Email marketing delivers an average return of £42 for every £1 spent—making it one of the most effective marketing channels available. Yet many businesses still send manual, one-off emails, missing the power of automation.
This guide covers everything you need to know to start automating your email marketing, from basic concepts to implementation.
What is Email Marketing Automation?
Email automation means sending the right message to the right person at the right time—automatically. Instead of manually sending emails, you create sequences triggered by specific actions or conditions.
Examples include:
- Welcome series: Automatically greet new subscribers
- Abandoned cart emails: Remind shoppers about items left behind
- Lead nurturing: Guide prospects through your sales funnel
- Re-engagement campaigns: Win back inactive subscribers
- Post-purchase sequences: Onboard new customers and encourage reviews
The power of automation is that it works while you sleep. Set up a sequence once, and it runs forever—nurturing leads and driving revenue around the clock.
Key Automation Concepts
Triggers
Triggers are events that start an automation. Common triggers include:
- Subscribing to a list
- Completing a purchase
- Visiting a specific page
- Clicking a link in an email
- Reaching a certain lead score
- Date-based (birthdays, anniversaries)
- Inactivity for a set period
Sequences (or Workflows)
Sequences are the series of emails that follow a trigger. They can include:
- Multiple emails spaced over time
- Wait conditions between emails
- Conditional logic (if/then branching)
- Tags and segmentation updates
- Actions in other systems (CRM updates, notifications)
Segmentation
Segmentation means dividing your list based on characteristics or behaviours. Relevant segments might include:
- Where they signed up
- What content they've engaged with
- What products they've purchased
- Their stage in the buying journey
- Demographic information
Essential Automation Sequences
1. Welcome Sequence
Your most important automation. First impressions matter, and email engagement is highest immediately after signup.
Typical structure:
- Email 1 (Immediate): Thank them, deliver any promised content, set expectations
- Email 2 (Day 2): Your story/mission, why you're different
- Email 3 (Day 4): Valuable content demonstrating expertise
- Email 4 (Day 7): Case study or testimonial
- Email 5 (Day 10): Clear call to action (book a call, view products, etc.)
A well-crafted welcome sequence can double the value of each new subscriber compared to immediately adding them to your regular newsletter.
2. Lead Nurturing Sequence
For leads who aren't ready to buy immediately. Move them from awareness to consideration to decision.
Typical structure:
- Educational content: Address their pain points, build trust
- Case studies: Show how you've helped similar businesses
- FAQ handling: Address common objections
- Soft sell: Introduce your solution
- Call to action: Request a conversation or demo
3. Abandoned Cart Recovery
For e-commerce businesses, this is often the highest-ROI automation.
Typical structure:
- Email 1 (1 hour): "Did you forget something?" with cart contents
- Email 2 (24 hours): Reminder with social proof/reviews
- Email 3 (72 hours): Potential discount or urgency element
4. Post-Purchase Onboarding
Transform customers into advocates with a strong post-purchase sequence.
Elements to include:
- Order confirmation and what to expect
- Getting started guidance
- Tips for getting the most from the purchase
- Request for feedback
- Cross-sell or upsell opportunities
- Review request
5. Re-engagement Campaign
Win back subscribers who've stopped opening emails.
Typical approach:
- Email 1: "We miss you" with compelling reason to return
- Email 2: Survey asking what they want to see
- Email 3: Final "last chance" before removing from list
Choosing an Email Platform
For UK businesses, popular options include:
Entry Level (Free or low-cost)
- Mailchimp: Easy to use, limited automation on free tier
- Mailerlite: Good automation, generous free tier
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Strong for transactional emails
Mid-Level
- ActiveCampaign: Excellent automation, good CRM features
- ConvertKit: Great for creators and content businesses
- Klaviyo: Powerful for e-commerce
Enterprise
- HubSpot: Full marketing suite with CRM
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Enterprise-scale capabilities
Don't over-complicate your platform choice. Start with something simple, master it, then upgrade if needed. Fancy features you never use are worthless.
Implementation Steps
1. Define Your Goals
What are you trying to achieve? Common goals:
- Nurture leads to sales readiness
- Reduce cart abandonment rate
- Improve customer retention
- Increase customer lifetime value
- Re-engage dormant subscribers
2. Map Your Customer Journey
Understand the stages your customers go through:
- Awareness: They know they have a problem
- Consideration: They're evaluating solutions
- Decision: They're ready to choose
- Retention: They're a customer now
- Advocacy: They're promoting you
Map your automations to these stages.
3. Start Simple
Don't try to build everything at once. Start with:
- Welcome sequence for new subscribers
- One nurturing sequence for leads
- Basic post-purchase emails
Add complexity once these are working.
4. Write Your Emails
For each email, consider:
- Subject line: Clear, compelling, no spam triggers
- Preview text: Complements the subject line
- Body: Single clear purpose, conversational tone
- Call to action: One primary CTA per email
- Mobile optimisation: Most emails are read on mobile
5. Test Before Launching
- Send test emails to yourself and colleagues
- Check rendering on different devices and email clients
- Verify all links work
- Review timing and delays
- Check trigger conditions
6. Monitor and Optimise
Track these metrics:
- Open rate: Subject line effectiveness
- Click rate: Content and CTA effectiveness
- Conversion rate: Overall sequence effectiveness
- Unsubscribe rate: Content relevance
- Revenue attributed: Bottom-line impact
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Too Many Emails Too Fast
Overwhelming new subscribers leads to unsubscribes. Give breathing room between emails.
No Segmentation
One-size-fits-all emails underperform. Segment by interest, behaviour, or stage.
Forgetting Mobile
Over 60% of emails are opened on mobile. Design for small screens first.
Weak Subject Lines
If they don't open, nothing else matters. Test subject lines continuously.
No Clear CTA
Every email needs a purpose. What do you want them to do next?
Set and Forget
Automation isn't "set and forget." Review performance monthly and optimise.
GDPR Considerations
For UK businesses, GDPR compliance is essential:
- Get explicit consent before sending marketing emails
- Make it easy to unsubscribe
- Keep records of consent
- Honour unsubscribe requests promptly
- Only collect necessary data
- Have a privacy policy that explains email usage
Getting Started
If you're new to email automation:
- Choose a platform appropriate for your needs and budget
- Set up proper tracking and analytics
- Build your welcome sequence first
- Ensure GDPR compliance
- Launch and monitor
- Add additional sequences over time
The key is starting. An imperfect automation running beats a perfect one still in planning.
Need help building marketing automation that nurtures leads and drives sales? Our marketing systems service creates email automation tailored to your business. Get in touch to discuss your automation needs.