One of the most powerful ways of using email to grow your business is by creating a drip campaign. In this episode, I’ll walk you through a few different types of email series you can create and discuss five powerful benefits of using drip email.

What is drip email?

If you’ve ever signed up for anything on the internet, chances are you’ve seen an email drip campaign in action.

An email drip campaign is simply a series of emails dripped out over time.

Marketers have been using this tactic since the early days of the internet. The idea is to provide useful information to the people on your email list without deluging them all at once.

For example, it wouldn’t be a good idea to email them 30 articles you’ve written all on the same day. But you could send them one article a week, every week for the next six months. Now you’re providing value over time without being annoying.

You can slowly drip out all kinds of goodness, provide tons of value, and stay relevant in your audience’s eyes.

What kinds of drip email campaigns can you create?

You can get as creative as you like when coming up with ideas for your drip email campaigns. Just be thinking of how you can provide something that your ideal client or customer would find super helpful or valuable.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

Welcome series

This is the most basic type of email drip campaign. You create a series of emails that help to welcome your new subscriber. For example, you could set up a welcome series that people would get after they’ve downloaded your lead magnet. Your lead magnet might help them solve a particular problem, and your welcome series could help them further by providing more even information around that particular topic.

Follow-up series

Similar to a welcome series, a follow-up drip email campaign will serve to keep in touch after a subscription, transaction, or inquiry. Say you’re a consultant or coach and someone fills out a form on your website. You could follow-up with a series of emails providing information on how to schedule a session, how to prepare for their coaching call, and what it looks like to work with you.

Onboarding series

An onboarding series can be sent out after someone joins a group, a membership site, or signs up for a service plan. I recently upgraded my iPhone 6 to the new iPhone XS, and I also changed my Verizon plan at the same time. In the following days, I received a number of emails from Verizon. One email showed me how to login to my account and how to get support, another was showcasing accessories I could purchase, and another email even offered me 6 months of Apple music for free.

Educational series

You could create a series of emails around a particular topic to educate your audience. This is a fantastic way to showcase your expertise. For example, if you’re a physical therapist, you could send a series of emails around the topic of injury prevention. Give pointers on how to prevent injuries at home, at the gym, and at work.

Training series

This is a little more focused than a general education series. You can provide training on a very specific topic over the course of a few days or weeks. You could teach people how to get started knitting, or how to choose a great bottle of wine, or how to make the perfect pour-over coffee. Again, this is an amazing opportunity for you to share your expertise.

Course

You could create an entire course and send it out via email. I did this earlier this year with my 21 Days to Build a Better Brand course.