Automate Birthday Greetings and Loyalty Offers on Squarespace

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:

• Set up automated birthday emails in Squarespace Email Campaigns
• Create loyalty reward automations for returning customers
• Customise your automated campaigns to match your brand
• Track the performance of your automated email campaigns

Introduction

Birthday emails and loyalty rewards are two of the most effective ways to keep customers coming back. They feel personal, they're timely, and they give people a reason to make another purchase.

The good news is that Squarespace makes it easy to set these up once and let them run automatically. No more remembering to send individual birthday messages or manually tracking who deserves a loyalty reward.

This chapter walks you through setting up both types of automation, from the initial setup to measuring how well they're working.

Lessons

Setting Up Automated Birthday Emails

Birthday emails work because they feel personal, even when they're automated. Here's how to set them up in Squarespace:

Step 1: Log into your Squarespace account and go to Marketing, then Email Campaigns.

Step 2: Click on Automations in the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click Create Automation and select the Birthday template from the available options.

Step 4: Set when the email should send. Most businesses send on the actual birthday, but you could send a few days before if that works better for your business.

Step 5: Write your email content. Keep it friendly and include a clear offer like "10% off your next order" or "Free shipping this week".

Step 6: Set up the automation trigger. You'll need to collect birthday information through your contact forms or newsletter signup.

The key is collecting birthday data first. Add a birthday field to your newsletter signup form or contact forms. Make it optional so people don't feel pressured to share personal information.

Creating Loyalty Reward Automations

Loyalty rewards can be based on purchase frequency, total spending, or time since last purchase. Here's how to set them up:

Step 1: In the same Automations section, click Create Automation.

Step 2: Choose a trigger for your loyalty rewards. This could be "after 3 purchases" or "after spending £200".

Step 3: Design your reward email. Thank them for their loyalty and make the reward clear and valuable.

Step 4: Decide on your reward type. Common options include percentage discounts, fixed amount discounts, or exclusive access to new products.

Step 5: Set the automation to repeat. You might want to send a loyalty reward every 5 purchases or every 6 months.

The trick with loyalty rewards is making them feel earned rather than random. Base them on actual customer behaviour rather than just time passing.

Customising Your Automated Campaigns

Both birthday and loyalty emails work better when they feel personal and on-brand:

Personalisation: Use the customer's name in the subject line and email body. Squarespace can pull this from your contact data automatically.

Brand consistency: Use your brand colours, fonts, and tone of voice. The email should feel like it's coming from your business, not a generic system.

Segmentation: Send different offers to different customer groups. VIP customers might get bigger discounts, while new customers get different messaging.

Testing: Try different subject lines, offers, and send times to see what works best for your audience.

Remember that automated doesn't mean impersonal. These emails should still sound like they're coming from a real person who cares about the customer.

Practice

Set up a basic birthday email automation for your business (or a practice site):

1. Create a new automation using the birthday template
2. Write a subject line that includes the customer's name
3. Create an email offering a 15% discount valid for one week
4. Set the automation to send on the customer's actual birthday
5. Preview the email to check it looks good on mobile devices

If you don't have customer birthday data yet, add a birthday field to your newsletter signup form as well.

FAQs

How do I collect birthday information from customers?
Add a birthday field to your contact forms, newsletter signups, or account registration. Make it optional and explain that you'll use it to send special birthday offers.

What makes a good loyalty reward?
The best rewards feel valuable but don't hurt your profit margins. A 20% discount, free shipping, or early access to new products often work well.

Can I see how many people open these automated emails?
Yes, Squarespace provides analytics for all email campaigns, including automations. Check your open rates, click rates, and conversion rates in the Email Campaigns dashboard.

How often should I send loyalty rewards?
This depends on your business, but most companies send loyalty rewards every 3-5 purchases or every 6-12 months. Test different frequencies to see what works.

What if someone has already used their birthday discount?
Set an expiration date on birthday offers (like one week) to create urgency. You can also limit the offer to one use per customer.

Jargon Buster

Automation: An email campaign that sends automatically based on specific triggers or schedules, rather than being sent manually each time.

Segmentation: Dividing your email list into smaller groups based on characteristics like purchase history, location, or interests.

Trigger: The event that causes an automated email to send, such as a birthday, purchase, or specific date.

Personalisation: Adding customer-specific information like names, purchase history, or preferences to make emails feel more individual.

Wrap-up

Automated birthday and loyalty emails are some of the easiest wins in email marketing. They're personal, timely, and give customers a clear reason to buy again.

The key is setting them up properly from the start. Collect the data you need, write emails that sound like your brand, and test different approaches to see what works best.

Once they're running, these automations work for you 24/7, building customer relationships and driving sales while you focus on other parts of your business.

Next up, we'll look at welcome email sequences and how to make a great first impression with new subscribers.

Ready to set up your first automation? Roll your sleeves up and start with a simple birthday email. Your customers will appreciate the personal touch, and you'll appreciate the automatic sales.

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