Email marketing automation

How a flow works

Every flow has three parts. The trigger is the event that starts it: someone joins the list, places an order, leaves a basket or has not bought for a set time. The steps are the emails and the waits between them, sometimes with branches, so a customer who clicked receives something different from one who did not. The exit rules stop the flow when it is no longer relevant: the customer bought, unsubscribed or entered a more important flow. Missing exit rules can lead to embarrassing automated emails, such as a basket reminder after the order arrived.

Common flows and their triggers

Which flows to build first

Start with the flows closest to a moment of interest. For many businesses that means a welcome flow, because every new subscriber passes through it. Online shops might add a basket reminder and a post-purchase flow next. Service businesses might add an enquiry follow-up instead. Build one, check it works and watch results for a few weeks before adding the next. Three well-built flows do more than ten that nobody maintains.

Consent in automated emails

Automation does not change the rules. The ICO's guidance says marketing email to individuals needs consent or the soft opt-in, and every message must identify the sender and offer an opt-out. Flows should check marketing consent before sending, and contacts who unsubscribe should leave every marketing flow at once. Some emails triggered by actions, such as order confirmations, are part of the transaction rather than marketing; if a flow mixes the two, ask your adviser how it should be treated.

Building a flow

1. 01

   Map

   Trigger, steps, waits, branches and exits on one page.

   Output: Flow map

2. 02

   Write

   One purpose per email.

   Output: Copy

3. 03

   Build

   Flow set up in your platform.

   Output: Draft flow

4. 04

   Test

   Test contacts run through every branch.

   Output: Test record

5. 05

   Switch on

   Live, with results watched.

   Output: Live flow

Example: three flows for a candle shop

When flows overlap

A new subscriber may join the list, leave a basket and place an order within a day, triggering three flows at once. Decide which flows take priority and whether a contact can be in more than one at a time. Some platforms let you exclude contacts in one flow from another, or limit how many automated emails anyone receives in a period. Check your platform's documentation for what it supports.

Testing before switching on

Keeping flows healthy

Flows break quietly. A product is discontinued but still featured, a discount code expires, a website change breaks a link, or a shop connection stops passing orders so basket reminders go to people who already bought. Review each flow every few months: read every email, check the links, confirm the trigger is still firing and compare results with the previous period.

Measuring flows

Report each flow separately from campaigns. Look at how many people entered, how many completed or exited, clicks and sales or actions per email, and unsubscribes. A step that causes a spike in unsubscribes may be too frequent or off-topic. Opens are a rough indication only, because email apps handle tracking images differently.