Email is a powerful marketing tool for any business if you take advantage of it properly.

A customer’s inbox is a distraction-free zone to which they’ve been invited, giving you the opportunity to engage their attention with more targeted offers than any other digital channel.

So it’s no surprise that the effectiveness and ROI of email marketing is incredible. Email is 40 times more valuable in customer acquisition than Facebook and Twitter. And for every $1 spent on email marketing, it generates $44 in ROI.

But as valuable as email marketing is, it’s not enough on its own. Effective email marketing is all about automation. Send the right email at the right time to the right prospects, and you’ll have customers for life who will be the evangelists of your business.

Here are 3 emails you should automate to increase sales, upsells, and profits.

1. The welcome email

You will have a chance to make a good first impression. And if your introduction to a new subscriber isn’t impressive, your follow-up campaigns won’t be either.

Generating three times more transactions and revenue per email than other promotional emails, the welcome email is the boss of your email campaigns.

When a visitor takes the time to sign up for your email list, they’re not only opting in to future newsletters, they’re also giving them access to their inbox. Don’t take his trust lightly. Calculate your expectations for what is to come.

Celebrate new subscribers with fun and friendly welcome emails. For example, you can offer them unique discount codes. This will drive sales among prospects who have just made a conscious commitment to engage more with your business.

2. The cart abandonment email

Yes, people are distracted. They go online to make a purchase and something diverts their attention. For example, they get a notification from Facebook, their phone rings, they knock on the door… and they abandon their cart without a second thought.

According to a report from the Baymard Institute, 69% of ecommerce visitors abandon their shopping cart, with 61% citing high shipping cost as the reason.

Turn cart abandoners into customers by addressing shipping costs in follow-up emails.

Can you tell the lifetime value of your customers? Are most of them likely to become repeat customers after trying your services? If so, offer them a “risky” discount so they can afford to take a hit to the front end. But if your rates are too low to compete on shipping, ask for feedback.

It won’t always convert abandoned cart shoppers, but try to contact them to find out why they didn’t complete their purchase. Use your feedback to improve your checkout process.

3. New product preview

When you create engaging and compelling email campaigns that tease new products, you’ll build anticipation for your new product. This will build a lot of support and help you achieve your project goals.

Do you have a new product coming to market soon? Create a teaser campaign to get your subscribers excited about your next release. This way, they will stay tuned for more updates and are likely to buy the product once it is available.

Teaser emails are simple because they just need to arouse curiosity, which will keep your audience interested.