Steady away often gets the best results. A drip campaign is a special form of email marketing that targets customers over a lengthy period.
Rather than bombarding them (a surefire way to reach spam boxes or blocked buttons), it drips content in their direction. This is a strategic phrase to know if you want to understand email marketing lingo. It’s effective as it’s consistent without becoming overwhelming — a bit of a unicorn in email marketing when just starting out.
In this guide, we’ll introduce you to all the essentials surrounding drip campaigns. Get ready for definitions, an overview of different formats these campaigns can take, and some how-tos. In less than ten minutes, you’ll be an absolute pro. Let’s get started!
What Is a Drip Marketing Campaign?
Drip campaigns are a strategy whereby you communicate little and often with a customer over a prolonged period. You automate emails to send based on triggers. These triggers could be a potential customer leaving a basket at checkout. Or even someone “liking” one of your items and adding them to your favorites.
It’s a bit like a bulk SMS campaign except more specialist. It reacts to niche actions to further prompt positive engagement and a desired user action. For example, reminding customers of items in their basket encourages them to finalize a purchase.
Rather than bulk sending emails at the same time, it waits to send relevant emails individually. Email drip campaigns are like staggered bulk email marketing.
We’ve already briefly covered “What is a drip marketing campaign” in our introduction, but now we can go deeper.
Did you know that there are different types of drip campaigns? It can use anything from email software to an SMS platform. An automated text service is just as effective, but we’ll set that aside now.
What Is an Email Drip Campaign?
An email drip campaign is a long-term strategy whereby you contact your target audience sporadically yet consistently. Rather than immediately sending a flurry of twenty emails or sending one every six months, it creates a regular schedule. Typically, you automate these emails to send based on customer triggers, like leaving baskets unpaid.
This method is a variation of the standard campaigns we discussed above. The only true difference is the contact method, using email rather than SMS or other platforms.
So, you know the basic answer to “What is an email drip campaign,” what about the in-depth version? Well, these series of emails typically rely on you finding quality email automation software.
It is possible to schedule emails on regular Gmail or Outlook platforms. However, if you want to properly automate in bulk (how unappealing it is to schedule 500 emails individually), you need software. Because of this, drip campaigns using email content are synonymous with both software and bulk sending.
It’s important to understand how this strategy fits into a larger email campaign. This way, you can understand the intricacies required to start one.
How To Start an Email Campaign
Starting a drip email campaign doesn’t have to be difficult, even if the process is intricate. You can break down the approach into three simple steps. Here’s how to curate the drip emails marketing strategy of a lifetime.
1. Build an Email List
You can’t do anything without an email list of your target audience, so, first things first, organize that. There are many ways to collect email contacts, which we’ll cover in depth later. However, for now, know that you can consider methods like captive portal marketing, loyalty programs, and competitions.
At this point, also ensure that you have a solid idea of who your target customer is. If you haven’t already, draw up a customer profile or profiles. Once you get a long enough list of contacts, you can start thinking about your marketing emails.
2. Find Software
Finding software should be a time-consuming step. It might not be what you want to hear, but so many people rush to this stage. The truth is that your software will be the backbone of your strategy. Make sure it’s a strong one.
There are a few considerations to keep in mind when shopping for software. One is that it must have email automation features and it must allow bulk sending. Without these, you won’t be able to properly follow the third, arguably most crucial step. And you don’t want to have to repeat step two all over again — especially if you’ve made a financial commitment.
Scan through the inclusions to see whether automation and bulk sending are available. Also check that it offers an analytical dashboard. Having accessible analytical data is vital for reviewing your strategy later (which is the unofficial fourth step of this guide).
Lastly, consider whether the price aligns with your budget. And, if possible, choose software that allows a free trial or demo so you have time to check things out.
3. Automate Emails
With your software and email list at the ready, it’s time to automate those emails. Your first job is to decide what drip emails you want to use. Will you send confirmations? Discounts to inactive customers? What’s the approach?
Regardless of the type, make sure it has a snappy subject line, personal address, and a strong call to action (CTA). Then, head to your settings and automate it based on time or in response to triggering actions. Monitor its success and adjust future emails as necessary.
3 Benefits of Drip Campaigns
What is the reason to follow this strategic approach? The truth is this strategy has dozens of benefits; it’s one of the most rewarding approaches out there. The whole premise of the campaign is balanced — consistent without overwhelming. When executed correctly, it strikes the perfect chord.
Let’s get specific, though. So, what are the benefits of drip campaigns?
1. Conversion Rates
Because customer actions trigger drip campaign emails, they have excellent conversion rates. They capitalize on a window of opportunity, resulting in higher success rates of up to 80%. It’s a lead-nurturing way forward.
If you send a discount to one inactive customer and a newsletter to the other, which will inspire a purchase? It’s handy to be able to individualize your approach while simultaneously choosing an automated method.
2. Wave Goodbye to the Spam Box
With this approach, you’re much less likely to wind up in the spam box, which is good news for everyone. You aren’t sending high volumes of content, and the messages you send contain value. Your emails have a better chance of getting read. And because of that, the spam box stays out of sight.
This is more impressive than it sounds, too, as 45.6% of emails worldwide go to spam.
3. Boosts Brand Awareness
Good drip campaigns improve brand awareness without being overbearing. It’s like a neighbor popping their head over the fence every other week rather than every few hours. We know which we’d prefer.
It keeps your business fresh in customers’ minds without crossing that line. And brand awareness is vital for driving purchases and increasing long-term profit.
An Example Drip Campaign Timeline
One of the biggest email marketing mistakes is failing to create an effective schedule. Businesses tend to contact too much or too little; finding the perfect amount is a hard line to walk. Here’s an example timeline to help you see how one customer might experience an email campaign.
- A welcome email greets the new subscriber. It gives them an engaging two-line explanation of the business services and/or products and offers an introductory discount. The email includes a link as a CTA.
- A booking or purchase confirmation email reassures the new customer about their first interaction. If your business has a processing or shipping element, this email provides a timeline so customers know what to expect. There’s also a number to contact for extra assistance or queries.
- After the shipping timeline, a follow-up email requests feedback from the customer. It directs them to a feedback form, encouraging them to avoid public negative reviews.
- Two months of inactivity trigger a customer retention email. The email addresses the subscriber personally by name and offers a discount to tempt further action. The customer clicks on the discount link and completes a purchase.
- A booking or purchase confirmation email reassures the customer, and the process starts again.
As you can see, the customer massively determines the pace of the emails. It runs off of their actions.
You already know that growing an email list is the first step in launching a drip email campaign. To begin, you need to have people you can contact. Otherwise, there’s no point in writing all your marketing content!
Don’t fall into the trap of purchasing marketing contacts. Third-party sourced data often fails to meet legal requirements in marketing. To run legally, each recipient must opt-in to receive marketing communications. You can’t just “harass” people who don’t want to make contact.
Customer data collection shouldn’t be difficult. The truth is that with a few simple strategies, you can grow a substantial list of contacts. And the best thing is, when you collect the right people, they actually want to hear from you.
Here are three ways that you can collect contacts for campaigns.
1. Run Loyalty Programs
A loyalty program is a strategy in its own right. If you have the time to set one up or maintain one, it’s the most rewarding way forward. You just entice people to subscribe with regular discounts and a points system, asking for their email addresses in exchange.
2. Competitions
If you’d like a quick boost of followers and have a one-off period of time on your hands, competitions are great. You advertise a giveaway product or service and then make subscribing to your emails a form of entry. If you advertise it properly, you could gain a couple of hundred subscribers or more from this approach.
3. Captive Portal WiFi
Using your guest WiFi is one of the most savvy ways to collect customer contacts. The best thing is that it’s entirely passive once you start; it only requires some initial setup work. We’ll tell you all about this strategy in just a second.
FAQ
In a second, we’ll reveal more about the WiFi strategy you can use to collect marketing contacts. But before we wrap things up, take a look at these FAQ.
It’s important to consolidate your understanding when learning about drip email campaigns.
What is a drip campaign?
A drip campaign is an automated set of messages that customers trigger when they perform certain actions. Rather than bombarding recipients with a sudden onslaught of content, it targets them over a prolonged period. Drip campaigns can be SMS or emails.
In theory, you could even hold a drip campaign with physical leaflets and mail — although, it would be much slower.
How many emails in a drip campaign?
There could be anything from two to ten or more. It all depends on how many actions that customer takes. Drip campaigns don’t have to have a set number of messages; it’s a flexible approach and hugely individually catered.
Why should you use drip campaigns?
Drip campaigns are perfect for consistently contacting customers without appearing overwhelming. In marketing, there’s a fine line between contact and spam — drip campaigns help draw that line.
In addition, this boosts trust and authority. Triggering booking or purchase confirmations is reassuring for customers, and it also boosts engagement and profit.
Beambox: WiFi for Drip Campaigns
Using your WiFi is the perfect way to support your drip campaigns. Many businesses overlook the power that their guest WiFi holds. In reality, with so many guests expecting complimentary WiFi, it’s the gift that keeps giving.
Have you heard of captive portals? A captive portal is a type of technology you add to your network using special marketing software. It acts as a temporary barricade, impacting how customers interact with your internet.
When a guest clicks to join your WiFi network, a web page containing a form pops up. This form is completely customizable for you as a business owner, meaning you can request details you need. When the customer complies, they get full access to your internet.
It’s a persuading way to get them to engage with your marketing strategy. This way, they get the WiFi they want and you start to build a substantial list of contacts. It’s also entirely passive after you set up. Once you download the software and create your portal, this all runs automatically, with contacts running into a database.
Here at Beambox, we can help you collect all the emails you need to launch an effective campaign. We provide an all-in-one WiFi marketing platform with a customizable portal that you’ll love. Are you ready to take the next steps?
Now you understand how to launch a drip campaign, start your Beambox free trial today!
