, employing a pricing strategy, getting the shopping cart to the check-out, and working payments. Then, at the end, there’s another whole vista called “follow up.”

The “Moving Pieces” of a Sales Funnel

We want to focus here on a few of the moving pieces of the sales funnel that you may not be using optimally. At each step along the sales funnel, you might offer a one-time offer, or OTO. For each OTO, you will have a certain success rate, of course, and that is what we want to increase.

At the same time, however, our priority is not the number of sales. Our priorities are your average profit per sale and your customers’ lifetime value to your business.

Both priorities are addressed most profitably near the end of the sales funnel. Once the customer is in your online store and has been converted to making a purchase — or declining to make a purchase — some valuable strategies can come into play.

There is a cardinal rule here: If possible, you do not want to lose either a buyer or a non-buyer. 

You probably paid for that first customer contact. In many cases, in making that first contact, you will have obtained an email address and possibly other information. (We will talk in a moment about response automation by email.) But after your customers at OTO2 have either made a purchase or declined to purchase, they are still in the store and you have new and crucial information about them. Right here is a significant, immediate opportunity with non-buyers.  OTO3 should be a follow-up offer that is less expensive, less of a commitment, easier for the customer to accept. We call this “down selling.”

How to Convert a Non-Buyer

non-buyer debating whether to purchase another offer

For example, if you are selling an annual membership but a customer rejects this option, you can offer a one-month trial membership. If you make a sale, you have made a customer at OTO3. The trial memberships will have a cancellation rate after the month, of course, and the profit is far less than on the annual membership. Therefore, your crucial step is to follow and convert this new customer to higher-priced purchases.

At OTO3, which is a price offer, you once again see customers divide themselves into buyers and non-buyers. If their answer is “yes” (a purchase), the customer goes to your thank you page.

Email Automation Is Indispensable

Engage with your non-buyers, not just your buyers, to scale your dropshipping business from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands.  For almost all stores that I see, this is a great missed opportunity. Again, you probably paid to get that customer to your store. So don’t just throw that money away — use the connection.

For easy and highly effective email automation, check out the Ecommerce Empire Builders website for a program called Active Campaign. It largely automates your email follow up to both buyers and non-buyers. 

You want to reach out to non-buyers again and again. 

After all, you know that they are aware of your store, have some knowledge of your product, and considered a purchase. Timing, new products, new offers, and increasing knowledge and familiarity with you and your store all can factor into a purchase by that customer in the future. You will use automated email to approach these customers at intervals say of one hour after leaving your site, one day later, two days later, and beyond.

Customize Your Emails Based on Their Purchase Behaviors

email automation workflow for interacting with non-buyers

Your priorities, as mentioned above, are profit per sale and the lifetime value the customer brings to your business. Automated email works in part by segmenting your customers into categories to guide customized messages to them.

You will sell far more to your list of existing customers than to any list you probably can purchase. You usually can count on a buyer’s excitement with your product to be highest immediately after the purchase and in the days following. So that is the time to introduce related products, “step-up” offers, and bargains.

It should go without saying that when you are drafting the email messages to flesh out your active campaigns to buyers and non-buyers, differentiate the messages. Speak to segments of each group, and feature different intervals and offers.

Remember: you are writing directly to the customer, as an individual, in a friendly tone. Any other approach wastes the most important advantage of automated email responses: the connection.

The Sales Relationship Gets Longer

The real money in ecommerce is achieved by buyer evolution through successive points in the sales funnel. When you make that first sale, your customer has only completed the first leg of the buyer’s journey. Scale your dropshipping business by continuing the interaction. Your more expensive products are where the big profits are made, and these purchases rarely come from first-time, one-time buyers. The most profitable sales funnel represents your entire — sometimes your permanent — relationship with a customer.

Succeed With Ecommerce Empire Builders

As you strive to scale your dropshipping business from one level to the next, consult with the experts. We offer presentations, classes, and the spectrum of related materials available at Ecommerce Empire Builders, and we’re ready to help you at every step.  Be sure to check back here for information, insights, and updates. Right now, sign up for our exclusive free webinar. We’ll introduce you to the simple five-page ecommerce funnel that works.   

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