In this article we will discuss the most important things you need to know in order to increase the number of subscribers with a drip campaign (drip) and to obtain sales through message sequences.
What is a drip email marketing campaign?
Sometimes called an autoresponder cycle, it is a sequence of messages sent by email to a potential subscriber over a certain period of time.
These are automated "set and forget" campaigns. The most frequent are the welcome message sequence and the cart abandonment sequence.
A drip campaign can be as complex or as simple as you wish. The welcome campaign, for example, can be made up of several messages, which are sent consecutively, at a rate of one per day, by means of an automatic email response software, such as the one offered by MasterBase®.
It would look as shown in these images:
However, it is not just the frequency of messages that achieves such results. A good drip campaign is effective because it was created with all the reasons in mind why a person should click on a link and then addressed those issues one by one during the campaign.
Here is an example of a cart abandonment drip campaign, which includes a small brain map that plots the different reasons why someone might not make a purchase.
Reasons to abandon the purchase;
- Found a better price
- Shipping was very expensive
- Unclear return policy
- You have doubts about the quality of the product
- Prefer to buy in person
The idea is that you identify the most determining factors in this list and address them in your campaign. The more of these points you address, the more people you will engage.
The message you use in your drip campaign should focus on a theme. Also, don't make the mistake of thinking that the more emails you send, the better the result. There are emails that people don't want to receive.
You must find a balance between the number of messages you send, their real value and the result you want. The most common mistake made by those who manage an email list is to send meaningless messages.
How many emails should be in a drip campaign?
However, it is not just the frequency of messages that achieves such results. A good drip campaign is effective because it was created with all the reasons in mind why a person should click on a link and then addressed those issues one by one during the campaign.
Here is an example of a cart abandonment drip campaign, which includes a small brain map that plots the different reasons why someone might not make a purchase.
Reasons to abandon the purchase;
- Found a better price
- Shipping was very expensive
- Unclear return policy
- You have doubts about the quality of the product
- Prefer to buy in person
The idea is that you identify the most determining factors in this list and address them in your campaign. The more of these points you address, the more people you will engage.
The message you use in your drip campaign should focus on a theme. Also, don't make the mistake of thinking that the more emails you send, the better the result. There are emails that people don't want to receive.
You must find a balance between the number of messages you send, their real value and the result you want. The most common mistake made by those who manage an email list is to send meaningless messages.
3 Examples of drip campaigns
Welcome campaign
The first email that most of your audience will receive is the welcome email. It is recommended to send three messages in a couple of days. This welcome sequence is intended to introduce visitors to your website and your company. Your messages will deliver the who, what, where, when and how of your company's history.
What a welcome email sequence should contain: First email
- Introduce yourself and/or the company you represent.
- Share something interesting or unexpected about you or your company.
- Set expectations about what you will deliver.
- Invite them to follow you on a social media channel or whitelist your email address.
- Deliver the content update you promised them.
The first email is comparable to a first date: The impression you leave is decisive.
The next day, you can send a second email.
This can contain a link to your best blog post, a video or something else you find useful. It would be best if this content is exclusive or "hard to find" on your site.
Make sure that each email you send includes a link to a different resource. For example, the first message could have a link to a PDF, the second a link to your website and the third a link to a video.
Sending your audience to different places helps create a sense of the unexpected. People get bored of getting the same thing week after week.
2. Upsell campaign
A natural result of an email promotion is an additional sale. This desire to buy other products is part of the cycle: it is when the customer is more open to an item that complements their initial purchase.
You should consider this need for additional products in your sales cycle.
There are two ways to manage an additional sale.
The first is on the site at the point of purchase. You can prompt your audience to make an additional purchase before or immediately after they have made the first one.
The other way is through an email sequence. You must execute your upsell sequence within fifteen days after the purchase of the first product on your site.
The sequence of emails you use for an upsell would be similar to the one you would use for a promotion, but it is important to keep in mind that the person you are targeting has just bought something from you. Therefore, the sequence of emails does not need to be as long as the initial promotion. Two emails are suggested: one to inform them that there are offers available and the second to warn them that the offer is coming to an end.
3. The birthday sequence
The birthday drip campaign is a great way to connect with your audience and generate additional revenue. Plus, you can send birthday wishes to people, which is a good thing.
To run a birthday campaign, you will need to know their date of birth.
You can get this information on your subscription form, but it can be a sticking point for some people. If you go this route, make it optional. Those who do not want to provide their date of birth will simply enter false data.
The other way to collect a person's date of birth is when they are already on your list. The advantage of this approach is that you will request this data when you have already established a relationship with that person. More importantly, those who participate in the process will do so on a voluntary basis, so the data is more likely to be truthful.
A birthday drip campaign is brief and should be enjoyable. Send the first email around noon on the person's birthday. This message can be a well-wishing card, with a discount coupon.
At the same time, the next day, you can send a follow-up email informing the person that you will close the discount offer in seven hours. This is a good way to keep in mind that many people have better things to do on their birthday than shop online. It also creates a sense of fear of missing out.
Summary
We've outlined some of the drip campaigns most frequently used by marketers. If you are having difficulty monetize your list or engage your readers, hopefully this article will be a future frame of reference. Because drip campaigns should be a central part of your email marketing strategy.
With planning and using the MasterBase® email marketing tool, you will be able to incorporate them in a simple way.
