Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Email Marketing Automation

Do you want to learn about WordPress email marketing automation?

Email marketing automation in WordPress allows you to save time by automating tasks, creating drip emails, and using tools to grow your email list.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll walk you through WordPress email marketing automation with tips, tricks, and tools that you can use.

WordPress email marketing automation guide for beginners

What is Email Marketing Automation in WordPress?

Email marketing automation is a marketing technique that allows businesses to send pre-written emails automatically when user activity matches a trigger.

For instance, you can send an automated email when a new user registers on your website or signs up for your email list.

Instead of manually writing emails, you only write them once and set up triggers. After that, when a trigger is matched, the email goes to the user automatically without you taking any action.

80% of businesses that utilize email marketing use automated emails.

Not only does it save time, but it also improves the effectiveness of your emails. You can use automation to send personalized emails based on user activity, which is proven to be 320% more effective.

Here are some more examples of when you can use automated emails to boost your business.

  • Send an email when a user completes a purchase.
  • Send notification emails when a new post is published.
  • When a user abandons a shopping cart, send a reminder.
  • Sending drip email campaigns to specific users.

We will be going over a lot of topics in this guide, so you can jump to any of them by clicking one of the links below.

Why Automate WordPress Email Marketing?

Automating your WordPress email marketing allows you to be more efficient and effective. Following are some of the top reasons that make email automation compulsory for your marketing strategy.

Automation Saves Time by Reducing Repetitive Tasks

By applying email automation, you can reduce the repetitive manual tasks, saving you time that you can spend on growing your business.

Instead of writing emails and manually sending them, you can write your emails once and then set up triggers to automatically send to your users.

Makes Your Emails More Personalized

Email marketing automation also lets you make your emails more personalized for each user.

Instead of sending the same email to each user, you can send them more relevant messages based on their activity on your WordPress website.

Personalized automated emails have a much higher open rate of 70.2% and have 152% higher click-through rate than manually sent and non-personalized emails.

Email providers like Constant Contact use merge tags so that you customize emails to use the person’s first name, for example. This can make them more likely to open the email than if it were addressed to the overall list.

Convert Leads into Customers and Boost Sales

Don’t let customers and potential leads wait for a reply to hit their inbox. You can set up automated emails to let customers know that you got their information and will get back to them.

For instance, you can send an automated email to users who fill out the contact form on your website. By setting up a simple automation to send a confirmation message, you can build trust with your visitors.

Similarly, you can set up automated emails for users who sign up or fill out a form on specific landing pages on your website.

You can reach out to customers who abandoned carts on your online store and convert them into customers.

Offer discounts to customers on special occasions like holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and more.

Using automation, you can set up email drip campaigns to stay in touch with users and create personalized email marketing funnels that drive more sales.

Let’s look at how to apply email marketing automation on your WordPress website and what tools you’ll need to do that.

How to Set up Email Marketing Automation in WordPress

There are multiple ways to set up email marketing automation in WordPress.

You can combine different tools and platforms to maximize the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Let’s look at the best ways to set up automated emails on your WordPress website.

Make Sure Your WordPress Emails Can be Delivered

First, you would want to ensure that the emails sent from your WordPress website aren’t in the spam folder.

You need to use SMTP to send out your emails to ensure that.

SMTP (Secure Mail Transfer Protocol) is the industry standard for sending emails. It uses proper authentication (username and password) to ensure that an authorized sender sends emails.

This is where you’ll need WP Mail SMTP.

The WP Mail SMTP WordPress plugin

It is the best WordPress SMTP plugin on the market and enables you to easily send WordPress emails using SMTP.

Note: There is also a free version of WP Mail SMTP, which is fully functional and works with any SMTP or email service provider.

For details, see our article on how to set up WP Mail SMTP with any host or SMTP service.

Choose an SMTP Email Service Provider for Transactional Emails

Transactional emails are messages sent to users as part of their interaction with your website, such as registration confirmation or online store receipts.

Remember, transactional emails are not handled by an email marketing service MailChimp, as they are not part of marketing campaigns, promos, or newsletters.

For example, when new users make an account on your website, they are sent an email to verify their email address and set a password. This is a transactional email.

Similarly, a WooCommerce store may send users their order details and shipping notifications.

PRO TIP: You can use a business email address to send these emails to avoid being sorted into your customers’ junk mail or spam folders.

However, some business email service providers don’t allow you to send many emails and may flag your account for misusing the service.

For that reason, you need to sign up for a transactional email service provider to ensure email deliverability for those essential email messages.

We recommend using SendLayer. It is the best SMTP service provider for WordPress and WooCommerce users.

SendLayer

SendLayer specializes in sending transactional emails at scale with high deliverability.

You can connect to SendLayer API using the WP Mail SMTP plugin, which comes with built-in integration so the two can work together seamlessly.

SendLayer integration in WP Mail SMTP

Once connected, all your WordPress emails will be sent using SendLayer API, ensuring higher delivery and scalability for your transactional email messages.

Now that you have ensured that your WordPress emails are delivered to the user’s inbox. Let’s look at the best email marketing automation tools you can use with WordPress.

1. Sending Automated Emails via Constant Contact

An email marketing platform allows you to send your users promotional and marketing email messages.

There are a ton of email marketing services out there, but not all of them have email marketing automation features.

We recommend using Constant Contact. It is one of the best email marketing services for small businesses.

It comes with professionally made email templates, email list growth tools, customer segmentation, and powerful marketing automation tools.

You can also set up drip campaigns to automatically send out emails to your users with a pre-scheduled frequency.

This allows you to onboard new customers and drive them to conversions without doing any manual work.

To get started, visit the Constant Contact website to sign up.

Constant Contact

Once you have signed up, follow the instructions in our article on how to create an email newsletter to set up your first email list.

After creating your email list, you can set up your automation campaigns by visiting the Campaigns page and clicking on the ‘Create’ button.

Create campaign

This will bring up a popup where you can select from different campaign types.

Click on Email Automation to continue.

Create email automation campaign

From here, you can select single-step automation or multi-step automation.

Single-step automation sends just a single email, such as a welcome email.

Multi-step automation lets you create a series of emails that are automatically sent to your subscribers. This way, you can let them know about your products and services, send special offers, and more.

In this tutorial, you’ll create a multi-step automation for when new subscribers join your email list. Go ahead and select the ‘A contact joins a list’ option.

Email automation type

Next, you will have to enter a name for your campaign.

Make sure you click the ‘Save’ button.

Welcome email campaign

Constant Contact will then ask you what activity will trigger the email.

For instance, the drip series is automatically triggered when a user joins your email list, opens an email, clicks a link, or buys a product.

You can use the default ‘Contact joins a list’ option as the trigger type. Then you can choose the email list you created earlier.

Campaign trigger

Go ahead and click the ‘Save’ button when you’re done.

Creating Emails for Your Drip Campaign

Now that you have set up the campaign, you can start adding emails you want to send.

Simply click on the Create New Email button to write your first email.

Create new email

This will bring up the email wizard where you can select a template, write your email, and save it.

Follow the on-screen instructions to write your email. After that, you can select the time delay between emails by clicking on the Edit link above the saved email.

Set interval

Repeat the process to create more emails by clicking on the Add to Series button at the bottom.

For more details, see our complete tutorial on how to send automated drip notifications in WordPress.

You can also learn how to send automated emails in WordPress.

2. Automate WooCommerce Emails Using FunnelKit Automations

Automation is the easiest way to boost sales on your eCommerce store.

If you run a WooCommerce store, your customers will receive different transactional emails.

These help them get order confirmations, track their order status, get invoices, and find more information about your online store.

You can customize and automate these emails or create new campaigns using FunnelKit Automations, a popular WooCommerce plugin for marketing automation. It is a sister product to FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels), a powerful sales funnel builder for WooCommerce.

FunnelKit Automations

FunnelKit Automations is the must-have toolkit for any WooCommerce store, membership website, or other businesses.

It allows you to automate lead generation, manage contacts, and recover abandoned carts. This helps you boost productivity and sales for your business.

First, you need to install and activate the FunnelKit Automations plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once you have activated the plugin, go to the FunnelKit Automations » Automations (Next Gen) page and click on the Add New Automation button.

FunnelKit new automation

Next, the plugin will ask you to choose a template.

These templates are pre-made automation for the most popular campaigns. You can also start from scratch if you want.

FunnelKit new automations

For the sake of this tutorial, we will be using the ‘Post-Purchase sequence’ template.

Click on the template to open and preview it.

FunnelKit template preview

You’ll see this automation’s trigger, delay, and action on the preview screen.

It may not be exactly what you have in mind. For instance, you may want to run this automation for purchases above a certain amount.

Don’t worry. You’ll be able to edit it as much as you like later.

For now, click on the Import button at the top right corner of the screen to start using this template.

Give your automation a name

You will be asked to provide a name for this automation. You can enter anything that helps you easily identify it and click the Create button.

FunnelKit will now import the template and open it in the automation editor.

FunnelKit automation editor

You’ll see the trigger that will launch this automation at the top. Followed by the delay and the action it will perform.

You can click the Add (+) button between these steps to add a condition, delay, goal, action, jump, or exit the automation.

Add automation step

Don’t forget to edit the Action step. For this campaign, the action is to send an email to the user.

Click on the ‘Action,’ and it will open up. From here, you can edit the email you’ll send to the user.

Edit autoamtion action

You can use Merge Tags to add dynamic elements to your email message.

Once you are finished editing, click on the Save and Close button to exit the action editor.

Finally, click on the toggle at the top to switch from Inactive to Active. This will activate the automation on your website.

Activate automation

Feel free to create as many automations as you need.

FunnelKit works with all essential WordPress plugins. Plus, you can connect it to Zapier and perform actions on more than 5000+ other web apps.

3. Automate WordPress / WooCommerce Emails Using Uncanny Automator

Research shows that users are more likely to engage with a marketing email when it is personalized and timely.

You can automate this by sending users targeted messages based on their activity on your WordPress website.

For instance, you can recommend products to customers who have ordered a specific product.

Now, what if you also wanted to create a one-time coupon for that customer, send customer data to your CRM, or remind a sales staff to give them a call?

This is where Uncanny Automator comes in.

Uncanny Automator

It is one of the best WordPress automation plugins, allowing you to create automated workflows for your WordPress website.

It works with popular email marketing platforms, WordPress contact form plugins, eCommerce platforms, and more.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the free Uncanny Automator plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head over to the Automator » Add New page to create your first recipe.

In this tutorial, we’ll send an automated email to WooCommerce customers who have placed an order, asking them to leave a review.

You’ll be asked to select which type of recipe you want to create. You should choose ‘Logged-in users’ and then click the ‘Confirm’ button.

Choose recipe type

This will bring you to the Edit recipe page.

First, provide a title for your recipe. It could be anything that helps you identify this recipe.

Next, you need to choose an integration where your trigger will run. Depending on the plugins installed on your website, this list may change.

Choose trigger integration

Select WooCommerce to continue.

The Automator will now show you a bunch of WooCommerce triggers that you can use to launch your recipe.

For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll be using ‘A user completes, pays for, lands on a thank you page for an order with a product.’

Choose trigger

After choosing a trigger, you can click on the highlighted conditions to change them if needed.

For instance, instead of all products, you can click on ‘a product’ to choose a specific product

Trigger conditions

Once you are finished, click on the Add Trigger button.

Next, you will create an action. This is the task that you want to perform as the result of the trigger you set above.

Clicking on Action will show you a bunch of integrations that you can use. For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll be using the ‘Emails’ integration.

Choose action integration

Next, it will show you the actions you can perform for your selected Integration.

Since we selected Emails, there is only one action available which is to send an email.

Send email action

This will bring up the email editor.

From here, you can fill out all the fields like the ‘from’ address, recipient email address, subject, and more.

Create your email

Click on the star (*) next to a field to insert a dynamic value.

For instance, you can add the customer’s billing email for the ‘To’ field, use the product title in the subject, or use the customer’s name to greet them.

Dynamic values

Want to add a delay between the trigger and the action?

Click on the Delay button at the top of the action.

Set delay

After that, you can choose a delay time.

For the sake of this tutorial, we are setting the delay to 1 week (7 days).

Set delay time

Setting a delay makes your email more effective.

For instance, in this scenario, you would want to set enough delay to ship the product and give the customer a couple of days to try it out.

Once you are satisfied with your recipe, don’t forget to switch to the ‘Draft’ toggle to ‘Live.’

Set recipe to live

Your recipe is live and will run the next time a customer purchases.

To learn more about the Uncanny Automator and all the cool things you can do with it, see our tutorial on how to create automated workflows for your WordPress website.

Ideas for Email Marketing Automation with Examples

Wondering how best to use email marketing automation on your WordPress website? Following are some examples of automated emails that can give you ideas for your own emails.

1. Automated Welcome Email Example

You can send an automated welcome email to new customers or users who sign up for your mailing list.

Here is how MonsterInsights, a popular WordPress plugin, welcomes new users.

Not only does the email greet users, but it also points them to make the best out of their purchase with helpful links.

Welcome email example

2. Automated Abandoned Cart Email Example

Did you know that over 60-80% of the users who add products to their carts don’t complete the purchase?

This phenomenon is called abandoned cart sales. It shows that users are interested in the product, but something prevents them from placing the order.

Here is an example of an abandoned cart email from Pacsun. It uses urgency by mentioning that the products may run out of stock.

Abandoned cart email

According to OptinMonster, abandoned cart emails have about twice the open-rate of traditional marketing emails.

3. Automated Sale Email Based on User Interest

Another common type is the automated sale emails sent to the users based on their interests.

Here is an example from the Emirates informing users about more choices that they can avail.

Sale email based on user interest

4. Automatically Send Win Back Emails

You can schedule automated emails to users who haven’t logged in or made another purchase.

Here is an example from Buffer. Notice how they inform users what new features users are missing out on.

Automated win back emails

We hope this article helped you learn about WordPress email marketing automation and how to use it to grow your business.

You may also want to see our pick of the best WordPress coupon code plugins or see our guide on how to grow your business online with practical tips.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Email Marketing Automation first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Add Express Checkout Buttons in WooCommerce

Are you looking to add an express checkout button to your online store?

Express checkout helps streamline the checkout process and improves the overall shopping experience for your customers. It can also boost conversions and reduce cart abandonment.

In this article, we will show you how to add express checkout buttons in WooCommerce.

How to add express checkout buttons in WooCommerce

Why Add Express Checkout in WooCommerce?

Adding express checkout to your WooCommerce store provides a better shopping experience for your customers.

It allows customers to go directly to the payment page and skip the shopping cart or checkout pages. They also won’t have to go to a payment provider page or fill out a checkout form to complete their purchases.

Express checkout buttons make the entire buying process quicker. Customers can simply click the buttons and log in to pay for the products they wish to buy in an instant. As a result, you may see a boost in conversions and fewer abandoned carts.

Adding express checkout also helps mobile users where their screen sizes are small. Customers will just tap the buttons to quickly purchase the products.

However, WooCommerce doesn’t offer an express checkout option by default. You will need to use a WooCommerce plugin to add the feature to your online store.

That said, let’s see how you can add express checkout buttons in WooCommerce.

Setting Up FunnelKit on Your WooCommerce Store

FunnelKit is the best WooCommerce sales funnel plugin on the market. It lets you add express checkout buttons and create different funnel pages for your online store.

The best thing about using the plugin is that it works with Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal Express, Amazon Pay, and other payment gateways for express checkout. This way, you don’t have to add each payment provider to your online store using third-party plugins or extensions.

FunnelKit also provides user-friendly templates and lets you do A/B testing. You can easily customize your funnels using different drag-and-drop page builders. Plus, there are multiple pre-built templates and automation features for your marketing campaigns.

FunnelKit

Note: For this tutorial, we will be using the FunnelKit Pro plugin because it includes premium templates and more customization options. You can also use the free Funnel Builder for WordPress by FunnelKit plugin to add express checkout buttons in WooCommerce.

First, you will need to install and activate the FunnelKit plugin. If you need help, then you can follow our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you will see the FunnelKit setup wizard. Go ahead and click the ‘Get Started’ button.

Start FunnelKit setup wizard

After that, you will need to enter your license key. You can find the key in the FunnelKit account area.

Simply click the ‘Activate’ button after entering the license key.

Enter FunnelKit license key

Next, FunnelKit will ask you to install essential plugins. These include WooCommerce, Stripe, FunnelKit Automations, and FunnelKit Cart.

The best part is that you just have to click the ‘Install and Activate’ button, and FunnelKit will take care of the rest.

Install essential plugins

After the plugins are active, the final step is to enter your email address.

Once that’s done, simply click the ‘Submit & Finish’ button.

Enter email and finish setup

You will now see a success message. You are ready to create funnels using the plugin and add express checkout buttons to your WooCommerce store.

Go ahead and click the ‘Go to Funnels’ button to continue.

Close the congratulations message

Enabling Payment Gateways in WooCommerce

Before moving forward, make sure you have set up at least one payment service in your WooCommerce store.

To do that, simply go to WooCommerce » Settings from your WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Payments’ tab.

Enable payment services in WooCommerce

After that, you can click the toggle to enable the payment gateway of your choice and click the ‘Finish set up’ button to complete the configuration.

To learn more, you can follow our guide on how to allow users to choose payment methods in WooCommerce.

Adding Express Checkout Buttons to WooCommerce

Once you have enabled your preferred payment gateways, you can head to the FunnelKit » Store Checkout page from your WordPress admin panel.

From here, simply click the ‘Create Store Checkout’ button.

Create store checkout

On the next screen, FunnelKit will show you professionally-designed templates for your checkout page. It will also let you create a checkout page from scratch.

However, we recommend using a template and quickly customizing it according to your requirements.

Simply hover over a template you’d like to use and click the ‘Preview’ button.

Previewing FunnelKit's WooCommerce templates

For this tutorial, we will use the Livewire template.

Next, go ahead and click the ‘Import This Funnel’ button at the top.

Import the funnel template

Depending on the template you use, FunnelKit may ask you to install additional plugins like Elementor to edit the checkout page.

Next, you will need to enter a name for your store checkout and click the ‘Add’ button.

Enter a name for your checkout page

After that, you will see all the steps that are included in the template.

You can simply click the ‘Edit’ button for the Checkout page to continue.

Edit the checkout page

Next, you can switch to the ‘Optimizations’ tab. From here, simply enable the ‘Express Checkout Buttons’ option.

FunnelKit will also let you choose the position of the buttons from the following options:

  • Top of the checkout page
  • Before/after the product switcher
  • Before/after the order summary
  • Above the payment gateways
Enable express checkout

When you are done, simply click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

That’s it, you have successfully added express checkout buttons to your online store.

If you want to edit the appearance of the checkout page, then you can switch to the ‘Design’ tab and click the ‘Edit Template’ button.

Edit the template

You can learn more by following our guide on how to customize the WooCommerce checkout page.

Once you have made your changes, simply visit your online store to view the express checkout buttons in action.

Express checkout buttons preview

Additionally, FunnelKit helps you upsell products in WooCommerce. This way, you can boost sales by encouraging users to buy more products.

You can also set up automated emails in WooCommerce using FunnelKit Automations, a sister product of FunnelKit. This plugin lets you create automated workflows and send email campaigns to customers.

We hope this article helped you learn about how to add express checkout buttons in WooCommerce. You may also want to see our list of the best WooCommerce plugins for your store and how to create a WooCommerce popup to increase sales.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Express Checkout Buttons in WooCommerce first appeared on WPBeginner.

9 Best Google Optimize Alternatives (Free and Paid)

Recently one of our readers asked us for our suggestion on the best Google Optimize alternative?

Google Optimize is a tool that lets you conduct experiments on your website. However, Google recently announced that the Optimize tool will be sunset in September 2023, and your experiments will stop after this date.

This has left many business owners and marketers scrambling to quickly find a Google Optimize alternative for their A/B testing needs.

In this article, we will share the best Google Optimize alternatives, so you can choose the solution that works for your needs. We will also share what we’re going to be switching to as well.

Best Google Optimize alternatives

What is Google Optimize and Why Use an Alternative?

Google Optimize is a free tool by Google that allows you to split test pages on your WordPress website and improve user experience.

You can set up conversion experiments using the tool and see if making changes to a landing page increases conversions. For example, you can A/B split-test two versions of a sales page, use different headlines, or change the color of the call to action (CTA) buttons to see which one works the best.

However, Google announced that they will sunset Google Optimize on September 30, 2023. After this date, the tool will no longer be available, and all your experiments and personalizations will end on that date. Besides that, you won’t be able to access data after the sunset date.

You can use a Google Optimize alternative to continue experimenting and testing your site. There are many tools in the market that let you conduct A/B tests with ease, require no coding to set up, and offer powerful features.

Let’s look at the best Google Optimize alternatives especially the ones that works seamlessly with WordPress websites, but several of these Google Optimize competitors will work on all website platforms.

1. Thrive Optimize

Thrive Optimize

Thrive Optimize is the best Google Optimize alternative for WordPress that is super easy to use. It is part of the Thrive Theme suite, which includes an ecosystem of WordPress plugins focused on boosting conversions on your site.

With Thrive Optimize, you can conduct experiments and A/B test landing pages without editing code. Unlike Google Optimize, the plugin is beginner friendly, as there is no need to add code snippets to your site.

You can get started in no time. Simply create a landing page using the visual builder and then create a variant. After that, pick a conversion goal, which includes page visits, opt-in form submissions, and revenue. Once that’s done, go ahead and run the test.

Thrive Optimize Visual Split Testing for WordPress

The best part is that you don’t have to switch between tabs or windows to view the results of your experiments. If you’re using Google Optimize, then you’d have to jump back and forth between tabs to see the results.

Instead, Thrive Optimize shows a report inside your WordPress dashboard. You can quickly view which variant is converting the best. Besides that, you can create as many variations of a landing page for testing as you want. The plugin also picks a winner and shows the best variant.

Pricing: Thrive Optimize is part of the Thrive Themes suite which costs $299 per year and includes 9 other powerful conversion tools. You can also purchase Thrive Optimize bundle for $199 / year.

2. OptinMonster

OptinMonster

OptinMonster is the best WordPress popup plugin and lead generation software in the market. You can create campaigns like floating bars, welcome screen mats, and popups to grow your email list, increase conversions, and get more leads.

OptinMonster offers an A/B testing tool that lets you test different popup and modal campaigns. It makes a great Google Optimize alternative because it’s very easy to use. You can customize and create different variants using the drag-and-drop campaign builder.

Once you’ve created a split test, OptinMonster will randomly show the variations to your visitors and pick a clear winner. You can then see in-depth stats about conversions inside your WordPress dashboard and find out which campaign performs the best.

Pricing: You will need the OptinMonster Plus or higher plan to use the A/B testing feature, with prices starting from $19 per month.

3. VWO Testing

VWO testing

VWO Testing is a popular A/B testing tool and a great alternative to Google Optimize. You get more features than Google Optimize, as it allows you to run multiple experiments on your website, products, apps, and server side.

It comes with a visual builder to change different elements on your webpage, like text, images, shapes, backgrounds, and more. After making the changes, you can run split tests and see which variant performs the best.

VWO Testing offers an AI-power copywriting tool. This way, you can automatically select different headlines, CTA copies, and product descriptions to test.

It also lets you run tests based on user segments and behavior. For instance, you can select a target audience based on time spent on a page, scroll depth, exit intent, and when someone clicks on elements.

Pricing: VWO offers a free plan that you can use for up to 50 thousand users per month. If you have more users, then you can upgrade to their premium plans.

4. FunnelKit

FunnelKit

FunnelKit, formerly known as WooFunnels, is the best WordPress and WooCommerce sales funnel plugin. You can use the plugin to create funnels to generate leads, offer seamless checkouts, 1-click upsells, and more.

FunnelKit is another Google Optimize alternative that comes with an A/B testing feature specially for WooCommerce. You can split-test your product prices, page layouts, messages, designs, and funnels without editing code.

The plugin is beginner friendly and helps you set up experiments within minutes. You can test headings, images, prices, product descriptions, and every other component on a page. FunnelKit also helps declare a winner once there’s enough data to see which funnel converts the best.

Besides that, FunnelKit also offers other features. For example, it offers FunnelKit Automation which allows you to set up automated emails and SMS campaigns.

Pricing: FunnelKit offers multiple pricing plans. To use the A/B Testing feature, you’ll need the Plus plan. It will cost you $179.5 per year.

5. Convert.com

Convert.com

Convert.com is a proven A/B testing tool to help you boost conversions. It provides fast & flicker free A/B testing experience and is known for their speed.

They are a perfect Google Optimize alternative because it gives you access to all the features you’re accustomed to with Google Optimize and then some more.

Convert also let you seamlessly integrate your tests with Google Analytics as well as other tools like Hotjar, Heap, Segment, HubSpot, and more.

Their onboarding is a bit slow, but once you’re up and running, you can create unlimited tests and quickly deploy changes.

Pricing: Convert.com prices start from $99 per month, and you get a 14-day free trial.

6. Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg is a popular heatmap tool in the market. You can use heatmaps to see how users behave on your website, where they click, and how they move the mouse cursor and scroll through pages.

Crazy Egg offers an A/B testing tool that you can use to run experiments on your website and boost conversions. What makes it a great Google Optimize alternative is the features it offers along with A/B testing.

You get heatmaps, recordings of visitors using your website, error tracking, surveys, and traffic analytics. Plus, you can configure it without editing code, which isn’t possible if you’re Google Optimize.

Crazy Egg offers a multivariate engine where all you need to do is choose the elements you want to test and add your ideas. The engine then does the heavy lifting and conducts the test for you.

The best part is that it is easily integrated with website builders, including WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and more.

Pricing: Crazy Egg offers different pricing plans starting from $29 per month. You get unlimited A/B tests in each pricing plan, and there is also a 30-day free trial to get started.

7. Adobe Target

Adobe Target

Adobe Target is an enterprise-level solution to run split tests on their website and is part of Adobe Marketing Cloud. It is more powerful than Google Optimize and offers an omnichannel approach to the A/B test.

What this means is that instead of running isolated experiments, Adobe Target lets you run tests on every channel. This way, you get to see how users behave with different variants coming from other channels, like social media, organic traffic, paid search, and more.

The software is easy to use and set up. Plus, its AI-powered automation helps you test multiple experiences and then personalize them for each visitor.

On the downside, Adobe Analytics is only available for users that have Adobe Analytics. If you’re looking for a complete marketing solution with an A/B testing feature, then you can use Thrive Optimize instead.

Pricing: You will need to request a quote and get Adobe Target pricing according to your business needs.

8. Optimizely

Optimizely

Optimizely is one of the most popular Google Optimize alternatives in the market. Their digital experience platform allows you to create every kind of A/B testing experiment for your website.

You can use their visual editor along with advanced targeting features to optimize your A/B testing campaigns. Optimizely works on all website platforms and is a platform of choice by many large brands.

We have used Optimizely in the past when they had a free plan, and it’s an extremely powerful tool for what it does, however the prices are no longer small business friendly.

Pricing: Optimizely does not reveal it’s prices anymore and require that you submit a form to request a quote.

9. Kameleoon

Kameleoon

Kameleoon is the next Google Optimize alternative on our list. It offers powerful solutions and lets you conduct different types of experiments.

For starters, you can run web experiments and A/B test your website and mobile apps. You can assign a business goal to your tests and see which variant is increasing conversions, retention, or engagement.

Kameleoon also offers A/B testing features to advanced users and developers. You can run server-side experiments to improve your product. It easily works in different development languages and frameworks, like PHP, Java, Ruby, Flutter, and more.

Besides that, it offers AI-power personalization. You can provide unique experiences to each visitor, target different segments for testing, and comply with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA.

Pricing: You will need to request a demo and get a quote for Kameleoon pricing.

Which is the Best Google Optimize Alternative (Expert Pick)

The best Google Optimize alternatives are Thrive Optimize, VWO Testing, and FunnelKit.

If you’re looking for a WordPress A/B testing tool, then Thrive Optimize is our first pick. It gives you all the powerful features, and it’s very affordable. Since it’s part of the Thrive Suite, you also get other solutions like a quiz builder, popup form builder, WordPress page builder, and more.

If you’re looking for an all-around SaaS alternative for Google Optimize that works on all platforms, then we recommend using VWO Testing. They have a generous free plan that should work for most small business owners.

And if you are an eCommerce store owner looking for the best Google Optimize alternative for WooCommerce, then we recommend using FunnelKit. They have deep integration with WooCommerce and allow you to customize every step of the funnel including adding custom 1-click upsells, order bumps, and more to help boost your average order value.

We hope this article helped you find the best Google Optimize alternative. You may also want to see our ultimate WordPress SEO guide to improve your SEO ranking, and see our comparison of the best push notification software with A/B testing features to boost your traffic.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 9 Best Google Optimize Alternatives (Free and Paid) first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Upsell Products in WooCommerce (5 Easy Ways)

Are you looking for ways to upsell products on your WooCommerce store?

Upselling is a great way to boost your sales and earn more money. You can encourage customers to purchase a more expensive version of your product.

In this article, we’ll show you how to upsell products in WooCommerce.

How to upsell products in WooCommerce

Why Upsell Products in WooCommerce?

Upselling is a sales technique that you can use to encourage shoppers to purchase a higher-priced product instead of the one they already have in their shopping cart.

These products provide more value to your customers because they have higher quality, include more features, and are more lucrative for your business.

For example, let’s say a customer adds a hiking shoe to their cart. You can offer them higher-quality hiking shoes that are more comfortable, durable, and versatile. Similarly, if you’re selling software or plugins on your WooCommerce store, then you can offer upgrades and addons to customers.

Since upselling persuades customers to buy a higher-priced product, you get to increase your average order value and boost the revenue of your online store. It also helps to increase the visibility of products that aren’t purchased frequently.

That said, let’s see how you can upsell products in WooCommerce. We’ll cover multiple methods, so you can click the links below to jump ahead to your preferred section:

Adding Upsell Products in WooCommerce

In WooCommerce, you can link different products and show them as upsell on the product page.

To start, you’ll need to go to Products » Add New from the WordPress dashboard. You can also edit an existing product.

Creating a new WooCommerce product

Next, you can scroll down to the Product Data section and click on the ‘Linked Products’ tab.

Here, you’ll be able to add different products under the ‘Upsell’ section. Simply enter a name and search for the product your want to upsell.

Add products to upsell

Go ahead and update your product page.

You can now visit your WooCommerce store and see the upsell products under the ‘You may also like’ section.

View upsell products

Creating a WooCommerce Popup to Upsell Products

A great way to upsell your products is by displaying a lightbox popup on your WooCommerce store. It can instantly grab your users’ attention and help boost sales.

You can offer discounts or limited-time offers on high-value goods. Plus, you can show it on specific pages, when a user spends a particular time on a page or is about exit your store.

Upsell popup preview

The best way to create a WooCommerce upsell popup is using OptinMonster. It is the best WordPress popup plugin and lead generation software in the market.

You can choose from multiple pre-built popup templates and campaign types.

Choose a campaign type and template

Plus, you can use the drag-and-drop campaign builder to customize your upsell popup.

You can edit different blocks, including the existing ones in the template.

Customize your upsell popup

After customizing your popup, you can head to the display rules tab and configure when you’d like to show it to your customers.

OptinMonster offers powerful options, including the Exit Intent technology. This allows you to show your campaign just as the user is about to leave your website. Plus, there are many eCommerce-related display options.

For example, you can display your campaign when a visitor views a particular product on your WooCommerce store or adds a certain number of items to a cart.

Popular display rules

For more details, you can see our guide on how to create a WooCommerce popup to increase sales.

Offer One-Click Upsells on Checkout Page

Another way to upsell in WooCommerce is by showcasing your products at different points in the customer journey.

For instance, you can display high-priced products on the checkout page and allow users to instantly add them to the cart before placing an order. This helps you optimize your sales funnel, boost sales, and earn more revenue.

The easiest way to upsell products during checkout is by using FunnelKit, formerly known as WooFunnels. It is the best WordPress sales funnel and automation plugin, and it offers a one-click upsell option that you can add to your checkout page.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Funnel Builder Pro plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you’ll see the FunnelKit setup wizard. You can start by entering the license key and following the onscreen instructions to configure the plugin.

Enter your WooFunnel license key

Once the plugin is set up, you can go to FunnelKit » Funnels from your WordPress dashboard.

After that, simply click the ‘Add new funnel’ button.

Add a new funnel button

FunnelKit offers different funnel templates for your WooCommerce store, including store checkout, sales funnel, and lead generation funnel.

Go ahead and select a template for your online store. We’ll use the ‘Optic’ store checkout template for this tutorial.

Select a funnel template

Next, you can preview the template and choose whether you’d like a one-step, two-step, or three-step funnel. The difference between these is that you can show different checkout steps on other pages.

For example, in one-step checkout, all the information is displayed on a single page. On the other hand, a three-step checkout would show basic information, shipping details, and payment on multiple pages.

After that, click the ‘Import This Funnel’ button at the top.

Import the template

Next, a popup window will open where you’ll need to enter a name for your funnel.

Go ahead and click the ‘Add’ button.

Enter a name for your funnel

FunnelKit will now import the template.

On the next screen, you’ll see different pages in the funnel. You can edit each of these pages and add additional steps.

To add a one-click upsell option, simply click the ‘Add Order Bump’ button under the Checkout step.

Edit your funnel and add new steps

After that, a popup window will open.

Go ahead and enter a name for your Order Bump and click the ‘Add’ button.

Add an order bump

You should now see your Order Bump as a sub-step under the Checkout page.

To add products for upselling, you can edit the order bump page.

Edit the order bump page

Next, you’ll need to add products you’d like to show on checkout.

Simply click the ‘Add Product’ button to continue.

Add product to your bump offer

After that, a popup window will open to add your products.

You can search for the products and then click the ‘Add Product’ button.

Search and add products to upsell
Next, you will see the products you just added. FunnelKit lets you rearrange its order if there are multiple items.

You can also change the behavior and display position of the goods you’d like to upsell on the checkout page. For example, the plugin lets you show upsell products below the payment gateways, above or below the order summary, inside the mini cart, or above the checkout form.

Change bump offer settings

FunnelKit also offers options to change the design of your order bump.

Simply switch to the ‘Design’ tab to edit the title, description, and style. There are different skins to choose from and additional options to further customize each skin.

Edit design of your bump offer

Once you’re done, go back to the Store Checkout dashboard in FunnelKit.

Next, click on the dropdown menu next to the title of your store checkout and change the status to Publish.

Publish your store checkout page

Your one-click upsell will now be active on your WooCommerce store. You can now visit your online store to see it in action.

For instance, our upsell offer appears after the payment gateway on the checkout page. Customers can add the item to their order with a single click.

One click upsell preview

Upsell Products on a Custom WooCommerce Thank You Page

In addition to showing products during checkout, you can create a custom thank you page and upsell products on your WooCommerce store.

Many WordPress website owners might think of a thank you page as a small part of their eCommerce store, but it can have a huge impact on your sales. It gives you the opportunity to recommend more valuable items, offer a discount coupon, and increase your sales.

Thank you page preview

With SeedProd, you can easily create a custom WooCommere thank you page. It is the best website builder and landing page plugin for WordPress.

The plugin offers different pre-built page templates and lots of customization options.

Thank you page template

You can use the drag-and-drop page builder to customize your thank you page.

For example, there are blocks for adding text, images, buttons, contact forms, countdown timers, social profiles, and more. Plus, you can control and edit each element on your template.

Customize your custom thank you page

The best part is that SeedProd offers WooCommerce blocks as well.

You can add a product grid or simply add your best-selling, recent, featured, or top-rated products to the thank you page.

Add WooCommerce blocks

For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to create a custom WooCommerce thank you page.

Automatically Add Products to Cart Using a Coupon

Did you know that you can upsell products by automatically adding them to the customer’s cart? For example, when a customer purchases over $200 worth of goods, you can give them a free gift bag.

With the help of the Advanced Coupons plugin, you can set up personalized coupons in WooCommerce and automatically add products to the cart when a coupon is applied.

You’ll need at least the Advanced Coupon Growth plan to add products via coupons. Once you’ve set up the plugin, go to Coupons » Add New from your WordPress dashboard.

Add a new coupon code

Next, you can enter a coupon code at the top or click the ‘Generate coupon code’ button to automatically create a random code.

After that, scroll down to the Coupon data section and switch to the ‘Add Products’ tab.

Add a product

From here, you can search for the product you’d like to automatically add to your cart when the coupon code is applied.

There are also options to set the order quantity and add a price or discount for the selected product.

Search for your product to add for coupon code

Once you’ve selected a product, click the ‘Add’ button.

You should see your product under the Add Products section. Don’t forget to click the ‘Save Add Products Data’ button.

Save your add products data

Besides that, Advanced Coupon also lets you set up cart conditions.

This way, you can set up rules for applying your coupon code. For example, the coupon code will only work if the cart quantity or subtotal is more than a certain amount, or a customer adds products from a specific category.

Add cart conditions

After setting up these conditions, you can publish your coupon code.

Now, your product will automatically add to the cart whenever a customer enters the discount coupon on checkout.

Automatically add products using coupon

For more details, please see our guide on how to auto-apply coupons in WooCommerce.

We hope this article helped you learn how to upsell products in WooCommerce. You can also see our guide on the best WooCommerce plugins and how to speed up your WooCommerce performance.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Upsell Products in WooCommerce (5 Easy Ways) first appeared on WPBeginner.

6 Best WooCommerce Email Customizer Plugins (Free + Paid)

Are you looking for an easy way to customize your WooCommerce store emails?

A WooCommerce email customizer allows you to easily adjust and personalize the emails your website send to your customers. This includes receipt emails, subscription renewal emails, and more.

In this article, we’ll show you the best WooCommerce email customizer plugins to help you improve your website emails.

Best WooCommerce email customizer plugin

Why Use a WooCommerce Email Customizer Plugin?

WooCommerce is the #1 most popular eCommerce platform for WordPress, and it comes with built-in settings to edit the emails that you send to your customers. However, these customization options are very limited and basic.

For instance, you can only change the font and background colors, edit the email content, and add a logo. These minimal customization options make your emails look generic and unattractive.

Here’s what default WooCommerce emails will look like:

WooCommerce Allows You to Preview the Email Template Containing Dummy Text

A WooCommerce email customizer gives you more options and flexibility to customize your email notifications.

You can upsell products, offer coupons, or even direct users to relevant posts on your WordPress blog. A plugin can also help you to customize the email notifications that are sent when a customer creates a new account, resets a password, and more.

Some tools even let you create automation workflows for your online store. For instance, you can automatically send pre-written emails when a customer buys a new product, subscribes to your newsletter, books an appointment, or abandons a cart.

That said, let’s look at some of the best WooCommerce email customizer plugins in the market.

1. Autonami

Autonami

Autonami is the best WooCommerce email customizer plugin that’s very easy to use.

It comes with a drag-and-drop email builder with lots of customization options. You can add different elements by dragging them from the menu on your left and dropping it onto the template to customize your WooCommerce emails.

Plus, you get to further customize each element, like changing its color, font, alignment, and more. This gives you complete control over the appearance of your WooCommerce emails.

Add a heading block to email template

Autonami also offers a pre-built WooCommerce email library. You can create an email sequence for your eCommerce store with a single click.

Autonami Email Library for WooCommerce

Besides that, it also offers a visual email automation builder, where you get to customize your workflows. This makes it effortless to set up automated emails, as you can choose which emails to show based on the user’s action and when to show them.

Autonami Marketing Automation Email Analytics for WooCommerce

Autonami is a sister product to WooFunnels, which is a powerful sale funnel builder for WooCommerce. You can set up a complete sales funnel and use pre-built templates for custom checkout pages, upsells, discount offers, and more.

Funnel templates in Woofunnels

Pricing: To use Autonami, you’ll need to purchase the Funnel Builder + Autonami plan, which will cost you $249 per year. That said, there is also a free version of Autonami with limited features that you can get started with.

2. Email Customizer for WooCommerce

Email customizer for WooCommerce

Email Customizer for WooCommerce by ThemeHigh is a WordPress plugin that offers a beginner-friendly email builder.

You can drag and drop different elements into your transactional emails. For instance, you can add text, images, social icons, buttons, GIFs, billing information, shipping details, and more.

When customizing the emails, the builder shows a live preview of your changes. This way, you can see what your emails will look like on the customer’s screen.

The plugin also offers 11 pre-built custom email templates, so you can quickly select any email type and customize it according to your needs.

It also offers WPML compatibility, allowing you to create emails in multiple languages. You can also integrate it with other plugins like WooCommerce Order Status Manager and YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards.

On the downside, you don’t get any automation features like Autonami offers. The plugin doesn’t offer a workflow builder or an option to set up automated email series.

Pricing: Email Customizer for WooCommerce pricing starts from $39 per year. There is also a free version of Email Customizer for WooCommerce available.

3. YayMail

YayMail

YayMail is another popular WooCommerce email customizer plugin. You can easily design and edit your emails in its drag-and-drop builder. Its interface is easy to use and is similar to Elementor or the WordPress block editor.

The plugin comes with different widgets and dynamic blocks that you can use to add elements to the WooCommerce transactional email template. The visual builder also gives a real-time preview of your changes.

Besides that, the premium version of YayMail offers features like shipment tracking, custom order status, checkout field editor, and more. You also get powerful add-ons and WooCommerce extension support with YayMail Pro.

Pricing: YayMail is a premium email customizer plugin for WooCommerce, with prices starting from $59 per year for a single WordPress site.

4. Flycart Email Customizer Plus for WooCommerce

Flycart email customizer plus

Flycart Email Customizer Plus for WooCommerce is a premium WooCommerce plugin that you can use to create custom transactional emails.

Its drag-and-drop builder allows you to change the layout and customize your emails the way you want. You can add a logo, edit email content, add social icons, and more.

There’s no need to manually edit HTML, CSS, or PHP code to change the look and feel of your emails. The plugin offers basic elements and WooCommerce elements that you can add to the template.

The plugin comes with pre-built templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch. There is also an option to send test emails and make sure they are delivered to your customers.

Pricing: Flycart Email Customizer Plus for WooCommerce prices start from $49 per year for a single site. You also get a 14-day money-back guarantee with each plan.

5. Decorator

Decorator

Decorator is a WooCommerce plugin that lets you customize your emails using the WordPress theme customizer.

The plugin offers different options to edit the look and style of your emails. For instance, you can edit the email content, heading, color, email header and footer, add a logo, enter social media links to your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn pages, and more.

The Decorator plugin also lets you add shortcodes and placeholders to show additional information in the emails, like customer name, order details, company name, order date, and more.

While the theme customizer offers a real-time preview of your changes, it doesn’t provide the flexibility of a drag-and-drop builder like you’d get in Autonami and other plugins on our list. There are also no pre-built WooCommerce email templates you can use to get started quickly.

Pricing: Decorator is a free plugin that you can use on your WooCommerce store.

6. Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer

Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer

Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer is a free plugin that also uses the WordPress customizer to create custom emails for your online store.

The plugin shows a live preview of your WooCommerce emails in the theme customizer and offers different options for customization. For example, you can easily customize headings, subtitles, and body text using the plugin.

However, Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer lets you import pre-built email templates, which isn’t possible in the Decorator plugin. On the downside, you don’t get the flexibility or customization options that other drag-and-drop email builders provide, like Autonami.

Pricing: You can use Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer for free.

Bonus: WP Mail SMTP

WP Mail SMTP

WP Mail SMTP is the best WordPress SMTP plugin in the market. It ensures that your WordPress emails are delivered to your customer’s email inbox and don’t end up in spam.

Many WordPress hosting companies don’t support the default method WordPress uses for sending emails from your site. As a result, you’ll notice that many emails simply vanish and never reach your customers. WP Mail SMTP solves the issue of WooCommerce not sending emails and improves deliverability.

The best part is that WP Mail SMTP easily integrates with WooFunnels and offers multiple mailers, including Gmail, Outlook, Sendinblue, Amazon SES, and more.

For more details, you can see our detailed guide on how to set up WP Mail SMTP with any host.

Pricing: WP Mail SMTP prices start from $49 per year. There is also WP Mail SMTP free version you can use for your site.

Which is the Best WooCommerce Email Customizer?

If you’re looking for a complete tool that offers WooCommerce email customization and automation, then we highly recommend using Autonami.

The plugin is super easy to use and offers a drag-and-drop email builder along with different email templates. You can create stunning WooCommerce emails in just a few clicks and don’t need coding knowledge.

Autonami also lets you set up automated email workflows for your WooCommerce site. It helps save time, as you can automatically send an email series to new customers, recover abandoned carts, send promotional emails to selected audiences, and more.

You can even combine Autonami with an SMTP service like WP Mail SMTP. Doing so will ensure that your emails are delivered to your customers and won’t get lost or end up in the spam folder.

We hope that this article helped you learn about the best WooCommerce email customizer plugins. You may also want to see our guide on the best free business name generators and how to move WordPress from HTTP to HTTPS.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 6 Best WooCommerce Email Customizer Plugins (Free + Paid) first appeared on WPBeginner.