Long gone are the days of applying for a standard bank loan to build a local brick and mortar shop to generate an income. Today, launching your very own eCommerce business can be done whether you have experience as an entrepreneur or if you are interested in achieving financial freedom and independence. Once you have made the decision to launch an eCommerce store, it is important to consider your preferred methods of marketing and how you intend to reach an online audience. While content marketing and social media are useful tools, email marketing still plays a major role in generating sales and calculating success in the eCommerce industry. Use the following tips for your email marketing strategy to help grow and scale your eCommerce business, regardless of your preferred market and niche.
1. Personalization is Key
Personalized emails can drastically increase your email open and CTR (click-through-rate) in any industry. Use personalization to address recipients of your emails directly, using their first name or their full name. You can also use personalization to implement other details you have received from your subscribers, such as their location or even various interests they have indicated to you upon registering as a subscriber.
2. Offer Custom Discounts
Offering custom discounts is another way to appeal to loyal shoppers or even subscribers who are new to your website. If you are using a CMS, or content management system such as Magento, consider using an extension such as Customer Prices Suite extension for Magento 2.
The Customer Prices Suite extension for Magento 2 allows eCommerce website owners the ability to designate prices for individuals based on membership status or whether or not they have special privileges as a customer on your website. Define your own variables to consider while setting prices and offer even steeper discounts to subscribers and customers who are most loyal to your business.
3. Use Powerful CTAs
A CTA, or call-to-action, is a line of text or a promotional blurb that helps incentivize users to shop or make a purchase from a business. Using powerful CTAs within each of your emails is imperative, especially if your end goal is to drive traffic to your website or close a sale on your eCommerce store.
4. Consistency is Key
When you have an email newsletter, consistency is key to remain successful and interesting to those who are currently subscribed. Be sure to send emails to your subscribers at least once a week, but not more than two or three times, depending on the amount of engagement each of your emails receives.
While it is important to remain consistent when sending emails to your subscribers, it is also important to avoid spamming or sending too many emails in one day or even throughout the week.
5. Implement a Working Email Funnel
Create a working email funnel that is suitable for the type of customers you want to reach. Consider whether or not you want to email users who have items in their shopping carts currently separately, or if you want to include them in a mass email. If you have new subscribers, you may want to provide an entirely new funnel depending on where you are in a current funnel you are running. Using email funnels can help to avoid sending generic or unnecessary emails to users who are simply not ready for them or not suitable candidates to receive the emails you intend to send.
6. Send Follow-Up Emails
When developing an email funnel, consider the type of follow-up emails you intend to send. Follow-up emails can help with motivating shoppers to complete their purchase or revisit your shop to browse through more of the inventory you currently have in stock. Use follow-up emails to also gauge just how interested your current readers and subscribers are in what you have to say and the promotions or deals you are offering.
7. Cash in on Holidays and Special Occasions
Take advantage of special holidays throughout the year by launching promotions and deals of your own. Use your email newsletter to hype the upcoming events or exclusive promotions you are hosting to pique the interest of your subscribers and loyal customers. Encourage others to share your email newsletter with their own family members and friends so that they also have the opportunity to take advantage of special offers and discounts you provide.
8. Track and Monitor Email Campaign Results
Each time you launch a new email marketing campaign, keep track of the results and monitor the most and least successful emails you have sent out. Tracking and monitoring individual campaigns is a way to gain valuable insight into the wants and needs of your readers, prospective customers, and loyal shoppers or supporters.
9. Use Collected Data to Better Optimize Future Email Marketing Campaigns
Any data and information you collect with each email campaign you send out should be organized and used in future digital marketing campaigns. Optimize your future email campaigns by taking the best types of headers, promotions, and CTAs and implementing them in new campaigns you intend to launch.
Using email marketing is one of the best ways to generate sales while building a loyal and ongoing relationship with subscribers and customers alike. With the right email marketing tips and digital strategy, learn which subject lines, calls-to-action, and types of promotions work best in your favor when it comes to generating sales and revenue for your business.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).