Drive Your Business Forward With Amazon Email Automation Tools

Many Amazon sellers rely solely on Amazon’s automated emails to get Seller Feedback ratings and Product Reviews. If you’re an avid Amazon shopper, no doubt your inbox is filled with order confirmations, shipping confirmations, delivery confirmations, and Amazon’s request to rate the transaction. How often do you respond to that last email? If the answer is, “seldom to never”, you’re amongst the 90% or more who ignore these emails. Maybe it has something to do with buyers rapidly sifting through their daily dose of 121 emails. Before throwing in the towel and losing hope, you can substantially increase response rates with personalized, automated emails.

Why You Should Use Automated Amazon Emails

Taking a proactive approach with email communications lets your Amazon customers know that you care about their buying experience. Are you wondering if Amazon permits this type of contact with your customers? They absolutely do. Remember, Amazon encourages Sellers to provide good customer service.

Communication is vital to the success of every Amazon Seller. Personalized automated emails are great for:

1. Building brand awareness;
2. Increasing response rates;
3. Boosting ratings; and,
4. Turning first-time customers into loyal repeats.

What exactly can you do with automated emails? Tons! But take the time to review these pre-planning Amazon email strategies and after-sale email suggestions. You’ll be glad you did.

Amazon Email Pre-Planning Strategies

There are 3 prime spots that are quickly scanned during that brief timeline. Keep this in mind as you start brainstorming the perfect words to use. Your message has a lot to contend with as your customers are bombarded with after-sale emails (and non-Amazon related ones too). The primary goal is to grab their attention so they’ll actually open yours.

Plan to write separate sets of text for these Prime Spots and for each after-sale email you intend on sending to customers, then multiply that by every different product you sell.

Prime Spot #1: Email Subject Line

Often sellers make the mistake of using the Email Subject Line to include the customer’s order number. That really means nothing to them and there is a risk they could think it’s spam and therefore just delete it without a second thought. Avoid using your brand name here too. With millions of unknown private label Sellers on the Amazon platform; first-time customers may not recognize your brand name even though they just completed a purchase from you.

Although automated email campaigns are triggered by an order, they still need to have great message subject lines that are enticing and specific to the product. Short subject lines are the best. As in 50 characters or less short. Most people scan their inboxes, so make it easy on them.

Let’s use a pillow for an example and it’s the first email to your customer.

Subject Line: Your dreamy pillow is on its way!

Prime Spot #2: Snippet Text

Some Amazon email programs use snippet or preview text next to the subject line. It’s pulled from the first line or two of the main text in the email body. This content is usually limited to 100 characters or less on a computer and 30 characters or less on smartphones.

Continuing with the pillow example, here is an example of an initial email, the first email to your customer.

Snippet Text: Hi (customer name). Rest assured our team of XYZ pillow users are here to support you…

Prime Spot #3: The Preview Pane

Many email programs are set up to display email text in a preview pane. Make the most of this approximately 400 x 300 px space by placing interesting content at the beginning of your email copy to encourage your customers to open it.

Continuing with the first email pillow example:

Preview Pane Text: Hi (customer name). Rest assured our team of XYZ pillow users are here to support you. We are so excited that you chose our specially designed for your comfort XYZ pillows to lay your head on. We can’t wait for you to experience a dreamy night of zzz’s.

These are just examples of course and a pillow lends itself to playing with words. Does your product? Think outside the box on this one. You may be surprised at how creative you can be.

After-Sale Emails

Okay, you made it through the first 3-4 second cut and your Amazon customer opened your email. Yay! Now what? It’s time to make sure they’re intrigued enough to actually read the rest of what you’ve written.

Writing the wording of your email is not an exercise to rush through. Here’s another time-based statistic if you need some motivation. People allocate an average of 51 seconds to skim email content, so make it easy for them to scan with simple copy.

To get in the right frame of mind, shift into your customer’s perspective and more specifically, a first time customer. What do they need to know if they have never used your product before? Would YOU want to read this email?

Always use a tone that reflects your company culture. And please avoid saying the same thing multiple times even if it’s written with different words. Keep asking yourself, “Can I make it shorter and simpler?”

While Seller opinions differ on the number of emails, if they are carefully crafted with thoughtful (customer view) and purposeful (your view) content; it won’t be overwhelming if you send 3 or more over a period of time.

First Email: The Thank-You Note

Every Amazon Seller has product listings, but not every merchant sends thank-you emails after each customer orders. A simple “Thank you for buying our product” type of message goes a long way in personifying your brand.

Timing —The Thank You email should be sent out within 24 hours of the order.

Purpose — Brand recognition is a very difficult task for third-party Sellers. Many shoppers don’t even realize there are brands other than Amazon. That has been Amazon’s strategy for creating a seemingly seamless credibility stronghold.

By sending a thank you message, including your logo, sharing a line or two about the story of your business and your team; that may be the first time a customer realizes they’ve bought from a company with a unique brand name. It’s also the way for you to set the foundation for a loyal customer. According to Marketing Metrics, it’s as much as 10 times easier to sell to a returning customer than to a new one. A thank-you is one more step towards convincing that customer to return.

Content — This Thank You email could contain user guides, product manuals, how to take care of the product, usage tips, or any other material to help the customer have a smooth experience. But don’t send tons of information either. Even if it’s a simple product to use, this is your first step in providing details that otherwise could not be included or easily missed on the product page.

Add a sincere line such as, “We are here to make sure you receive the best customer service and are 100% happy with your purchase.”

Second Email: The Seller Feedback Request

Timing — The second email should go out one or two days after the customer receives the order. Calculate timing based on if it’s FBA or FBM.

Purpose — Customer Feedback (also known as Seller Feedback) is only about these 3 questions:

The purpose of the Seller Feedback Email is to make sure everything arrived okay. That’s why you want to send it to be in sync with when they receive the package… while the package is still fresh in the customer’s mind.

From an Amazon Seller’s perspective, this feedback contributes significantly to the Account Health ratings. It is also what gets posted for any shopper who clicks on your store name link. These ratings and comments from other customers are like unpaid persuasive ads that generate confidence for potential customers unfamiliar with your company or brand name.

Content — This is another opportunity to connect in a sincere way with your new customer. Let them know you want to make sure they are happy with your xyz product. Also, if you had more information about the product that was too much to send in the Thank You email; now would be a great time to add it.

Tell them they can reply to your email with any concerns so you can make it right. Don’t be afraid to directly ask for feedback because it helps your small business grow. Be sure to include simple steps or a link that leads them right to the Leave Seller Feedback button. And of course, thank them once again for being a customer.

Third Email: The Product Review Request

Timing — The product review request email should go out 7 – 14 days after the product has been received. This gives the customer time to experience your product. Be sure to program your automated emails to go only to customers who have not already left a Product Review.

Purpose — Amazon doesn’t prompt customers in any way to leave Product Reviews. That means it’s up to you to send out this post-sale email. These Amazon reviews are extremely important for new, but also established sellers. Product Reviews are entirely different from Seller Feedback. The main purpose of this email is to inspire customers who actually like your product to share their experience. This is priceless, free advertising for all who land on your product page.

Content — Continue adding personality that reflects your company’s philosophy. Scan your existing Product Reviews for some interesting content. Perhaps other customers found new ways to use your product that hadn’t occurred to you. Share that discovery in this email. Leave out names of course. Or, include some cool facts about your product that aren’t already in your page content.

Brainstorm stories about your products. For example, “Our martini glasses look like the ones James Bond used in every film” or include some unusual martini recipes to be used in your glasses.

Another example is, “Imagine every time you pick up this chef’s favorite XYZ product, that they are using it in YOUR kitchen.” Or, “Here’s a way to create a party favorite…” Don’t make these fun tidbits too long though. Generally, your efforts to make sure they get the most out of their new product will be appreciated. Your customers will think of it as excellent customer service.

This easily segues into asking if they would like to share their experience with your product by writing a Product Review, uploading an image, or even a video. Once again, lead them right to the Write a Product Review button or include the link to make it quick and easy. This could increase your review response rate substantially.

Subsequent Emails

If you’re running promotions, launching new products, or reminding customers to gift others with your product; these are all fantastic reasons to reconnect with your current customer base. Perhaps schedule a different email to go quarterly.

Amazon Email Marketing Basics

While initially writing clever content for your customer emails warrants focussed time, it goes a long way in building great customer service.

Amazon Email Marketing Rules

• Keep it short and simple.
• Match the tone to your company’s personality.
• Include one call-to-action in your second, third, and subsequent emails.

Liberate Yourself with Automated Amazon Emails

While you can send emails through Amazon’s messaging system, it is a manual process that is super time-consuming; especially as your sales and/or product offerings increase. To be most effective, automate. ZonGuru was designed by successful Amazon Sellers out of understanding and necessity. ZonGuru’s Amazon email tools offer many options to customize the content appearance or change insertable links to personalize every email. The Email Automator alerts you when new Seller Feedback and Product Reviews come in so you can monitor responses and provide even better customer service. It’s a powerful tool that enables you to spend more time on growing your Amazon business.