Best practices for creating and sending an automated email series

Taking the time to set up automated emails saves you time in the long run and helps you stay engaged with your contacts.

Here are just a few examples of automated email series and some tips to keep in mind when creating your series.

Best practices

• Be mindful of date-sensitive content – The date when contacts receive your automated emails will vary, so you want to be mindful of any date-sensitive content you plan to include. If you have a series triggered to send when contacts engage with an email, make sure anything you reference in later emails in the series won’t be out-of-date by the time contacts receive them. This is especially true for series triggered to send when contacts join a list. Since these series tend to run for longer—or indefinitely—keep references to specific dates, holidays, seasons, or events vague in text or photos.
• Provide answers to frequently asked questions – Since new contacts are often the ones who will receive automated emails, keep their interests and questions in mind when planning and creating them. Tell them more about who you are, what they can expect from you, and what resources are available on your website.
• Share relevant information – If contacts are engaging with your Trigger Email that’s about a specific topic, the emails in your series shouldn’t be about something completely different. Similarly, if contacts are signing up to a specific list, make sure the content you include in the automated series is relevant to that list. Consistently receiving irrelevant emails could result in your contacts unsubscribing.
• Share something of value – Use automated emails as an opportunity to share proven information. Giving tips and how-to’s over time is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise, build new contacts’ trust, and keep their interest.
• Give contacts a reason to engage –
• Collect information from your contacts – Collecting personal details about your contacts allows you to segment your list and send more targeted emails. However, if you ask contacts to provide too much personal information on your sign up form, they may be hesitant to give it to you because you haven’t earned their trust yet. It’s a good idea to request this type of information after they’ve received a few of your standard emails. Dedicate one of the later emails in your automated series to request they update their profile.
• Nurture your leads – Similar to the previous tip, contacts need to be nurtured before being asked to purchase or do something for you. Spread your content out across a few weeks and share more supporting information before asking your contacts to take action.
• Request feedback from newcomers – Gather feedback from contacts just joining your mailing list by including a pol. or a link to a survey in your automated series. You may want to ask where they first heard about your organization, why they’re interested in you, and whether they have participated in, or used, similar organizations and services before. You’ll not only learn more about them and what they like but asking for your contacts’ opinions and feedback makes them feel valued!

Ways to use an automated email series:

If you find yourself sending the same email (or emails) over and over again to your newly subscribed contacts, or find that you struggle to keep in touch with your existing contacts, an automated email series can help! Easily set up an email series to welcome your new customers, send automatic appointment reminders, share coupons or promotions to customers who show interest in certain products or services, or send a series of tips or informational emails regarding your business. You can run as many series simultaneously as you want. The possibilities are endless!

Looking for help with setting up your series? Contact us alejandra@upatlanta.com