“My audience expects a personalized touch, so they won’t respond to email automation.”

This is by far the most common objection I hear to using automation for repeated communication, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s look at why email automation is actually one of the most personalized things you can do in your business.

When we find ourselves so busy that important communication falls through the cracks, this practice can save us.

Personalized Email Automation Nurtures Relationships

People want to trust you before they do business with you. It’s the natural way of things. Using automated emails, or drip campaigns, is one of the most effective ways to nurture those relationships. In a drip campaign, you “drip” emails out over a period of time to nurture the prospect and keep yourself top-of-mind. Each email is a little bit of support for their trust.

Drip campaigns work great when you want to follow up. If someone downloads a lead magnet, for example, you could send a series of emails to nurture the lead. This works way better than just giving them the download, adding them to your list, and immediately sending them newsletters. The follow-up series should give them more information or resources for the information in the lead magnet. It should also ask for feedback. Here’s an example:

Hey, a few days ago you downloaded <amazing lead magnet>, and I was wondering what you thought about it. I’d love to hear about your favorite takeaways and how you plan to apply the information. Even more, was there anything you were hoping to learn and didn’t? I want to hear where the <lead magnet> fell short so I can fill in any gaps. Just hit reply and let me know!

That’s it. Super simple. Keep it short so people are more likely to read it. Then, follow up with another email or two in a few days giving them extra tips and linking to any other articles, etc. that you have on the subject.

Fish Food: 67% of marketers focus on drip or nurture campaigns to increase sales.

Help Clients Feel Prepared

If you have a meeting or consultation coming up with a client, do you let them know what to expect or just show up and wing it? How much more would you accomplish if the client had a general expectation of what you’ll discuss and what they should bring?

You’ve probably had dozens (or maybe even hundreds) of these meetings. You know what to expect. Don’t take it for granted that they do, too. When someone schedules a meeting, send them an email with relevant information, such as:

• About how long the meeting will last.
• What they should bring, such as metrics.
• The topics you’ll discuss.
• General questions you’ll ask.

I use Zapier to connect my calendar to my email platform. As soon as someone schedules a consultation, they receive an email outlining all of the above. If you aren’t that advanced, you can still use a template in almost any email program. You don’t have to rewrite the email every time, and your meetings will be so much more productive as a result.

Use Email Automation to Help Clients Feel Seen

Clients want to know that you see them and understand their potential frustration. You’ve done a million projects like theirs, but this is their first time. They have questions.

When I prepare to start a web design project with a new client, they receive a five-day email sequence preparing them for what to expect. Why five? I don’t want to overwhelm them. Think about it. If you received a super long email from your web designer about what to expect during a project, you would (a) not read it or (b) not remember much of it. It’s too much like work. Nobody wants to deal with that. Each email contains about a paragraph of information in bite-sized pieces to make it less overwhelming and easier to process. Some of them contain a link to further information.

Here’s an example of what they could contain:

• Answers to frequently asked questions or a link to an FAQ page on your website.
• The best way to communicate with you during the project and what hours you normally work.
• Introduction to your project management tool. I use Trello and have a post they read for best practices on how we’ll use it.
• The best way to submit feedback as the project progresses.
• Reminders about important policies, such as change in project scope.

Use Email Automation to Celebrate Successes

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love being celebrated. Whether it’s a small win or a big one, people need recognition. While it’s not necessarily email automation, I do use Google automation to help me with this. I set up a Google alert with the name of each client or prospect and the name of their business. If that person gets an award or a mention in a news article, I get an alert. It takes about 10 seconds to write an email saying “I saw that you were named an outstanding provider in <magazine name>. Congratulations!!” It lets people know that I care and takes a super small amount of time to build that relationship. Every one of those emails has received a reply filled with surprise and delight.

I also celebrate my clients in my follow-up series for after we complete a project together. In addition to reminding them to write a testimonial about our time together (because how many of us have forgotten that part???), it also celebrates the work we did. After some time has passed, I ask the client how the work we did together has helped their business succeed and meet its goals.

At the end of the series, which really does last a year, the client receives a “Happy Birthday to your website!” email. This small celebration gives them a reason to smile and celebrate how far they’ve come. I always get positive feedback from it!

So if anyone ever tells you that email automation is too impersonal for them to use, you can tell them that it helps clients feel nurtured, seen, prepared, and celebrated. In addition, it does all these things while saving you ridiculous amounts of time. So work on setting up your email personalization, and keep swimming along!