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Your Guide to the Post Purchase Email Flow (with Examples!)

Vlad Falin on October 14, 2022

Many companies are neglecting post-purchase emails, which is a huge mistake!

It may seem that when a customer makes a purchase, that is the end of the customer journey.

In fact, it is only the beginning. It is a phase when a company has the opportunity to turn a one-time buyer into a lifelong customer, and that is when post-purchase emails come in!

What is a Post-Purchase Email?

A post-purchase email is sent to a customer after they have made a purchase. The purpose of these emails is to thank the customer for their purchase, provide them with information about their order, and give them information on how to use their product.

Most importantly, it gives you an opportunity to establish a relationship with your customers and turn them into repeat customers! 

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What are the Different Types of Post-Purchase Emails?

The types of post-purchase email may differ based on what you are selling. 

Before we continue to the detailed breakdown, here is the list of the high-level categories of post-purchase emails:

  • Confirmation emails – focus on thanking the customer for their purchase and providing information about their order.
  • Shipping notification emails – provide the customer with information about the shipment of their product, including tracking details and estimated delivery date.
  • Welcome email – welcome emails are an opportunity to thank them for their business and introduce them to your brand or personal background.
  • Sales emails – post-purchase is an opportunity to convert the customer into a repeat customer.

But apart from sending these types of post-purchase emails, there are many ways how you can leverage them to establish a deeper connection with your customer.

Why Is A Post-Purchase Follow-up Email Important?

Post-purchase emails are important for several reasons:

Brand loyalty – If customers have a positive post-purchase experience, they are more likely to be loyal to the brand and make future purchases.

Repeated order – post-purchase email campaigns allow you to sell complementary products to customers who have already shown an interest – with their wallets!

Customer engagement – these emails provide an opportunity to keep the customer engaged with your brand even after making a purchase.

Post-Purchase Experience – sending important information after a customer has purchased to maintain customer loyalty and create repeat business.

Most importantly, it allows you to keep the conversation with the customer going. The best way to leverage this conversation is through a post-purchase email flow.

Elements of a Post-Purchase Email Campaign

Statistics show that it can take around eight touchpoints before the sale is made. 

Sure, you have already sold your product to the customer, but do you know what is better than the first sale? 

A second sale!

Since the customer already bought your product, and you have their payment details and info – that second (third, fourth, etc.) sale may come much quicker than after the initial eight touchpoints.

Post-purchase email campaigns allow you to create additional touchpoints and turn your one-time buyers into loyal, returning customers.

Here is an example of a campaign with post-purchase email subject line ideas!

1. Purchase Confirmation

The first email in the post-purchase email flow is a confirmation that the transaction went through.

This email should include all the details about what the customer has purchased. 

The goal of this phase is to confirm to the customer that everything went smoothly and you are working on their order.

If you are providing a digital product – this would be your welcome email.

Purchase confirmation email subject lines:

  • Thank you for your purchase!
  • Yay, Order Went Through!
  • Thank You, and Welcome! (Digital Products)

2. Order Updates

The second email is an update on the order status, aka “Where is it?!” 

Here you would let the customer know that their order has shipped or if there are any delays.

Keeping customers informed prevents them from wondering what is going on with their purchase, builds trust, and makes your customer service representatives’ lives easier.

Order updates email subject lines:

  • We are working on it!
  • Order # Is On Its Way.
  • Sending Your Order.

3. Product Usage Tips

The third email contains tips on how to use the product.

This email can be very helpful for customers, especially if it’s their first time using your product.

Guides, How-To’s, and videos will help the customer get more of the purchase, and yet again, we are building more rapport for the last stage of the flow.

Product usage tips email subject lines:

  • Did you know…?
  • {name], Let us help!
  • {Product} User Guide 101

4. Feedback Request

The product was received, and the customer is educated and is using it. Now it is time for feedback.

This is a great opportunity to get some insights on what can be improved while also thanking the customer for their business.

If you are running a small operation, you may request personal feedback through email.

Alternatively, you could use a survey form or ask customers to review you on one of the review platforms. (Do not forget to provide the links.)

Feedback request email subject lines:

  • How did we do?
  • We want you to be happy!
  • Did everything go well?

5. Cross-Selling and Upselling

At this point, quite some time had passed since the initial purchase.

The rapport is established, the product delivered, and we are now positioned to use eCommerce email marketing strategies to upsell or cross-sell complementary products.

For example, if you sold a Nikon camera, you could offer a photo album to store the pictures, extra batteries, lenses, etc.

The danger here is to come on too strong. The main objective is to develop helpful suggestions that will benefit the customer experience.

Cross-selling and upselling email subject lines:

  • New products that match your purchase
  • You may also like…
  • Product Recommendations

6. Ending the Flow (Optional)

This will be the last email in the post-purchase campaign chain.

You may have separated the customers into those who made a repeated purchase and those who did not.

To the repeated buyers, you might send updates and news or prepare the ground for seasonal sales.

For the undecided buyers, this is a great chance to include a coupon for the next purchase.

The goal is to show your appreciation for their business and leave the door open for future purchases.

Ending the flow email subject lines:

  • We have some news…
  • Undecided? Here is a discount
  • Thank You For Choosing {Product}

Examples of Post-Purchase Emails

Let’s have a look at examples of the post-purchase email types and email subject line examples that we discussed in this post!

Purchase Confirmation Email

Clear, informative, and right to the point. Exactly the type of post-purchase email that you want to see in the inbox after you confirm the credit card details.

The main objective of this type of email is to provide confirmation that the payment was successful and that the order was placed.

Right after that, the order details should follow – so the customer has an email receipt of the things that they ordered and how much they paid for them.

Subject line: Thank You For Your Order.

At the bottom of the email, apart from the support details, you can see a careful attempt to get more business.

Notice that it is not a discount but rather a referral program. As if you were happy with the purchase, they have a shot at not only making you a repeat buyer but getting another customer for a CAC of $125.

Source

Shipping Confirmation Email

When money is paid, the customer likes to stay informed. After the order is processed, packed, and sent – make sure to let them know it happened!

This is a great example of an order update email from Food52. It informs the customer their order was shipped, provides the tracking link, and recaps what was sent in the package.

Subject line: Good News – Your Food52 order (#650050) has shipped!

In the lower section of the email, yet again, we can see a referral program. 

The great thing about the referral program is that, in contrast to discounts, you can run it all the time without devaluing your brand.

Source

Thank You Email

Notice how this email copy leverages the basic Thank You email to tell their story.

They include their origins, mention that they are family owned and even show that they are socially responsible!

Subject line: Thank You For Your Purchase!

Combined with the mention of simple return and Canadian origin – it makes for a perfect Thank you email.

Source

Feedback and Cross-Sell Email

When the customer has a chance to use the product, it is time for another round of relationship building.

The primary objective of this email is to get customer feedback on the product. The customer experience score is at the top, followed by a nudge to share on social media.

Subject line: Day 30. What’s happened so far?

At the lower part, you can see a cross-sell attempt.

If we follow the flow of this email, they lead customers to express their satisfaction and then offer another product without using discounts. 

Bellroy uses the excitement of the new product to sell more products!

Source

Tailwind is your email marketing team all-in-one tool! Sign up for the best small business email marketing offerings!

7 Tips for Your Post Purchase Email Sequences

Whether you are a service provider in eCommerce or selling digital products, below is a list of tips that will make your post-purchase emails stand out.

Be clear

This is the first email customers receive after they give you their payment details. Make sure to be ve clear about what they paid for. 

Order details, product names, the total amount paid – all of this should be in the email for your customer to check.

Keep it short

After the first purchase, nobody will read a wall of text. Keep your post-purchase email short and sweet. 

The idea is not to introduce your brand or hard-sell another product in the first email. This will come later in the post-purchase email campaign flow. 

Focus on the service

Make sure to focus on the service that the customer just received.

  • If they purchased a physical product, talk about how happy you are that they made this choice. 
  • If they signed up for a subscription, welcome them to the club.

Be personal

Whether you are a small business or a bigger company, do your best to keep the email personal. 

Always add the name and contacts of the company representative the customer can reach out to if they have any questions or problems.

Share your story

Since the purchase was already made, there is no need to over-sell yourself. But this might be a good opportunity to establish a deeper relationship. 

Tell them a little bit about yourself or your company’s story. This will help create a connection and build trust.

Include contacts

Make it easy for customers to get in touch if they need to. Include all relevant contact information and links to your social media channels. 

It can happen that after ordering, the customer needs to change something and nothing damages the relationship more than spending 15 minutes to find an info email.

Don’t rush it

You want to turn your existing customers into repeat customers. That is understandable. 

But sending all the emails from your post-purchase campaign at once won’t help. The timing in which you send emails is important!

Keep around four days between your emails. That is a sweet spot. You will still have the attention of your customer, but you are not irritating them.

Post-purchase emails are necessary to keep the customer informed, but most importantly – they are used to keep the conversation going and increase customer lifetime value.

Keep the email personal and ensure it is relevant to what they purchased. 

Following these tips, you can create post-purchase emails that will help your customers and encourage them to return for more.

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Post-Purchase Email FAQs

When should you send a post-purchase email?

Send a post-purchase email as soon as the customer has completed their purchase. This way, you can keep the conversation going and, most importantly, keep the customer informed of what will be happening next.

How do you write a post-purchase email?

Keep it short and sweet. Thank your customer for their order, and include the recap of what they just purchased, along with the next steps.

What does post-purchase mean?

“Post” is a prefix meaning “after”, so post-purchase literally means “after purchase.”

What is a post-purchase flow?

A post-purchase flow is a series of emails sent to customers after completing a purchase. These emails can include shipping updates, special offers, or even follow-ups to see how the customer is enjoying their purchase.

What should be included in a post-purchase email?

First and foremost it should include the details of the order and that it was successful! The type of product, the number of items, prices, whether it was paid, and when the estimated arrival date is.

In the case of digital products, it should include a thank-you note and access details.

How do you follow up with a customer after purchase?

There are a few different ways you can follow up with customers after they make a purchase. You can send shipping updates, special offers, or even follow-ups to see how the customer is enjoying their purchase.

How do you ask a customer for reorder?

You can send an email to existing customers, asking them if they need any more of the product they just bought. Include a special offer, referral bonus, or discount for reordering.

Why is post-purchase communication important?

It helps to build a relationship with the customer and improves customer retention. Also, it allows you to upsell or cross-sell other products or promote your referral program to attract new customers. Post-purchase marketing should always be incorporated in your email marketing strategy for even better customer engagement!

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Not only do post-purchase improve your customer service, they also create the opportunity for repeat orders. Find out what they are, and how to use them effectively in this guide!

9 Best Shopify Email Marketing Apps

Vy La on September 22, 2022

Shopify email marketing apps are a dime a dozen. While that leaves you plenty of choices, it also means you have to spend time testing each one to find what works!

Or you could seek out the best Shopify email marketing apps on your own, or better yet – search for a guide!

Without further ado, here they are: the best email marketing campaign services to elevate your eCommerce business dreams.

Why is Email Important in Shopify?

Email marketing is one of the best methods to win new customers and nurture repeat buyers back through the sales cycle. But for Shopify merchants, it’s not just a luxury – it’s a necessity.

With the right Shopify email marketing app, you can:

  • Integrate your service start-to-finish with Shopify
  • Trigger automated emails based on customer behaviors
  • Simplify customer data gathering, tracking, and analyzing
  • Boost your long-term revenue potential

In other words, the right email marketing services make running, promoting, and capitalizing on your business a breeze.

What to Look for in the Best Shopify Email Marketing Apps

Before diving in, let’s review what the best email marketing apps offer, regardless of price:

  • eCommerce-specific features. Since you run an eCommerce business, naturally, your email client should make your job easier.
  • Integrations. Ideally, your Shopify email marketing app should integrate with – you guessed it! – Shopify.
  • Contact syncing. A crucial piece of the integration puzzle is your contact list. If your store’s contacts don’t move over automatically, that’s time out of your schedule.
  • Segmenting. Good apps segment customers based on activity, purchase history, and personal preference. The best email marketing apps create segments upon import.
  • Automatic email campaigns. An absolute must-have as a Shopify marketer is automated email campaigns, from abandoned cart campaigns to upselling promotions.
  • A/B testing. Never stop improving. A/B tests can do wonders for your campaigns no matter how successful they are. 
  • Reporting and analytics. Even basic email marketing apps should provide detailed metrics and analytics to help improve your marketing operations.
  • Ease of use. While email marketing apps often operate on a learning curve, beginner-friendly apps should be easy – even fun – to use.

Above all, your email marketing client should fit into your budget. While “affordability” varies based on business size and needs, most services offer tiered pricing to help clients scale in-house.

The Shopify Email Marketing App: Shopify Email

Shopify launched its in-house email marketing app in late 2019 to help eCommerce stores build their brands with:

  • Ready-made email templates implanted with your logo, store colors, and product details
  • Basic analytics
  • Manual segmentation abilities
  • Abandoned cart emails
  • Imported customer lists
  • 2,500 free emails monthly ($1 per every 1,000 above the limit)

While the Shopify email marketing app gets the job done, that’s about the extent of our praise.

The template library is minimal, as are your customization options.

For customers seeking automated segmentation, triggered email marketing campaigns, or advanced analytics, Shopify will recommend another email marketing app.

As such, Shopify’s in-house email campaign builder is best suited for small businesses or beginning marketers just breaking into the email game.

As you gain more experience, you may decide to graduate to an alternative email marketing platform.

Shopify Email Marketing App Alternatives

Picking the best email marketing software isn’t just about paying for the most features. Rather, it’s about finding the service that meets your needs, from marketing automation features to segmented contact lists.

1. GetResponse

GetResponse is a robust email marketing app that offers a bit more than the average service.

Features like webinars, landing pages, and a full-blown CRM make this service stand out. Plus, with its automated integration abilities, eCommerce stores can enjoy simple contact importation, segmentation, and tagging.

Unfortunately, some marketers find that the analytics aren’t in-depth enough for their needs.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Deep Data Shopify integrations
  • Wide range of email templates
  • Easy-to-build marketing automations
  • Triggered email campaigns for abandoned carts, promotions, and post-purchase emails
  • Easy-add personalized product recommendations

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 500 subscribers with limited abilities
  • Email Marketing: Starts at $15.58/month for up to 1,000 subscribers*
  • Marketing Automation: Starts at $48.38/month
  • eCommerce Marketing: Starts at $97.58/month

*Minimum pricing tier that offers Shopify integration

Who’s It Built For?

GetResponse is well-suited to larger eCommerce ventures that could benefit from advanced email marketing automation, added features like webinars, and the built-in CRM.

2. AWeber

AWeber is a well-known email marketing campaign manager that boasts the normal features like integrations, customizable email templates, analytics, and segmentation. They offer email marketing automation to simplify the process at almost every step of the way. Plus, you can track your performance anytime, anywhere with the mobile AWeber Stats app.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Over 700 customizable templates
  • Triggered automatic marketing campaigns, including newsletters
  • Customer tagging and segmentation based on opens, clicks, purchases, and location
  • Landing page builder
  • Built-in performance analyzer
  • Over 1,000 software integrations

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 500 subscribers with landing pages, web push notifications, and eCommerce abilities
  • Pro: Starts at $19.99/month for up to 500 subscribers

Who’s It Built For?

AWeber offers some impressive tools at a low price, but it does lack advanced features. Small-time Shopify store owners and beginning email marketers might find this platform an ideal jumping-off point.  

3. Mailchimp

Mailchimp offers a robust free service with up to 10,000 monthly emails, making this a popular email marketing app for beginners. Paid plans offer no watermarks, a direct integration with Shopify, and increased customer data analytics and access. You can also automate email marketing campaigns like abandoned carts, reorder reminders, and transactional emails.

However, Mailchimp’s email template library is sparsely-populated. And for scaling purposes, this email client may get pricey quickly.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Customizable email templates
  • Google Analytics integration
  • Content optimizer to make content more engaging
  • eCommerce features like pop-ups, scroll boxes, and ad retargeting

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 2,000 emails daily/10,000 monthly for limited abilities
  • Essentials: Starts at $11/month for additional features*
  • Standard: Starts at $17/month for advanced features
  • Premium: Starts at $299/month for full features

*Minimum pricing tier that offers Shopify integration

Who’s It Built For?

Mailchimp offers one of the best email marketing apps for store owners seeking a free service. However, as your business scales, you may require a more advanced platform.

4. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is another solid email marketing app that offers CRM functionality and Shopify compatibility. The service comes with plenty of marketing automation, customizations, and subscriber personalization opportunities. Plus, you can use its eCommerce abilities to push product recommendations and offer embeddable discounts.

That said, ActiveCampaign is notable for its steeper learning curve and (occasional) code-writing requirements.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Over 600 pre-built automation workflows
  • Deep Data platform integrations
  • Drag-and-drop editor
  • Dynamic segmenting and tagging
  • Triggered email campaigns
  • In-depth data gathering
  • Paid SMS marketing

Pricing

  • Lite: Starts at $29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers with limited abilities
  • Plus: Starts at $49/month with additional features*
  • Professional: Starts at $149/month with advanced features and personalization

*Minimum pricing tier that offers Shopify integration

Who’s It Built For?

Due to its pricing, steeper learning curve, and advanced abilities, ActiveCampaign works better for larger stores. The CRM also provides plenty of oomph for stores with more repeat customers.

5. Omnisend

Omnisend is unusual in that it offers SMS marketing, social media integrations, and push notifications alongside email campaigns.

With a range of automated workflows and segmentations, you can target customers based on browsing, abandonment, and search behaviors. You can even examine your sales metrics and campaign reports in the same dashboard.    

That said, while its email editor is quite intuitive, Omnisend’s template library leaves something to be desired.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Easy Shopify integrations and cross-sell features
  • Conversion-focused email marketing tools like scratch cards and “spin to win”
  • Detailed campaign and sales analytics
  • Multi-channel marketing abilities
  • Unlimited contact storage (though not unlimited sends)

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 500 emails/month for 250 subscribers
  • Standard: Starts at $16/month for up to 6,000 emails, 500 subscribers, and unlimited web pushes
  • Pro: Starts at $59/month for up to 500 subscribers, unlimited emails, and advanced features

Who’s It Built For?

Omnisend is ideal for marketers who want to take their multi-channel marketing communications to the next level. Plus, its affordability and added eCommerce features make it ideal for small- to medium-sized Shopify stores.

6. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a marketing software designed especially for eCommerce that boasts impressive returns for Shopify store owners on its website. Aside from advanced segmentation and marketing automation workflows, Klaviyo facilitates SMS marketing and A/B testing.

Overall, Klaviyo marks a solid email marketing service – though its prices can get steep for larger subscriber lists.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Easy Shopify store integrations
  • Extensive pre-built workflow automations
  • A/B testing
  • Triggered email campaigns
  • Modern email templates with dynamic blocks for personalization 

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 250 subscribers and 500 emails/month
  • $30/month: Up to 1,000 subscribers and 10,000 emails
  • $100/month: Up to 5,000 subscribers and 50,000 emails
  • $150/month: Up to 10,000 subscribers and 100,000 emails

Who’s It Built For?

Because of its focus on eCommerce email marketing and built-in CRM, Klaviyo is a good email marketing app for small- to medium-sized businesses. However, beginners may find the interface challenging at first, and larger businesses may find the price schedule prohibitive. 

7. Sendinblue

Sendinblue is a feature-rich email marketing service that aims to impress with marketing automation, landing pages, lead scoring, and even Facebook ads. It offers eCommerce marketing alongside email marketing, with features like conditional content, imported order data, and store product integrations.

These capabilities, alongside advanced features like SMS messaging, make Sendinblue one of the best Shopify email marketing apps available.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Customizable email templates
  • A/B testing for data-driven campaigns
  • Real-time reporting and analytics
  • Targeted segmentation
  • eCommerce marketing features to complete email campaigns

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 300 emails/day
  • Lite: $25/month for up to 20,000 emails and additional abilities*
  • Premium: $65/month for up to 20,000 emails and advanced automation

*Minimum pricing tier that offers Shopify integration

Who’s It Built For?

Sendinblue is a well-rounded service that works well for small- to medium-sized Shopify store owners. While it’s an efficient email marketing software, it’s also not always beginner-friendly, as some features require snippets of code. That said, Sendinblue’s Lite plan is also budget-friendly. 

8. Drip

Drip is an email marketing app for Shopify store owners who want to segment the heck out of their lists. You can divide emails based on the smallest actions, including products and brands viewed, browsing history, and more. And with its blended eCommerce-CRM abilities, Drip puts the emphasis on strong communication and customer guidance.

But watch out: if you exceed your subscriber capacity for your plan, Drip automatically bumps you up a notch. And unfortunately, Drip offers just a handful of pre-built email templates.

Email Marketing App Main Features:

  • Strong behavior-based marketing automation
  • Workflow split-testing and application
  • Robust analytics, including engagement and revenue metrics
  • Easy Shopify and Facebook Customer Audience integrations

Pricing

  • $39/month for up to 2,500 subscribers and unlimited sends
  • $89/month for up to 5,000 subscribers and unlimited sends
  • $154/month for up to 10,000 subscribers and unlimited sends

Drip also offers a 14-day free trial with all features included.

Who’s It Built For?

Due to Drip’s more advanced automation and segmentation abilities, this email marketing service may best serve more established businesses. With its subscriber-based pricing model, it offers full features at every tier, making it powerful at every price.

5 Tips To Pick The Best Shopify Email Tool

Below are some tips that can help you choose the right email marketing tool for you!

Integration

Goes without saying that you need your email marketing platform to integrate with Shopify. In case you are using any other tools to manage your clients – check if they will also integrate easily.

Ease of use

You want the tool to feel natural.  The main information should be right on the dashboard, and all the important features should be just a click away.

Automations & Segmentations

Run a  testing campaign and see how various automation and segmentation work. Can you tag subscribers based on their behavior? Can you separate them into A/B test groups?

Team management

Chances are that you will not be working alone. What options are there to manage access to your team? What is the pricing like for several seats?

Imports & Exports

Some email marketing services have strict policies on email imports. Make sure that importing your leads from another service will be simple and won’t take too much time!

Key Takeaways

Email marketing is essential for a Shopify store owner. But before you can succeed in your marketing endeavors, you must determine your business needs and goals. 

The email marketing app you choose should reflect your:

  • Required subscriber count
  • Desire for growth and expansion
  • And your budget

Ideally, the best email marketing app has the email marketing tools and pricing tiers needed to scale with you. (And many offer a 14-day free trial, so you can be sure an email marketing service checks all your boxes.)

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Wondering which email providers have Shopify integrations to support ecommerce? Here are 9 Shopify email marketing apps out there for your business!

How Shea Design Grew A Successful Art Studio Online with Tailwind

Stephanie Mayberry on March 8, 2022

https://youtu.be/BnsJ_t4nj90

Sheniqua Young (Shea) has been drawing her entire life, which is blatantly obvious in her sheer talent. Shea remembers herself as a quiet child who liked to be in her own little world making new creations.

“I was in the arts and craft store all the time, begging my mom for everything. Everything that was art-related, I wanted it.”

Shea first realized she had a gift in elementary school when a teacher encouraged her to submit a drawing to a local art competition where she ended up receiving awards. It was then she realized there was something special in her passion. 

“That was the first time that I was like, ‘oh, I’m kind of good at this.’ And then I just never stopped.”

Sheniqua eventually transitioned from art centered on nature to portraits. Because of her family’s roots, a lot of her art is inspired by her Jamaican heritage. “I just love celebrating black women, black beauty, and our culture.”

She began exploring ways to capture the majestic and goddess energy inside of black individuals – especially women through painting. Then as she listened to where her passion was nudging her, something amazing happened – she began to see success. More on that below.

“I just love celebrating black women, black beauty and our culture.”

In college, Sheniqua began doing larger oil paintings and her Mom eventually suggested she try selling them. Shortly after that, her grandmother’s friends bought some pieces, and Shea Design Art became a reality. 

Shea then opened an Etsy shop and began selling at local craft fairs and art shows. Even though at first she felt uncomfortable selling in person, Shea’s family came to support her. As she relaxed into the experience, she started making sales. Shea’s family was extraordinarily supportive, helping Shea see her potential and encouraging her to dream bigger.

People began eating up her natural artistic expression, and before Shea knew it, she had a full-time job creating art, on top of being in school. While Shea felt excited she was making sales, she realized marketing her business took up too much time. 

Small business owners have many hats to wear and lots of responsibility since everything falls on their shoulders. It can be a lot, and that’s why Tailwind founders Danny Maloney and Alex Topiler created Tailwind – to give entrepreneurs and creators time back to focus on their passion instead of marketing and analytics. 

Sheniqua struggled with planning, keeping a schedule, administrative work, customer service, and creating new pieces. And on top of her business, Shea was a full-time student trying to juggle it all. She knew she was spreading herself too thin and needed help. 

“School had to come first, and usually the marketing stuff would always be on the backburner because if I had commissions, that was my only focus.”

“I couldn’t really post anything…I think the important thing is realizing that it’s just me and not everything that I want to do can get done in a week or a month. I just have to be realistic about my time and not try to push myself too much to avoid burnout because that can happen really easily.”

Shea came to a conclusion most entrepreneurs come to, that no one can do it all alone. If she wanted to keep her momentum she needed help.  Shea started researching Pinterest tips and noticed Tailwind kept popping up in videos and blog posts. 

After watching some tutorials she saw how quick and easy it was to batch schedule Pins. Shea decided to try it out hoping it would take a few things off her plate. 

“At the time, I think I just took a day or two and created a whole bunch of Pins and filled up the entire schedule.”

So did she see a difference in sales and exposure with Tailwind?

 “I started Instagram first and mostly just posted my artwork, works in progress and people started reaching out for commissions. And then with Pinterest, I was using Tailwind and I got… I had a lot of Pins that did really well and brought a lot of traffic to my website.” 

Tailwind was doing its job by helping her make consistency easy and providing optimized scheduling times to reach the maximum amount of new people. Shea began receiving commissioned work through Instagram, and Pinterest began bringing more traffic than ever before to her business. 

“I was using Tailwind with Pinterest, and I had a lot of Pins that did really well and brought a lot of traffic to my website.”

Suddenly the marketing tasks she didn’t have the time for began paying off with little effort on her part. Tailwind’s different time slots allowed Sheniqua to fill the queue up and not have to think about posting while she had art shows, school, and other tasks to attend to. 

“It was pretty exciting because I just do this once and forget about it for weeks. It was fine because it was all on the schedule for a month.

“A lot of times, my Tailwind queue was the only thing that was keeping my social media up because there were certain times I couldn’t do anything else.”

Not only was the scheduler helpful, but Sheniqua also found value in Tailwind Communities after discovering and participating in a few Pinterest art communities. 

“It was cool finding other artists that were using Pinterest and just seeing how they were using it for their business. A few of my Pins did really well from those other artists re-pinning them, and then I remember seeing a couple of their Pins were doing really well in my analytics, so that was pretty cool, just that art community.”

Now Sheniqua is not only able to invest more time creating artwork, but also in experimenting with new ways of displaying her commissioned art on social media. When asked what types of content help her gain the most traction, her answer was pretty simple – video.

“I would say definitely behind-the-scenes videos. People like to see the time lapses. I like to see the time lapses too, it’s fun because you go from this blank canvas to this beautiful painting. 

Even though it might take 30 hours of work, it’s really exciting to just see it all come together so fast, but definitely the video content. Yeah, the painting tutorials or just small-time lapses do the best.”

Video is not only her top trending type of content on Instagram but also on other apps!

“I started doing more of the Pinterest Idea Pins, which have been doing well too. And then TikTok, the same behind the scenes, those time-lapses were doing pretty well.”

Pinterest and Instagram in particular have been the most successful apps in regards to reaching new people and making commissioned sales.

“With Pinterest, I definitely had the most amount of traffic to my website, and with Instagram, I think I probably get a little bit more commissions, I guess just people following the journey and then eventually messaging me to do commissions.”

So, is Tailwind worth it? Did it meet Shea’s needs and do what it intends to do? 

“I got a lot of time back. I would say definitely just my time management when it comes to posting on social media. I don’t have to worry as much about, okay, what time am I going to post today on this? Or having to figure out how many times to post because pretty much if I just create the Pins Tailwind can do it for me. I don’t have to think about if I should post three times today or two times. I just set it up and it handles everything for me.”

Tailwind app is the tool that feels like your marketing team because it does a lot of the tedious time-consuming tasks most business owners don’t have the time or energy to do. With Tailwind’s help, Shea has been able to keep up with consistent posts and Pins. Her analytics have gone up, she’s gotten more sales, and she has more time doing what she has loved since she was a little girl – creating art.

“I don’t have to think about if I should post three times today, or two times. I just set it up and it handles everything for me.”

While Shea is a shy, sweet soul she has slowly become more comfortable with selling art in person and being more confident showing her work.

She has sold original art and prints in pretty much all of the states at this point and many different countries too. But what’s next for Shea Design Art?

“I’ve been working on a lot of new paintings lately, and I’m planning an art show for hopefully towards the end of the year or maybe around fall. So that’s really exciting because I’ve been doing a lot of paintings for that and it would be my first solo art show. I’m very, very excited about that.”

Make sure to check out Shea’s website, her breathtaking art is truly one of a kind. And don’t forget to give her a follow on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Youtube!

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How to Create Ecommerce Product Photos That Drive Sales

Robin Troutman on April 8, 2021

Image of flat lay of earrings and a close up shot of a woman wearing jewelry as examples of ecommerce product photos

In Ecommerce, a product photo doesn’t produce a thousand words; instead, it hopefully produces thousands of clicks resulting in sales. 

Getting product photos right doesn’t need to be difficult, expensive, or time-consuming, but it’s essential for business growth. About 93% of consumers value visual appearance as a key deciding factor in their purchase.

Regardless of whether you’re snapping shots with a phone on the fly or working with sets and a fancy camera, these product photo basics from our friend Ray Ko at Shop Pop Displays set the foundation for sales success.

Light it right

Consumers want to have confidence in your product without touching it. A product shot can do that, and lighting the item properly is the first step. 

The great thing about lighting? You don’t have to buy it. Just use natural light!

If you’re new to product photography, avoid working with flashes. It’s a subject that can get very technical and complicated. As you work with natural light, remember these basics:

  • Place the product on a table as close to a window as possible. You can also shoot outdoors or in a garage with the door wide open
  • Place the display at 90 degrees to the window, adjust as needed
  • Turn all the other lights off in the room off; light mixing is an image killer
  • Avoid direct sunlight on the product; it creates a harsh glare
  • Early morning and late afternoon are the ideal times

Go with a white backdrop

A clean white backdrop works for all product types, and you can play with context shots later. If your business sells on Amazon or creates Google ads, for example, a white backdrop makes it easier to stay within guidelines.

To make your own white backdrop, start with a white poster board. Tape it at the end that’s on the table and place the table against a wall or something else that creates a 90-degree angle.

Then, tape the poster board on the wall so that the board arcs cleanly up the wall. You’ll want to adjust the table so that the arc is subtle enough on the table side of the poster board so you can place your product in the center. Some people also create photo boxes with white walls. Either way works, as long as the backdrop is white.

Steady shots, angles

A tripod is not necessary, but some people will either make their own or invest in one to keep the camera steady. If you’re using your phone, consider a bracket that attaches to the end of a table.

When you don’t have the lens locked down in the same place, so to speak, your products might look unprofessional because they’ll be shot from inconsistent angles.

You can also play with the right angle for the product. A 45-degree angle is common for showing depth, but you can adjust your product to see which angle is best. Some products may require a flatlay, or overhead, shot, too.

Adding, subtracting light

It’s a hack many pros use. Get some inexpensive black and white corrugated cardboard (the thicker kind that doesn’t bend) and cut it into roughly page-size (8.5- by 11-inch) pieces.

These cards add (white) and subtract (black) light. When you hold the white card at an angle to the object you can add light to remove shadows. A black card absorbs the light and can extend a shadow, if needed. Some also use a diffuser to scatter light. Experiment with any of these tools.

In addition, if you can adjust shutter speed on your camera, try it—you’ll allow more light into the shot the longer the shutter stays open. Some cameras allow you to adjust this feature so you can see what the product will look like in a preview screen ahead of time.

Snap abundantly

It’s important not to paralyze yourself with information. Once you have good natural light and a stable white backdrop, be liberal with the number of shots you take. Compare images, experiment with angles and shadows, and get a grasp of your capabilities to reflect and absorb light with your white and black cards.

Product display

When it comes to taking great product photos, it’s important to display your product in an interesting way that grabs the attention of your audience.

Display aids like risers or boxes can help users better visualize your product images while adding some interesting visual elements as well.

There are plenty of ways to use display aids to create creative product images.

Take the image from Mitch Payne for example! Risers are used to highlight the product and create a more visually interesting, eye-catching image.   

Photo editing

Once you settle on the photos you like, you’re going to want to retouch and edit. There’s plenty of online content to teach you some photo editing basics that covers subjects such as proper cropping and aligning, as well as adjusting exposure, tint, brightness and a variety of other photo elements.

Conclusion: Explore and learn

Like anything else, you will refine your technique, angles, lighting and work area as you go. It’s also important to keep learning by studying products and brands you appreciate. You’ll start to find manufacturers that may be using the same techniques you are.

Remember, perfection comes in time. Chances are you’ll stumble across ways to improve photos you’ve already published. You can always update those photos. It’s important to just keep snapping and growing your knowledge base. And as your knowledge grows, sales will, too!

Psst… This Pin was made in seconds with Tailwind Create! Try it for yourself!

Stumped on how to take high-quality Ecommerce product photos that inspire sales? ShopPOP Displays share tips for taking product photos to the next level!

How eCommerce Stores Can Ace Customer Service in 2021

Rebekah Radice on January 7, 2021

What does it take to run a successful eCommerce store? 

Ask someone who’s never worked in the industry and they’ll likely tell you a simple equation: fair prices + in-demand products = sales!

That formula is a good start, but more experienced merchants know it’s not enough. Success in eCommerce actually depends on exceptional customer service.

Think about all the online shopping you’ve done in the last year. Which sites have you gone back to time and time again? 

If you are like me, the draw to return is a mix of strong value and excellent customer service (or at least a lack of bad customer service ‍♀️).

If you’re ready to audit your own customer service approach, we’re going to look at some tips for getting eCommerce customer service right in the coming year below!

Tip #1: Get Proactive with Issuing Brand Updates

Though it’s easy to forget, customer service isn’t just about responding to customer prompts. 

In other words, if you’re passive until buyers get so frustrated that they reach out to you, you’re going to end up with far too many issues to address.

Plus, a level of dissatisfaction that’s sure to negatively impact your all-important brand reputation.

Instead, you need to be actively reaching out to your customers (usually via social media) with lots of brand updates.

Shopify did this with an Instagram post for their Cyber Monday sales.

You might have a new product to promote, a discount worth noting, or a problem with your service.

In any situation, taking the time to tell people about it will reassure them that you’re invested in their satisfaction.

Shopify black friday instagram post

And it’s also important to time your messages well because messages that get missed won’t help you much!

While you’re communicating. your promotions and discounts to existing customers, you should also take the chance to promote your company to prospective customers.

Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder is ideal for finding and increasing your audience on Instagram by interest!

Tip #2: Offer Automated and Manual Live Support

Having a robust live chat system is hugely beneficial for a modern eCommerce store.

People just don’t want to call phone support!

It’s frustrating to wait on hold, irritating to give the call your full attention, and downright annoying to lack a straightforward record of what’s been covered.

People are also well past conventional ticket systems, which tend to be clunky and unbearably slow. 

Customers want CONVENIENT support — and that’s what live chat offers. With live chat, a customer can open and complete a conversation with a support assistant in one sitting!

However, it’s true: live chat systems can get demanding as traffic increases. That’s why you should strategize early by looking for ways to balance manual effort with automation. 

These days it’s possible to implement intuitive chatbot software to automatically field common queries. With Crisp’s chatbot feature, for instance, you can easily define the typical scenarios. 

Bangs Shoes frames the chatbox as a very user-friendly opportunity to text. 

Of course, when there’s a tough customer service scenario, an issue can be passed to a support assistant for manual resolution.

BANGS Shoes automated text feature

Tip #3: Monitor Mentions and React Accordingly

The bigger your brand becomes, the more people will talk about it. A lot of that chatter won’t make it to your inbox. 

Word of mouth has always been immensely powerful for driving referrals, and a glowing endorsement from a friend can lead someone to give you a chance.

On the other side of the coin, a negative review can push them to avoid you entirely!

To keep tabs on what’s being said about your brand, monitor mentions on social, in blog content, and in social media analytics. Tools like BuzzSumo or Brand 24 make this task much easier. 

When you happen upon positive comments, highlight them for everyone. (First make sure to get permission to use the quotes in your marketing!)

Tailwind member quotes on website

When you do find a mention, send a thank-you note, or a gift, or both!

And when you find negative feedback, don’t try to sweep it under the rug. Instead, figure out what the problem is and do your best to resolve it (GoDaddy has some good tips for this.) 

A best practice is to respond to the initial public mention in the same public venue AND invite the disgruntled person to keep the conversation going in a more private way. 

For example, respond to a public tweet with a public tweet AND suggest you move the conversation to a DM. 

Always try to turn the situation. around if you can. If you can take someone negative about your brand and turn them into a supporter, it’ll send a strong message for your brand!

Conclusion: Focus on Customer Service

Often times, you have to wear a lot of hats as an eCommerce store owner. It can be hard to devote your attention to operations, marketing, and customer service.

However, investing a little extra time in customer service can have big returns. So in 2021, keep your eye on making your customers happy!

You’ll ace this critical aspect of eCommerce business, and be rewarded with loyal customers and referrals!

Which brand do you love for their customer service? Share in the comments below!

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9 Steps for Opening a Successful Online Store

Ray Ko on December 22, 2020

Woman on computer on lavender background

This is a guest post from Leigh-Anne Truitt, SEO Specialist at BigCommerce.

A global pandemic forced many brick-and-mortar customers to take their purchases online. Months later, the consumer trend toward online shopping continues.

Whether you had considered ecommerce before the pandemic or have changed your business plans as a result of COVID-19, now is an ideal time to open an online store. Here’s how to get started!

It might seem complex at first, with all the data, systems and sales tools to wrangle. Not to mention product logistics and order fulfillment. But don’t worry – we’ve broken down the process. into 9 manageable steps.

Take a look!

Step One: Purchase a Domain Name

Your domain name is the first impression people will have of your business. Coming up with the right one— and making sure it’s available to purchase —takes some thought!

Here are the things to keep top of mind when you start thinking about a URL for your online store.

Avoid creative spellings

Creativity is a good thing, but if you get too creative with a domain name, people won’t get your web address right!

If you swap letters for numbers or go too far away from dictionary spellings, people will get confused. Try to keep it simple and straightforward. And remember, the fewer characters people have to type in, the better!

Avoid generic names

No matter how simple your web address is to remember, many people will still Google it!

If your domain is too generic, search engines will lead them in all sorts of directions — potentially away from your store. Make sure your URL is branded in a way that’s unique to your company and will stand out against search results with similar names.

The shorter, the better

A short domain name is memorable and easier to work with on printed materials you might use for marketing. In most cases, you will want to stick to your brand name as your domain name.

Step Two: Get Your Paperwork in Order

Online stores are legitimate businesses, so you need the paperwork to make it official (and legal!)

This paperwork includes:

  • Registering your business with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS)
  • Obtaining a vendor’s license
  • Addressing any legal issues that may arise around trademarks, patents, and copyrights.

There may also be shipping or age restrictions to consider, depending on the products you’re planning to sell.

Finally, you’ll need to be well-acquainted with the standard for accepting payments. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is a great place to start!

And if you’re based in the United States, the Small Business Administration is a treasure trove of info and resources.

Step Three: Find Your Perfect Ecommerce Website Builder

Many vendors provide ecommerce services, so there’s no need to hire a developer and start from scratch. That’s good news!

But, selecting an ecommerce platform is a big decision with far-reaching implications. Here are some questions to answer.

Will the ecommerce platform:

  • Help your customers engage with your brand?
  • Reduce checkout friction to make the sale?
  • Handle campaign implementation in a simple way?
  • Be easy to set up and use?
  • Be maintained and updated over time?

You’ll want to take the long-view here.

When you choose a platform, think about where you’d like your business to be five, or even ten years from now, and ask if the platform you are considering will have all of the features you are likely to need!

To get you started, here is a quick look at some of the big players in the ecommerce space.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that also offers a headless commerce solution.

BigCommerce is known for a low total cost of ownership, a large number of built-in features, and highly flexible APIs.

It also serves as the storefront for many types of businesses — from small direct-to-consumer businesses to wholesale companies.

BigCommerce offers a range of plan options and 100% URL (SEO) control. If you have an existing website, BigCommerce’s integration options, like the WordPress plugin, make it easy to add storefront functionality.

Keep in mind that built-in features add complexity to the BigCommerce platform and learning the software can be challenging.

You can choose from an extensive knowledge base of self-serve learning resources or pay for launch coaching and training!

Shopify

Shopify is another popular option, especially among Pinterest sellers. That’s because Pinterest created a Shopify integration recently! Many starter stores and hobbyists use Shopify. But there are bigger brands selling goods through Shopify, too.

You’ll find a quicker learning curve with Shopify, which is a plus for inexperienced eCommerce merchants.

Compared to BigCommerce, you’ll also find more limits on API calls, URL customizations, and fewer built-ins.

For more information, Cart Consultants offers a comparison of Shopify Plus and Big Commerce.

Adobe Commerce (previously Magento)

Adobe Commerce (previously Magento) is historically an on-premise, open-source solution. Traditionally, brands that have already heavily invested in IT or site development have preferred Adobe Commerce. (read: it isn’t the most beginner-friendly!)

The advantages to Adobe Commerce include 100% control of how your store is built.

If you choose Adobe Commerce, you will be responsible for manual patch and bug updates, which require employee time and knowledge.

Foregoing these updates can result in failure to comply with PCI standards as well or create data breaches. Many of these have been high profile in news reports over the last few months.

Step Four: Find a Theme

Once you’ve chosen your eCommerce platform, it’s time to pick a theme.

Themes offer out-of-the box design solutions that can be customized to meet your store’s needs.

If you already have a brick-and-mortar store, you will want to carry over your branding to your virtual storefront.

And, if you’re starting from scratch, get started right by developing a logo, brand colors, and brand fonts. This branding guide will make the task simpler for beginners!

Typical theme customization options are: 

  • Text size and font
  • Color scheme
  • Images
  • Product positioning
  • Embedding social media profiles
  • Additional features specific to your business

cta-text-ecommerce-tools-ebook

Step Five: Add Your Products

Once you have your eCommerce platform and theme ready, it’s time to start adding your products!

Product descriptions

Spend time on your product descriptions! They help sell your items. Use product descriptions to share the reasons why a customer should make a purchase.

Get creative, like Larq, and make them fun while also providing detailed feature descriptions.

LARQ Product Description

Don’t forget that as the store owner, you know a ton about your products. To write great descriptions, you’ll need to pretend that you are completely unfamiliar with each item in your store.

Product images

Don’t underestimate product images! They are arguably the most important tool for driving sales.

The kind of images you’ll need will likely depend on the products you’re selling.

For example, if you’re selling a couch or wallpaper, make sure customers can zoom in and see the texture and details up close. Skullcandy does a great job showcasing its products in interesting ways. 

Once your product catalog is complete, you will use your images and descriptions wherever you market your products. 

Keep this in mind if you grow frustrated with this part of the process. Once you have great images and descriptions, your marketing time will be cut in half!

Product Categories

To help your customers find what they’re looking for, organize your products by category.

Specific categories will depend on what you’re offering in your store, but they may include “Men’s” and “Women’s” or “Gift Sets” and “Sale.”

If you are unsure of the categories you should use, spend some time browsing the web. Notice the categories that other online retailers in your market use.

Step Six: Set up Payment Methods

Surprisingly, this is one of the most important parts of setting up an online store — for both you and your customers.

You want to make sure you’re not overpaying in fees, while your customers want a variety of payment options. Here are some ways to go about it:

Choose a payment service provider (PSP)

There are several payment service providers to choose from. Be clear about fees and security before you sign up.

Don’t forget about digital wallets

According to Statista, digital and mobile wallets (such as PayPal or Google Wallet) accounted for 42% of global eCommerce payment transactions in 2019.

This is set to increase to 52% in 2023, making digital wallets the most popular online payment method worldwide.

So make sure you give your customers this option, as well as the option to pay with a credit card.

Step Seven: Sort out Your Shipping Settings

The last thing you want is for your customer to have a bad experience receiving the actual product they purchased from your online store.

Figuring out all angles of your shipping before you start selling will help things run smoothly. Here are key factors to consider:

What is your shipping origin address?

The shipping origin address — where you’re shipping from — is what will be used to calculate shipping costs. This address is also used to calculate sales taxes on the products you’re selling.

What shipping zones do you want to ship in?

Shipping zones are the areas of the country and/or the world that you’re planning to ship to.

If a customer is trying to ship a product somewhere that’s not in your shipping zone, they won’t be able to complete that purchase.

Finally, you have to decide if you’ll be doing the shipping internally or outsourcing to a third party logistics (3PL) company.

Do your homework and make sure that your shipping strategies match your inventory and marketing plans.

Step Eight: Preview, Test… and Publish Your Online Store

Now that you’ve completed the setup, it’s time to test everything you’ve created and make sure it works properly before you hit publish.

Here’s what you should take a look at:

  • Internal and external links– Make sure all of your links work and that you’re sending people to the right places.
  • Text content- Double-check to ensure there are no errors or typos.
  • Images– You don’t want to have any broken images or ones that are slow to load.
  • Contact information and social media profiles– Triple check to make sure all of this information is correct.
  • Email notification settings– Ensure your order confirmations and shipping updates look the way you’d hoped them to, and they’re set up properly.
  • The customer journey– Have someone take all of the possible paths — including checkout — to make sure everything is in working order.

Step Nine: Promote Your Brand and Website

Once your online store is up and running, it’s time to start promoting your business. There are several different ways to approach digital marketing, but here are a few places to begin:

Start running Facebook Ads

Facebook has 1.6 billion users who are active daily, and 2.4 billion monthly active users, making the platform one of the premier places to advertise.

Facebook offers business tools to help you build ads to target your audience. Plus, it’s one of the most affordable places to publish paid ads. Facebook also provides merchants with a variety of ad types.

Promote your products on Instagram

Instagram has a potential ad reach of 849 million users, with 130 million users who tap on shopping posts each month.

You can use Tailwind’s Instagram planner, plus it will find and suggest the best hashtags for you to get the most reach. If a post performs well organically, advertise it!

Use Pinterest

In 2019, Pinterest became the third-biggest social media platform in the country, behind Facebook and Instagram.

It’s a great place to market your online store since shopping is the top priority for 48% of Pinterest users. You can use Tailwind’s Pinterest scheduling tool, too.

The app helps you create Pins, schedule them, and use data to improve your performance on the platform.

Conclusion

By the end of 2020, U.S. spending online is expected to reach approximately $375 billion.

Experts forecast that by the end of 2024, online spending will surpass $476 billion. Putting your products online is the way to go if you want to succeed in the coming years, just take it one step at a time.

Many website and online store builders have the capability to embed third-party applications. These apps can provide anything from customer service assistance to managing shipping, which likely won’t be built into your site from the start.

Once your store is ready for sales, spend some time looking at the app store for your ecommerce platform.

A general rule of thumb is to develop your email marketing system, including abandoned cart emails, before moving into increased customer acquisition with organic or paid social media marketing.

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