With all the latest fads in digital marketing, it’s easy to forget that email is still the most powerful and cost-effective channel. The average ROI for email campaigns in the US is $44 for every $1.

And when you harness the power of email automation, then you have a sure-fire winner.

According to HubSpot, “about 49% of businesses use some form of email automation,” as it’s a proven way to streamline their marketing and grow revenue.

So, if you want to improve your email campaigns, then it’s time to embrace automation.

In this guide, you’ll discover how you can use email marketing automation to send timely, relevant, personal, and contextual messages that drive brand loyalty and increase customer engagement.

What is email marketing automation?

Email marketing automation allows you to send out emails to your subscribers based on a pre-defined trigger or event. For instance, when a user subscribes to your email list, you can automatically send a welcome email.

It’s the complete opposite of a standard mass broadcast when you email everyone on your list at the same time with the same message. For example, when you notify your subscribers that you’ve published a new blog post or you send your regular newsletter:

Use a combination of one-off campaigns and automated messages in your email marketing strategy.

Types of email automation

There are two main types of email automation:

Time-based automation delivers emails on a date, time or delays programmed by you. For example, you could have a ‘Welcome Series’ of five emails that are scheduled to be sent once a week for five weeks after a new subscriber joins your list.

Behavior-based automation is much smarter and allows you to personalize what and when you deliver your emails. For example, you could monitor your welcome series to see if a user clicks on a specific link, and based on that action, you could send a separate email (outside of the standard welcome series) that informs them of a special offer.

Transactional email vs marketing email

Before we go any further, it’s important to note the difference between transactional email and marketing email, also referred to as commercial email.

Transactional emails are sent to individuals to complete a transaction or process. They contain information that’s unique to that individual and are usually triggered by an event.

For example, when you purchase an item from an online store like Amazon, then you’ll automatically receive an order confirmation email:

Other examples of transactional emails are:

Marketing emails are generally sent to groups of contacts that are prospects or customers. They have a commercial intent and are delivered strategically at a pre-configured time.

For example, men’s shaving club Cornerstone sent this promotional offer email:

Other examples of marketing emails are:

In this article, you’ll learn more about the tools and types of emails used in marketing or commercial automation, as that’s what bloggers use most.

Why use email marketing automation?

There are three significant benefits of using email marketing automation:

1. Saves you time

Email marketing automation saves you time by creating an email or email series once and then letting it run automatically. Imagine if you had to stop what you were doing and send a welcome email every time a new subscriber signed up.

2. Ensures delivery on time

Email automation sends emails to the right recipients at the right time based on your trigger events. You can even tailor delivery according to different time zones; e.g., if you want to ensure a recipient receives a specific email at 8 am local time.

3. Gets higher open and click-through rates

Email marketing automation increases your chances of recipients opening, reading, and clicking on links in your messages because they are relevant and timely.

According to Q4 2016 figures from Epsilon Email Institute, automated email messages generate a 50.4% higher open rate and a 106.3% higher click-through rate than standard marketing messages.

And the email marketing benchmarks report from GetResponse shows that automated emails – triggered and autoresponder – have higher open and click-through rates than regular newsletters:

Use email marketing automation to send timely and relevant emails to your subscribers.

Email marketing automation tools

By now you’re thinking, “This all sounds great, but how do I send these automated emails?”

And the answer is – Email Marketing Software.

There are plenty of email marketing software solutions each with their own style of automation. You’ll have to decide precisely what automation features you want and what your budget is.

But the good news for beginners is that (a) there are some free tools available, and (b) most tools give you a free trial period so you can test the automation features.

Here are seven popular email marketing automation tools for you to consider:

1. MailerLite

MailerLite includes advanced email automation features that let you welcome new subscribers or engage existing customers triggered by their behavior. You can create simple or sophisticated workflows with four key steps based on time, condition or action:

Pricing:

MailerLite includes a fully-featured Forever Free Plan for up to 1,000 subscribers. Paid plans start at $10/month, and increase as you add more subscribers.

2. Mailchimp

Mailchimp’s automation allows you to create and send emails when triggered by a subscriber’s activity or a specific date. The software includes preset automations that you can adjust to your campaigns:

Pricing:

Mailchimp pricing starts with a plan that’s forever free for up to 2,000 subscribers. Paid plans start at $10/month, and grow with your business as you add more subscribers.

3. GetResponse

GetResponse features a drag-and-drop builder and simple ‘if-then’ logic to design your automated workflows. You can trigger automations based on a user’s behavior; for example, clicking a link in an email, abandoning a shopping cart or visiting a webpage:

Pricing:

You can try GetResponse for free on their 30-day trial. Subscription plans including the basic automation features start at $15/month for up to 1,000 subscribers.

4. AWeber

AWeber features a drag-and-drop campaign editor that lets you build email automation flows. You can also tag subscribers and trigger other campaigns based on the emails they open and the links they click.

Pricing:

You can take AWeber for a 30-day free trial. After that, monthly subscriptions start at $19/month for up to 500 subscribers.

5. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign makes it easy set up a welcome series, segment your contacts, or use simple workflows to automate your email marketing.

ActiveCampaign also includes a CRM toolkit so you can keep tabs on your contacts and sales leads, plus a Messaging app so you can interact with website visitors.

Pricing:

ActiveCampaign offers a free 14-day trial. The Lite plan starts at $15/month for up to 500 subscribers. But if you want the additional CRM and Messaging features, prices start at $70/month.

6. Drip

Drip features a visual workflow builder that lets you easily design behavior-based email campaigns using the automation triggers and actions:

There are also over 20 pre-made visual workflows you can use and adapt to save more time.

Pricing:

You can take Drip for a free 14-day test drive to see if it’s the right tool for you. There’s also a free starter plan for under 100 subscribers, and then the Basic Plan starts at $49/month for up to 2,500 subscribers.

7. ConvertKit

ConvertKit lets you create and send automated email marketing messages via its visual builder. You can start with a simple “if this, then that” functionality and progress to complete marketing funnels by connecting events, actions, and conditions:

Pricing:

You can test all the ConvertKit features free for 14 days. Afterward, pricing plans start at $29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers.

7 types of automated emails

Once you’ve chosen your email marketing service, it’s time to start using the automation features. Here are seven types of automated emails you could create:

1. Welcome emails

The Welcome Email is the most common type of automated email. Every time a new subscriber joins your list thank, them for subscribing and tell them what to expect. You can opt for a single email or create a welcome series.

Here’s how Andy Crestodina from Orbit Media Studios welcomes new subscribers:

2. Thank you emails

Every time a customer makes a purchase or a supporter makes a donation you can send an automated thank you message. A ‘thank you’ goes a long way in establishing a long-term relationship.

Here’s a simple ‘Thank You’ email following a JustGiving donation:

3. Online course emails

One of the best ways to entice people to join your email list is by offering a free email course. Email automation makes it possible to drip feed each lesson from your course at a set interval. Here’s how Henneke from Enchanting Marketing promotes her Snackable Writing Course:

And here’s the welcome email that sets the scene:

4. Re-engagement emails

Automated re-engagement emails allow you to target inactive contacts or customers. Your workflow could have conditions such as the length of time since their last website visit or email click. Plus you could try including an exclusive offer or coupon to get them excited about your products or services again.

Here’s an example from Grammarly that presents inactive users with ‘The Wrinkle in Time Badge’, followed by a big ‘GO’ button to start using the product again, and a special offer for their premium product:

5. Upsell emails

If you have customers in a membership scheme or making regular purchases, you can send automated upsell emails that contain special offers. Here’s an example from Cornerstone offering a new product at an introductory price to existing members:

6. Abandoned shopping cart emails

If you’re running an online store, you can trigger an automated abandoned shopping cart email when someone adds an item to their cart but leaves without buying.

69% of shoppers abandon their carts before checking out. (Source)

Remind them they forgot to make the purchase and offer a special discount or incentive to buy. Here’s how Topo Designs does it:

Don’t limit yourself to one email. For example, you could schedule an email series to run for a couple of days:

According to Omnisend, marketers sending three abandoned cart emails get 69% more orders on average than those sending a single email.

7. Subscription renewal emails

Nobody wants to lose existing customers, especially those paying recurring subscriptions. So one of the best ways to keep them is to send an automated renewal email reminding them that their subscription, account, or policy with you is about to expire.

Here’s an example from GoDaddy reminding a customer about a domain name that’s about to expire:

Wrapping up

Smart businesses embrace email marketing automation as it saves them time, increases customer engagement, and grows revenue.

Make sure your email marketing strategy includes a combination of one-off campaigns and automated messages so you can send timely, relevant, and personalized messages to your prospects and customers.

You have the tools, and you know the types of automated emails to send, so what are you waiting for?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means we may make a small commission if you make a purchase. This doesn’t cost you any more but it does help us to continue publishing helpful content – thank you for your support!

David Hartshorne is a freelance writer working with business owners and marketing teams to create detailed, actionable content that resonates with their audience. When he’s not writing about digital marketing and technology, you’ll find him chilling with a thriller in Spain.

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