The average return for email marketing is about four times the average for any other digital channel. At its best, email marketing can return a whopping $40 per every dollar spent.

And it’s not just winning for businesses. Half of consumers say that email is their preferred way of getting information from a business they trust.

Email marketing takes numerous forms, but here are two home improvement email marketing tactics that can drive excellent results for some businesses.

1. Subject Lines and Offers With a Time Limit
It’s just basic psychology: If the offer is only available for a limited time, people are more likely to consider and take advantage of it right now.

No one wants to miss out on a good opportunity, and time-sensitive emails can convert people who are already considering a window upgrade or other home improvement but haven’t yet jumped off the fence.

Create urgency with your home improvement email marketing by:

• Placing a deadline directly in the email subject (“BOGO offer, act before Nov. 12 to secure yours!”)
• Letting people know the offer is limited (“Close out special: We have enough supply on hand for three more homeowners!”)
• Tying urgency to the season (“Just three more weeks to lock in your summer window makeover.”)

Words and phrases that help create urgency include:

• Don’t miss
• Limited time
• Today
• Deadline
• Limited available
• Time-sensitive
• Hurry

2. Cart (or Quote) Abandonment Emails
If you offer the ability to buy goods or schedule services or quotes online, cart abandonment emails are a must. Basically, these emails work as follows:

• Someone begins the process of buying something or requesting a quote on your site, but they don’t finish it.
• The process should always begin with entering an email so you can capture that.
• An automatic email is generated within a few hours or a day to remind them about what they started. This helps bring back anyone who simply got distracted but really does want to finish the process.
• You can also create drip campaigns that send a few more emails over the course of a week or month, reminding the person of the product or quote and providing additional messaging about why they might want to continue the process now.