Hello, I’m Matt from eComm Email, and I’m responsible for all the emails (newsletters, promotional material, reminders etc.) sent on behalf of Prolong Lash. I’ve been working closely with the team at Prolong for more than six years now, and when it comes to distributing high volumes of emails, there’s quite a lot I’ve learned along the way.
Today I am here as I was lucky enough to have been provided the opportunity from the team to prepare a guest blog about Email Marketing for you all. So here we go!
Email Marketing can set your Lash Business Apart
Running a successful lash business requires a lot of hard work. Even with the beauty industry expecting to have a 6% year-on-year growth until 2027, life for many business owners hasn’t been the same in the last 12-18 months, with inflation making it harder for everyone.
These challenges also bring opportunities for those aiming to capitalize on this unprecedented expected growth in the industry, however, the race to do this isn’t run by just a few.
The growth in the beauty industry ultimately leads to increased competition for all, and so, it's crucial for lash professionals to not only provide top-notch services but also to stand out in a crowded market.
A question I am commonly asked is: how do you ensure that your lash business captures the attention of potential clients and keeps them coming back for more? And my answer is always a simple one. It’s a solution that has stood the test of time during the digital era: Email Marketing.
If your online marketing isn’t generating at least 20% of its total revenue from Email Marketing, then this blog is going to be just for you.
In a world saturated with social media, Email Marketing offers a unique and personal touch that can make all the difference to your lash salon. And it's more than just sending messages. Email Marketing is about building relationships with your customers, encouraging loyalty, and driving sales. In this blog post, we'll explore the power of Email Marketing and our top tips for how it can be harnessed to help propel your lash business toward success.
The Power of Email Marketing
Email Marketing is definitely not a new concept, but its effectiveness is always being tested, reiterated, and improved. With an inbox that serves as a direct gateway to your clients, email campaigns hold the potential to create meaningful engagements that translate into real results.
If done right, Email Marketing has the potential to see a 122% return on investment for eCommerce brands, which is 3 times higher than most social media channels.
When it comes to seeing success with email, personalization is a key factor, so let’s think about it for a moment.
Your clients' needs and preferences vary, and a one-size-fits-all approach just won't cut it. By tailoring your email campaigns to specific client (or audience) segments, you can deliver messages that resonate on a personal level. Whether it's sending out exclusive promotions to your most loyal clients or offering expert advice on maintaining lash extensions, personalization shows that you understand all your lash clients’ unique needs.
As a lash professional, you're not just selling a service - you're selling an experience. Email Marketing has the power to allow you to extend that experience beyond the lash salon or online store. By sharing insightful content, tips, and stories related to lash care and beauty trends, you position yourself as an authority in your field. Clients appreciate receiving valuable information that goes beyond the transaction, and this appreciation often translates into long-term loyalty.
5 ways to utilize Email Marketing to Boost your Lash Business
1. Must-have Email Sequences
When it comes to Email Marketing, ensuring that you’ve got the must-have email sequences set up and sending correctly is paramount to any business.
First of all, what’s an ‘email sequence’?
An email sequence is essentially a group of automated emails that are sent based on specific rules that you apply. For example, when someone comes to your online store, and adds a product to their cart but doesn’t follow through with the purchase, they’ll then receive a series of emails reminding them of what they’ve left behind.
This sequence of emails is referred to as an ‘Abandoned Cart’ sequence, and in my opinion, is one of the most important sequences to have running.
In addition, ensuring that you have a ‘Welcome/signup’ sequence set up and running can also work wonders.
A ‘Welcome/signup’ sequence is a series of emails targeted at people who have decided to join your email list to receive your newsletter or obtain a first-time purchase discount offered on your site. Most online stores will have some incentive that encourages first-time customers to leave their details so that the business can start forging the relationship early on.
Once your ‘Welcome/signup’ sequence is set up, it’s time to start thinking about having an automated email sequence promoting repeat purchases. I can tell you, it’s far less expensive to keep a customer than to obtain a new one, so finding creative and proven ways to generate additional sales from this audience segment is a must.
If you don’t sell any products online, but you do have a website that works with a booking system, then depending on its capabilities, it’s likely that you could implement something similar for your lash services. The idea would be to test and experiment to see what’s possible. The two email sequences I’ve mentioned above (plus what I’ll mention below) can all be adapted to try and fit the needs of your lash salon.
2. Nice-to-have Email Sequences
Once you’ve got the basic email sequences running and working as expected, your email game can really pick up when you start introducing some “nice-to-have” email sequences. And keep in mind that once set up, these are all completely automated (but they do require a close eye to ensure they’re sending effectively).
When I refer to ‘nice-to-have’, they should actually be considered a ‘must-have’, but depending on your experience and resources, these sequences are often deprioritized.
Some of my favorite ‘nice-to-haves’ include:
- Browse abandonment series: targeting potential customers that have seen a particular product and left the website without adding it to their cart;
- Behavior-based thank you series: targeting repeat customers for their loyalty based on specific actions they’ve taken, such as having their third lash refill or being a customer for more than three years;
- Cross-sell series: an automated email offering suggestions for products or lash services that complement what the customer has already purchased - for example if your client has booked in for a Full Set of lash extensions, they may be interested in purchasing Prolong Lash Cleanser for their aftercare needs;
- Product review series: a series of emails encouraging customers to leave a review once having purchased a specific product or received a service;
- ‘Sunset’ series: this is essentially a way to filter out anyone in your database that isn’t interacting with your emails after a certain amount of time. Having subscribers that don’t open or click your emails can do more harm than good, so knowing when and how to unsubscribe them is crucial.
3. Regular Email Campaigns
Sending regular email campaigns to your audience is a great way to foster strong relationships, while also promoting brand loyalty.
Generally speaking, the main goal of an email campaign is to increase engagement and conversion on a specific offer. This could be anything from sharing a recent blog article with your audience to reminding them about an upcoming product launch or sale.
Email campaigns can also be used across the lifecycle marketing journey—from brand awareness and acquisition of new customers to retention and re-engagement of existing customers.
It is important to note though that email campaigns differ to the automated emails I shared in points 1 and 2.
There’s a lot of overlap between campaigns and automation, however, the big difference to focus on is that email campaigns are informed by what the brand wants to communicate, whereas email automations are triggered by customer and prospect behavior.
4. Targeted audience segments
The first natural reaction many take when it comes to Email Marketing is to attempt the ‘shotgun effect’, where they’ll distribute emails to a large audience segment that’s not based on any pre-determined filter. While this can feel like the right thing to do, it can be quite detrimental to your email list and your reputation as a sender.
The more emails you send to audiences that don’t interact with your emails, the more likely your emails will slowly find their way to the spam folder. This is what’s referred to as ‘deliverability’, and it can be a very hard thing to rebuild.
If you think about how many emails you receive a day, chances are, if you start receiving a tonne of emails from a particular brand that feel generic and don’t match any of your interests or behaviors, then you’ll either unsubscribe or report them to spam.
This is becoming more and more prevalent which is why I can’t stress enough to get as specific and targeted as you can with your audience segment and content.
5. Thorough testing, analytics and reporting
I’ve saved this point for last as it’s essentially the backbone of any solid Email Marketing strategy. It’s impossible to be effective at Email Marketing without knowing how your emails are performing.
In order to know that, it’s crucial to regularly monitor and report on your account. This means going through the analytics and identifying if your emails are sending as expected. If you find sending issues, these must be looked into and resolved immediately.
In addition to this, it’s also paramount to place a significant emphasis on testing.
With stricter privacy laws governing email, getting your emails to land in your customer’s inboxes is more complex than ever, and the likelihood of them being caught up by spam filters is increasing. Testing variables such as audience segments, sending times, subject lines, content, images, buttons, colors, design etc., can go a very long way when it comes to finding the best approach for your brand.
Email Marketing is more than just a promotional tool—it's a bridge that connects businesses with their clients on a deeper level. By tapping into its power, you can nurture loyalty, create meaningful connections, and drive tangible results for your lash business. As you embark on your journey of integrating Email Marketing into your strategy (or simply reviewing and improving it), remember that it's not just about sending messages; it's about creating moments that resonate and inspire, ultimately elevating your lash business to new heights.
If you would like to learn more about Email or SMS Marketing or have any questions to ask Prolong Lash’s long-time Email Marketing professional, feel free to reach out to me, Matthew Baloglow, from eComm Email, and see how your lash salon can benefit!
