3 Brilliant Examples of SaaS Email Marketing

Marketing SaaS solutions can be a little tricky sometimes. You can’t really offer loyalty programs or promo codes the way traditional retailers can, and if your service is free, it’s even more crucial to keep your customers engaged with your brand so your advertisers continue to see traffic.

Considering that (presumably) nearly 100 percent of your current and prospective customers spend a healthy portion of their day in front of a computer, email marketing is an effective way to promote your solution, and there are some excellent strategies you can employ to build brand loyalty via email. Below are three examples from SaaS providers who have found a good formula for using Saas email marketing to do just that.

1. Canva

Everyone likes to be recognized for their achievements. In this campaign, Canva, an online graphic design platform, makes their customer (and their customer’s accomplishments) the spotlight of the email. They celebrate not only the user’s current feat (completing 10 designs) but also their past milestone (creating five designs) as well as the next landmark: finishing 20 designs.

Including the grayed-out “5” and “20” trophies in the background shows they appreciate the recipient’s ongoing utilization of their site and also subtly encourages them to continue using Canva by providing a new goal.

The email is social-focused, and the main call-to-action (CTA) invites the recipient to “Share your achievement” on Facebook or Twitter.

“But wait,” you say, “if the email isn’t directing the user back to Canva, how does this boost brand interaction?”

Good question! When the user shares their accomplishment, there are two primary gains:

• They’ll likely receive positive feedback from their Facebook friends or Twitter followers, inspiring them to create more designs in Canva.
• It will expose a wider audience to Canva’s platform.

Additionally, the secondary CTA, the social following buttons, gives the customer the opportunity to engage further with the brand on other channels: the blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

2. Dropbox

Dropbox’s “friendly reminder” email is simple, cute and personalized. The charming header cartoon draws the reader in (while tugging at the heartstrings a bit), and the salutation includes the customer’s first name.

The body of the email also gets straight to the point-asking the recipient to download the software-and then promptly lists the benefits of the product. Dropbox understands that since they’re asking the user to do something, they need to prove why it’s worth the effort.

The primary CTA is used very organically; it’s just a straightforward, three-word link-“Download Dropbox here.” The usual rule of thumb is to make CTAs bright and eye-catching, but that would look awkward and out of place in this email. By using in-line text, Dropbox makes the transition from reading the email to downloading the software more fluid. Finally, there is an opportunity to learn a bit more about Dropbox’s capabilities with the post-script CTA inviting customers to take its product tour.

The strategy here is to keep the flow of the email natural and uncluttered, using just three steps:

• What: The Purpose of the Email
• Why: The Benefits to the User
• How: The Way to Access these Benefits

3. InVision

The post-registration email is a critical step in keeping new users interested in your brand. InVision, a prototyping, collaboration and workflow platform, does an excellent job of maintaining momentum with this follow-up email customers receive after creating an account.

The language throughout the email is all about speed and efficiency: “simple,” “quick” and “fast.” InVision understands its audience’s pain points: Users are probably cobbling together several different softwares for project management, collaboration and asset management, resulting in a cumbersome and often disorganized design process. But InVision knows it can be the central hub for every step in the series, and this email demonstrates how.

The descriptions beneath each video tutorial are superbly composed:

• The headlines each contain a verb-“create,” “update,” “get,” “present”-acting as CTAs in and of themselves.
• The descriptions succinctly illustrate how easy InVision is to use and how quickly projects can be completed-again showing how the platform can cure the headaches commonly associated with app design.
• Instead of a series of “Watch Now” or “Click Here” buttons, the CTAs are unique to each product feature being demonstrated in the video.

The email closes with an easy way to reach out for support, and the recipient is given instant access to a direct line of communication with a real human being. This makes it clear that InVision is there for its customers and proves it truly appreciates its users.

The most important thing to remember when executing email marketing campaigns is that your focal point should always be your customers. Provide offers and information that will genuinely help them, and they are more likely to be cheerleaders for your brand. Additionally, the more they interact with you, the more data you can gather, thus helping to make your marketing even more powerful. It’s a win-win-win!

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