Countdown timers for email are a marketing tool

One of the important factors in making a decision, and pushing the subscriber to make a purchase, is urgency. In order to show how much time is left for a certain action (the start of a sale, the time left to get a product or service at a maximum discount), a countdown timer for emails was created. Countdown timers for email are visually like a countdown clock. They are embedded in emails with one goal in mind – to encourage the consumer to act here and now.

Photo by Torsten Dettlaff from Pexels

The countdown timer has a positive effect on newsletter conversion rate. It is used when:

  • a reminder of the start or end of sales;
  • expiration of the promotional code period;
  • start of webinars, announcements of sweepstakes or other events.

This feature is relevant for virtual trading platforms, delivery services and other services.

Time countdown for email from promofeatures.com

What is the purpose of use?

Countdown timers act as a marketing tool. With their help, the effect of the urgency of the services offered is strengthened. In sales and marketing, it is important to be able to convince a potential customer to take action. If this is left to chance, it will not be possible to achieve the desired action and positive results.

There are a number of tangible benefits that can be obtained by using countdown timers.

Creating urgency

The use of countdown timers in email newsletters significantly helps digital marketers create a sense of urgency. And it’s proven to be one of the fundamental factors that increase conversions.

According to case studies, properly installed countdown timers increase ecommerce store sales, in some cases as much as 400%.

Using human psychology

One of the ways countdown timers work is by encouraging the individual (the potential customer), to act on his or her own whim. By using the principle of scarcity, companies encourage the consumer to own something that sells very quickly or is in limited supply, whether it’s a product or a service.

Complementing email marketing campaigns with countdown timers is a great way to increase urgency, and encourage the user to take immediate action.

Consumers plan on their own

Countdown timers assist shoppers with planning. When launching an ecommerce store with a pre-send drip campaign with countdown timers, subscribers are given the opportunity to plan their personal budget, schedule and so on. This approach allows you to be fully prepared for a deal that will take place in the near future.

Creating a frenzy

The countdown to the launch of a product or service, the release of a new product, the start of a sale or other event creates a sense of anticipation in the audience. It is this anticipation that facilitates the exchange of opinions and creates excitement in anticipation of starting to make purchases.

Persuasion and transformation

It is important to reassure consumers that the offer will expire as soon as the allotted time is up. For most subscribers, this creates a fear of missing out on an opportunity to buy a product/service on favorable terms.

By making the campaign short, removing anything that would be a distraction from the email newsletter, you can take a significant step toward increasing sales through high-performance design and stunning graphics.

From a professional’s point of view, almost any consumer defense can be broken. But you can only do that by using a countdown timer in your campaigns, complete with segmentation capabilities.

Time countdown for email from promofeatures

Influence on the effectiveness of newsletters

Depending on the type of mailing, the timer can work differently in each of them. But in any case it is an effective tool for increasing sales. Their increase is due to the fact that:

  • The numbers, which change, catch the eye and catch the eye with lightning speed;
  • A ticking clock face is a tool of sorts, alerting subscribers to the need to hurry.

Types of timers

The timer is created in two ways:

  1. With the help of a special service – HTML timer.
  2. GIF-animation.

Html-timers are scripts that count down the time to a specific number in a future period, by the second. There are special services for creating Html-timers. For their effective functioning it is better to use special services, because self-written widgets can be cut by mailers or not displayed in emails.

Generated with the help of services counters perform all tasks assigned to them perfectly, without problems with blocking by mailers. They are characterized by their design in various ways. In addition, they always display the time up to a certain event correctly.

To generate a counter, it is mandatory to specify the end time and the exact date, taking into account the difference in time zones. The timer will not be generated if the end date is not specified. The digits on the counter are decreasing continuously from the moment it is started. They will be counted regardless of the time when the subscriber receives the mail. As soon as the specified time intervals and date expire, the timer will display zeros.

GIF-animation, is a picture that can be created using a graphics editor. The numbers on the image in this type of timer change, but there is no real time counting. Gifka, just like any other animated pictures, is just a part of the email, also its advantage is that it is not blocked by mailers.

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