How to Set Up Automated Email Marketing Workflows (+ Examples)

With out e mail advertising automation, your advertising crew misses out on main alternatives to nurture and interact your audience and contacts.

On this article, we’ll evaluate frequent forms of e mail advertising automation, the instruments that can assist you set up and preserve an e mail advertising automation technique, and completely different automation triggers chances are you’ll implement at your organization. However first, let’s start by answering probably the most essential query: what’s e mail automation?

E mail Automation

E mail automation helps convert leads into customers, delight current prospects, and encourage actions like better product adoption, upsells, evangelism, and extra purchases.

Top 7 Email Marketing Tools To Automate Emails & Get Clicks!

Why must you do automated e mail advertising?

E mail advertising automation eliminates time-consuming duties, resembling making ready e mail lists, sending generic messages, or scheduling occasions manually. This offers entrepreneurs and salespeople extra time to work on tasks that require their consideration (or can’t be totally automated).

E mail advertising automation is centered round workflows, a predetermined, triggered set of actions you are directing your automation software program to take for you.

Now let us take a look at how this course of really works.

Professional tip: When you work by means of the next steps, maintain the teachings from this video on e mail advertising in thoughts — lots of the subjects lined beneath are additionally touched on within the video and vice versa — in any case, your e mail advertising automation is a part of your e mail advertising technique.

1. Choose e mail automation software program.

There are a number of e mail automation software program available on the market in the present day — the hot button is choosing the best choice for your enterprise and targets.

For the sake of this text, we will work by means of the next steps on this part by taking a look at HubSpot’s Advertising and marketing Automation instrument.

However listed here are a number of extra instruments in your consideration with their foremost options and advantages to provide you an concept of what these instruments are able to.

E mail Advertising and marketing Automation Instruments

• HubSpot Marketing Automation: Greatest e mail advertising automation software program for automating and personalizing e mail campaigns with CRM integration.

Worth: Free, $45/mo (Starter), $800/ mo (Skilled), $3,200/ mo (Enterprise)

With HubSpot’s Advertising and marketing Automation Software program, you possibly can automate your e mail drip campaigns with none code. Choose triggers, circumstances, and actions, so your emails are despatched to the suitable viewers members on the proper time.

Pair your e mail marketing campaign workflows with targets to trace and analyze their success. And talking of workflows, you possibly can visualize, customise, and personalize them that can assist you goal each particular person in your contact database.

(You can too use HubSpot to automate many different duties apart from e mail, resembling lead scoring, lead rotating, webhooks, and so forth.)

Professional Tip: Use HubSpot’s Marketing Automation software to automate and personalize e mail campaigns to maneuver prospects by means of the advertising flywheel and generate certified leads.

• Versium Reach: Greatest e mail advertising automation software program to visualise and section prospects.

Worth: Contact for pricing

Versium Attain permits you to create goal audiences that you should utilize throughout varied advertising platforms (like HubSpot) and channels that can assist you successfully goal and attain these teams by means of your e mail (and different digital) campaigns.

Versium Attain helps you visualize and section your prospects so you possibly can tailor your e mail campaigns to them regardless of which stage of the customer’s journey.

The instrument additionally helps you preserve a cheap lead era technique — Versium permits you to experiment with a single knowledge supply for better-performing buyer segments.

• Mailchimp: Greatest e mail advertising automation software program for connecting ecommerce and e mail platforms.

Worth: Free Fundamental Plan, Necessities Plan; $11/month, Commonplace Plan; $17/month, Premium Plan; $299/month

Mailchimp makes it simple to ship personalised and related messages and buy paths to people based mostly on their contact data and the way they work together along with your firm. Ship-time optimization then schedules your emails to be despatched when your prospects are probably to interact with them.

Mailchimp gives many ecommerce integrations (e.g. WooCommerce, Shopify) so you possibly can join your on-line retailer to the e-mail instrument — this manner, you possibly can goal prospects based mostly on their purchases.

Mailchimp gives six foremost forms of e mail automation to make your crew extra productive and environment friendly — buyer journey automation, conduct automation, transactional e mail automation, postcard automation, date-based automation, and RSS-to-email automation.

• Moosend: Greatest e mail advertising automation software program for managing a number of e mail campaigns and mailing lists.

Worth: Contact for pricing

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Moosesend is an e mail advertising platform for managing a number of e mail campaigns and mailing lists. Design and A/B take a look at responsive emails and newsletters to make sure they successfully goal your viewers.

Personalize your emails by creating situation mixtures to section your viewers based mostly on the particular behaviors you care about in your emails and your web site.

Perceive the success of your e mail advertising campaigns with Moosend’s analytics dashboard — monitor e mail opens, clicks, social shares, unsubscribed, and extra.

2. Determine who you are sharing your e mail campaigns with.

Decide who you need to ship your emails to. For instance, you may use lifecycle levels to group your e mail recipients — for an upsell marketing campaign, you ship emails to current prospects who haven’t bought a selected product but.

Your e mail advertising instrument ought to give you the chance that can assist you effectively section your prospects forward of your marketing campaign utilizing the standards you’ve got determined upon. Once more, your contact knowledge in your CRM ought to assist with this — as an example, in HubSpot, segment your email recipients by lifecycle stage.

3. Decide your e mail marketing campaign’s purpose.

Your e mail advertising is barely nearly as good as your technique — so guarantee you understand precisely why you are contacting these people. Would you like them to purchase one thing? Study one thing? Do one thing?

When you reply this query, you possibly can work out the messaging you want to take them from the place contacts are presently to the place you need them to go.

You additionally need to plan for what occurs once you succeed.

For instance, think about a 10-email collection to get prospects to request a session. Prospect A converts throughout the first e mail. If Prospect A continues to obtain emails telling them to do what they’ve already completed, they’re going to get annoyed.

In HubSpot, for those who define your goal, it can unenroll any contacts who meet the purpose.

4. Set enrollment standards.

Enrollment criteria confer with the {qualifications} that have to be met for a contract to be entered right into a workflow.

Suppose you are utilizing HubSpot Workflows. You’ll be able to create personalised, automated e mail workflows that may get triggered in quite a lot of other ways. This could appear like a contact added to a listing, submitting a type in your web site, clicking a hyperlink in an e mail, viewing a web page in your weblog, clicking on certainly one of your adverts, or changing into a advertising certified lead.

You can too arrange e mail workflows based mostly on any data you might have in regards to the contacts in your advertising database, resembling web page views, e mail or social media clicks, content material downloads, contact properties, or any mixture of those and extra.

5. Decide which processes you need to automate with Workflows.

In case you have been manually emailing these contacts, what would you do? Consider your e mail advertising workflows as blueprints that define every motion your instrument will take for you.

As an illustration, specify which actions you need the software program to soak up HubSpot. Examples of automatable actions are:

• Sending an e mail.
• Scheduling an e mail (and/or delaying it).
• If/ then e mail branching.
• Updating and syncing all e mail and call knowledge to your CRM.

6. Create your e mail marketing campaign belongings.

By this level, you understand how many emails you need to ship, the final messaging you will embody within the emails, and which teams of consumers the emails are going to.

Now it’s time to make sure your entire email campaign assets are created and available in your email automation software so you possibly can add them to campaigns.

7. Verify your e mail automation setup and run a take a look at, if potential.

Some issues to think about implementing into your workflow publishing course of are:

• your record of enrolled contacts for errors.
• Guaranteeing the variety of enrolled contacts is what you’d anticipate.
• Contemplating your workflow chart and use instances.
• Checking your “Ship” settings.

In HubSpot, you possibly can take a look at your workflow to make sure the automation you propose to set dwell is working as meant.

8. Make our e mail automation workflow dwell and monitor its progress.

When you’re proud of the workflow, set it dwell.

Errors can occur, so monitor for anomalies. Do not be afraid to regulate as wanted to resolve points or enhance the efficiency of your e mail automation workflow — much like your different advertising methods, that is additionally an iterative course of.

Moreover, you possibly can regularly broaden upon your workflows to assist different enterprise targets. Use them to automate different actions resembling setting or clearing a contact property worth, updating a contact’s lifecycle stage, including/eradicating a contact from a listing, and different administrative duties that enable for extra focused, efficient advertising to your prospects and prospects.

E mail Advertising and marketing Automation Examples

Now let’s stroll by means of some examples of automated e mail workflows you possibly can set as much as begin getting extra out of your contacts database and marketing automation software.

1. Subject Workflows

Most important triggers: Web page views or content material supply downloads.

Create a workflow for every of the industry-related subjects you create content material about.

Think about you are a unicorn breeder whose foremost content material subjects embody unicorn diets, unicorn gear, and unicorn boarding. Then you would bucket your content marketing gives (e.g. ebooks, webinars, kits, and so forth.) and weblog posts by these subjects. You possibly can additionally create an e mail workflow for every subject after which set off the suitable workflow when certainly one of your contacts views a web page or downloads a proposal centered round that subject.

Set off a content material obtain workflow based mostly on a type submission from a instrument conversion instrument like HubSpot’s Free Marketing & Lead Generation Software. To set off an automatic workflow in HubSpot, you should utilize the “Lead Circulate Submission” choice because the beginning situation.

So if a contact downloaded your e-book referred to as 10 Suggestions for a Balanced Unicorn Food plan, your “unicorn weight-reduction plan” workflow can be triggered, sending that contact extra useful content material, resembling weblog posts describing unicorn dietary ideas.

2. Weblog Subscriber Welcome Workflow

Most important set off: Subscription to your weblog.

Give your model new weblog subscribers a pleasant, heat welcome with a weblog welcome e mail. Use this e mail to thank contacts for subscribing, remind them what they’re going to get from studying your weblog, evaluate their subscription settings (and permit them to make changes), and promote your weblog’s best-performing articles or different gives.

(Get ideas for making a profitable weblog welcome e mail here, and study extra about optimizing welcome emails here.)

3. New Buyer Welcome/ Coaching Workflow

Most important set off: Lifecycle stage.

Whereas we’re with regards to heat welcomes, contemplate organising a collection of welcome emails when a contact converts right into a paying buyer, which you’ll be able to set off when a contact’s lifecycle stage will get up to date to “buyer.”

Not solely is that this a good way to kick off your new buyer relationship on a constructive word, however it may possibly additionally maintain your prospects engaged after they purchase. And in case your services or products requires a little bit coaching in your prospects’ half, use this workflow as a chance to introduce useful coaching supplies on an incremental foundation.

4. Engaged Contact/ Evangelist Workflow

Most important triggers: Visits, clicks, or type submissions.

Create a smart/dynamic list that routinely updates to incorporate contacts that you have actually engaged.

To create this record, use set off standards resembling a excessive threshold of visits to your web site, clicks in your emails or social media posts, or type submissions. Then create an e mail workflow to leverage this record to encourage evangelism of your prime content material on social media.

As a result of these contacts are extremely engaged with you already, they’re extra prone to share your prime content material. You can too contemplate including record standards to tug in contacts with a sure variety of Twitter followers to leverage the facility of these social media influencers in your database.

5. Lead Nurturing Workflow

Most important set off: A number of starting stage conversion occasions.

If a contact has downloaded a number of of your starting stage advertising gives like ebooks and webinars, it could be an indication that they are prepared for a bit extra. Arrange workflows that assist advance these contacts additional by means of the flywheel.

If the contact is a lead, ship them emails containing extra content material that may improve them to a marketing qualified lead (MQL) or a chance in your gross sales course of.

This workflow might embody content material and net pages you’ve got recognized from an attribution report evaluation as influential in changing leads into prospects — maybe content material like buyer success tales/case research, free trial gives, or product demos.

6. Inside Gross sales Rep Notification Workflow

Most important triggers: Late stage web page views/conversion occasions.

On any given web site, there are particular web page visits and conversion occasions that point out extra product curiosity than others.

First, establish these pages and conversion occasions utilizing an attribution reporting tool like HubSpot. You’ll discover that, as a rule, the pages you unearth will probably be your pricing web page, product pages, and so forth. — the pages that your contacts view once they’re really contemplating your services or products.

Use workflows right here to set off an inner e mail notification to your gross sales rep to tell them of those high-value actions. Utilizing personalization, give the rep all the data they want in regards to the lead in query, together with related mid- and late stage content material that they’ll ship to the lead of their outreach e mail. This lets you join gross sales reps with the absolute best leads on the proper time.

7. Re-engagement Workflow

Most important set off: Inactive contacts.

Reawaken inactive contacts with a re-engagement workflow, enrolling contacts as soon as they’ve met sure record standards.

For instance, you would set circumstances such because the size of time since their final type submission, web site go to, or e mail click on, triggering the e-mail as soon as it has been some time since a contact final engaged with you.

In your workflow, attempt sending them an unique supply or coupon to get them enthusiastic about your organization once more. For extra recommendations on launching an efficient e mail re-engagement marketing campaign, check out this post.

8. Occasion Workflow

Most important set off: Registration or attendance.

Internet hosting a dwell, in-person, or digital event? Use e mail workflows to automate your communication to occasion registrants and attendees earlier than, throughout, and after the occasion.

For instance, create a workflow that delivers vital data registrants ought to know main as much as the occasion, resembling resort lodging and agenda data for dwell occasions, or webinar log-in data for on-line occasions.

When the occasion ends, arrange a workflow that offers attendees on-line entry to session slides and continues to nurture them with further content material or promotion for future occasions.

9. Deserted Buying Cart Workflow

Most important set off: Buying cart abandonment.

In case you’re an ecommerce business, you will seemingly profit from an deserted procuring cart workflow.

The idea right here is easy: When somebody provides an merchandise to their on-line procuring cart however leaves your website with out finishing the acquisition, you possibly can set off an e mail workflow that reminds them of their forgotten buy. By providing a particular low cost code or incentive to purchase, you encourage the person to return to your web site to finish the transaction.

10. Upsell Workflow

Most important set off: Previous purchases.

Communication along with your prospects should not cease after they make a purchase order. That is very true for those who promote varied merchandise and/or companies. Use workflows that can assist you upsell or cross-sell current prospects.

Create dynamically updating lists of contacts who buy a sure product — or mixture of merchandise — and create workflows geared toward recommending different merchandise/ companies or encouraging upsells or add-ons.

11. Buyer Happiness Workflow

Most important set off: Excessive or low NPS scores.

In case you administer common Web Promoter surveys of your buyer base, you should utilize prospects’ Net Promoter Scores as a property to set off workflows.

Merely decide what your preferrred buyer happiness rating is, and use that as the edge in your dynamic record of joyful prospects. Then set off a workflow for purchasers with “joyful” scores and reward them with unique content material, gives, or reductions.

Set off a unique workflow in your “sad” prospects that features content material/gives geared toward serving to to enhance their happiness.

You’ll be able to even section sad prospects by the particular causes they’re feeling unhappy — then ship them much more focused workflows to handle their points.

12. Buyer Success/ Engagement Workflow

Most important triggers: Success metrics or product utilization.

In case you maintain monitor of buyer success metrics, you might have a primary workflow alternative in your arms.

For instance, for those who’re making an attempt to construct up your arsenal of customer case studies, routinely set off an e mail that asks prospects in the event that they’d be thinking about being featured as a hit story as soon as sure buyer success metrics have been met.

Moreover, suppose you monitor prospects’ product adoption or function utilization. In that case, you would set off a workflow for customers exhibiting low product engagement, offering assets that educate and prepare them on utilizing the product options they don’t seem to be benefiting from.

13. Upcoming Buy Reminder Workflow

Most important set off: Purchases made on a cycle.

Does your contacts database embody prospects who usually buy on a cycle? Enter these individuals right into a workflow that will get triggered once they make a purchase order.

As an illustration, you promote eye care merchandise, and a buyer purchases a six-month provide of prescription contacts. Enroll that buyer right into a workflow that sends them an automatic e mail 5 months later as a reminder that their six-month provide is about to expire, and it could be time to order a brand new batch of contacts.

14. Customer Service or Ticket Workflow

Most important Set off: A buyer or prospect contacts customer support through e mail or an internet type.

Your prospects or prospects might need bother utilizing your free or paid software program. When this occurs, fielding a bunch of customer support emails and messages can take tons of useful time out of your schedule.

One method to keep away from that is to create a workflow that turns buyer issues into tickets that may be categorized, labeled, and assigned to customer support reps in your crew. These tickets may assist you monitor ongoing issues and when points with a buyer or prospect are resolved.

15. Deal-Based Workflows

Most important Set off: When somebody e-signs a quote or contract.

Sealing the deal is essential to profitable advertising and gross sales. Automating small points of this course of, like emails somebody may get after signing a contract or quote web page with you, permits your gross sales reps extra time to nurture the shopper over the cellphone, throughout demos, or through different messages.

With a deal-based workflow, you possibly can set off affirmation emails when a prospect turns into a shopper or certified lead by signing a quote or contract. With programs like HubSpot, you too can set the workflow to alter the contact’s standing to point out the place they’re within the lifecycle.

Automate Your E mail Advertising and marketing Campaigns

E mail advertising automation will increase effectivity and offers your crew again useful time that may be spent on prospects and different work that requires their consideration. Moreover, the method helps optimize your e mail advertising technique and personalize e mail content material to extend its effectiveness amongst your audience and prospects.

Determine your preferrred e mail advertising automation instrument and start organising the workflows your crew wants.

Editor’s Be aware: This put up was initially printed in September 2012 and has been up to date for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.