A closer look at drip campaigns

Last month we looked at six types of emails to include in a drip campaign, which is a series of emails that you send at set intervals over a period of time. They’re sometimes also called automated campaigns or lifecycle emails.

One of the most common types of drip campaigns is a welcome series. For this article, we’re going to take a closer look at some of the specific emails you might include in a welcome series or another drip campaign.

Welcome and brand overview

This is the “Congratulations, you’ve subscribed to our email list!” email that is typically sent immediately after someone signs up for your list. It’s a good place to remind the subscriber what they signed up for (your weekly e-newsletter, sales and special offers, etc.).

While it may seem counterintuitive, it’s also a good place to give them an immediate opportunity to opt out. Maybe they signed up by mistake, perhaps someone else added them to your email list, or maybe they only signed up because they wanted a free e-book offered on your website. Giving them a clear opportunity to unsubscribe helps keep your list clean and your engagement, such as open and click rates, higher.

Text for this email might look something like this:

Hey! Thanks for signing up for our email newsletter. We look forward to sharing useful content about email marketing with you every Tuesday.

What’s that? You didn’t mean to sign up for this list? That’s okay. You can unsubscribe from this link or from the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email you receive from us.

Free gift or special offer

For this type of email in your welcome series, think about your ultimate goal for subscribers on your list. Do you want to convert them to clients or customers? Do you want to simply share relevant content with them over time? Your free gift or special offer should relate to your end goal for the email series.

If you’re a retail store, offering a special one-time discount to email subscribers can help encourage a first-time purchase from a new customer. Make sure you include the terms of the discount in your email or provide a link to your website with the fine print of the offer.

For other businesses, the free gift might be an existing e-book or other online (or print) resource you have readily available.

Here’s a free gift offer used by one of our clients:

Customer testimonial

You want people on your email list to know how awesome you are, right? And what better way to do that than by letting one of your other clients tell them! A customer testimonial is a powerful way to illustrate the value you provide customers.

To make the most impact, be sure to put an actual face to the name and the testimonial. Generic testimonials don’t carry the same weight as one that includes the person’s name, company name (if applicable), and photo.

If you don’t have any customer testimonials, it’s a great time to get some. How? Just ask! Reach out to a few key contacts and ask if they would be willing to write a testimonial about how you have helped them and the impact your company has had on their business. You may need to do some light editing to what they send, but be sure the customer approves your edits and is okay with their name and photo being included in the email.

Next month, we’ll take a closer look at drip campaigns that share resources, send a survey, or ask for social engagement.