Today, the birthday email in ecommerce is a way to celebrate the key moments of your customer.
By taking the time to send the people on your subscriber list a special birthday message, you show each recipient that you appreciate them and encourage them to visit your ecommerce store. Most of the time, it’ll be a matter of adding a promotional offer or a promo code to your content to celebrate the event.
In this article, we’ll go over some good reasons to send birthday messages to your subscribers and provide you with a few examples of birthday emails to create that’ll help boost customer retention!
Why send birthday emails to your subscribers?
Birthday emails provide benefits to not just the customer but also the business sending them. Before we check out some great examples of birthday emails that’ll delight the recipients, let’s first explore the reasons to send birthday messages to the people on your subscriber list:
- They help your brand to stand out from the competition: Not every company wishes their subscribers a happy birthday. By sending your customers an email on their birthday, you’ll differentiate your business from others and ensure that your brand remains at the forefront of the recipient’s mind.
- They make your customers feel special: Who doesn’t appreciate receiving birthday wishes and feeling seen on their special day, be it with a physical card or an email? Show your subscribers you care and make their day by sending a thoughtful, personalized message.
- They increase brand loyalty: When a shopper receives personalized attention from a business, they’re more likely to want to continue purchasing from said business in the future. What’s more, they may very well tell others about their positive experience with the brand, helping to attract new buyers.
- They’re a cost-effective form of marketing: Today, email marketing in ecommerce continues to be one of the best ways for businesses to reach the people in their target audience due to it generally being less expensive than other methods. Sending your subscribers birthday messages via email is a very cost-effective way to connect with them and may even be free, depending on if you’ve invested in paid tools, such as for email marketing automation.
Examples of how to create successful birthday email messages
Now that you’re aware of some good reasons to send birthday greetings to your subscribers, the next step is to create your messages. To help inspire your future marketing campaigns, here are some great examples of how to set up successful birthday emails that every recipient will want to click on and love to read.
How do you wish an original happy birthday by email?
When it comes to any ecommerce email you send, it’s best to aim to be original with the design. This is no less true for your birthday email, but it’s especially important to be original in the message’s subject line .
To stand out from other birthday emails that the recipient will receive on their special day, take the time to try to think of a differentiating subject line, in particular by directly entering the amount of your offer or the gift reserved for customers.
You can send an email in advance, a few weeks before the deadline.
The originality is also going to involve the design of your email: flowers, hearts, a quote about the celebration, an interactive map, texts from songs or poems ... It's up to you to celebrate your customers' birthdays in a way that’s different from others!
Here’s an example of email text with its subject:
SUBJECT: Pssst… 20% off in this email...
TEXT: Today is your day. So, to make the most of it, here's a 20% off promo code for the entire site: HB20
We of course want to wish you a happy birthday. But we also want to thank you for being a faithful friend, for being part of our family: we share our joy and our gratitude with you!
Happy birthday again!
Lucy from MyBrand.com
Write a little happy birthday note: how do you set up your email?
You can also consider creating a very succinct email when setting up your birthday emails.
If you provide a promotional offer, note that it’s a good idea to highlight it with a visible call-to-action button that’ll stand out to the recipient of your message.
Finally, the customer will be more interested in knowing the content of your offer immediately than reading entire paragraphs about your wishes. Here's an example:
SUBJECT: A wonderful birthday: 20% off the entire site!
TEXT: Happy Birthday! For the occasion, here’s a promo code for 20% off everything on the site: HB20
See you soon,
Lucy from MyBrand.com
What wording should be used to wish a happy birthday by email?
"Happy Birthday," "Birthday Wishes," "Happy B-Day"... What will be your chosen turn of phrase?
Just like with any other messages you send with your email marketing campaigns, like with your welcome email for example, it all depends on your brand identity. You can write it directly in the subject line of your email as well as reserve it for the content of your email to leave room for a more intriguing subject line that’ll encourage the customer to click on your email more quickly than an email from another sender.
SUBJECT: Happy Birthday to youuuuu!
TEXT: Dear [First Name],
The entire MyBrand team and I wish you a wonderful birthday. All our wishes for health, joy, and happiness!
To enjoy this moment that belongs only to you, we’re offering you a 20% discount on the entire site with the promo code HB20.
Happy Birthday [First name] and see you soon!
Ludovic, CEO of MyBrand.com
"We wish you well" or "Enjoy": formal or informal?
Once again, the use of first name or last name is going to depend on the tone you usually use in your marketing strategy.
There are no precise rules for wishing a happy birthday, except for one tip, which is to respect your editorial charter.
When in doubt, it’s best to use a more formal form of address for this rather generic message, which is likely to be appreciated by the people on your subscriber list anyway.
Being on first-name terms with the customer can sometimes be perceived as too familiar, especially if it doesn’t suit your target audience or if your message is usually aimed at older age groups.
SUBJECT: You won't believe your eyes...
TEXT: For your birthday, we’ve prepared a very special gift for you, just for you: 20% off on the entire site, cumulative with all current promotions!
Don't miss your chance, and enjoy your day!
Warm wishes,
Everybody at MyBrand.com
Is it mandatory to include a promotional offer?
Most stores provide a promotion or discount on birthdays, such as a one-time gift.
It’s best to give a gift to your customer to encourage them to order from your online store. Promo code, special gift, birthday offers several weeks before the date, etc. Choose the most profitable lever for you.
Don't hesitate to create A/B tests on your birthday emails in order to analyze the results and see which type of gift is the most effective according to your target.
SUBJECT: There’s a gift hidden in this email!
TEXT: Happy Birthday!
To celebrate this special day, we're giving you the bestselling bluetooth headset as a gift with your next order!
To take advantage of it, place an order of at least $20 and sign in to your account. That’s it. Your gift will arrive automatically!
See you soon,
Lucy from MyBrand.com
The birthday email, a digitalized greeting card model to build loyalty
In the past, in traditional commerce, it was a matter of sending personalized birthday cards to the most loyal customers. Over the years, this technique has been replaced by an email sent based on the data collected from shoppers on the internet.
With the WiziShop solution, you can automatically set up your birthday emails directly from your administration area, all integrated with your subscription, a great way to save you lots of time and effort with this aspect of your email marketing.
Create your online store - 15-day free trial
Finally, if your registered customers haven’t filled in their name and date of birth, you can send a newsletter to the relevant customer segment with specific texts to suggest that they fill in this information and explain that they’ll receive a special offer on the day. The idea is to encourage the recipient to complete their form in exchange for a special discount or free gift, which will in turn allow you to build your subscriber list.
Think of these emails as you would send these messages to your friends or family, with a little promotional offer on top!
To start setting up your birthday emailing ideas, but also your abandoned-cart emails, your follow-up emails to your loyal customers, and even your messages for specific holidays, like Valentine’s Day emails, test WiziShop with a 15-day free trial and start your ecommerce success story today!
