We’ve put together a set of cannabis dispensary email marketing ideas. But first, you may want to start by reviewing our article: Why email marketing is essential for cannabis marketers or watch the 30-minute on-demand webinar. These article provide more details as to how cannabis or CBD marketers approach email marketing.
Email marketing is great for brand marketing and transactional marketing. Whereas SMS marketing is better for transactional marketing because of the limited amount of content an SMS can contain.
1. Welcome to our dispensary
The welcome email should be a standard part of your cannabis dispensary email marketing. And, you can have multiple variations of the type of welcome email you send out. Plus, new subscribers expect a welcome email and therefore welcome emails tend to have a high engagement rate (opens & clicks).
Better yet, send them a welcome series using an automation. This is a series of messages over the course of days or weeks that are automatically sent. And, you can send both SMS and email marketing.
The content of your welcome message should use personalization and should vary based on how and where they signed up.
For example, someone that signs up using a popup on your website may get a different email than the person that signs up in your store.
As an example, in the popup above (shown when someone is visiting your website) the recipient expects to receive an email or text message containing product information, news, etc.
These could be new store openings, new products recently added to the store and more.
2. Newsletter and other content marketing
Your website has a lot of great, useful information for your consumers. Maybe it’s a detailed article on how to maximize your flower experience with best practices around storage and usage.
These types of articles are useful for a cannabis dispensary email marketing strategy and help people connect with your brand even when they aren’t buying something.
Your newsletter should be sent at least once per-month and more often if you have the content to support it.
Newsletter content ideas
- Product announcements, discounts or special offers
- Upcoming events (in-store or community)
- Content from your website or blog: cannabis culture, industry news, etc.
- Employee or a new product highlights
- Location, hours of operation and standard contact information
3. Transactional emails
A transactional email is an expected communication, such as “Your order is ready for pickup” or “Thank you for contacting us” when a contact us form is filled out on your website.
Unlike a marketing email, transactional emails can still be sent even when people are opted-out of email (there are exceptions).
Take the time to include the same branding in your transactional emails that you use in your marketing emails. And, include links to subscribe to your newsletter or other marketing channels too.
Transactional email ideas
- Your medical card license expiring
- Thanks for contacting our store
- Your order is ready for pickup
- Flower is back in stock
- Thanks for shopping with us, would you leave a review?
4. Loyalty and rewards
Loyalty and rewards are an important part of cannabis dispensary email marketing. This should include
For example, sending rewards based on purchases is a great start: “Thanks for spending $100 get free joint on us!”
Loyalty and reward email ideas
- Happy birthday
- One year anniversary together
- You’ve reached 1,000 points!
5. Testimonials and reviews
Social proof, using testimonials/reviews, is great way to build trust with your brand. These can be included in your newsletter, on your website, or on review sites like Google My Business.
Testimonial and review ideas
- Thanks for shopping with us, would you leave a review?
- How would you rate our flower?
6. Surveys and net promoter feedback
Sending an email to your dispensary customers asking how you’re doing as a company can provide great insights into your performance, how your customers perceive you, and most importantly if you need to change business practices. Plus, surveys provide a lot of insight into who your customers are.
Surveys and net promoter ideas
- Please rate your recent experience at our [store name]
- How would you rate our edibles?
7. Behavioral-based emails
Behavioral-based emails are messages sent to your customers based on what they are (or are not) doing on your store or in your website. These emails are automated actions that are triggered when specific conditions are met.
Popular examples include:
- Abandoned cart
- Where have you been
- Targeted promotions or offers based on in-store stock
Sending behavioral-based emails requires a marketing automation platform like DailyStory.
Behavioral-based email ideas
- Offers for related products
- Cart abandonment