4 Novel Ways to Get More Out of Your Automated Campaigns

This post is the seventh installment of our new series, The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing – an eight-week series that covers the fundamentals of email marketing. Want a sneak peek into the content? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing. If someone is interacting with your content, you know that you have a hot prospect on your hands. And when you’ve got a hot prospect, the last thing you want is for it to cool down. That’s why automated email campaigns (aka follow ups or autoresponders) can be so beneficial to your business. In fact, you may have already seen how creating campaigns can help ensure that you’re not missing out on key opportunities while you’re busy doing other things. For some, automated emails is the core of their business. "Email automation is the lifeblood to our businesses. Whether we are using a 'Welcome Series' for new subscribers, an invitation series for people requesting access to our products, an ascension series for transitioning a lead to a buyer... we are constantly using automation to create more touchpoints with the prospect/customer." - Justin Rondeau, DigitalMarketer [bctt tweet="Email automation is the lifeblood to our businesses. - @Jtrondeau"] Whether you’re new to email automation or you’ve already implemented it, let's dive into a few more ways you can rev up your campaigns to maximize your ROI on email marketing. Here are four customer segments you should consider targeting for automated campaigns. Prefer listening to reading? Listen to the podcast adaptation now or watch the YouTube video!

1. The newbie

This might sound obvious, but new customers probably don’t know who you are. And as we all know, today’s buyer is all about engagement. The more people know about you, the more invested they’ll become in your brand. So tell them. Here’s how: When new subscribers sign up for your email list, go ahead and start sending them your regular content… but, also add them to a welcome series. In your welcome series, spell out who you are and what you’re all about. Let your passion for your subject shine through and you’ll go a long way toward building connections with new customers. Finish out your welcome series with a few posts that highlight your most-popular content. Check out this welcome follow up from the survey platform, Typeform: Typeform_WelcomeEmail

In this email, Typeform welcomes new customers and shares ready-to-go templates to simplify getting started. I also love how they encouraged social sharing in the P.S. section at the bottom!

2. The vanisher

Show of hands: How many people have signed up for an email course that they never bothered to take? Well sure, it’s fine when you do it, but it’s annoying as all get-out when one of your prospects does it. An unengaged user means your emails are going unopened. That not only means that you’re losing this person’s attention, but it could eventually affect your deliverability. Here’s what to do: Check your stats to find the people who haven’t opened your emails. Then, set up a campaign to contact them with a reminder email in a month. You can give them a gentle nudge about the course they signed up for and give them an opportunity to restart. Who knows? Maybe they were just too busy the first time around. Circling back can give you a better idea of what went wrong. Users who are truly interested in your content will be happy for the reminder. Tip: We often suggest that you mention what you’re going to talk about in your subject line. However, Nathan Latka of Heyo once told us in a webinar that he usually goes for a really short subject line that provokes curiosity. (He claims he has even used knock-knock jokes.) In the right context, something like “Hey …” can be surprisingly effective. The casual and familiar tone coupled with the slight recognition of your email address may be enough to prompt an open.

3. The finisher

Did someone finish a course? Awesome. Now take that campaign and link it up with another one that promotes your next course. Since that customer is already familiar with your brand, they may be more likely to sign up for your other offerings. Send a message that says something like “Since you completed our Intro to Banana Growing Course, we thought you might like our Basket Weaving with Banana Leaves Course as well. Our next few emails will tell you more about it.” Linking campaigns can also come in handy if you want to do things like nurture prospects into loyal customers. If you host a contest to raise awareness of your brand and supercharge your list growth, you'll then need to tell them more about yourself. After your welcome series, try leading them into an educational series about your business and product offerings.

4. The attendee

Has someone come to one of your events? Sweet. That means he or she probably got a ton of emails from you beforehand about where to park, where to sign in and special promotions. However, don't let this be the last time they hear from you. Before the event is over, encourage attendees to subscribe to your email list. Use a mobile sign up form app (like our Atom App) so people can subscribe to your list on the spot. This way, you can set up an automated campaign with materials from the event, such as presentation decks or websites of different speakers, and stay connected with them in the future. When our team attended Podcast Movement last summer, we held a giveaway and captured email addresses using the Atom App directly at the event. After someone signed up, they received an automated email with contextual content about the contest and conference: PodcastMovement_AWeberExample

This campaign not only encouraged further interaction with our team, it also helped establish a longer-lasting relationship for attendees who otherwise may have forgotten about us. In this way, using automated campaigns to keep your brand top-of-mind may help lead to future purchases.

A smart time investment

Your time is valuable. So just remember that while setting up automated campaigns may take a little time on the front end, having that automation in place can have a serious impact on the back end. Here’s to working smarter, not harder! Want to learn about other tweaks and techniques to up your email game? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing for more on things like email content, design and strategy!