Drip campaigns, email series, sales funnels – no matter what you call them, they are a great way to engage with your subscribers automatically. These types of campaigns usually have a higher conversion rate, engage your readers instantly, and run without you even thinking about them. How? Drip campaigns are emails that are automated to send when a subscriber meets specific criteria, like signing up for your list or buying a product. This way the campaign can target a specific audience. By understanding your audience and segmenting them into interest groups based on activity or purchase history, you can deliver content that will really resonate with them. Creating a plan for drip campaigns is easy with these basic steps.
Decide on a Goal
With any marketing strategy, it is important to establish a goal and email marketing is no different. With a drip campaign, your goal could be engagement or product sales. Setting the goal will help determine the campaigns necessary and the timing for the best chance of success.
Determine the Content
Split your message into a few campaigns so that you don’t overwhelm your audience but do convince them to take the action you desire. If you are trying to sell a product, there are probably several reasons that make this product awesome. Don’t load them all into one campaign. Instead, spoon feed them to the audience in manageable bites, all the while reminding them of the product and convincing them to buy.
Keep the Message Consistent
If your drip campaign is to educate your subscribers about a product in order to get them to make a purchase, make sure that the entire series of campaigns includes educational pieces as well as the option to buy. That way they are always learning more information which encourages continued email opens and increases chances of more purchases. Since you are targeting a specific audience, make sure to stay consistent to their interests. This will help you have continued engagement throughout the series.
Frequency and Scheduling
There is no set rule on the timing of drip campaigns. The general rule is to start at a high frequency and decrease the interval slowly. For instance, you can schedule emails to send daily, then once a week, then once a month and so on. You don’t want to annoy a subscriber but you also want to stay top of mind. The number of campaigns depends on the goal and the amount of content you have to convey. Again, there is no set rule but a good drip has at least three to five campaigns minimum.
Drip campaigns can be as simple as a way to educate your subscriber list about your brand or can be as elaborate as a 30 day challenge for your readers that also involves social media posts and giveaways. Welcome series, which are a form of a drip campaign, increase the long term subscriber engagement by 33%. These types of email marketing strategies build brand loyalty for much longer than the standard email schedule. Because they are targeted to specific people with specific content, they are better received by the subscriber and in turn makes those subscribers more willing to engage.
Creating a drip campaign is simple and should be a part of any email marketing plan. Well thought out strategies can be set to deliver on schedule and become a set and forget part of your marketing that will have enormous return for your initial investment.
