How to Create a Personalized Countdown Timer in Email

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Online creators are increasingly looking for innovative ways to engage their audience and build a sense of urgency among their audience. A personalized countdown timer in email is one of the simplest yet highly effective tools. In this article, you will learn how to create such a countdown timer step-by-step, how to use it in your campaigns, and what benefits you can gain from it.

Personalized Countdown Timer in Email in Just a Few Steps

Literally in a few simple steps, you can create a personalized countdown timer in an email thanks to Apresly. You also don’t need to know coding or advanced tools to implement the created countdown timer in email properly.

Step I: Create an account in Apresly and create a new campaign

You can test the tool completely free of charge. Use this link and follow the instructions on the screen. 

When your account is ready, go to the “Campaigns” tab in the side menu on the left, and then select the appropriate type of campaign. You have up to 5 campaign types to choose from:

  • Evergreen – each subscriber will be assigned a personalized timer that adjusts to when they signed up. You can use this option when you want a timer to automatically start counting down when someone subscribes to your mailing list. This way, the offer you send will be valid for, say, x days after registration – regardless of when it happened.
  • One-Time Offer – a limited-time offer, ideal for short-lived promotions, e.g. lasting only 15 or 30 minutes.
  • Fixed – a campaign with one fixed term that applies to all subscribers.
  • Periodic – the term activates on a selected day of the week, which allows for cyclical promotional activities.
  • No deadline – a campaign with no fixed end dates, with the possibility of adding pop-ups to attract the attention of the audience.

For the email, we will configure a Fixed campaign together. 

Step II. Name your campaign and set the time. 

Go to the campaign configuration and the “Deadlines” tab, name your project, and select a category for it to make it easier to navigate between all the campaigns. Set the countdown time and time zone. 

Step III. Select the page where you want to display the countdown timer

If you want to display the countdown timer not only in email but also on the landing page, decide what will happen when the timer stops counting down. Then indicate the site on which you want to implement the countdown tool and, depending on your choice – for example, another site to which you want to redirect when the timer expires. 

If you only care about the counter in the email, you can skip this step. 

Step IV. Customize the appearance of the countdown timer

Choose the color palette you like best or set your colors to match your brand image. Brand consistency is a very important element, so make sure your counter stands out while matching your business. 

You can easily and intuitively customize both the appearance of the timer itself and the captions. 

If you decided to display a timer on your page in the previous step, you can also easily customize the appearance of a sticky timer or inline timer here. 

Step V. Insert a timer into the email message.

The last step is to implement the created counter into the email message. It’s very simple and intuitive! 

Just log in to the email marketing platform you are using, go to your campaign if you want to send a one-time email to a selected group, or the automation section if you want to create an email sequence. 

In the message edit box, go to the source code (if you’re using MailerLite Classic) or select the place in the email body where you want to add the timer, click the plus box, and select the HTML/code block from the list (if you’re using MailerLite New, ActiveCampaign or Kit and others).

Then return to Apresly, to the “Appearance” section: “Email timer”. Copy the HTML code and paste it in the appropriate place in the email message. 

NOTE: Make sure you copy the HTML code every time you want to display an email timer. If you do not copy the code every time, the timers will not display the correct date in the emails.

When you’re done, you can save your changes and schedule the email to be sent.

How to Use a Personalized Countdown Timer in Emails? 

Your key to success is to capture the attention of your audience and motivate them to take action. A personalized countdown timer, thanks to its simplicity and effectiveness, can significantly impact your conversion rate. 

A properly designed countdown timer not only builds a sense of urgency but also helps to emphasize the importance of your offer or event.

Apresly perfectly supports the implementation of dynamic countdown timers. The platform allows you to create advanced countdown timers tailored to different campaign types, such as evergreen, fixed-date, or one-time offer (OTO). Each of these models requires a slightly different approach, and Apresly offers all the necessary features to meet these challenges.

Examples of applications

Evergreen campaigns 

You can run an email sequence with a countdown timer with a unique deadline for each lead. The counter will start counting down, for example, when a person joins your email list, allowing you to tailor your communications to the individual user’s path. 

This way, each person sees a personalized countdown that works based on his or her actions, such as registration date, webinar sign-u,p or e-book download. This type of approach is ideal for automated sales or education campaigns, where it’s crucial to keep recipients engaged at every stage of the sales funnel.

Fixed-date campaigns (countdown to a specific date)

You can set up a countdown timer that counts down to a fixed date or event. They are ideal for promotions that have a clearly defined start and end like seasonal sales, product launches, or countdown to live online events. 

OTO (One-Time Offer) campaigns.

OTOs are limited-time offers that are designed to get the recipient to take immediate action. In this case, a timer counts down the time the recipient has to make a decision, such as after opening a message or visiting a page. Well-constructed OTO offers encourage purchase through a sense of urgency, but also exclusivity. 

How Can You Better Tailor the Countdown Timers in Your Emails to Meet the Needs of Your Campaign and Audience?

Personalizing countdown timers in emails allows you not only to increase the effectiveness of your campaign but also to build better relationships with your recipients. I have a few tips for you that will help you make even better use of the countdown timer. 

Personalize the countdown timer based on user actions.

As you know, Apresly allows you to set up countdown timers that start counting down from the moment a recipient takes a specific action – for example, subscribing to a mailing list, clicking a lin,k or registering for an event. This gives each user a personalized counter that takes into account their interaction with the campaign. This allows you to create more tailored and engaged communication with your audience.

Time zone customization

Make sure the counter counts down according to the recipient’s local time zone. This will ensure that the recipient sees the exact time left on the offer in their region. If you’re using a platform like Apresly, you can set the correct time zone to avoid confusion with time differences.

Consistency with email graphics

It’s a good idea to make sure that the counter is consistent with the cub colors of the graphics used in the email. Positioning the counter in an appropriate place in the email, for example, next to important visual elements such as the “Buy Now” or “Sign Up” button, can increase the effectiveness of the entire campaign. Placing the counter in a prominent but not too obtrusive location will help grab the recipient’s attention without overwhelming them.

Testing different countdown timer’s styles

Test, test and test some more! This will help you quickly find the version that resonates best with your target audience. You can see which style attracts the most attention and has the best impact on conversions.

Conclusion

A personalized countdown timer in email is a great tool for increasing audience engagement and building a sense of urgency. Thanks to Apresly, creating such a countdown timer is quick and intuitive, even for those without advanced technical knowledge.

Literally in just a few simple steps, you can create a customized countdown campaign.

Thanks to the personalization and flexibility of the tools available in Apresly, the countdown timer becomes a powerful element for increasing conversions and campaign effectiveness.

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