Five Types of Email Automation

Many companies can get people to sign up for their emails, but what you do from there is what separates future clients from dead leads. One of the best ways to turn a lead into a customer is through email automation. Generic, one-size-fits-all emails get lost in the shuffle and are often relegated to a spam folder. For this reason, the main point of an automated email strategy is to clearly define your conversion goal, allowing automation triggers to help you send the right message at the right time with the right Call to Action (CTA).

At KWSM: a digital marketing agency, we avoid generic emails at all costs. We don’t like receiving them, and we don’t want to contribute to sending them. Instead, we treat each email as a chance to deliver relevant, personalized information at the precise moment it is most meaningful. We work with you to identify your sales and marketing goals, develop a strategic email automation plan, and create valuable email campaigns that are built for conversion, not just clutter. Every successful client engagement at KWSM begins with a 6-week digital marketing strategy to build this foundational roadmap.

“Modern digital marketing success isn’t about simply having a big email list; it’s about what you do with that list. A customized email automation strategy is the system that turns volume into value, ensuring every contact receives a message that feels personal and timely, moving them effectively through your conversion funnel.”

— Jeff Soto, VP of Strategy, KWSM

Let’s explore the power of automated email campaigns and how to select the right email automation solutions for your unique business needs.

What is Email Automation?

Email automation is the process of defining, building, and sending automatically triggered email campaigns to subscribers based on predefined criteria, such as specific dates, actions, or behavioral cues. It’s a powerful tool that transforms the efficiency and effectiveness of your email marketing efforts.

How Does Email Automation Work?

At its core, an email automation solution operates through a set of logic-based rules. You define a trigger, an action a user takes (or doesn’t take), a date, or a data point. When that trigger occurs, the system automatically sends a predefined email or a sequence of automated emails. This allows for a behavioral automation approach, where communication is dynamically tailored to the individual’s journey. By connecting your email platform with your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, this process can pull in personalized data to make every message feel uniquely crafted for the recipient.

The Key Benefits of Automated Emails

The advantages of implementing automated email campaigns are significant, particularly for businesses focused on scaling their growth and improving the customer experience.

• Boosted Relevance and Personalization: Automated emails, particularly those based on user behavior, feel more timely and relevant than mass broadcasts. This high degree of personalization dramatically increases open rates and click-through rates.
• Time and Resource Efficiency: Once the automated campaigns are set up, they run continuously on their own. This streamlines your communication and marketing efforts, freeing up your team to focus on strategic, high-value tasks rather than manual sending.
• Improved Lead Nurturing: Automation ensures that every lead receives a consistent, valuable stream of content that guides them through the sales process, effectively nurturing them until they are ready to convert.
• Increased Revenue and ROI: By ensuring timely follow-up (such as immediately after a sign-up or a price page visit), automation shortens the sales cycle and significantly improves your conversion rates, leading to higher revenue and a strong return on your marketing investment.

The Role of Email Automation in the Conversion Funnel

Email automation is a vital engine that drives prospects through your conversion funnel. It takes a new lead at the top of the funnel (TOFU) and uses a series of timely, relevant emails to guide them toward a purchase at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU). For example, after a visitor downloads a whitepaper (a TOFU action), an automation sequence can deliver follow-up content that introduces your solution and addresses their pain points, pushing them toward a consultation or purchase (a BOFU action). This strategic, automated drip ensures no lead falls through the cracks and that the right message is delivered at every stage.

Related Article: How Email Marketing Can Improve Your Business

5 Types of Email Automation

Email automation is a great way to reach your audience at specific points of the buyer’s journey. This can be done in many ways, but we will focus on five: welcome email, campaign-based, eCommerce-based, date-based, and reminder-based.

“Automated emails are like a virtual marketing assistant for your business: always on and ready to remind your customers and leads what you have to offer. They can even be programmed to reach out after key trigger moments on your website, or remember every detail from your customers’ birthdays to their favorite products. An agency can help you craft the right message and funnel structure to make your automated emails as effective as possible.” 

— Roni Blackburn, Digital Account Manager, KWSM: a digital marketing agency

1. Welcome Emails

When someone signs up for your newsletter, you don’t want them to wait until the next newsletter goes out to hear from you. This is an easy fix: set up a welcome email that is sent automatically when they subscribe. In this email, give them a very personable welcome, tell them about your company, offer a special deal, and give them an action to take. 

2. Campaign-Based Emails

This is probably the most well-known type of email automation. Often, a campaign-based email drip starts when a visitor fills out the form on your landing page. Make sure to have different emails in the drip to accomplish the different steps of nurturing that lead toward the overall goal of that campaign. 

Consider incorporating a Brand Journalism approach to your email drip campaigns. Start by highlighting the problem your potential customers are facing, then position your product or service as the solution. Use examples, quotes, and steps to provide value. Finally, provide a clear call to action that guides them to the next step, whether it’s a downloadable, scheduling a consultation, or bringing to a page on your website.

3. eCommerce Based Emails

If you are an eCommerce-based organization, then you likely deal with abandoned carts. You get a potential customer all the way to the cart, but then they get cold feet and walk away. 

You can segment your audience based on their geography or behavior and send personalized automated emails to remind them that they left items in their cart. This ‘abandoned cart’ email strategy is a great way to regain latent customers’ interest and persuade them to finish their purchase. 

4. Date-Based Emails

If your brand has events that happen on the same date each year –  the company’s anniversary, product sales, end-of-month or end-of-year events – you can save time by setting up related emails to go out automatically at the appropriate times. 

If you’ve collected the right data, you can even send automated individualized emails – for example, sending your customers a birthday wish with a deal. 

5. Reminder-Based Emails

We all get busy and forget what isn’t at the top of our minds, so sending reminders at the right time can be an asset for your clients. Say your organization offers online certifications that have an expiration date. After users have earned those certifications, you can send periodic refresher emails to keep that content top-of-mind. Then, as the certification is about to expire, send them information on how to recertify, potentially with a discount on the price. 

Use Cases and Examples of Automated Campaigns

Understanding the power of email automation is best achieved through practical application. Here are real-world examples of how utilizing automation in a digital marketing strategy can be effective, ranging from simple automation triggers to complex, behavior-based sequences.

1. Welcome and Onboarding Automations

When someone signs up for your newsletter, downloads a lead magnet, or creates an account, that is a moment of high engagement. A welcome automation should be set up to trigger instantly upon subscription.

• Goal: Immediately engage the new contact and set expectations.
• Content: A personable welcome, an introduction to your company’s value (your story), a special introductory offer, or a clear guide on the next step they should take.
• Example: A law firm’s welcome series might include three emails: a thank you and introduction, a link to a helpful resource on their most common client pain point, and an invitation to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.

2. Campaign-Based Lead Nurturing

This is often the most well-known type of email automation. It typically begins when a visitor fills out a form on a landing page to receive a specific piece of content, like an eBook or webinar recording.

• Goal: Nurture the lead by providing value and positioning your product/service as the solution to their problem.
• Strategy: Use a Brand Journalism approach. The first email delivers the promised content. Subsequent automated campaigns focus on the external, internal, and philosophical pain points of your target audience, then offer case studies, quotes, and actionable insights to demonstrate your expertise. The drip sequence should have multiple emails to accomplish the steps of warming the lead toward the overall campaign goal.
• Example: For a B2B professional services firm, a campaign-based drip could be a five-part series that starts with a downloadable industry report, followed by emails highlighting client success stories, addressing common business objections, and finally, offering a discovery call.

3. eCommerce and Behavioral Automations

For Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands, behavior-based automations tied to a customer’s actions on your website are crucial for driving immediate sales.

• Abandoned Cart Emails (Cart Recovery): If a customer adds an item to their cart but leaves before purchasing, this is a clear sign of high intent. A short, time-sensitive abandoned cart email sequence can be one of your most effective automations.
  • Goal: Recover lost sales and lower shopping cart recovery rates.
  • Content: A simple reminder of the forgotten items, a clear link back to the cart, and sometimes a small incentive like free shipping or a discount code.
• Post-Purchase Follow-ups: Automatically sending emails after a sale is essential for building loyalty and driving repeat business.
  • Content: Order confirmation, shipping/tracking updates, a thank you and request for a product review, or cross-sell recommendations based on their purchase.

4. Date-Based Emails

These automations are simple to set up and highly effective for fostering customer relationships.

• Goal: Build rapport and increase customer loyalty through personal milestones or timely reminders.
• Example: Sending a personalized birthday or anniversary email (if you collect that data) that includes a special discount code. You can also send annual contract renewal reminders or date-based promotions like an end-of-year sale.

5. Reminder-Based Automations

For organizations that rely on ongoing engagement, education, or service use, reminders prevent churn and encourage action.

• Goal: Increase re-engagement and prevent certifications or services from expiring.
• Example: An IT firm could send periodic refresher emails about best security practices, followed by a reminder to update their subscription or schedule an annual security audit as the date approaches. Similarly, a non-profit could send an automated email reminder about an upcoming deadline for an annual giving campaign.

“To truly be a strategic partner for our clients, we look beyond the initial sale and design automation that supports the entire customer lifecycle. We always advise clients to think of these as ‘helpful nudges’—not sales pitches—that build trust and make the customer’s journey easier.”

— Katie Wagner, KWSM Founder & CEO

Comparison of Email Automation Tools

Choosing the right platform is the most critical step in implementing your email automation strategy. The best email automation solutions are those that align with your team’s size, your business model, and your need for advanced features like CRM integration or deep behavioral tracking.

1. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one marketing automation platform known for its powerful, visually-driven automation builder. It allows for complex, multi-step, and multi-channel automations that go far beyond simple email sequencing, including site tracking and conditional content.

• Pros: Highly flexible and powerful automation logic; extensive integration capabilities, especially with third-party CRMs; strong focus on behavioral data and lead scoring.
• Cons: Can have a steeper learning curve for beginners; pricing scales aggressively with contact list size.
• Best For: Businesses with existing CRM and a need for highly customized, complex behavioral automations and deep sales funnel integration. It’s often preferred by B2B companies and agencies managing numerous client campaigns.

2. MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the most recognizable names in email marketing, offering a user-friendly platform that is great for beginners and small businesses. Its strength lies in its easy-to-use email design and segmentation, and it offers solid features for eCommerce, including one-click integrations with major platforms.

• Pros: Excellent usability and a drag-and-drop editor; a generous free plan for low-volume senders; strong pre-built features for eCommerce, including abandoned cart templates.
• Cons: Advanced automation features are often reserved for higher-tier plans; contact counting can be less favorable than competitors (counting unsubscribed contacts).
• Best For: Small to medium-sized businesses and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands that prioritize ease of use and have a strong focus on basic eCommerce automations like cart recovery and simple welcome sequences.

3. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a powerful customer data platform and B2C CRM built specifically to drive growth for eCommerce and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands. It provides advanced tools for email, SMS marketing, and segmentation, using real-time customer data to trigger highly personalized, revenue-focused automated flows.

• Pros: Deep, native integration with eCommerce platforms like Shopify; exceptional segmentation and personalization based on purchase and browsing behavior; robust, revenue-focused analytics and predictive AI features.
• Cons: Can be more expensive, particularly as contact lists grow; the initial setup and advanced functionality can present a steeper learning curve for new users; its core focus is B2C/eCommerce, making it less ideal for B2B-only use cases.
• Best For: eCommerce and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands that are serious about scaling their business and leveraging granular customer data to create sophisticated, high-converting automated flows across email and SMS.

4. HubSpot

HubSpot is a comprehensive CRM and marketing platform, with email automation being a core component of its Marketing Hub. Its strength is its native, seamless integration with its own CRM, allowing for the most detailed personalization and segmentation based on complete customer history and sales pipeline stage.

• Pros: Native integration with a world-class CRM; powerful, sophisticated automation triggers tied to sales data; a free tier for basic email and CRM tools.
• Cons: Can be pricey as you scale up to the Professional or Enterprise tiers; the platform can feel overly complex if you only need a simple email tool.
• Best For: Scaling B2B and enterprise companies that need an all-in-one solution to align their marketing, sales, and service teams, using deep CRM data to fuel highly targeted automated campaigns.

5. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo offers a full-suite digital marketing platform that includes email, SMS, chat, and CRM capabilities. It is particularly known for its volume-based pricing, which is often more predictable and budget-friendly than contact-based pricing models.

• Pros: Strong deliverability; includes a CRM and multi-channel messaging (SMS, chat) on top of email; transparent, volume-based pricing is advantageous for businesses with large, frequently-contacted lists.
• Cons: Email design tools are less robust than some competitors; learning the platform can be a little challenging initially.
• Best For: Cost-sensitive small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) and organizations that need multi-channel capabilities (email, SMS) and predictable pricing for high sending volumes.

6. Benchmark

Benchmark is celebrated for its incredibly intuitive drag-and-drop email editor and high-quality email templates. It is focused heavily on providing a clean, simple, and effective tool for quickly designing and deploying effective emails and basic automated campaigns.

• Pros: Extremely user-friendly interface; excellent visual editor and template library; features like email polls and AI content assistance are available even in lower tiers.
• Cons: Automation features are less advanced than powerhouses like ActiveCampaign or HubSpot.
• Best For: Beginners, non-technical users, and smaller businesses that prioritize ease of use, beautiful design, and quick campaign deployment over highly complex, multi-step behavioral funnels.

7. GetResponse

GetResponse is an email marketing tool that offers an all-in-one suite, including unique features like webinars and a conversion funnel builder. It is well-regarded for its robust lead generation tools and its compatibility with holistic digital marketing strategies.

• Pros: Includes a conversion funnel builder, landing page creator, and hosting for webinars; competitive pricing for its feature set; good basic automation triggers like autoresponders.
• Cons: Some of the advanced automation features are gated behind higher-tier plans; the design interface is slightly less intuitive than MailChimp or Benchmark.
• Best For: Businesses that want an integrated approach to email marketing and lead generation, including hosting webinars and building landing pages directly within their email platform.

Choosing the Right Solution for Your Business

The “best” email automation solution isn’t a one-size-fits-all product; it’s the one that best supports your specific business structure, sales process, and brand voice. Your selection should be driven by your goals, audience size, and the complexity of the automated campaigns you will run. 

Below are some real-world examples to consider as you determine which methods and software will best complement your business, marketing strategy, and the complexity of your conversion funnel.

Consideration 1: Business Type and Audience

• B2B Professional Services (Law Firms, Financial Firms, IT): These businesses have longer sales cycles that rely heavily on lead quality and education. They need a system with strong CRM integration, like HubSpot or Active Campaign, to ensure their sales and marketing data are unified. The automation must be sophisticated enough to trigger emails based on lead scoring, viewing specific high-value content (like case studies), and the current stage in the sales pipeline, making them ideal for digital marketing for law firms and other professional services.
• Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) eCommerce (Retail, Subscriptions): These brands need robust, fast-acting behavioral tracking. Platforms like MailChimp or GetResponse, with their native eCommerce integrations, are essential. Key features include reliable cart recovery sequences, post-purchase follow-ups, and product recommendation automations. Their brand voice also needs a system that is easy to update with visual, on-brand creative.
• Non-Profits and Smaller Organizations: Often working with smaller budgets but needing to reach large lists, these groups may benefit most from a solution with a generous free or low-cost tier and volume-based pricing, such as Brevo or a starting plan on Benchmark. Their focus is usually on clear, simple automated emails for donations, event reminders, and volunteer onboarding.

Consideration 2: Your Marketing Strategy and Internal Resources

• Inbound Marketing Focus: If your strategy is centered on creating content that attracts prospects (Inbound), you need a platform that excels at lead capturing, segmentation based on content downloads, and multi-step nurturing drips. HubSpot or Active Campaign are ideal here due to their deep integration with landing pages and advanced tagging capabilities.
• Outbound Marketing Enhancement: When using outbound tactics like cold lists or paid advertising, your automation needs to be excellent at quick, one-off personalized broadcasts and tracking the engagement of new contacts. Look for platforms with high deliverability rates and easy list management like Benchmark or Brevo.
• Nearbound Marketing Leverage: When leveraging partnerships, your platform should allow you to segment co-marketed leads and integrate with partner CRMs or portals. Active Campaign’s superior integration capabilities or HubSpot’s all-in-one approach make it easier to execute co-sponsored events or referral-partner follow-up campaigns.

Consideration 3: The Complexity of Your Conversion Funnel

• Simple Funnel (e.g., Lead Magnet to Sale): A small business with a straightforward path can thrive with the simplicity of MailChimp or Benchmark. They offer excellent drag-and-drop tools and templates to quickly set up welcome and drip campaigns without needing to master complex logic.
• Complex Funnel (e.g., Multi-product, Multi-persona): Enterprise-level or highly niche businesses, like those in manufacturing or logistics, have complex funnels with different paths for different personas. In this case, the power and flexibility of Active Campaign or HubSpot are necessary to build complex branching logic (e.g., “If they viewed product A but not product B, send email 3; if they viewed product B, send email 4”).

“Don’t let technology dictate your strategy. Your business goals come first. We start our strategy work by mapping out the client’s conversion funnel, and only then do we select the software. If you have a B2B business with a long sales cycle, investing in a robust CRM-backed solution is a requirement, not a luxury. It’s what allows your brand to maintain a professional, strategic, and trustworthy voice at every touchpoint.”

— Stephen Wagner, VP of Operations, KWSM

Optimizing Email Automation to Meet Your Goals

These tactics are some of the many ways to leverage email automation. When you create your automated campaigns, it is important to be goal-oriented. Make sure to adjust these tactics to best fit your overall business objectives and the unique personality of your brand voice.

Your email automation solutions should be treated as a key component of your larger digital marketing strategy. A robust automation strategy supports the EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) guidelines by ensuring your content is delivered reliably and consistently to the right audience.

Does your business need help with email automation? At KWSM, we create fully customized marketing plans to inform and engage your audience. CONTACT US to learn about how we can create an effective email marketing strategy for your business.