Welcome back to the eCommerce Badassery podcast, I’m your host Jessica Totillo Coster.
Recently I’ve been helping my husband re-do his website… you know, because I didn’t already have 1,200 other things on my to-do list.
To be honest, I’ve wanted to get my hands on it for a while. But most of his business comes through referrals, so the website was kind of an afterthought.
Until now
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Mapping the Customer Journey
And of course, being the nerd that I am, this turned into way more than just a visual refresh. You know I couldn’t stop at swapping out some photos and calling it a day.
I went deep into the customer journey, the SEO, the messaging, all of it.
So I start mapping out the pages I want to add; and he keeps pushing back.
“Do we really need that one?”
“Isn’t that overkill?”
And I’m like… yes, you need it. Every page serves a purpose. Every message speaks to a specific moment.
Same thing happened when I was writing the copy.
I kept asking myself:
- For the person who lands on this page… what do they need to hear right now?
- What questions do they have?
- What type of clients do we want to repel?
- What’s the next step we want them to take?
- What’s going to make them say “yes, this is who I want to work with”?
And it reminded me of something.
These are the same questions I ask myself when I’m building automations for a client — or teaching a student how to write theirs.
And the truth is, getting this wrong is usually the reason automated emails don’t convert.
It’s a huge disconnect I see a lot.
So today, I want to unpack that.
How to Shift Your Email Content
Because when you shift the way you think about automation — from “just checking the box with a swipe file” to “actually matching the moment your customer is in” — that’s when you start to see better results.
I think the biggest takeaway I want you to walk away with today — yep, I’m telling you up front — is this:
Automations are about catching the sale that’s already in motion.
Not sparking it. Not convincing someone out of the blue.
But catching it.
Think about it.
A browse abandonment email goes to someone who’s already on your list and was just looking at a product.
A winback email? Sent to someone who’s already bought from you before.
Every single automation is triggered by behavior. And that behavior is a window into what your customer is thinking, what they’re deciding, and what they need right now to move forward.
So if your automation is full of fluff, or trying to tell your entire brand story, you’re not catching the sale.
You’re putting up a roadblock.
Now, I’m not gonna walk you through every flow and what to put in them; we’re not going there today.
How to Figure Out What to Say
But what I do want you to start doing is this:
Instead of asking “What do I want to say here?” Ask: “What does the customer need in this moment to move forward?”
That’s it. That’s the core of conversion.
Because automations that convert aren’t clever; they’re clear.
They’re grounded in behavior.
They feel personal… because they are.
They’re based on what your customer just did.
What they just told you with their actions.
And when your automation reflects that, when it’s built to match that mindset, that’s when you start to see results.
So if your flows are technically “set up,” but they’re not making you money… this might be why.
If you’re using the basic template that came with your email platform, or a swipe file that isn’t unique to your customers and products… this might be why.
Because again… automation is about showing up at the exact moment they’re already thinking about buying… and making it as easy as possible to say yes.
If your wheels are turning right now, that’s the point. This is the moment to go back and review your flows with this mindset shift and through fresh eyes.
Where are you talking at your customer, instead of meeting them where they are?
Episodes Mentioned:
259. Yearly Review Series: Your Email Marketing Audit
292. Why Your Emails Aren’t Converting As Well As They Could
46. Are You Doing THIS in Your Emails?
173. 5 Tips to Increase Your Email Conversion
149. Increase Your Email Conversion with Klaviyo’s Dynamic Content Feature
