And what you have been avoiding for so long has just happened.
A customer landed on your site, eyeballed your products, and disappeared.
It felt like your heart skipped a beat, right? 🤭
But you know what? The game is not over yet.
You can still turn this ‘nearly missed opportunity’ into a ‘big win’ with email retargeting.
What Is Email Retargeting and Why Do You Need It?
Email retargeting is all about reconnecting with your ‘not-yet customers’—those who visited your brand but left before hitting the “sign up” or “buy now” button. It’s like a friendly tap on their shoulder, reminding them to finish what they started.
Why do you need it?
Here’s why email retargeting is a thing:
🌟 Increases sales by upselling upgraded products and cross-selling additional products.
🌟 Boosts customer engagement by reigniting the interest of those who missed your call to action.
🌟 Recovers abandoned carts by sending friendly reminders to those who are hesitant or distracted when purchasing.
🌟 Improves customer retention by sending tailored emails that develop lasting relationships with your loyal clients.
Email Retargeting Examples From Top Brands
Check out how top brands excel at email retargeting—the only dose of inspiration you need right now.
Homes Alive
This is one of the perfect examples of the top email retargeting method—cart abandonment.
What a sleek design, an irresistible email copy nudging the visitors to finish checkout, and a can’t-miss call to action. We are just bound to say that Homes Alive has crushed the email retargeting game.
Everlane
What an awesome way of notifying shoppers that their favorite is back on the shelves.
Don’t you think that Everlane has nailed the email with stunning design and content that’s just spot-on? If we talk about the CTA, it's pretty simple, loud, and impossible to miss.
Webflow
Webflow really knows how to win its customers back.
The email design and the copy both give a perfect vibe. But what makes us fall in love with this email example is its CTA, offering a free trial that’s just hard to resist.
5 Steps to Nail Email Retargeting
Here’s how to get started with email retargeting:
Step 1: Build your subscriber list
Let us tell you a golden rule of email retargeting: send targeted emails to those who have given you a thumbs up by joining your email list. So, building an email subscriber list is your first step on the road to success.
Now, you might be looking for one of the smartest ways to build your list, right?
Hold on! 🫠
We’ve got you covered:👇🏻
1️⃣ Create exit intent popups, inviting visitors to stay a bit longer on your website and convert by offering them special offers and discounts.
2️⃣ Leverage landing page forms.
3️⃣ Offer a lead magnet to your new subscribers.
4️⃣ Craft social media posts encouraging your followers to subscribe by offering them something in return.
5️⃣ Gate premium content, allowing visitors to unlock by signing up.
Step 2: Segment your audience
Now comes the step that we can say is an actual game-changer: email segmentation. It’s about splitting your email list into smaller, super-specific groups based on:
👉 Demographics: Who are they?
👉 Interests: What do they love?
👉 Purchase history: What have they bought before?
👉 Engagement level: How often do they engage?
Still thinking, why should you make this much effort? See, we just read your mind.
Now, imagine sending a promotional email to someone who is actually waiting for the order. Not only it pisses off your customer, but it ends up moving your email in spam. This is why segmenting the audience and sending them the relevant content is not just smart—it is personal. Trust us; personalized emails hit differently.
Step 3: Map out email sequences
Decide how many retargeting emails to send and in what order.
For example, if you want to upsell a product, here’s how to plan a smart email sequence that will do the magic.
Email 1: Thank your customers for their recent purchase and add order confirmation details to keep it professional.
Email 2: Shed light on the premium version of the product, packed with super awesome features that your customers can’t resist buying.
Email 3: Seal the deal with an exclusive discount on the upgraded version of your product.
Step 4: Craft stunning emails
Overlooking this step is like throwing a fantastic birthday party but forgetting lighting and music. So, will anyone stay? Of course, no one does.
Remember that killer email design and compelling copy are the ultimate retargeting duo. Let’s break them down:
✨ Design essentials
1️⃣ Don’t overdo graphics, fonts, and colors. Keep the email design simple, clean, and professional.
2️⃣ Make sure that the Call to Action (CTA) is short, bold, and aligned with your email’s subject line.
3️⃣ There should be three main banners. Add the logo to the email header and the unsubscribe link to the email footer.
4️⃣ Optimize email design for different screen sizes.
5️⃣ The design should be visually appealing and load fast to keep your audience engaged.
So, are you looking to design sleek and responsive retargeting emails? Give Unlayer a try, and trust us that no one can do design better than them. 🙌
✨ Copy essentials
Great design is just half of the battle. Win your target audience's hearts with a powerful email copy. Here's how:
1️⃣ Write a crispy subject line. Make sure that it stands out by asking questions, offering discounts, and using emojis.
2️⃣ Add brief content that does not only promote your product but provides value by solving problems and sharing tips, ideas, and trends.
3️⃣ Avoid complex language. A clear and conversational copy is what works wonders.
4️⃣ Keep personalization at your fingertips while crafting your email.
5️⃣ Add customer reviews or testimonials to build trust.
6️⃣ Add a loud CTA to guide readers on what to do next.
Step 5: Run A/B test
Guessing which CTA or which email element works best does not boost conversions, but testing does.
So,
1️⃣ Pick what you want to test, whether it’s a CTA button, subject line, or the sending time.
2️⃣ Split your audience into two groups. Group A gets version one, and Group B gets version two.
3️⃣ Create the variations and hit send.
4️⃣ After a couple of days, check clicks, conversions, or whatever metrics you want to measure.
5️⃣ Go with the version that performs better.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Retargeting
Email retargeting is like being an amazing host at a party. You love to reconnect with those who are genuinely interested in your vibe but without making them feel overwhelmed.
Stay friendly and stay professional by keeping these do’s and don’ts in mind:
Do’s
✅ Set clear goals for what you want from each campaign: the signups, the sales, the clicks, or what.
✅ Use website cookies to track users' browsing behavior to send more relevant emails.
✅ Encourage your website visitors to join your email list by offering them incentives.
✅ Grab your target audience’s attention by irresistible subject lines.
✅ Scheducle your retargeting emails thoughtfully. For example, send a last-chance email 24 to 48 hours before that sale actually ends.
✅ Use email automation tools to trigger messages based on actions, such as when visitors browse a product or abandon the cart.
Don’ts
🚫 Do not clutter your email with messy layouts.
🚫 Avoid using pushy or spammy language.
🚫 Don’t use clickbait or misleading email subject lines.
🚫 Skip the content that does not add any value.
🚫 Avoid bombarding your audience with emails because nobody likes it.
Wrap Up
Email retargeting is not rocket science—it is about being a little creative, strategic, and thoughtful.
So, just roll up your sleeves for the next campaign. Your next sale might be an email away; you never know. ✌🏻
FAQs Related to Email Retargeting
Still have questions? We’ve tried our level best to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.
Q. What is the most overlooked email retargeting?
A. Well, post-purchase engagement is the most overlooked email retargeting opportunity. This phase is important for upselling or cross-selling, encouraging reviews, and building brand loyalty.
Q. How does email retargeting work?
A. Here are two ways how email retargeting works:
👉 Pixel retargeting: It uses an invisible code on your site or email templates to track users’ behavior through cookies. This helps you show ads or send targeted emails based on users’ actions.
👉 Email list retargeting: It uses your Email Service Provider’s (ESP) segmented email list to identify where visitors are in the customer journey to send them more personalized retargeting emails.
Q. What is retargeting vs remarketing?
A. Well, many of you might use these two words interchangeably, but they are quite different in their strategies although their ultimate goal is the same i.e. boost sales.
👉 Retargeting: Retargeting uses emails or paid ads to re-engage people who visited your site or social media but left without taking any action.
👉 Remarketing: Remarketing uses emails or SMS to re-engage your subscribers or past customers, encouraging repeat purchases or rekindling interest.
Q. What are the strategic times for launching email retargeting campaigns?
Well, here’s the ideal timeframe to send retargeting emails:
👉 Special offer emails: Once a week when the offer is live.
👉 Abandoned cart emails: Within 2-4 hours of your customer leaving the website.
👉 Last chance emails: 24-48 hours before the sale ends.
👉 Back-in-stock emails: As soon as you restock the product.
👉 Personalized product recommendation emails: 24-48 hours after the visitor browses user products.
Q. What is the best retargeting software?
A. Here are a few of the best retargeting software out there:
1️⃣ Mailchimp
2️⃣ RollWorks
3️⃣ AdRoll
4️⃣ OptiMonk
5️⃣ SharpSpring
Q. When should you consider running a retargeting campaign?
A. Run a retargeting campaign when you:
👉 Are launching a new product
👉 Have a high cart abandonment rate
👉 Have plenty of traffic but only a few conversions
👉 Want to offer personalized product recommendations
👉 Notice that users have not interacted with your brand in a while.