Email Nurture Campaigns
Pick up where your welcome emails leave off with nurture campaigns that move each persona toward the next stage.
Email nurture campaigns are automated email series that pick up after your welcome sequence ends. Each one is triggered by who someone is, where they are in the buying journey or something they did, like downloading a guide or attending a webinar, and each one has a single goal, such as booking a call or reaching the next lifecycle stage.
A good nurture sends three to six emails with content that fits the persona and the stage they're in, then stops when they reach the goal or become a customer. Common starting points are a nurture for each persona, a nurture that moves leads to qualified leads, and follow-up after a gated download or event.
The most important rule is that a contact should only be in one nurture at a time, so people don't get a pile of overlapping emails. A simple campaign map shows who gets which nurture and when, which makes it easy to add new campaigns later without stepping on the ones you already have.
Signs you need this
- Leads sit in the same lifecycle stage for months
- Everyone on your list gets the same emails no matter who they are
- People download something and the follow-up stops after one email
- Contacts end up in several automated emails at once
- Nobody can say what each automated email is supposed to accomplish
End results
- Priority nurture campaigns live, each with a trigger, three to six emails, exit rules and a goal
- A campaign map that shows who gets which nurture and when
- Rules that keep contacts in only one nurture at a time and keep customers out unless a campaign is for them
- A naming convention and folder structure so campaigns are easy to find
- Monthly reporting on opens, clicks and goal conversions for each campaign
Common questions
How is a nurture campaign different from a newsletter?
A newsletter goes to your whole audience on a regular schedule. A nurture campaign goes to a specific group based on who they are or what they did, and it follows a set path toward one goal.
How many nurture campaigns should I start with?
Start with one or two that cover your biggest stall point, like leads who downloaded something and never booked a call. Add more once those are working.
How long should a nurture campaign run?
Usually three to six emails over three to eight weeks. Long enough to be helpful and build trust, but short enough that people don't tune out.
What should nurture emails include?
Content that answers the questions your persona has at that stage of the journey, like a relevant blog post, a guide, a case study or an answer to a common objection. Each email should have one clear next step.
How do I keep people from getting too many emails?
Set enrollment rules so a contact can only be in one nurture at a time, keep customers out of lead nurtures, and check new campaigns against your campaign map before turning them on.
