Automating Your Business with Email Sequences: A Guide for Beginners

In today’s digital age, email marketing has become an essential tool for businesses of all sizes. One of the most effective strategies within email marketing is email automation, which allows businesses to streamline their communication with customers and prospects. By creating automated email sequences, businesses can nurture leads, promote products or services, and engage with their audience in a more efficient and personalized manner. 

Email marketing automation allows you to turn one-time website visitors into repeat customers and brand advocates. By setting up targeted email sequences, you can automatically nurture leads, educate subscribers, and promote offers completely hands-free.

This comprehensive guide covers everything beginners need to start leveraging email sequences to grow their online business or brand. Let’s explore what sequences are, benefits they provide, types you can create, and tips for automation success.

What Are Email Sequences?

Email sequences, also called autoresponders or automated email workflows, are pre-written series of emails sent out on a scheduled cadence once the contact satisfies a certain trigger.

For example, when someone signs up for your newsletter, they could automatically be added to a 5-part “Welcome Series” that delivers an educational email every 3 days to onboard them.

Key attributes of email sequences include:

• Triggered by specific user actions like signups, purchases, clicks etc.
• Send scheduled, recurring emails based on timed delays
• Dynamically personalize messaging with merge tags
• Progress subscriber journeys through stages over time
• Require no manual effort – automated flows handle sends

Properly setting up sequences allows you to passively turn strangers into brand advocates via personalized, educational journeys.

What is Email Automation and Why is it Important?

Email automation refers to the process of using technology to automate the sending of emails to a targeted audience. Instead of manually sending individual emails, businesses can set up automated email sequences that are triggered based on specific actions or events. This automation not only saves time and effort but also ensures that the right message reaches the right person at the right time.

Definition of Email Automation

Email automation is the use of technology to automate the sending of emails to a targeted audience.

Benefits of Email Automation

There are several benefits to using email automation in your business. First and foremost, it allows you to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for other important activities. Additionally, email automation helps you deliver timely and relevant content to your subscribers, increasing engagement and conversions. It also allows you to segment your audience and send personalized emails based on their interests and preferences. Lastly, email automation provides valuable insights and analytics that can help you optimize your campaigns and improve your ROI.

Email Automation Best Practices

When implementing email automation, it’s important to follow best practices to maximize its effectiveness. First, select a reliable email automation tool that suits your business needs. Next, focus on building a quality email list by creating valuable lead magnets and optimizing your landing pages. When creating your first email marketing campaign, use templates to streamline the process and ensure a consistent brand image. Finally, monitor your campaigns closely, analyze the data, and make necessary adjustments to optimize your results.

How to Get Started with Email Marketing Automation

Getting started with email marketing automation may seem intimidating, but it’s actually quite straightforward. The first step is to select an email automation tool that fits your business requirements. There are many email marketing service providers available, so take the time to research and compare their features and pricing. Once you’ve chosen a tool, the next step is to focus on building your email list.

Selecting an Email Automation Tool

When selecting an email automation tool, consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, automation capabilities, and customer support. Look for a tool that offers customizable templates, advanced segmentation options, and robust analytics. It should also integrate seamlessly with your existing CRM and other marketing tools.

Tips for Building Your Email List

Building a quality email list is crucial for successful email marketing automation. Start by creating a lead magnet, such as an ebook or a webinar, that provides value to your target audience. Then, optimize your landing pages to capture visitors’ email addresses. Make sure to include enticing calls to action and clear benefits of subscribing to your email list. Implementing pop-ups or exit-intent overlays can also be effective in capturing email leads.

Creating Your First Email Marketing Campaign

Once you have a solid email list, it’s time to create your first email marketing campaign. Start with a welcome sequence, which is a series of automated emails that are sent to new subscribers to introduce them to your brand and build a relationship. The welcome sequence should include a warm welcome email, information about your company, and a call to action to engage with your content or make a purchase.

Top Email Sequences Every Business Needs

There are several types of email sequences that every business should consider implementing. These sequences help automate various aspects of your marketing and customer communication, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

The Welcome Sequence

The welcome sequence is an essential email sequence that introduces new subscribers to your brand and builds trust and rapport. It typically consists of a series of emails that are sent over a specified period of time after someone subscribes to your email list.

The Email Newsletter

An email newsletter is a recurring email that provides valuable content, updates, and promotions to your subscribers on a regular basis. It’s an effective way to nurture your audience and keep them engaged with your brand.

The Abandoned Cart Sequence

The abandoned cart sequence is designed to recover lost sales by sending automated emails to customers who have added products to their cart but haven’t completed the purchase. These emails often include reminders, incentives, and personalized recommendations to encourage customers to complete their purchase.

Best Practices for Creating Effective Email Sequences

Creating effective email sequences involves crafting compelling email content, optimizing subject lines, and using personalization and segmentation to deliver targeted messages.

Writing Compelling Email Content

The content of your emails plays a crucial role in capturing the attention of your subscribers and driving them to take action. Write concise, engaging, and benefit-driven content that clearly communicates the value your products or services offer. Use storytelling, testimonials, and persuasive language to make your emails more compelling.

Optimizing Subject Lines for Higher Open Rates

The subject line is the first thing your subscribers see in their inbox, so it’s important to make it compelling to increase open rates. Keep your subject lines short and concise, use personalization whenever possible, and create a sense of urgency or curiosity to entice recipients to open your emails.

Using Personalization and Segmentation

Personalization and segmentation are powerful strategies to make your emails more targeted and relevant. Use data such as past purchase behavior, demographic information, or subscriber preferences to segment your audience and send personalized emails that resonate with each recipient.

Examples of Automated Email Marketing Campaigns

Automated email marketing campaigns can be used in various scenarios to engage and retain your subscribers. Here are a few examples:

Re-Engagement Sequence for Inactive Subscribers

If you have a segment of subscribers who haven’t engaged with your emails for a while, you can set up a re-engagement sequence to win them back. Send a series of emails with special offers, valuable content, or surveys to re-ignite their interest and encourage them to interact with your brand again.

Monthly Email Series for Engaged Subscribers

To maintain engagement with your most active subscribers, you can create a monthly email series that delivers exclusive content, insider tips, or early access to promotions. This keeps your brand top of mind and encourages ongoing interaction and loyalty.

Create an Email Sequence with a Free Trial Offer

If you offer a free trial for your product or service, you can create an email sequence that guides subscribers through the trial period. This sequence can include information about the features and benefits of your offering, customer success stories, and reminders to upgrade to a paid plan.

Benefits of Email Sequences

Here are some of the key advantages well-designed email sequences provide:

More Personalized Experiences

Sequences allow delivering the right message at the right time automatically tailored to each subscriber.

Lead Nurturing

Slowly build relationships by providing value before ever promoting.

Higher Engagement

According to Experian, sequenced emails deliver over 50% more opens compared to one-off blasts.

Drive Repeat Sales

Sequence past customers special offers, loyalty rewards, new product launches etc.

Onboard Subscribers

Introduce and educate new subscribers to get them active faster.

Event Promotion

Build buzz and anticipation leading up to launches, webinars, sales etc.

Reduced Unsubscribes

Relevant sequences demonstrate value, keeping subscribers onboard longer.

Brand Building

Consistent educational contact strengthens positive brand sentiment.

Passive Income

Automated sequences earn revenue completely hands-off over time.

Email is the highest ROI digital marketing channel. Sequences maximize that ROI further through automation and personalization.

Types of Email Sequences

Many types of email sequences exist to move contacts through your sales funnel and boost engagement. Let’s explore some of the most common and effective types.

1. Welcome Sequences

Welcome sequences onboard new subscribers immediately after signup. Goals include:

• Introducing your brand
• Explaining key features/services
• Providing value upfront
• Getting subscribers to complete key actions

First impressions matter – strong welcome series set the foundation for higher engagement and conversion down the road.

2. Lead Nurturing Sequences

Lead nurturing sequences build relationships with contacts that are not yet customers. Goals include:

• Build familiarity with your brand
• Educate on problems you solve
• Position your solution as the clear choice
• Develop trust and affinity

Nurtured leads convert up to 50% more frequently than non-nurtured contacts when sales engage.

3. Behavioral Re-Targeting

Behavioral sequences target contacts based on specific actions they previously took. Goals include:

• Draw back visitors who left your site
• Remarket visitors who consumed specific content
• Upsell buyers who purchased a specific product
• Re-engage inactive subscribers

These sequences deliver hyper-targeted messaging based on observed contact behaviors.

4. Event Promotion Sequences

Event promotion sequences build anticipation leading up to webinars, conferences, product launches etc. Goals include:

• Generating registrations
• Communicating key event details
• Offering special pre-event discounts
• Driving engagement through contests etc.

Event promotion sequences share updates as the event approaches to maximize turnout.

5. Customer Re-Engagement

Re-engagement sequences win back churned or inactive customers. Goals include:

• Offering promotional incentives to return
• Surveying on why they left
• Collecting product feedback
• Providing exclusive loyalty rewards

Drawing customers back and learning from their experience prevents further churn.

6. Cross-Sell & Upsell Sequences

Cross-sell and upsell sequences present complementary or higher-tier offerings to existing buyers. Goals include:

• Increased average order value
• Generating repeat purchases
• Ongoing revenue from your current customer base

Selling additional products to satisfied customers has high conversion rates.

How to Create Your Own Sequences

Here is a step-by-step process for planning and creating effective email sequences:

1. Identify Sequence Goals

Start by defining the purpose of your new sequence. What specifically do you want the sequence to achieve? Some examples:

• Get X% of new subscribers to download a gated resource
• Generate Y% more registrations for an upcoming webinar
• Recover Z% of inactive customers in the last 60 days

Quantifiable goals keep your sequences focused on tangible results.

2. Map Subscriber Journey

Next, map out the hypothetical subscriber journey to accomplish those goals.

• What messaging and incentives compel the desired actions?
• How many emails and what cadence provides enough nurturing time?
• What specific triggers initiate enrollment into the sequence?
• What content offers the most value to them at each stage?

Detailing the journey will shape the sequencing and messaging needed at each touchpoint.

3. Create Sequence Framework

With your subscriber journey for the goal mapped, build out a sequence framework:

• Schedule of sends based on delays like immediately, 3 days later, 7 days later etc.
• General content focus for each email based on journey mapping.
• Triggers for entering subscriber into the sequence initially.
• Any exit triggers for removing subscribers automatically.

Your framework outlines the skeleton of your sequence prior to content creation.

4. Draft Initial Sequence Content

Bring your sequence to life by actually drafting content for each email based on the framework.

• Write subject lines to capture attention.
• Compose email copy that delivers value.
• Design any necessary images or other visual assets.
• Ensure mobile responsiveness for the design.
• Confirm content focuses on subscriber education vs. sales.

At this stage, focus on creating helpful, relevant content rather than promotions.

5. Set Up The Sequence Logic

With content ready, it’s time to set up the technical sequence logic and triggers in your email service provider account. Steps usually include:

• Creating individual emails to be used in the sequence
• Defining the entry criteria like email signup, date added etc.
• Setting delays between sending each email
• Building conditional logic like exit criteria
• Adding triggers for the next sequence in the funnel

Use drag-and-drop builders to set up automation without coding skills in most email providers.

6. Integrate With Your Website or CRM

For the sequence to trigger automatically, integration with your website, signup forms, or CRM is required. Common options:

• Add signup forms and embed codes provided by the email platform onto your site
• Install plugins/apps that sync contacts and activity between systems
• Export subscriber data and upload into the platform to initiate sequences

This automation allows your sequences to enroll and progress contacts without manual effort.

7. Test and Refine

Before making your sequence fully live, rigorous testing is wise:

• Thoroughly preview sequence functionality in test mode.
• Send test sequences to a small group of contacts and analyze engagement.
• Get subscriber feedback on content quality and deliverability.
• Check rendered emails across different email clients and devices.
• Refine any aspects not performing before full launch.

Squashing bugs and optimizing the subscriber experience prevents issues down the road.

Email Sequence Tips For Success

Here are some additional tips and best practices to ensure your sequences convert:

Personalize Messaging

Leverage merge tags, behavioral triggers and segmented lists to provide hyper-targeted 1:1 messaging.

Make Mobile-Friendly

Over 65% of emails are opened on mobile. Design responsively and test on mobile devices.

Send Consistently

Adhere to designed sequence schedules to develop subscriber trust. Don’t send sporadically.

Subject Line Testing

Test multiple subject lines to identify what motivates opens for each sequence goal.

Lead With Value

Start by providing value and build reciprocity before asking for conversions.

Follow CAN-SPAM Rules

Comply with email laws and regulations in countries you distribute in.

Make Easy To Unsubscribe

Include 1-click unsubscribe options and honor opt-out requests immediately.

Avoid Overwhelming

Space out sequences and keep email volume reasonable based on your business relationships.

Conclusion

Email sequences provide one of the most powerful ways to automate and scale your marketing. By strategically nurturing your subscribers and customers, you can grow your business completely hands-free over time. Just be sure to always deliver value first and optimize based on data.

Utilize the sequences and best practices in this guide to ramp up results and take the work out of converting and retaining subscribers. Email automation is a must for any serious business – get started with sequences to take your marketing to the next level.