An email drip campaign is using email to nurture prospects/leads over time and turn them into customers. It is a very effective form of marketing if done correctly and in tandem with branding and other marketing efforts.
Whether you are manually doing email follow-ups with prospects or have implemented an automated system through SharpSpring, HubSpot, InfusionSoft or other third party tool, the principles of email drip campaigns are essentially the same.
Here are some basic Do’s and Don’ts of Email Drip Campaigns
- Branding is important. Every email should be consistently branded to look and feel like your other marketing materials.
- Your signature of the email should be your name, title, and company. Many spam tactics involve using a first name/vague signature (to try to seem overly personal). Be professional and transparent who you are.
- Permission based email is key. If you give a prospect a reason to sign-up to receive correspondence from you, he/she is more likely to open emails when they arrive.
- Make sure you include a clear call-to-action (often called a CTA). What is it that you want readers to do? Why are you sending them an email?
- Use only ONE call-to-action per email. As a rule of thumb, it’s difficult to get a prospect to act. If they do, don’t ask too much of them or make them confused what to do. Call, Email, Sign-up, Register, Donate, Buy, Subscribe, Watch, Share, Review are all common CTAs.
- Don’t get too long. Attention spans are minimal. People don’t read long emails. Get to the point. Have a colleague or friend read and reduce your words.
- Be intentional with when the emails are sent/arrive. Be consistent and follow-through on promises. If you say they will receive an email reminder every Monday morning, you better make sure emails are arriving on Monday morning!
- Be as personable and content-tailored as possible. Remember, you’re doing this to nurture someone along. If someone signed up because they like apple pie, your email about pumpkin pie doesn’t appeal.
