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15 Must-Use Email Automation Strategies To Boost Your Revenue
From Welcome Emails to Cross-Selling Use Automation to Stay Ahead
Linda Hwang & Russell Cargill
March 29th, 2024
My friend, who shares SEO tips through his newsletter, reached out for help as his personal booking sessions had plateaued. So, I signed up for their newsletter and waited for the welcome email.
Days passed, and I received nothing. No welcome email, no follow-up. It turned out they didn’t have a welcome email automation.
This shocked me because if you’re a creator the best way to stay fresh on your reader’s mind is by setting up frequent automated email sequences. I immediately set up up a four-part welcome series to warm up new subscribers and steer them to booking a call.
If they didn’t, they would be automatically funneled into a nurturing sequence.
The result? A 20% increase in bookings and a significant bump in revenue. All from 2 hours of work. Not bad!
This highlights how important it is for you as a creator to leverage email automation to keep your readers engaged.
I'm going to walk you through 15 email automations that are really helpful for creators. I’ll start with the basics, like setting up a solid welcome series, and then get into more advanced stuff, like how segmenting your subscribers affects your open rates.
Table of Contents
Welcome Email
Your welcome email is the first step in a conversation with a new subscriber, so you’ll want to make a good impression.
beehiiv’s data shows that welcome emails have an open rate of 47.05%. They’re the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself and outline the value they'll get from your content.
Your welcome email should include:
A personal greeting that resonates with who you are
A brief one or two-sentence introduction about who you are and what you do
Information on what they can expect from your emails
If possible, an exclusive offer like a freebie, discount, or exclusive access to content
Ask your subscribers to move the email into the primary inbox
A CTA guiding readers on what to do next, like checking out your merch
Social media handles
A personal sign-off
Here’s a very simple example of a welcome email template that I would use.
Now, if your brand is more visual and you like to have a little fun with your audience, you could send a welcome email as simple as the example below.
Image: Beau Miles Welcome Email
After your initial welcome email has been sent, you can begin writing a series of follow-up emails to maximize conversions.
Below is an example of a four-part email series I would implement if I were teaching kids how to play basketball.
Email 1: Welcome to the Team
Objective: Welcome the subscriber and introduce your coaching philosophy.
Key Components: A personal greeting, a brief overview of your experience and credentials, and what subscribers can expect from your program. Offer a welcome gift, like a free dribbling drill video as a thank you for signing up.
CTA: Encourage them to use the free resource and to connect with you on social media for more tips.
Email 2: Your First Lesson — Mastering the Basics
Objective: Provide immediate value with actionable basketball fundamentals.
Key Components: Focus on the importance of mastering the basics, accompanied by links to videos or articles on dribbling, shooting form, and defensive stance.
CTA: Watch the videos or read the articles and practice the drills.
Email 3: The Inspirational Journey
Objective: Share stories of perseverance and success in basketball to motivate subscribers.
Key Components: Inspiring stories of basketball players who overcame challenges to succeed, emphasizing the importance of practice, perseverance, and a positive mindset. This can include your own journey or those of well-known players like Kobe Bryant.
CTA: Encourage them to share their own basketball journey or aspirations with the community.
Email 4: Engage with a Challenge
Objective: Increase engagement with a fun and interactive challenge.
Key Components: Introduce a 7-day basketball challenge with daily exercises or drills to improve their skills. Provide a downloadable tracking sheet or access to a private video series for the challenge.
CTA: Sign up for the challenge and start improving your skills today.
Re-Engagement Email
I’m sure you have received one of these emails at some point. They are self-explanatory in that they are designed to re-engage an audience that is slipping away from you or your brand.
These are also known as:
Reactivation emails
Win-back email campaigns
We Miss You email campaigns
List churn is a common challenge faced by creators in the long term. This could be for many reasons, such as:
Excess of emails leading to poor engagement
Misleading email subject lines
Uninspiring email preheader text
Complex design
Not mobile-friendly (check this list of responsive email templates)
Content is repetitive or irrelevant, leading to low engagement
Subscriber-only joined for a one-time deal
However, with a well-planned re-engagement sequence, you could win them over.
Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Segment Your Audience
Start by assessing why they may have lost interest in the first place. Look for subscribers who have had no opens, clicks, or interactions over the past 30 or 60 days.
Step 2: Email 1: The Welcome Back Offer
Your first email in this series will be a simple “We miss you” message. This is your Don Corleone moment, as you're going to make them an offer they can’t refuse.
Think along the lines of an exclusive piece of content, a sneak peek at an upcoming project, or a discount on your offer.
Step 3: Email 2: Show Them What They Missed
Highlight what’s new and exciting in your space since they last engaged. Share updates on your most recent projects, successes, or any new content or products that you have launched.
Put simply, give your readers FOMO!
Step 4: Email 3: Personalized Engagement
Use the data you have on their past interactions to personalize this email with content or offers aligned with their interests.
Most importantly, do not make this a generic, one-size-fits-all email. You’ll fail. Take the time to figure out what your subscribers want.
Let’s use the basketball teacher again as an example. Segment your list for people looking to get better at shooting, dribbling, dunking, or defensive schemes.
Don’t show me the latest Kyrie Irving handles if I’m trying to learn how to dunk. Instead, show me how one of your students went through your “learn to dunk in 6 weeks” program and can now dunk.
Now you can bet that will trigger an emotion in your reader and spike conversions.
Abandoned Cart Email
Approximately 70% of online shopping carts are left abandoned. If you’re a creator selling merch or courses, setting up an automated abandoned cart email series can help recover 5-10% of potential revenue.
This means a potential return of up to $10,000 in lost sales from a potential revenue of $100,000, achievable by using automated emails.
Steps to Implement Abandoned Cart Emails:
Select an Email Marketing Software: Choose a platform that is compatible with your e-commerce service such as Shopify or WooCommerce and supports the recovery of abandoned carts.
Timing is Crucial: Send the initial email within 1 hour of the cart being deserted, deliver a second email 24 hours after that, and a final email between 48 and 72 hours after the cart was abandoned.
Importance of Content: Make sure to include a compelling call-to-action (CTA), a photo of the item(s), and possibly a minor incentive (like free shipping, or a 10% discount) to entice your people to purchase.
Experiment and Enhance: Trial varying subject lines, content and dispatch timings. Use A/B testing to determine the most effective method for your audience.
Example of an Abandoned Cart Email Automation
Email 1: The Gentle Reminder
Subject Line: Is Your Day Missing a Splash of Red?
Timing: Set this to automatically send within 12-24 hours.
Content: Start with a stunning image of that lipstick in all its glory, followed by compelling content that resonates with your brand. For example, “We kept it safe for you." Make it personal, playful, and impossible to ignore.
CTA: "Reunite With Your Perfect Shade."
Email 2: Sweeten the Deal
Subject Line: "A Little Nudge with a Big Reward"
Timing: If Alex needs a bit more convincing (your customers usually do), send this 36-48 hours after the first email.
Content: Offer an exclusive incentive. "Alex, how about we make this even more exciting? Enjoy 10% off your lipstick for the next 24 hours."
CTA: "Claim Your Special Offer."
Exclusive Offer Email
Begin your exclusive offer email by showing your appreciation for your customer's support and loyalty. Then, introduce the offer, making sure to highlight its value and the reasoning behind it.
Offer your subscribers:
Exclusive Content
Access to Events
Partner Offers
Contests and Giveaways
Membership Perks
Networking Opportunities
To wrap this section up, here’s a template I think can help you.
Here’s how to set your template up:
Select the Offer: This might be an exclusive preview of upcoming products, a generous discount on premium items, or a unique package deal. The focus should be on making the offer feel distinctive and valuable.
Scheduling: Schedule these emails to coincide with consumer trends, important anniversaries (such as when they made their first purchase with you), or during festive seasons and sales periods to optimize engagement.
CTA and Limited-Time Offer: Set an expiration date for the offer to make your call-to-action (CTA) stand out and introduce a sense of urgency.
Messaging and Branding: Use the subscriber’s name and make sure your email mirrors your brand's feel for instant acknowledgment.
Upsell Email
Upselling is a non-negotiable for me. It’s proven to boost profits by 10-30% because your existing fans are primed and ready, with a 60-70% higher chance of jumping on what you’re offering next.
Here’s the game plan:
From Sale to 30 Days Later: Just dropped something new? Now’s the time to introduce related merch or content. Your fans are still on that high from their last purchase.
Finish Your Engagement Series Strong: Got a sequence of emails or content rolling out? This is where you slide in those premium offers.
Mark Milestones: Send limited-edition merchandise or free course on your subscriber's one-year subscription anniversary.
But don’t stop there. Here’s a list of emails that you need to be upselling from.
Welcome emails
Post-purchase follow-up emails
Order confirmation emails
Shipping confirmation emails
Product review request emails
Replenishment emails
Membership renewal emails
Birthday or anniversary emails
Abandoned cart emails
Cross-Sell Email
Cross-selling is a powerful strategy for increasing customer lifetime value, which can generate more revenue and higher profits.
For a cross-selling automation section, consider these points:
Increase Revenue: Statistically, cross-selling can boost sales by 20% and profits by 30%.
Timing and Relevance: Cross-sell when the customer is most engaged, like immediately after a purchase or when they're browsing related products.
Email types for cross-selling:
Product recommendations based on past purchases
Bundled offers with items they're viewing
Special deals when purchasing complementary items together
Here’s an example for you:
"Loved my guide on landscape photography? Take your skills further with an exclusive workshop designed to put those techniques into action."
Birthday Email
Birthday emails average an open rate of 45% and are a great way to make each subscriber feel special on their day.
To set this up, simply automate a personal birthday message through your ESP (you’ll have to collect your subscriber's birthday via a form first) and then set up an automated trigger.
Include a unique offer or gift to celebrate, like an exclusive piece of content or a special discount on your merchandise.
Here's a straightforward template idea:
Subject: Happy Birthday, [Name]! A Special Gift Inside
Body: Hey [Name]! On your special day, here’s [offer/gift] just for you. Enjoy.
Keep it genuine and simple.
Post-Purchase Thank-You Email
Post-purchase emails are an incredibly valuable tool for creators to build customer loyalty, increase repeat sales, and maximize customer lifetime value.
Post-purchase emails have open rates nearly 17% higher than the average email automation, with an impressive 40.5% open rate compared to the typical 20-25% range.
Here are some of the key benefits that make post-purchase automation so valuable:
Provide important logistics around shipping/delivery
Cross-sell complementary products based on purchase history
Gather feedback and social proof with review requests
Promote customer loyalty programs and incentives
Promote subscription or auto-replenishment offers
Educate customers on getting the most out of their purchase
These emails really get people to take action, but it's important to follow the rules. By law, you've got to make sure 80% of the email content focuses on the primary purpose - providing transactional details about the recent purchase, like order confirmation and shipping updates.
This transactional information is the main reason customers open these emails.
20% of the email can be dedicated to further engaging the customer—promoting relevant products, offering discounts, requesting reviews/feedback, and sharing educational content related to their purchase.
Example Post-Purchase Flow Template:
Order Confirmation (transactional)
Order Shipped (tracking info + cross-sell offer)
Product Education (tips on getting started)
Request a Review (with incentive)
Replenishment Reminder (subscribe & save)
Survey Email
Survey emails let you get direct feedback to fine-tune the work, boost engagement, and make smart choices.
Quick facts:
12% of consumers always left a review when prompted by a business in the last 12 months.
Over 60% of consumers feel businesses need to care more about them.
Smart marketers tease the survey, send it, remind the non-responders, and share outcomes.
Stick to short surveys, offer perks, ensure mobile compatibility, welcome open comments, and show how you're doing with the feedback.
Feedback Email
Similar to the methodology of survey emails, feedback emails can be an effective vehicle for strengthening the bond with your audience.
For instance, hosting a webinar could be followed up with an automated feedback email, allowing you to gauge what your customers thought of the experience.
Likewise, you could dispatch a feedback email after a customer completes a purchase, capturing their views on the overall buying process.
An effective feedback email flow may look like this:
Post-purchase/service feedback request
Quarterly/annual relationship feedback survey
Triggered feedback based on key milestones or behaviors
Public rating/review solicitation
Making it easy for people to give feedback, offer incentives, allow for open-ended comments, close the loop on implementing changes, and make customers feel heard.
Industry News and Insights Email
As a creator, keeping your audience informed on the latest industry news, trends, and insights is a great way to show your authority, provide value, and stay top-of-mind.
Sharing curated content with your email list will significantly impact consumer perceptions and engagement.
Things to share in an industry insight email may include:
Curated articles/posts highlighting key news and trends
Original commentary, hot takes, and analysis you provide
Data, stats, and research findings to underscore expertise
Tie-in to your core content/offerings when relevant
Other ideas are interviews with guest experts, deep dives on emerging topics, market predictions, advice columns, and more.
Milestone Celebration Email
I look at these as little 'Subscriber Parties' in your subscribers' inboxes. When a subscriber hits a milestone—this could be their 'subscriberversary' or their 20th email engagement party—you roll out the digital red carpet.
Don’t be boring. A thank-you email won’t cut it. Personalize the email and offer VIP promo codes or sneak peek content. A little 🎉 emoji wouldn't hurt, either.
Friendly reminder: While you're tinkering with your email automation, don’t forget to set the date for your subscriber milestones (like I did… for a whole year). Oops.
"Back in Stock" Notification Email
Inventory issues are an inevitable challenge for creators who sell physical products or merchandise.
When popular items go out of stock, you risk frustrating customers and are going to lose sales.
Cue the "Back in Stock" email. This is the perfect solution to recover those missed opportunities.
Only 13% of customers will wait to purchase an out-of-stock item later
72% of shoppers signed up for back in stock notifications say they purchased the item after receiving the email
Companies see up to a 12% increase in conversion rates by deploying back in stock campaigns
Setting up a "Back in Stock" email flow is a smart move. It helps you win back sales you might've missed when stuff was out of stock. Plus, it keeps customers in the loop, boosting their loyalty to your brand. It's a great way to bring shoppers back when they're really keen to buy, and hey, you might even sell them more stuff with a clever suggestion or two in that email.
An effective back in stock flow includes:
Cart abandonment email offering notification sign-up
Confirmation thanking them for subscribing
Automated notification when the item is restocked
Product recommendation and upsell in the notification email
Other smart tactics include adding scarcity statements, incentives like discounts, and social proof like customer reviews.
Customer Success Automation
Customer success automation allows you to nurture relationships and prevent churn proactively. It’s so important that companies with exceptional customer experience can charge 16% more than their competition.
Automating your customer success communications is hugely beneficial. With automation, you can deliver a premium level of service to every single customer, not just a few VIPs.
Timely check-ins, guidance, and education are automatically triggered based on their behaviors and needs. By tracking engagement over time, it also surfaces prime renewal and upsell opportunities.
Plus, you can effortlessly gather feedback to keep improving the offerings. And perhaps most importantly, being proactive with automation helps reduce churn by catching hurdles and roadblocks early.
Set up your customer success automation flow to include:
An onboarding education series
Automated check-ins and nudges based on engagement
Automated renewals with cross-sell/upsell incentives
Winback campaigns for those showing churn signals
Other smart tactics are guided product tours, celebration emails for key milestones, satisfaction surveys, and early-warning systems for at-risk accounts.
Seasonal or Holiday Campaign Email
Seasonal and holiday email campaigns are a total goldmine for creators. People are in good moods, and their wallets are easily opened.
It's the perfect time to connect with your audience on a whole new level while raking in sales.
The stats don't lie:
Email is responsible for 20% website visits during the holiday period
69% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with emails during the holidays
So, what's the big deal? Why are these emails so effective?
During the holidays, you get to connect with your audience over a shared culture and celebrate together. And there’s something about that sense of urgency from consumers or your audience to deliver something special that gets people to buy and engage with you or your brand.
To sleigh the holiday season (see what I did there), set up a solid campaign flow like:
Tease your audience with creative hype about what's coming
Unveil that limited-time offering, deal, or exclusive holiday product
Send reminders with countdown timers to amp up that FOMO
Follow up post-holiday to keep the party going with more cross-sells
But don't stop there — get festive with holiday gift guides, advent calendars, behind-the-scenes content, seasonal playlists, recipes, and more fun stuff.
How Do I Automate Email Creation?
Automating your email creation first starts with choosing a suitable email service provider. Look for one that offers specialized tools that simplify the task of creating, scheduling, and monitoring your emails.
Once you settle on an email service provider, you'll need to begin building your contact lists.
You can use sign-up forms or landing pages to encourage visitors to subscribe to your newsletter or promotional emails.
Next, set specific triggers, such as a purchase or a click on a specific link, to trigger your campaigns.
Monitoring and Tweaking Your Email Automation
Using your chosen ESP, assess key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates.
This data will unveil what's working and what's not in your email campaigns. Based on that data, you can modify and optimize your emails for improved performance.
For instance, low open rates might signify that your subject lines aren't good enough.
In this case, test different variations of subject lines to identify what nets the highest open rate among your subscribers.
If your click-through rates are falling short it could mean that your call-to-action isn't strong or clear enough.
Experimenting with alternative call to actions will significantly enhance your engagement rates.
Keep an eye on your unsubscribe rates. If you see a spike in subscribers opting out from your email list, it's a red flag that something in your content or delivery isn't resonating with your audience.
Why Trust Me? Russell started his journey as a content writer, writing hundreds of articles for niche websites. He then turned to copywriting, writing for big brands. He is now the founder of InboxConnect marketing agency, has over five years of expertise in email marketing, and has run notable campaigns for leading brands such as Payoneer.
What Emails Should You Automate?
First up, you can begin with the following transactional emails:
Introductory/Welcome emails
Acknowledgement emails
Abandoned cart emails
Appreciation emails after purchase
Evaluation request emails
Password Reset emails
Order confirmation emails
In addition, an automated "Newsletter" or "Latest Content" email works well. If you update your blog or website with new content regularly, you can use RSS feeds to automatically send this fresh content straight to your subscribers' email inboxes.
What Makes a Good Email CTA?
To create an effective CTA, make sure to use action-oriented language. Phrases like "Shop Now," "Discover More," or "Sign Up Today" can create a sense of urgency and encourage your subscribers to take the desired action immediately.
Keep your call-to-action (CTA) text concise yet specific to let readers know exactly what they'll encounter when clicking. Personalize CTAs based on recipient preferences and past interactions to boost click-through rates.
For instance, if your data shows a customer frequently buys books, use a CTA like "Explore New Book Releases" to compel more clicks.
Make your CTA eye-catching by using contrasting colors or a button format that stands out within the email layout. However, align it with your overall brand aesthetic for a consistent, professional appearance.
Position your CTA prominently where it's easily visible but not obstructive. Place it near the end after the main content primes readers for the desired action.
By keeping CTAs clear, personalized, visually striking, and strategically placed, you maximize the chances readers will take the next step you want.
How Do I Create a Dynamic Email?
A dynamic email section personalizes part of a mass message based on either your user's behavior or the details you have about your subscribers.
Put simply, it tailors the email to each individual recipient. This makes the email more engaging, relevant, and therefore, more likely to spur the reader to take action.
If you want to know more about dynamic emails, read this article here.
To create a dynamic email, determine what personal data is relevant to your marketing strategy.
This could include demographic information like location, age, or gender. It could also depend on behavioral data like previous purchase history, browsing behavior, or interactions with previous emails.
Once you identify the relevant data, use an email automation tool to integrate this information into your emails.
How Do I Automate a Daily Email?
Sending a consistent daily email is a great way to scale your newsletter and build your audience. It’s also a grind, which is why you need to automate it.
Here's how it works.
First, you'll need to create the email(s) you want to send daily - whether that's a roundup of your latest content, a motivational message, or whatever special sauce you're cooking up.
Next, you'll load up those emails into your automation sequence and set the sending schedule. Most tools let you stagger send times throughout the day to avoid bombarding inboxes.
Now comes the fun part - setting up rules about who receives what email and when. You can segment by interests, purchase behavior, location, or any other data to personalize that daily content.
Finally, configure the triggers for adding and removing subscribers. New email sign-ups, content downloads, purchases, and survey responses can all automatically opt someone in or out.
And voila, you should be good to go. Let’s take a look at how yu can use beehiiv to set your email automation up below.
beehiiv
With beehiiv, automating a daily email is simple. First, head to the automation section and create a new automation workflow.
You'll select the trigger that will kick off your email sequence. beehiiv offers lots of options like when a new subscriber joins, someone responds to a poll, or completes a survey. Pick the trigger that fits your needs.
Next, create the email(s) you want to send daily - maybe a newsletter with your latest content, a motivational message, or something else.
If sending multiple emails, you can set up the sequence and timing for each one like an initial welcome email immediately after subscribing, followed by another two days later.
Review and tweak the automation settings until everything looks good, then activate it. From there, beehiiv will automatically send your emails based on the triggers and schedule you configured.
Employing Third-Party Automation Tools
beehiiv also integrates with Zapier to connect to tons of other apps. You could create a "Zap" that pulls content from your blog or social media and includes it in your daily newsletter email.
Creator Email Automation Ideas (Closing Thoughts)
As you can see, automating your emails with beehiiv allows you to nurture your audience effortlessly while still delivering highly personalized, valuable content.
But beehiiv's powerful automation capabilities don't stop there.
With deep integrations to apps like Zapier, the possibilities for streamlining your email marketing are endless. You could easily create automated workflows that pull your latest blog posts, social media updates, and other content sources directly into your daily newsletters—no more manual importing required.
With all that freed up valuable time, you can get back to doing what you do best. Creating work that truly matters to you as a creator.
Stop wasting hours every day on repetitive email tasks and let beehiiv put it all on autopilot.
Unlock the full potential of personalized email marketing by signing up for beehiiv today.
Happy mailing!
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