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Drip campaigns are one of the most valuable tools in your marketing arsenal. Often referred to as email drip campaigns, they are a series of emails sent to a contact list. Each email in the campaign series is “dripped” out over a specified time period.
The purpose of drip campaigns is to turn prospects and leads into customers and clients using a variety of triggers. Put simply, drip marketing is all about giving people the right information at the right time.
Drip Campaigns Are Proven
You might be unsure that drip campaigns will work for your business, but research has proven how effective they are. Just check out these two statistics:
- Automation increases revenue. B2C marketers who send automated emails see conversion rates as high as 50% (eMarketer).
- Emails reach people when they’re ready to open and click. Automated emails get 199% higher click rates than broadcast emails (Epsilon).
One of the best ways to ensure that your drip campaigns work is to send relevant information to your list of contacts that educates them and delivers value. If you keep your leads engaged up until the moment they’re ready to make a purchase, you have a good chance of earning their business.
Types of Drip Campaigns
Here are just a few of the types of drip campaigns you can create to engage with your audience:
- Educating
- Helping people find specific pages on your website
- Nurturing leads
- Welcoming
- Onboarding
- Addressing abandoned shopping carts
- Making recommendations
- Renewals
- Confirmations
- Offering courses
- Unsubscribes
It’s important to keep in mind that the most effective drip campaigns will target specific user groups. You can accomplish this by segmenting your email list to reach leads at different times when they’re ready to purchase.
Drip Campaign Considerations
1. Content is Key
Neil Patel, of Crazy Egg, says that drip campaigns are “absolutely valuable to your marketing efforts. But they’re only as good as the email you write.”
In other words, your campaigns need to stand on their own without having to rely on other elements in the pipeline.
2. Cover Your Customer Basics
Are you confident that you really know your customers and prospects? Make certain of this before crafting your messaging. Here are some questions to answer before finalizing your emails:
- What search terms did prospects use to find your site?
- What pages did prospects visit, and what did they download?
- Do you have a persona outlined for this audience segment? (for a refresher on personas, check out this blog post.)
- Who are the prospects and what are they likely to respond to?
3. Write Your Campaign Emails At the Same Time
Writing all of the emails in any given campaign at the same time will create a cohesive narrative. It’s also a great way to make sure you understand the sequence and timing for each email.
4. Timing Matters for Drip Campaigns
Conversion XL advises that you start with a high frequency in sending emails and slowly increase the amount of time between each successive email.
5. Measure Your Campaign’s Success
Which metrics should you use to measure your campaign’s success? Bounce rate, click through rate, time spent on site, or sales conversions? It could be all of the above or a mixture. Make sure to identify your key metrics before sending your email drip campaign.
If you follow best practices and focus on building value and nurturing your audience rather than selling to them, your drip campaigns have an excellent chance to succeed.
