Why newsrooms need abandoned carts to re-engage potential supporters

What is abandoned cart recovery?

When consumers are shopping online for retail products, they often put items into their virtual shopping carts, but don’t follow through with completing their purchase — at least not right away. In fact, shoppers “abandon cart” roughly 70 percent of the time, according to e-commerce research. Because these customers are already well into a company’s sales funnel, having at least considered making a purchase based on their actions, they are prime candidates for abandoned cart marketing messages. 

Retailers that have previously gathered a shopper’s email address — from account creation, email signup or past purchases — may begin sending messages within the first couple of hours of cart abandonment. Customers are reminded of what’s in their cart and sometimes offered discounts or perks for returning to the site and completing the purchase. 

Why newsrooms should implement abandoned cart marketing

News organizations with donation, membership or subscription programs may have potential customers on their site, considering a gift or purchase, and then getting distracted, encountering technical issues or otherwise abandoning the “cart.” For newsrooms, readers who have visited the landing page for a reader revenue program are curious about the work, and are likely considering supporting it. Now is the time to remind them of their interest in the organization’s mission and the products, membership programs or donor perks that are offered.

BlueLena has developed a “wide net” abandoned cart that retargets readers who visit the donation or subscription landing page, regardless of whether they began the payment process. Our results have shown that readers who visit a support landing page and then navigate away tend to be among the most highly engaged with the organization’s work, and therefore more likely to open emails from the newsroom and re-engage, if given the opportunity. Abandon cart emails have a higher than average open rate — with a 49% average open rate for abandon cart emails vs. a 33% open rate for all emails, among BlueLena clients with an abandoned cart automation set up. 

The biggest reason to use abandoned cart messages? They work. A percentage of contacts who enter an abandoned cart automation and start receiving messages will return to the site and convert. Across industries, abandoned cart conversion rates average 2.9%. For BlueLena clients with this automation set up, conversion rates are similar even though our “wide net” trigger of targeting landing page visitors brings this messaging to a wide audience. And among our publishers — which includes donation, membership and paywall subscription publications — conversion rates are far higher based on the specific publisher, monetization model and automation strategy. For many independent publishers, this can amount to tens of thousands of dollars in additional revenue each year.

Tips for an effective abandoned cart campaign 

When to send

Abandoned cart emails can be sent with a messaging automation that triggers after a reader visits a news organization’s support landing page and — after a defined period of time — doesn’t complete a transaction. The best practice is to send the first email within a couple of hours after the reader visited the page. At this time, the news organization is still fresh in their mind and the reader may still be near their computer or phone and hasn’t moved on to another part of their day. If the first message doesn’t lead to a conversion, subsequent messages over the next couple of days might do the trick. 

What to say 

Over the course of a few emails, abandon cart messages can be used to offer technical support to readers, reiterate the mission of the organization, outline donor, member or subscriber benefits, address common objections, or offer special discounts or lower donation asks as the series goes on. Each message should have a clear focus, and include bold calls-to-action that direct readers back to the landing page to finish what they started. If possible, create a sense of urgency that explains to the reader why giving now or subscribing today is particularly beneficial to them and important to the publication. 

Taking the abandoned cart series further 

Once a publication has an abandoned cart series automation running, check back regularly to see how many contacts are entering the series, and what the conversion rates are. Since not every reader opens every email, consider adding a step to an abandoned cart automation that re-sends emails to readers who haven’t yet opened after a certain period of time. It could be the extra nudge they need at just the right time to be reminded of the work your organization does and their previous interest in supporting. 

For publications running seasonal fundraising campaigns or membership drives, there’s an opportunity to use abandoned cart messaging to take the campaign further. Customize abandoned cart messages during this time to emphasize the urgency of becoming a member before the campaign period is over or helping the organization reach a fundraising goal. 

While abandoned cart series may initially target strictly non-donors of an organization, consider opening up the criteria to also include past donors, who may be revisiting the support page and considering another gift. An abandoned cart automation can help ensure that curious potential donors are getting the little reminders they need to return to your website, consider your impact, and officially become a supporter or subscriber. 

About BlueLena

BlueLena is a strategy consulting and audience management platform founded in 2020 to support the sustainability of independent local media. By combining cutting-edge technology with expert-driven services, BlueLena helps over 250 news organizations across North America develop and manage subscription, membership, and donation models. Its unique shared-resource management approach provides publishers, regardless of size, with access to enterprise-level tools and personalized support, enabling them to focus on high-quality journalism while building loyal, revenue-generating audiences. 

BlueLena is majority employee-owned, and backed by investors including Automattic (the parent company of WordPress), the Local Media Association, and Old Town Media.