Most ecommerce marketing advice is either too vague (“know your audience”) or too complicated for a small team. This is a practical list of campaigns that online stores can actually run, with an example of each and the mistake to avoid.
You don’t need all twelve. Pick two or three that suit your products and do them properly.
1. A first-order offer that grows your list
A small welcome discount or free shipping in exchange for an email address is still one of the simplest ways to turn visitors into customers.
Example: a coffee store offers free shipping on the first bag for signing up, then follows up with a three-email welcome series.
Avoid: a pop-up that appears the second someone lands. Give them a few seconds or a scroll first.
2. An abandoned cart sequence
Many shoppers add items to their cart and leave. A short sequence of reminders recovers a share of those sales automatically. We cover how to set this up in ecommerce marketing automation.
Avoid: offering a discount in the very first reminder.
3. A free shipping threshold
Set free shipping just above your average order value. Customers add one more item to qualify, which lifts revenue per order.
Example: if your average order is $42, try free shipping over $50, and show a progress bar in the cart (“$8 away from free shipping”).
4. Bundles
Group products that are often bought together and price the bundle slightly below the separate items. It raises order value and makes buying easier.
Example: a skincare store sells a “morning routine” bundle of cleanser, serum and moisturiser.
5. A product launch campaign
Don’t just add new products to the site. Tease them on social media, give your email list early access, then announce publicly. A waiting list builds demand before launch day.
6. Back-in-stock alerts
When popular items sell out, let shoppers sign up to be notified. These alerts go to people who already want the product, so they often convert very well.
7. Seasonal campaigns, planned early
Black Friday and Cyber Monday matter in both the USA and Canada, and Boxing Day is a big shopping day in Canada too. Plan offers, stock and creative at least six weeks ahead, and warm up your audience with content and list growth before the sale starts.
Avoid: launching your biggest discount with no list and no retargeting audience ready.
8. Customer photo and video campaigns
Ask buyers to share photos or videos with the product, and feature the best ones (with permission) on product pages, social media and ads. Real customers are more convincing than any studio shoot.
9. Gift guides
Before holidays, publish guides like “gifts under $50” or “gifts for runners”. They help shoppers decide, work well in email, and can rank on Google if you publish them early and update them every year.
10. A referral program
Give customers a reward for referring friends, such as store credit for both sides. Referred customers tend to trust you from the start because a friend recommended you. If you want to go further, an affiliate program extends the same idea to creators and publishers.
11. Retargeting ads
Show ads to people who viewed products or added to cart but didn’t buy. Catalog ads on Facebook and Instagram can show each visitor the exact products they looked at.
Avoid: retargeting people who already bought. Exclude recent purchasers.
12. A post-purchase upsell
The moment after purchase is when trust is highest. Offer a related add-on on the thank-you page or in the first follow-up email.
Example: a store selling hiking boots offers waterproofing spray and wool socks after checkout.
Tips that make every campaign work better
- Fix the product pages first. Clear photos, honest descriptions, reviews, shipping costs and return policy. Campaigns can’t fix a page that doesn’t convert.
- Make the store fast on mobile. Most shoppers arrive on phones.
- Track everything. Use UTM links, Google Analytics and proper conversion tracking so you know which campaigns make money.
- Know your margins. A campaign that sells a lot but at a loss isn’t a success.
- Repeat what works. A campaign that worked last quarter will often work again with fresh creative.
Which channels should you use?
Most online stores do best with a mix: Google Shopping and Search for people already looking to buy, social media and Meta ads to reach new people, and email and SMS to bring customers back. See ecommerce and social media marketing for the social side, and our list of ecommerce marketing tools for the software to run it.
Want someone to run it for you?
We run Google and Meta ad campaigns for online stores in the USA and Canada as an ecommerce advertising agency, and we build and fix the stores those campaigns send traffic to. Tell us what you sell and we’ll suggest which campaigns to start with.
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