How to Use Email Automations to Engage Leads after Signup

Contests are a great way to generate leads and grow your list. But the key to turning leads into long term brand advocates lies in how you engage them after signup. You can use automated email campaigns to build strong relationships with your leads, by setting up these emails to send at exactly the right time with the right message. With automations, you’re able to share more about your brand and move leads through the funnel in a personalized way, all while being hands-off. Let’s dive into how you can engage signups the right way, with automated drip email campaigns:

Welcome Email Series

With 74% of consumers expecting a welcome email when they subscribe, your first step should be to set up an automated welcome series. Instead of sending a single welcome email, entering new subscribers into a drip campaign will give you time to introduce your brand and keep them engaged in the long term. Here’s what a typical welcome series looks like:

Email #1: Welcome to [brand name] 👋🏽

Your first email can be a simple welcome message. Take this time to thank new signups for joining - it’s also a best practice to include a ‘Confirm Your Subscription’ CTA to drive clicks through your email.

Email #2: A little more about us

Your second email is a great time to share your brand’s values and what signups can expect to receive from you. This Allbirds welcome email is a great example of how you can share your mission and key values with your subscribers.

Email #3: 15% off as a thank you for joining

Remember, the goal of a welcome series is to engage new signups by sharing more about your brand, encourage buy-in and drive conversion.

Win Back Email Series

Over time, it’s common for signups to drop in engagement and become inactive. Instead of continuing to email this portion of your list, we recommend setting up a win back email series to re-engage inactive leads. Plus, with new leads costing 5x more to attract than re-engaging existing ones, it’s a smart play to focus on re-engagement. No matter what industry you’re in, the most effective win back automations offer increasing value to make it hard for leads to resist. Here’s an outline of what your win back series should look like:

Email #1: Was it us?

The first win back email in this drip can be a straightforward check-in to see if this lead still wants to hear from you, or if there’s a specific reason they’ve stopped engaging. In most cases, linking to a preference center where they can choose what emails they receive will re-engage them into your brand.

Email #2: Will 10% off win you back?

Your second win back email should offer something your subscriber can’t resist, like a discount code. This Bakerista template is a great example of how you can use simple ‘We miss you’ copy and a discount to get subscribers shopping with you again.

Email #3: Last chance - 25% off your order

The last email in your win back series is where you should pull out all the stops to re-engage your inactive subscribers. This is your last chance to win them back, so whether it’s offering your highest discount or cheekily stating that this will be the end of your relationship unless they click through the CTA, use everything you’ve got.If an inactive subscriber doesn’t open this email, it’s a best practice not to email them in the future as doing so will only hurt your deliverability. Learn more about why this is the case.

Wrap Up

Attracting new leads is an exciting way to grow your brand. As important as it is to build your list, you should also invest time in setting up welcome and win back automations to properly engage leads when it matters the most. By putting in a little effort, email automations help you create personalized experiences with your subscribers, in a scalable way for your business.

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