If there's one thing we could change the opinions of Ecommerce and D2C brands around, it might well be the use of text-only marketing emails.

These can be incredibly powerful in a number of situations but a lot of brands are hesitant to use them.

Recommendations of adding plain-text messages into an email marketing program are often met with objections such as "this isn't on brand", "this feels unprofessional", or "this is not what our customers expect from us"

However, there are highly effective ways for even the most premium, brand conscious Ecommerce retailers to use plain-text campaigns to great effect.

Let's take a look at the benefits and when to use this strategy.

Create a personal 1-on-1 feel in your marketing

When used correctly, plain-text emails look and feel as though they've been written and sent to the recipient as an individual by a contact at your brand. This could be the CEO, head of customer service, or another team member.

It is very easy to give the impression you're reaching out to a customer or subscriber personally. This is even more effective if you use a monitored email address for the sender/reply-to email as recipients are much more likely to reply if you use this tactic correctly.

When to use plain-text emails with a personal look and feel

Use case #1: In the abandoned checkout sequence.

Adding a personal touch to your abandonment campaigns can be highly effective. Most brands use a 2-3 email abandonment sequence showing the recipient's abandoned cart contents, maybe a coupon code, and a CTA to return and complete their purchase. This works well of course but adding a personalized plain-text email can increase conversions.

Try testing a plain-text abandonment email at the end of your sequence for orders which are well above your average ticket size. This could be email number 3 or 4 in your series.

Something like the below can work great:

Hey [name],

I noticed in our system you were trying to purchase a few items earlier this week but weren't able to complete the order. Is there anything I can help you with?

If you have any unanswered questions, ran into technical issues, or would simply prefer to speak with someone before purchasing I'm always happy to chat. 

Just reply to this email and I'll be sure to get back to you ASAP.

Your saved cart is available here: yoursite.com/cart

Thanks.

Diana,

Head of Customer Service - [your brand]

The above email can of course be automated, but with a reply-to address which goes to a specific person in your customer service team. You might be surprised at how much you can learn from email interactions like these with potential customers.

Use case #2: Give your VIP customers the personal touch.

Plain-text emails are a quick and easy way to let VIP customers know how much you appreciate them. You can use these to welcome someone to the VIP tier when they hit the purchase/revenue threshold, or promotional campaigns with a casual look and feel which are obviously for VIPs only. Here's an example:

Hey [name],

This weekend we'll be running a Flash Sale at [website.com] - Saturday and Sunday only. We expect our most popular items to sell out quickly so I wanted to give you a heads up and let you access the promotion early.

You're one of our most loyal customers and we appreciate you continuing to put your trust in us. Starting now you can get 20% off everything on our site using the code: LOVE20

We'll announce the sale to everyone else tomorrow morning.

Shop here >> yoursite.com/sale

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Kellie,

Founder, - [your brand]

Campaigns like the one above go along way to letting your best customer know they're recognized and appreciated. You can do this with early sale access, new product launches, or even create occasional promos for VIPs only which aren't advertised anywhere on-site.

Use case #3: Cut through the noise and hit the primary inbox during sale periods

Utilizing plain-text emails during busy sale and promotional periods can be a great way to maximize revenue during holidays or other times when customers' email inboxes are more crowded than ever.

You may sometimes notice emails are harder to get delivered successfully during these times. If you're running a big sale and have emailed your lists twice per day for the last three days while competing against dozens of other brands for inbox visibility, it is normal for deliverability to suffer in some cases. This is especially true if you're sending marketing emails to subscriber segments which are a little wider than normal - meaning the average recipient is less engaged in terms of recent email open rate and click through history.

Plain-text emails can help here and there are two main ways we like to use them to increase the results during sales.

Firstly, simply test replacing one of your regular sale email campaigns - which is likely a beautiful design-heavy template - with a plain text version. A couple of lines of text with one CTA link in blue will often do as well as, if not better than your regular sale emails.

Secondly, use plain-text emails as a 'last call' note from the founder to let people know your big sale is ending in a few hours. We've seen excellent results for brands in many different markets using this strategy to maximize revenue from big, time sensitive promotions.

Here's an example:

Hey [name],

What a crazy week! We're so grateful for all the support our customers have shown during our Labor Day event. We couldn't do what we do without you. 

If you didn't yet grab everything you need there's still a few hours left to save. Deals are live until midnight PST tonight.

Just use coupon LABORDAY at checkout for 20% off everything.

Shop here >> yoursite.com/labor-day

Appreciate you as always.

Kay,

Founder, - [your brand]