How to Set up Product-Specific Email Automations with Squarespace Campaigns
I love tools that make life simpler and that means choosing programs and platforms that offer the most functionality possible. Squarespace is definitely where it’s at on that front because of Squarespace Campaigns, their built-in email marketing platform. And one of the things I like best is that Squarespace Campaigns offers the ability to send super-targeted, automated emails based on purchase behavior. If you want to get a primer on Squarespace Campaigns in general check out this post but here we’re going to get into sending product-specific emails because I think it’s cool enough that it’s worthy of a post all its own!
Customer Activity Automations
Squarespace emails that are triggered after someone purchases a product on your site are called “customer activity automations” and the thing to keep in mind is that the emails we’re talking about here are separate and in addition to the standard Order Confirmation and Shipping Confirmation emails that get sent out. (For more on those, check out this post.) So, just remember that these emails are ones that are set up via Squarespace Campaigns as follow-ups to the standard order communication emails that are managed in Commerce > Customer Notifications. Here are some things to note on Customer Activity Automations:
They are tied to products on your site and triggered when people buy those specific products.
Sending this type of email doesn’t automatically sign customers up for your mailing list. (That is something you can ask people to do during checkout though!)
People can unsubscribe from customer activity emails from you but that doesn’t unsubscribe them from any email lists they may have also signed up for.
This type of email does count towards the monthly send limit that your plan allows but isn’t counted as a campaign.
Now that you’ve got a good idea of what these emails are and how they work in general, here’s how to set one (or a few!) up plus some ideas on how to really use this feature.
Setting Up A Triggered Email
You’ll start by clicking on the “Create” button and then selecting “Automation.”
On the next screen, click on the Customer Activity tab and select from one of the three options.
Hint: there’s nothing different about any of the actual behind-the-scenes set up to any of these options, you’re just picking one because Squarespace will then display templates for you to choose from that fit what you select. If you plan on re-using one of your own templates it doesn’t really matter what you pick here at all!
Once you’ve selected from one of the premade templates or chosen one of your own, the email editor screen will open up. You’ll create, edit and style your email like normal. However, on the “Email” tab to the right you’ll also see the automation options available to you.
The top section is already set for you indicating that the automation will be sending after a purchase is made so the only things left to take care of are 1) which products this email should be connected to and 2) when to send it.
Products - you can select as many or as few products as you want to be connected to this email. If the content of your message is pretty generic (it could apply to any product someone purchased from you) there’s also a quick option to just toggle it on for “Any Product”. Other than that, you just click on the specific product(s) that you want to connect. Hint: although at the moment you can’t trigger based on shop categories you CAN use the search box above the product list to search by category. This makes it fast to filter down and see products that are just in that category even if you do have to select them one-by-one!
Timing - You can choose from any of the preset time delays or choose your own. Emails can be scheduled as far as 60 days out after the date of purchase. Also, although you can technically choose to send your automated email “immediately” after purchase I would recommend not doing so. The reason is that the standard order notification email gets sent immediately after purchase as well and getting two emails back-to-back might seem confusing or spammy. Even if you’re wanting to send an initial “thanks for your purchase” email, I would schedule it for at least 1-2 days out so that it feels more personal. You can also then use that email as an opportunity to get people excited that you’re working on their order or that it should be shipping/arriving soon, etc. (More on that below!)
When you have everything set up the way you like it be sure to hit “Activate Automation!”
Sending Multiple Emails Per Purchase
Here are some automations I have set up on my own site.
Now that you’ve seen how easy it is to set up an email triggered by a product purchase, you may have some ideas about other follow-up emails you want to send too! It’s easy to see all of your automated emails in one place by clicking on Automations from the main Campaigns screen. Here, you’ll see an overview of all the automated emails you have set up - including ones that are triggered by both subscriber activity AND customer activity. For this reason, I recommend giving your emails helpful names and even numbering them if you have to. Customers won’t see these names (they’re just for you!) so these are just a way for you to keep track of what emails do what!
If you want to set up an email series triggered by the purchase of your signature product, you’ll just repeat the steps above to create each individual email. In the Timing settings, you’ll then define when you’d like each email to send. I love this setup compared to some other email marketing platforms that require you to create duplicate workflows for each product series. In Squarespace Campaigns if everyone gets the same initial email but different second emails, you only need to create the initial email once and just tell it to apply to any product purchase. You can then set up your next emails based on either a specific product or a group of products.
Product-Specific Email Ideas
Squarespace provides templates for the following types of post-purchase emails for a reason - they’re all great ideas for ways to follow up with your customers after the sale!
Say Thanks to Customers
Recommend Additional Products
Send a Coupon to Customers
In addition to these ideas, here are some that go even further in creating an exciting brand experience for your customers. (Note that some of them require you to set up some things outside Campaigns as well, such as using Customer Profiles or Zapier.)
Let customers know when similar products or services go on sale
Send a delivery confirmation email asking if they received everything ok
Ask for feedback or a testimonial/review
Send an email that includes the most common product-specific FAQs right in the body to save them having to hunt them down on their own
Send links to product use/care guides to help them take care of or get the most out of their purchase
If your product is something they would run out of or need more of, follow up to remind them it’s time to purchase again
If your product is a service, send emails to remind them to log in or access your resources
Hopefully, these ideas spark some of your own that are specific to your own brand and what you’re selling! The most important thing is to just think of emails like this as a way to extend the brand experience. And just because they’re automated doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t feel personal! In fact, this is a great way to really make a lasting impression on each and every customer or client to encourage them to keep coming back for more. If you liked this post, be sure to also check out this one: 4 Post-Sale Emails Every eCommerce Site Needs!
