- 87% of marketers use email campaigns to nurture their audiences, but only 58% say their efforts have been successful.
- The founder of million-dollar business Unique Markets shared the email that helped her secure press in the Los Angeles Times and Eater when she launched the brand in 2008.
- Trevor Patterson, founder of luxury floral delivery service Landeau, also shared the email he uses to save 20% to 25% of sales when a customer's online cart has been abandoned.
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When launching a new business, founders have to think about everything from accounting and fulfillment to customer service and inventory management. Ultimately, though, the success of most small businesses depends on sales. And, to drive those sales, many small business owners use email marketing.
In fact, 87% of marketers use email campaigns to nurture their audiences, but only 58% say their efforts have been successful, per the Content Marketing Institute's 2019 "B2B Content Marketing Research" report. And, states technology market research firm The Radicati Group, the average worker in 2019 received an average of 126 emails each day, up from 121 in recent years, meaning your brand's email has to stand out to break through the noise.
The founders behind luxury floral delivery service Landeau and pop-up marketplace Unique Markets, both of whom have relied on email marketing campaigns to grow their startups, shared with Business Insider the real-life emails they've used to build their businesses.
SEE ALSO: One email I wrote brought in 100% of my clients after I started my business — here's the template
The email template used to attract press attention
Before launching Unique Markets in 2008, CEO and founder Sonja Rasula moved to Los Angeles from Canada to star as a TV personality and design expert on TLC's "Trading Spaces." But soon after being hired, she was fired (which Rasula believes is because the show didn't do well — it only aired for a few episodes). So, she instead decided to risk her entire 401(k) savings to self-fund Unique Markets as a way to bring locally made design, artists, and brands to mass shoppers.
Rasula has since featured over 10,000 small businesses, generating over $25 million for these brands, and surpassed the million-dollar mark with her own small business in 2014. In the beginning, however, without a budget for PR, Rasula personally reached out to press to announce the launch of her company with this email template, which landed her features in the Los Angeles Times, Eater, LA Weekly, and the now-defunct Daily Candy, in addition to partnership requests from big-name brands like Yelp and Etsy.
Hello [name],
I've been following your [column/events calendar/articles/blog] and really liked your recent post about [topic/article they recently published]. I think you'd like to know about a project I'm working on: I'm launching a brand-new shopping event called Unique Markets in downtown Los Angeles on December 7 and 8 at the California Market Center. The first of its kind in the country, the indoor pop-up marketplace will feature 225 curated artists and designers. I personally think you would like [names and links to three designers/companies featured that are relevant].
I'm starting the marketplace to help showcase all of the amazing talent this city has and to make it easy for people to shop local and support the local economy. You can read more about the event here [URL]. I'd love for you to write about Unique Markets, perhaps as an event listing or as an article about local artists and the growing creative economy in Los Angeles.
I have high-resolution photography and all the details in a press release that I can share with you, if interested. I would love to talk with you about this exciting new venture! Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks so much for your time.
Sonja Rasula
[email address]
Rasula's key strategy was to personalize each email for the intended recipient. "I would research each writer and editor before sending," she said. "If the writer was a food writer, I would give three examples of participants that made packaged food/gift items. If I were contacting the editor of a décor blog, then I would mention three related people, like a furniture maker, pillow designer, and an illustrator that makes framed art."
Rasula kept her emails short and sweet at just three small paragraphs and always provided suggestions for how her product or service could fit into their work.
"Never attach files or images because most attachments get auto-blocked, so your email may never make it," explained Rasula. "And the devil is in details, so always triple check that you've spelled their name correctly."
The email template used to save a sale
Canadian Trevor Patterson founded luxury floral delivery service Landeau after completing postgraduate studies in entrepreneurship and innovation at the London College of Fashion. It was during this time that Patterson learned how to put a modern spin on classic European archetypes.
Today, Landeau offers delivery in Toronto, New York City, Chicago, LA, Portland, Paris, and elsewhere, with plans for future expansion in the works. Each box of signature Landeau roses, available in six colors, includes 25 premium Ecuadorian roses that are long lasting but have been grown and produced naturally. The brand counts celebrities like Jillian Harris, Kaitlyn Bristowe, and Ali Fedotowsky as fans, all of whom starred on ABC's The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise — so one could say they know their roses.
As a direct-to-consumer company, Landeau uses Shopify to manage its online shopping platform, and one tool that's helped Landeau grow is Shopify's "cart recovery email." Built into Shopify, the tool tracks any information that a potential customer enters into their order so that, if they abandon their cart, a brand can reach out to try to salvage the order, so long as they've entered their email.
Some companies might push the sale with a discount code, but Landeau uses what Patterson calls a "softer touch" with a personal email, as discount codes aren't always in line with Landeau's brand positioning.
"The system automatically sends the email that we've drafted," he said. "We tend to save 20% to 25% of our sales this way, whereas the industry average is around 6% to 7% [Editor's note: email marketing platform MooSend puts this average closer to 11%]. We personalize the email using the HTML format and I sign it, and we answer a few of the questions that we receive most. Often these are about same-day orders and where we're available. Then we provide easy ways to either contact us or click a link that takes them right back to where they left off."
Hello [name],
We noticed that you came close to placing an order with Landeau and have saved your bouquet selection along with any details that you've entered so that you can simply pick up from where you left off.
If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to send us a text at 917-387-4707. You can also respond to this email and someone from our team will respond as soon as possible.
In the US, we accept same-day orders until 10:00 a.m. in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Portland, and Chicago.
We invite you to click the following link to complete your purchase and give Landeau:
[URL]
Thanks for shopping!
Trevor Patterson
Founder
Landeau
Even if Landeau is unable to recover the abandoned cart and receive a sale, Patterson says they still value the feedback and use it to improve their service.
"Whether it's a customer who wanted to place an order in a city where we are not yet available or it's constructive feedback about our product offering, it's an incredible opportunity for us to have a direct link to our would-be customers," he said.
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