5 automated email marketing funnels to launch first
Marketing influencers will tell you that email marketing is either…
A free sales generator that’ll “10x your income” overnight, or
An outdated waste of time that nobody cares about or looks at.
So what’s the verdict? Is automated email marketing worth your time?
The short answer: It is — but only if you’re willing to put in the work to do it right.
Proof that email is worth your time
Here are a few hard stats from OptinMonster to show you why (because otherwise, I’m just another person telling you what to do):
Email has an average ROI of 3,600%
92% of adults online use email, with 88% of them checking their inbox multiple times a day
Automated emails drive 320% more revenue than non-automated emails
80% of SMB owners say email is their top tool for customer retention
59% of buyers say their buying decisions are influenced by marketing emails
Email marketing is one of the cheapest marketing channels. You have total ownership and control over it (AKA, no algorithms or platform crashes will mess with your results). And the people on your list are already primed for a purchase, since they signed up specifically to hear from you.
But it’ll only work if you’re intentional about what you send.
Keep reading to see which email marketing campaigns have the best likelihood of getting you the swoon-worthy results you’re looking for.
5 email marketing automations to launch ASAP
Newsletters
Great for:
Brick and mortar
Ecommerce
Food and beverage
Classes and courses
Service providers
Why:
Newsletters build trust with your audience over time by positioning you as a credible source of useful info.
That useful info makes you consistently useful to everyone who opens your messages.
You’ll stay top-of-mind by appearing in their inbox on a consistent basis.
A newsletter is the easiest way to take advantage of automated email marketing — especially if you’re just starting out.
I’m not talking about the traditional type of newsletters that only talk about what you’re working on, upcoming events you’re hosting, or new products you’re launching.
That stuff is still important — but the most successful newsletters provide real value to your readers.
My favorite is Why We Buy from Katelyn Bourgoin. I almost always open her newsletter, because I can expect:
A quick lesson about buyer psychology
A skimmable list of how to apply that lesson to my marketing
Plus lots of funny gifs and relatable snark that makes me feel seen
She usually includes a pitch for her offerings and sponsored content. But that’s not what the email is about. It’s about providing information that’s useful, supportive, and easy to apply right away.
Example: Why We Buy
“Why we buy” is a great example of providing value in your newsletter, rather than making it about yourself.
Any industry can adapt this approach:
Carpet cleaners can offer DIY ideas to keep carpets fresh and clean
Souvenir shops can offer “insider tips” about visiting the tourist town they’re based in
Online jewelry stores can provide trending fashion inspo that fits their shop’s vibe
Subscriber-exclusive promotions
Great for:
Brick and mortar
Ecommerce
Food and beverage
Classes and courses
Service providers
Why:
Exclusivity is a powerful way to drive action.
Subscribers will stick around to open your emails because they’ll know something is in it for them.
You’ll encourage repeat purchases because subscribers will feel appreciated and rewarded for their engagement with you.
Maybe it’s your slow season. Maybe you’re seeing a dip in retention. Or maybe you just really appreciate your loyal subscribers and want to thank them.
Either way, this campaign is a win-win.
Exclusive discounts are one of the main reasons why people sign up for marketing emails — and 71% of customers will show more loyalty if you give them exclusive perks.
Think about Amazon Prime. When Prime Day rolls around, we break out our wallets to buy things we probably never thought about buying, just because it’s on sale just for us.
Or Victoria’s Secret’s Semi-annual Sales. They offer early access that allows members to shop before the general public, which drives early traffic every season (both online and in stores).
Why? Because we all like to feel like we’re in a win-win relationship with brands. If we spend our money, we want to get something in return.
If you assume this is true about your customers, you’ll notice a good-looking spike in retention — even after your exclusive sale ends.
Example: Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual Sale
VS offers early access to rewards members for their biggest sales of the year.
Here are some examples of how this applies across industries:
An online course can give early, discounted access to their newest class before it opens to the public.
A wine bar can let members try their limited-release pinot before anyone else gets to buy it.
A flower shop can offer a discount to anyone who shows their promo email at checkout.
Welcome and nurture funnels
Great for:
Brick and mortar
Ecommerce
Food and beverage
Classes and courses
Service providers
Why:
You’ll reinforce subscribers’ choice to join your community by giving them instant wins to reinforce their decision to join your community.
It’s an easy way to nurture new leads over time until they’re ready to take the next step with you (without tons of manual follow-up).
You’ll build trust by offering value right off the bat, without asking anything in return.
In theory, you could split this into a separate welcome funnel and lead nurture funnel. But by combining both, you’ll hit two birds with one stone.
Lots of people will sign up to your list before they’re ready to actually spend money with you. They want to feel you out, see if you know your stuff, and figure out if they can trust you.
This funnel eases those people into your circle by giving them tons of information, value, and support — even if they haven’t bought from you yet.
And once they are ready to buy, they’ll already know, like, and trust you.
One of my favorite clients, a pole dance studio, got awesome results from this strategy.
Pole dance is an intimidating type of workout to try for the first time — and lots of their dancers want to see what they can expect before giving it a whirl (pun intended).
So we built a funnel that gave them exactly that. Over the course of a few months, the studio emails new subscribers about which classes they offer, what people say about them, the benefits of trying new dance styles, and the confidence that comes from trying something new.
The result? Fewer lurkers, more new dance students.
Example: Pole dance studio
This studio encouraged new subscribers to join their first class by building trust and confidence over time.
Lots of industries can see similar results:
A CRM software can share use cases and tips to make them stand out and encourage business owners to pull the trigger.
A hotel can share guest stories, local events, and unique amenities to inspire people to plan their next trip.
A marketing consultant can offer case studies, insights, and free strategies to show that they know their stuff.
Trigger-based upsells
Great for:
Brick and mortar
Ecommerce
Food and beverage
Classes and courses
Service providers
Why:
Timing is everything — and basing your upsells off of specific dates or behaviors will improve your ROI.
76% of customers get annoyed when marketing emails aren’t relevant to them, but the right timing ensures you make them feel seen.
You’ll take control of your buyers’ next steps instead of merely hoping they decide to make another purchase.
This is one of those email marketing automations that lots of marketers think about, but don’t act on.
You can gather so much information about how people interact with your brand online. Are they browsing a new type of product? Did they just buy something new? Are they due for another service? All of these behaviors are great opportunities to pitch another sale.
Here are just a few examples:
A hair salon can reach out three months after a haircut to remind customers that it’s time for another trim.
A gym can offer a package of 10 classes after someone reaches the limit for their current 5-class package.
A cleaning service can send an email in February to give people a chance to plan ahead with their spring cleaning plans.
Abandoned cart reminders
Great for:
Ecommerce
Classes and courses
Service providers
Why:
It’s the best way to encourage on-the-fence leads to complete their purchases.
You can increase your conversion rate by 50% (according to Moosend).
It’ll improve your email marketing rates, as cart abandonment emails tend to get more opens, clicks, and conversions compared to others.
Most ecommerce platforms, like Shopify, have built-in email automations for abandoned carts. That’s great — as a bare minimum safety net.
The better way to recover abandoned carts is to send an automated series of emails, rather than a single message. According to Klaviyo’s analysis of millions of emails, abandoned cart follow-ups with three emails generated $2.49 million in revenue — compared to the $3.8 million generated with a single email.
There are tons of examples to look for here; just take a glance at your own inbox. But my favorite is this one from Liquid Death.
Like most of their marketing content, they break the usual script in their cart abandonment emails.
Instead of saying “Did you forget something?” they kick off with the hysterical subject line: “Maybe you died?”
Their email is a perfect example of how to get the best results from your abandoned cart recovery email, which is to make it stand out.
Talk to your leads like a real person who genuinely wants to help them solve a problem, and you’ll see much better results than following the usual script.
Example: Liquid Death
Adding human personality that fits your brand will help you get better results from your abandoned cart recovery campaigns.
Honorary mentions
While these five email campaigns are some of the highest earners, it feels wrong to wrap up this article without mentioning these go-to’s:
Announcement campaigns for new products or services
Customer re-engagement campaigns
Loyalty programs and rewards
Referral campaigns
Post-purchase testimonial requests
What’s next?
Now that you have some ideas, you can hit the ground running. I like to tackle these campaigns in order of the customer lifecycle — starting with your welcome and nurture funnel.
If you want to make the process quick and easy, check out my free, fill-in-the-blank email template for your welcome campaign. It’s easy to adapt to any industry, and uses proven copywriting and sales techniques to encourage new subscribers to make their first purchase.
(Plus, you can plug it into your favorite AI copywriting tool to write it super fast.)
One more tip before you go: Don’t forget to test and improve your emails after you launch! It’s free, it’s relatively simple, and it’s the easiest way to make sure you're getting the best results possible from every campaign.
Best of luck!
Write your welcome and nurture funnel faster —
for free.
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