bereniketech/email-marketing-automation

Email Marketing Automation

Build automated email sequences that convert subscribers into customers.

---

1. Welcome Sequence (5 emails over 7 days)

Email 1 (Day 0 — immediate): Welcome + deliver lead magnet
  Subject: "Here's your [lead magnet] + what to expect"
  Content: Deliver promised asset, set expectations for future emails,
           quick win they can apply today

Email 2 (Day 2): Your story / credibility
  Subject: "Why I care about [topic]"
  Content: Personal story connecting to their problem,
           establish authority without bragging

Email 3 (Day 4): Their biggest problem
  Subject: "The #1 mistake I see with [topic]"
  Content: Teach one insight, make them feel understood,
           subtle: "this is solvable"

Email 4 (Day 6): Case study or proof
  Subject: "How [person] [achieved result] in [timeframe]"
  Content: Story with numbers, before/after, relatable protagonist

Email 5 (Day 8): Soft offer or next step
  Subject: "Ready for the next step?"
  Content: Introduce your product/service/community,
           offer relevant to what you've built up, no hard sell

---

2. Drip Campaigns

Nurture sequence (for cold leads)

Week 1: Education (3 emails) — pure value, no pitch
Week 2: Social proof (2 emails) — case studies, testimonials
Week 3: FAQ / objections (2 emails) — address top hesitations
Week 4: Offer (2 emails) — introduce product + CTA
Week 5+: Re-engagement or segment to cold list

Post-purchase sequence

Day 0: Order confirmation + next steps
Day 2: Getting started guide / quick win
Day 7: Check-in — any questions?
Day 14: Advanced tip or use case
Day 30: Review request + upsell to next tier

Abandoned cart (e-commerce)

1h after: Reminder — "Did you forget something?"
24h after: Add social proof + handle objections
72h after: Last chance + small discount (if appropriate)

---

3. Segmentation

Segment subscribers by:

| Segment | Criteria | Email treatment | |---|---|---| | New subscribers | <30 days | Welcome sequence | | Engaged | Opened 3 of last 5 emails | Full content + offers | | Cold | No opens in 60+ days | Re-engagement sequence | | Buyers | Made a purchase | Post-purchase + upsell | | High-value | Multiple purchases or high LTV | VIP treatment, early access | | Topic interest | Clicked tag-specific links | Topic-specific content |

Implementation (ConvertKit/Klaviyo):

Trigger: clicked link about [topic] → add tag "[topic]-interested"
Automation: if tagged "[topic]-interested" → enroll in [topic] sequence

---

4. A/B Testing

Test one variable at a time. Minimum 500 recipients per variant.

| Element to test | What to vary | |---|---| | Subject line | Question vs statement, length, emoji vs no emoji | | Send time | Morning vs afternoon, weekday vs weekend | | CTA | Button text, placement (top vs bottom), color | | Email length | 200 words vs 600 words | | Personalization | First name in subject vs without | | Plain text vs HTML | Simple vs designed |

Statistical significance: Wait for 95% confidence before declaring a winner (~1,000+ opens).

---

5. Deliverability

Technical setup (required):

SPF record:  v=spf1 include:sendgrid.net ~all
DKIM:        Generated by your ESP, add to DNS
DMARC:       v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]
Custom domain: send from your domain (not @gmail.com, not @mailchimp.com)

List hygiene:

• Remove hard bounces immediately
• Remove soft bounces after 3 attempts
• Suppress unsubscribes (auto-handled by ESP)
• Re-engagement sequence for 90-day inactives; remove non-responders
• Never buy email lists — instant deliverability damage

Engagement signals (improve deliverability):

• Ask subscribers to reply to your first email (reply engagement = strong positive signal)
• Ask to whitelist your address
• Send at consistent times (trains inbox filters)
• Segment cold vs engaged — never send campaigns to cold list

Spam score check:

# Use mail-tester.com — send a test email, get score 1-10
# Target: 9.0+ before sending campaigns

---

6. Platform-Specific Patterns

Klaviyo (e-commerce)

• Use Klaviyo Flows for behavioral triggers (browse abandon, cart abandon, post-purchase)
• Sync with Shopify for real-time purchase data
• Revenue reporting: track email-attributed revenue per flow

ConvertKit (creators)

• Tags-based segmentation (not lists)
• Visual automations: if/then branching
• Commerce: sell digital products directly

Mailchimp (small business)

• Customer journeys for automation
• Audience segments by purchase history, location, engagement

---

7. Key Metrics

| Metric | Benchmark | Action if below | |---|---|---| | Open rate | >25% | Improve subject lines, resegment cold | | Click rate | >2.5% | Stronger CTA, more relevant content | | Unsubscribe rate | <0.5% | Review content relevance/frequency | | Bounce rate | <2% | List hygiene immediately | | Spam complaint rate | <0.08% | Stop sending to disengaged segments |