Mike ColagrossiEmail marketing for Cannabis, it is one of the most overlooked marketing channels in this industry. There is a big opportunity for cannabis brands to take advantage of a competitive and high ROI channel that is email.
If you’re looking for more ways to improve your sales and keep your customers engaged, then email marketing is the solution for your brand. But we’re not just going to tell you how great it is, we’re also going to show you with some essential cannabis email campaigns and examples.
First, which email marketing tools can I safely use?
Before you start, it’s important to know these email service providers allow CBD and cannabis clients. Check that article, because some Email service providers you can safely use, others may end up deactivating your account. So check the list.
That is your first step towards starting a cannabis email marketing channel.
Now let’s look at the five most essential email campaigns for your cannabis or CBD brand.
1. Cannabis replenishment emails
Lets start with the money maker.
Replenishment emails are an extremely good fit for the cannabis industry. Marijuana infused and CBD based products are consumables that run out. Think about products like marijuna flower, vape cartridges and supplements. They all need replenishment.
Replenishment emails are triggered and automatically sent to subscribers when it’s time to reorder a product.
The great thing about all of these products is that they’re tangible and measurable, which is the first step in determining a replenishment email.
You can set these replenishment emails to work with your ecommerce platform or internal shop’s inventory records.
A replenishment email trigger can be set up in a few different ways. You’ll need to find out when your customer (on average) runs out of a product and wants to buy again. That can be done through predicting based on shopping behavior, surveying or customer research.
What makes a great Cannabis replenishment email:
- A great replenishment email anticipates your customer’s needs and sends to them right when they need it, before they even know they need it.
- Good emails are straightforward. They show your customer what the product is, how much it is and gives them the option to reorder with a simple click.
- Options for upsells to show related products your customer might like, while giving you a way to inform and non-intrusively sell to your subscribers.
Replenishment emails work like magic for the customer. You are sending them the exact thing they need at the exact moment. This is an email you’ll want to add to your channel.
2. Welcome emails, but personalized
You can never beat a great first impression. Your welcome email sets the stage and shows what subscribers can expect from your email campaigns. Make sure it’s relevant, and more than just a canned hello message. This can move the customer relationship forward right away.
Retail and customer-facing cannabis companies often sell more than one product.
There may be a mix of:
- Recreational flower for sale.
- Smoking accessories
- Medicinal-grade vape
- CBD-fused products
This cannabis email example below does a great job at showing a first time customer the many different offerings the brand has.
Through the email design they show three main offerings of the company. Beginning with their standard strains of flower, then a section for their branded supplements.
And an upsell subscription service that has email real estate at the end, showing how easy it is to sign up for their special Box-a-Bud monthly service.
Must do: Never skip segmentation!
With the different types of segmentation you can send your customers a unique welcome series that is made to fit and point them towards the product or content they’ll be using the most. This frees up some compliance issues if you’re selling CBD in non-legalized states as a product and THC in a legal state.
Product Segmentation:
Rather than sending an all-purpose welcome email. Ask some sign up questions and segment your customers before they even become subscribers. You can do this by including a few options on the signup form, or a few checkmarks, like whether or not they’re interested in CBD, Vape or bud.
Geographic Segmentation:
There are different laws, taxes, and regulations in each legalized state in America and other countries. You can use geographic data for both regulatory and compliance purposes. While also being able to gain information on what people are interested in that area.
Demographic Segmentation:
Segmenting your customers by their demographic group can be crucial for developing intelligent cannabis emails. Perhaps you have a medicinal client who’s a senior and they use your product mostly for medical reasons. You can build an email series with the correct product offerings around this information.
Segmentation is also a tactic to increase relevance in general! Better topical fit = higher open rates, click rates and better engagement.
3. Cannabis Newsletter
Content is a great tool for customer retention and to attract new customers. People want to know what you have to say. If they’re interested in Cannabis – there is an opportunity for a newsletter.
5 types of Cannabis content for your newsletter
1. Industry news
There is a lot happening. Businesses rising and falling, new states tearing down old restrictive legislation and new dispensaries popping up. Depending on your audience, people want to hear about what’s going on. This is also content that keeps your audience informed and interacting with your brand channels.
2. How to use your products
Some people for example would like to know how to bake their own delectable edibles. Others want to grow plants at home. Service and support are essential for standing out amongst other cannabis brands. A tailored and unique email experience explaining each product is a personable way to automatically give your customers the support they crave.
3. Reviews
Many cannabis strains and products are created with taste in mind. Like the notes of fine wine or a yelp review, there is a growing need for reviews around cannabis products. Customers want to know what something tastes like, how long it lasts, and what sort of mental and physical effects they can expect. You can provide a curated or created list through your email newsletter. Not only giving reviews, but also asking for them.
4. Multimedia & Podcasts
Brands create in all sorts of different mediums,video and audio. Rather than creating one off pieces of content, you can repurpose them into extra content on your newsletter. Publish a weekly podcast where you chat with local dispensaries or you have customer-sourced art you like to display. Email is your channel to send it.
5. Lifestyle Blog
Often you’ll publish interesting topics on your blog first. Blogs are a great way to get your company out there. It is good to get some search engine traffic. Email marketing for bloggers lets you keep in touch with current customers and interested subscribers.If you have a lot of content, don’t forget it’s more than just press publish – the real job starts right there: promotion. And that is definitely your Cannabis email newsletter.
Repurposing your blog content through email:
- Create graphics and blurbs that get people to go back to your blog and read.
- Tie-in articles with products as a way to do a deep-dive with the product.
- Use your blog content through your newsletter to showcase customer’s experiences and thoughts on your brand.
- Send out the most popular articles.
By sending out emails either once or twice a week, you not only give your customers something more, but you continually remind them about your brand and keep it at the top of their attention.
3. Survey and review emails
Survey invitations and review emails are one of the easiest ways to get direct feedback from your customers. Put a link in your email and ask your customers to answer a few questions. Or have a simple 5-star or 1-10 rating scale to click on.
You can add an incentive for filling the survey. Let them know that there’s something in it for them and you’ll generate more interest. Survey emails are an interaction tool for you as a marketer.
Use some extra questions to gauge interest in other products to cross-sell and how satisfied they were with the products.
What can you use survey emails for?
- Ask a few questions about the products. Like potency of THC edibles or pain relief from CBD supplements.
- Find out what types of products your subscribers are interested in and cross-sell them later.
- Get user reviews to post online as social proof. This will help with your reputation and people love to buy and trust you..
Surveys can also be a great way to figure out how much, at what frequency and when subscribers want a certain product. Tying into the replenishment emails….
5. Cannabis loyalty program & referral emails
A loyalty program is a way to reward your VIP customers and gather some valuable data at the same time.
We all know the standard loyalty program. The more you buy, the more you earn. These points get you special purchases, exclusive deals and more. Loyalty program emails for cannabis brands, can double as a word-of-mouth advertising tool.
What if you also use your loyalty program as a way for current subscribers to reach out to friends and family to refer them to your brand. A special deal like:
- Refer a friend and receive 25% off all flower purchases for the month.
- Refer X number of friends and receive the latest product before they’re released to the general public.
- Receive rewards for each number of people you bring into the loyalty program.
Referral programs can be a great way to promote your brand. Gain more traction as lucrative superfans do some of the heavy lifting for you.
It’s an especially useful tool for restricted cannabis companies. As they won’t be able to use paid search engine marketing or other traditional digital methods advertisers use to acquire customers.
Start email marketing for your cannabis brand now!
Cannabis email marketing is seriously an untapped channel. It will be the standard in about five years. But if you wait to start up your email channel, you’ll get left behind.
The cannabis lifecycle email examples reviewed here are tried and true ways for increasing engagement and conversions in all eCommerce email marketing. With a unique spin on your emails for cannabis brands, they can take your company to the next level.
These essential cannabis campaigns are a must-have if you want to skyrocket your sales, showcase your unique brand’s image and grow your customer base.
Sara Amin
Gaurav Sharma
Tom Casano
