Automating Email Marketing: How to Master Drip Campaigns

You’ve likely heard how critical follow-ups are in marketing—they often make the difference between a prospect who “thinks it over” and one who’s ready to buy. This as well applies to your efforts to achieve success using email marketing. The same principle applies in email marketing: a single message rarely seals the deal. Instead, setting up email drip campaigns is the secret to guiding subscribers through your sales funnel. But there’s a trick to it, which we will cover in this post. Here’s a closer look at how to automate these campaigns for maximum returns.

What is an Email Drip Campaign?

An email drip campaign is an automated series of time-based or trigger-based emails sent to your subscribers within a period of time as part of your automated email campaign. Examples include welcome sequences, exclusive discount offers, or follow-up messages after someone abandons their cart.

Each email in the series is designed to move the subscriber one step closer to an intended action—be it a purchase, signup, or referral. You can use GetResponse to set up your email campaign. You may also want to track user actions and target customer segments accordingly. For example, you can send a different email series to those who do not open an email.

Why and When to use Drip Campaigns

You may want to wonder, why do you need to set up a drip campaign? Drip campaigns make sense any time you want to consistently remind or educate leads about your brand without overwhelming them. Savvy marketers implement email drip campaigns (instead of sending single emails) to generate more effective results.

For instance, a cart abandonment reminder email can boost the conversion rates on your ecommerce platform. You can also use drip campaigns to nurture your leads, re-engage prospects and customers, and boost sales.

Email drip campaigns are particularly effective when you want to implement the following:

Onboarding new users with a multi-step welcome
Re-engaging lapsed subscribers
Inspiring action for cart abandoners
Educating prospects about product benefits
Promoting time-sensitive offers (like holiday sales)
Give product recommendations

Also Read The Impact of TikTok’s Algorithm on Social Media Marketing Strategies

Steps to Set Up Effective Email Drip Campaigns

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of automating specific drip campaigns, let us consider the overall steps you should follow to set up email drip campaigns that drive results:

Identify Goals and Research Audiences

Drip campaigns should have a direction, so you should begin by identifying your campaign objectives. This will inform your choice of drip campaign types. Perhaps, you want to welcome new subscribers, nurture leads, drive sales or gently nudge old customers.

Thereafter, you can research your potential or existing customer segments. You should know your audience demographics, behaviour, pain points, preferences, purchase history, and typical customer journeys. This will make it easier to tailor your drip campaigns to meet their needs and interests.

Segment Email List According to Objectives

You now know more about your subscribers so that you can deliver personalised content to them, thereby improving engagement and click-through rates. To make this more effective, you can segment your email list according to your campaign objectives.

For example,

Cart-Abandonment List: Individuals who left items in their cart
Upsell/Downsell/Cross-sell List: Past buyers who might be interested in premium or other related products.
Re-Engagement List: Subscribers who haven’t opened emails in a while.

Use tools like HubSpot, Mailchimp, or ActiveCampaign to segment effectively and tailor messages for better response.

Write Email Content

Remember that all email content has to be relevant to the users and be of high-value to them. The content must feel relevant and personal—not cookie-cutter. Show empathy for user challenges, provide real answers, and always point them to a next step (e.g., “Watch Product Demo” or “Explore New Arrivals”).

Focus on your audience’s pain points, not just brand updates
Keep tone friendly but credible
Integrate compelling calls-to-action

Use Appropriate Drip Automation Software For Optimised Delivery

With a good email marketing automation software like GetResponse, Klaviyo, and Campaign Monitor, you can automate your entire email sequences.

Key features include:

Timing Controls: Precisely schedule emails or trigger them via user behavior
A/B Testing: Compare subject lines or body copy
Analytics: Measure clicks, open rates, and conversions

Regarding the number of emails you should include in your email drip campaign, up to 26.02% of such campaigns typically consist of two to five emails. But note that the average engagement metrics for sequences tend to slowly reduce as email sequences get longer.

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Test, Monitor, and Optimise Email Campaigns

It should be a regular thing for you to conduct A/B tests on email elements. For example, you may test subject lines, email content, visuals or CTAs for copies that best resonate with audience segments.

Likewise, you should keep monitoring performances for effectiveness and the need for optimisation. Of course, this process involves analysis of customer feedback and key metrics such as open rates, conversion rates, and click-through rates.

Tools for tracking your drip campaigns and monitoring key metrics include Mixpanel and Shopify Analytics.

Tweak your wording, timing, or list segmentation as you gather insights while continuously improving.

How to Automate Email Drip Campaigns

Here are various email sequences and how you can automate them for good customer engagement:

Welcome Email Campaign

This is typically the first email that your audience should receive. The usual practice is to send a sequence of three emails, spread over a few days.

Email 1: Greet new subscribers, you can introduce your brand and give users an indication of what to expect. Be sure to encourage them to whitelist your email address and invite them to follow your social media handles.
Email 2: You may share resourceful content like an interesting blog post, or a short “getting started” guide in the form of a video. You can also redirect them to your website.
Email 3: This may contain a freebie, an exclusive offer, or a link to a useful resource to kickstart a positive user relationship.

Pro Tip: Keep the tone warm and concise. Emphasise your brand’s unique benefits.

Special Offer Email Campaign

When you analyse the purchasing behaviour of people, you will find that their purchases are often driven by both emotion and logic. You can therefore account for these factors when crafting your email drip campaigns for special offer promos.

Email 1: Cater to emotional drivers by describing unique outcomes and benefits that users can get from the products on offer.
Email 2: Use an FAQ or logic-based approach to handle possible objections.
Email 3: Inject urgency. Create a FOMO effect by closing the promo email sequence with a time-sensitive offer (for example, “48 hours left!”) to nudge final purchases.

Boost impact by cross-promoting deals on social platforms or with a giveaway tie-in.

Tip: Explore various online platforms to see how you can combine prior giveaway competitions with your promos to make it more effective.

Upsell Email Campaign

One reason why you should highly value your existing customers is the opportunity to upsell that they present. You can leverage the natural urge that customers have to buy additional products by implementing an upsell email sequence.

Certainly, you would want the sequence to be timely and run it within a fortnight of the user’s purchase of your product.

Email 1: You can suggest a higher-tier product or complementary item based on what they previously purchased.
Email 2: Conclude the two-email sequence with a notice that the offer is about to expire. Ensure you emphasise the limited-time or loyalty-based upgrades.

Cart Abandonment Email Campaign

Many brands decry the major leaks that abandoned shopping carts cause in their sales funnels. After all, up to 75% of customers abandon digital purchases. However, the story is not all dismal because brands can generate up to 69% more orders if they send three cart abandonment emails.

As a first step: Uncover the various reasons why users fail to make purchases. Then, set up targeted campaigns to deal with these pain points and engage users.
First email: Send a friendly reminder around 6 hours after the cart abandonment. You may induce a sense of urgency by citing limited stock or quick sales on the item.
Second email: Increase the sense of urgency by providing a time-sensitive offer such as free shipping. You may send this email after 24 hours and specify a duration of 48 hours for the offer.
Final email: Here, give a last chance, time-sensitive discount offer such as a percentage discount.

Also read: Best Practices for Effective Inventory Management in Your Online Store

Re-Engagement Email Campaign

It is important that you re-engage subscribers or customers who are no longer active or have disengaged from your email list. A strategic way to achieve this reconnection is to implement a re-engagement drip campaign. You want to rekindle their interest and reestablish a connection with them.

Triggers: For a re-engagement email drip campaign, may include subscribers failing to open your emails for several months or failing to visit your online platform for up to 2 months. Again, your email automation software can help in detecting such subscribers.
First email: Send a reminder email describing the unique offerings of your brand and your readiness to serve.
Second email: Give product updates or entice them with incentives such as discounts, exclusive content, or early access to new products. Remember to emphasize the unique selling points and values of your brand and include compelling calls to action to get them to engage.
Third email: Use a final offer to create a sense of urgency. Also inform them that they risk losing access to emails or special offers if they do not re-engage. Note that it is best to respect the decision of subscribers who do not respond after multiple re-engagement emails.

Product Launch Campaign

If you’re launching a new product, you would want to generate a buzz for it and get audiences to anticipate it. You can do this with a product launch email sequence.

First email: Begin with a teaser that includes an appealing subject line and an engaging message on the product launch.
Second email: Next, should be a new product announcement email. Remember to include specifics about the product such as its name, features, and benefits. You should be able to generate interest using offers for product demonstrations or sneak peeks in the form of videos or virtual tours. In this email, you can use a call to action to direct users to your demo page.
Third email: This is where you give them an exclusive offer or provide opportunities for early access. Perhaps, you could get them to join your waitlist or preorder list.
Fourth email: A countdown email can help increase the buzz as the launch date draws near. A timer graphic can help you remind them of the offer.
Launch email: Do not forget to send a celebratory email with an engaging CTA that directs them to your product page.

Enhance Audience Engagement Through Email Drip Campaigns

The world of email marketing can be quite competitive, but you can leverage drip campaigns to significantly enhance your engagement and conversion rates. Specifically, you can automate a sequence of targeted emails, and thereby nurture leads, onboard new customers, and re-engage inactive subscribers. Also take steps to structure your drip campaigns for welcoming new users, promoting special offers, or launching new products to better provide relevant content to audiences at the right time. When you round it up by continually testing, monitoring, and optimising your campaigns, you can better adapt to changing user behaviors and preferences and increase sales while ensuring a loyal customer base.

If you’re eager to enhance your email marketing skills and take your strategies to the next level, look no further than Exclusive Blueprint. Our blog is brimming with practical insights, current trends, and essential tools designed to empower you in mastering email marketing, optimizing your campaigns, and driving higher revenue.

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