STEAL THIS CAMPAIGN

Three templates to win back 12% of your lost buyers

“FUNNIEST email I ever got. I signed up right away.” — former cart abandoner

Researchers at Baymard Institute have found that, on average, around 69.80% of your customers will abandon their cart. That’s 70%.

If 70% of your teeth fell out, you’d start to take action. So why is it that marketers don’t put a lot of thought into their abandoned cart emails?

Lackluster attempts at abandoned cart emails are the digital equivalent of throwing a baitless hook into a large lake. No wonder nobody is biting.

Today I’ll give you three of my personal email templates I use to win back, on average, 12% more business than other e-commerce stores.

If your store has around 5,000 orders per month, that’s around another 600 paying customers. What would you do with 12% more customers?

The Proof: Winning Back 12% of Your Customers

What do my dad, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and James Franco have in common?

Answer: They have a 12% higher rate of recovering abandoned checkouts compared to other Shopify e-commerce stores.

I know the screenshot above says 17%, but if you have an abandoned cart rate of 70%, then 17% of that 70% is actually 11.9% or 12% to us humans.

Don’t check my math, just trust me.

3 of My Exact Templates and Why They Work

Below are three of my favorite from a whole host of custom emails I’ve written over the years. They work because:

1. They're funny and personal.

2. The subject lines are mostly questions, so it invites your customers to open.

3. They all contain an offer that’s time-sensitive, so your customer should want to take action.

If you want to construct your own emails, make sure you’re constructing them with those three elements.

1. The Dad Joke

Subject line: What do you and my Dad have in common?

Email body: ANSWER: You both left without telling us why? :(

Hi [customer.name],

Jokes aside, we’d love you to finish your purchase today and get [discount]% off of your order.

*button*= CLICK HERE TO CLAIM YOUR DISCSOUNT

Cheers,

Geraint ‘Dadless’ Clarke @ [Insert Company Name.com]

Tip: Swap the word dad for wife or husband and you can still make it work.

2. The James Franco

Subject line: You can keep your arms!

Email body: Hi [customer.name], remember that James Franco movie 72 hours?… Where he had his arm trapped in between a rock and hard place for ummmm, 72 hours?

This offer is kinda like that movie. It’s 72 hours to claim [insert your discount].

The good news. Unlike James Franco, you get to keep your arms when the 72 hours are up.

Have at it!

*button* = Claim my offer/Keep my arms

[Insert Your Brand Name]

p.s. We’re gonna come clean, we’ve not actually seen that movie. Only the poster.

3. The Concerned Citizen

Subject line: Shall we call the Police?

Email body: Hi [customer.name], we saw that you started the process of unlocking [insert your own product or service here]

However, you didn’t complete your purchase, and the only thing we can think of is that you’ve been abducted by adolescent turtle creatures who know Ninjitsu. Want us to call the Police?

​​Or, if you just forgot to complete your sign-up process, click the button below 1 time to let us know you’re safe & grab 10% Off in the process…

*button* = I’m Not Abducted, Complete Purchase

Final Thoughts

The important thing is to have fun with these emails. Show some personality and lose the stiff corporate demeanor that you see in most cart recovery notifications.

Example: SAVE BIG. Get 10% off when you complete your order.

Let’s be honest, 10% off is not a lot these days, so don’t rely solely on your discount to move the needle. It’s worth trying to stand out and build rapport with your customers on a human level too.

Now get out there and get those customers back… before they’re gone for good!

Editor's note: This article is part of a series, Steal This Campaign, wherein we highlight creative, achievable, and unique ideas that you can steal or replicate parts of in your own marketing campaigns.