Rewind Team: Tell us a little bit about your business.
Babyface Skin Care: We have been selling high-end, yet affordable, skin care for over 10 years now. We like to offer products with a natural and organic base, and we don’t skimp on the good stuff – the actives. Popular with skin care junkies all over the world!
Rewind Team: To date, what has been your biggest success in building your email list?
Babyface Skin Care: We are so fortunate to have such a loyal customer base, those who sign up willingly for e-mail newsletters so they can stay up to date on new products and upcoming sales, but even so, it takes years to build up a substantial e-mail list. You can’t just add e-mail addresses to your list without permission. But acquiring e-mails from your best customers is easy, the hard part is getting it from visitors, or those who purchase less often. We use a variety of e-mail list building tools on our website, and little by little, the list just grows and grows.
Rewind Team: How important has your email list been in engaging your audience and/or generating revenue?
Babyface Skin Care: We had been building a list for years but had never used it, and I remember the first time we sent out a campaign – I was floored at all the sales it generated! I mean, it makes total sense, how will buyers know you are having a sale if you don’t tell them somehow? Sure, every company has their regulars who are on the website browsing weekly, but there are thousands (or tens of thousands) who may have purchased from you in the past but have since moved on to something else. They need a reminder you are still there, and a reason to buy from you again.
Rewind Team: Besides backing up your Mailchimp account with Rewind, what other email automation tools or best email practices would you recommend to other e-commerce merchants.
Babyface Skin Care: Using apps on your website is extremely popular, and can be very helpful in gathering e-mails. Most buyers expect it now, too. My best suggestion for getting them to enter their e-mail is to not be stingy with the incentive. Make them an offer they can’t refuse because after all, you are buying something from them. There are so many integrations now that do much more than just gather e-mails; they also gather buyer data, which can be helpful later. They can send birthday e-mails, reward buyers with points for purchases, leaving reviews, and more. Buyers like to feel appreciated, and the best way to make them feel this way we have found is to reward them.
Rewind Team: How does it make you feel knowing that your Mailchimp account is backed up?
Babyface Skin Care: We signed up the minute we heard Rewind was offering this. I had never considered backing up my e-mail list before, but it definitely had crossed my mind that it was vulnerable. You never know when an outage or software disaster could wipe out your entire e-mail list. Or even a disgruntled employee or contractor. Even with a company like Mailchimp, we never felt completely safe. Now, we have peace of mind.
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Key Takeaways
- Challenge yourself to experiment with various different email list building tools and apps on your website.
- Don’t expect people to become repeat buyers on their own. Remind your customer base that you exist and give them a reason to shop with you again and again.
- Email lists take years to build and generate a large amount of owned revenue. Make sure to back yours up to avoid losing yours to an outage, a glitch, or a disgruntled employee.
