Go with flow: Email automation triggers and use cases you can use now

Any decent email platform is going to offer some amount of automation. An automated email (or series of automated emails) can give subscribers information and engagement opportunities when they tell you they need info, and not just when you think they need something. This saves you time and helps you better meet the needs of your audience.

Almost everyone knows about and uses (I hope) a new subscriber welcome message (or two or three). That's an automation triggered by a new subscriber.

But there are countless more automation triggers and use cases. Here are a few ideas to get you going. Get in touch if you have ideas or implementation questions.

Events that Can Trigger an Email Automation

• A new email subscription.
• A form completion.
• Downloading a document, report, or lead magnet (i.e. download this report to learn more!)
• Opening an email but not clicking a link or converting (or clicking an email but not converting).
• Signing up for an event or training.
• Joining a volunteer program.
• Joining a Peer-to-Peer donation program or event recruitment.
• Telling you state or city of residence.
• Indicating which issue or issues are of interest.
• Purchasing a product or gift.
• Making a donation.
• Becoming a recurring donor.
• Any kind of form conversion.
• High engagement: clicking or converting X number of times in X number of days.
• Inactivity: Not opening or clicking an email in X number of days.

These are just a few ideas. Really, any event could trigger an automation or series. A couple notes:

• Not every email platform offers the same level of built in triggers and automations. A welcome series is common. The ability to trigger a series of state specific emails to people in X state may not be so easy.
• You may want to trigger automations that don't use email. For instance, registering a new recurring donation could trigger a social media post highlighting the new donor to provide social proof to your social media audience (and to thank the donor).

Email Automation Use Cases

The most common automation use cases I see in the nonprofit sector are new subscriber welcome messages, thank you emails sent after an action or donation conversion, and multi-email reactivation series.

• Welcome, thank, and inform new subscribers.
  • Consider personalizing the series based on geography, interest, or source.
  • Vary emails in the series based on interaction with the first welcome email. If a new subscriber takes a secondary action in response to the first welcome email, send them on a different automated path.
• Reactivations and renewing lapsed subscribers, activists or donors.
• Provide trainings through a daily or weekly email series. (example: one email per week for six weeks that covers elements of digital privacy and security)
• Donor retention: use an automation to thank a donor and then send a series of emails going deeper into the topic.
• Convert one time donors to recurring donors. Thank a one time donor and send them a series of emails that shows the value to them and the organization of becoming a recurring donor.
• Turn new or inactive subscribers into activists. A welcome series or just being put into the regular email pool may not be compelling to a new subscriber. Try a series focused on new subscribers who don't click an email in 30-45 days.
• Convert activists into volunteers or digital organizing and leadership roles.
• Manage a peer-to-peer campaign.
• Thank people for gifts or purchases and introduce them to higher value opportunities (e.g. show the impact of larger donations).
• Run a series of brief surveys/polls. Send a one question survey every 7 days to a segment of subscribers. These could be newer or less active subscribers. Or they could be people in a certain state or who subscribed through a unique campaign.

The possibilities are endless. Don't forget to test email automations. And remember that most will need regular updating. Don't just set and forget.

top photo by Christian Boragine on Unsplash