Learn how email marketing automation works, key features to use, and how platforms like Brevo help businesses grow with less manual work.

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You send a welcome email manually. Then a follow-up. Then another. By subscriber 50, you’re spending 3 hours a day on email instead of building your business.

Email marketing automation solves this. Set up workflows once, and they run automatically—sending the right message to the right person at the right time. Companies using automation see 50% higher conversion rates and save an average of 6 hours per week on manual email tasks.

This guide explains how email automation actually works, which features drive growth, and how platforms like Brevo make it accessible without expensive enterprise software.

What Is Email Marketing Automation?

Email marketing automation sends targeted emails based on triggers and user behavior—no manual sending required.

Instead of: Manually emailing each new subscriber
You do: Set up a welcome series that sends automatically when someone joins

The difference: Automation responds to what people do (sign up, click a link, abandon a cart) rather than when you remember to send emails.

Why It Matters

Manual email marketing doesn’t scale. Automation handles:

• Welcome sequences for new subscribers
• Abandoned cart reminders for e-commerce
• Re-engagement campaigns for inactive contacts
• Birthday or anniversary emails
• Post-purchase follow-ups
• Lead nurturing sequences

All running 24/7 without you touching them.

How Email Automation Actually Works

The Three Core Components

1. Triggers

Events that start an automated workflow:

• Subscriber joins your list
• Customer makes a purchase
• User clicks a specific link
• Someone abandons their cart
• Contact reaches a certain engagement score

2. Workflows

A series of emails sent based on conditions:

• Wait 1 day → Send email 1
• If they click → Send email 2A
• If they don’t click → Send email 2B

3. Segmentation

Grouping contacts by behavior or attributes:

• Purchase history
• Email engagement
• Location
• Interests
• Website activity

How it connects: A trigger starts a workflow, which sends different emails based on segments and behavior.

Example workflow:

1. Someone downloads your ebook (trigger)
2. Send welcome email immediately
3. Wait 2 days
4. Send case study email
5. If they click → Send consultation booking link
6. If they don’t → Wait 3 days, send different case study

Key Automation Features That Drive Growth

1. Welcome Sequences

Your first impression. Subscribers are most engaged right after signing up.

Basic welcome series:

• Email 1 (immediate): Deliver promised content, introduce your brand
• Email 2 (2 days later): Share your best content or resources
• Email 3 (5 days later): Explain what to expect, ask what they’re interested in

Pro Tip: Welcome emails get 4X higher open rates than regular campaigns. Use them to set expectations and gather preference data.

2. Abandoned Cart Recovery

For e-commerce, this is mandatory. 69% of shopping carts are abandoned. Recovery emails bring back 10-30% of those sales.

Effective sequence:

• Email 1 (1 hour): “Did you forget something?” + cart contents
• Email 2 (24 hours): Add social proof or reviews
• Email 3 (3 days): Offer small discount or free shipping

Real result: A small online store recovered $12,000 in monthly revenue with a simple 3-email cart recovery sequence.

3. Behavioral Triggers

Send emails based on what people do (or don’t do):

High-value triggers:

• Clicked a specific product link → Send product details
• Downloaded a pricing guide → Follow up with consultation offer
• Visited pricing page 3+ times → Send testimonials
• Inactive for 60 days → Re-engagement campaign

The power: You’re responding to expressed interest, not guessing what to send.

4. Lead Scoring and Nurturing

Automatically identify your most engaged contacts and nurture them toward a sale.

How it works:

• Assign points for actions (email open = 1 point, link click = 5 points, pricing page visit = 10 points)
• When score reaches threshold (30 points), notify sales or trigger high-intent sequence

Why it matters: Sales teams waste time on cold leads. Scoring identifies who’s actually ready to buy.

5. Segmentation and Personalization

Send different content to different groups automatically.

Useful segments:

• Customers vs. non-customers
• Product category interest
• Engagement level (active, moderate, inactive)
• Purchase frequency
• Geographic location

Personalization beyond name: Recommend products based on past purchases, send location-specific offers, adjust send times by timezone.

How Brevo Makes Automation Accessible

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers enterprise-level automation at SMB-friendly prices. Here’s what sets it apart:

Visual Workflow Builder

Drag-and-drop interface for building automation. No coding required.

You can:

• Create branching workflows with if/then logic
• Add wait times and conditions
• Test workflows before activating
• Clone and modify existing automations

Built-In CRM

Track every contact interaction in one place:

• Email opens and clicks
• Website visits
• Deal stages
• Conversation history

The advantage: Sales and marketing data in one system, not scattered across tools.

Transactional Email + Marketing

Send both marketing campaigns and transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets) from the same platform.

Why this matters: Consistent deliverability, unified reporting, simpler infrastructure.

SMS Automation

Combine email and SMS in the same workflows:

• Send email first, SMS if they don’t open
• Use SMS for time-sensitive offers
• Send shipping updates via text

Real use case: An event company sends email reminders 1 week out, SMS reminders 1 day before. Attendance increased 23%.

Flexible Pricing

Free plan: 300 emails/day, basic automation
Starter ($25/month): 20,000 emails, full automation
Business ($65/month): Advanced features, A/B testing, multi-user

Compare to enterprise platforms charging $300-$1,000+/month for similar features.

Building Your First Automation Workflow

Step 1: Choose a High-Impact Starting Point

Don’t automate everything at once. Start with one workflow that solves a clear problem:

Best first automations:

• Welcome series (everyone needs this)
• Abandoned cart (if you have e-commerce)
• Post-purchase thank you + review request
• Re-engagement for inactive subscribers

Step 2: Map the Workflow

Write it out before building:

Example – Welcome Series:

1. Trigger: Subscriber joins list
2. Send welcome email immediately
3. Wait 2 days
4. Send your best content/resources
5. Wait 3 days
6. Ask what topics interest them
7. Wait 2 days
8. Segment by response, send relevant content

Step 3: Write Your Emails

Focus on value, not selling:

Email 1: Deliver what you promised, introduce yourself briefly
Email 2: Provide genuinely useful content
Email 3: Ask questions to understand their needs
Email 4+: Send relevant content based on their interests

Pro Tip: Each email should work standalone. People won’t remember email 1 when they read email 3.

Step 4: Set Up in Brevo

1. Go to Automation section
2. Create new workflow
3. Set trigger (contact added to list)
4. Add email steps with wait times
5. Add conditions if needed (clicked/didn’t click)
6. Test with a dummy contact
7. Activate

Step 5: Monitor and Optimize

Check these metrics weekly:

• Open rates: Should be 15-25% (higher for early emails)
• Click rates: 2-5% is normal
• Unsubscribe rate: Under 0.5% is healthy
• Conversion rate: Depends on your goal

What to test:

• Subject lines
• Email timing (wait periods)
• Content and CTAs
• Send times

Common Automation Mistakes

1. Over-Automating Too Soon

Don’t automate 10 workflows your first week. Start with one, perfect it, then add more.

The fix: Master your welcome series before building complex behavioral triggers.

2. Forgetting to Exclude Customers

Sending “Buy now!” emails to people who already bought is annoying and unprofessional.

The fix: Add conditions: “If contact is NOT a customer, then send promotional email.”

3. Ignoring Mobile Optimization

Over 60% of emails are opened on mobile. If your emails don’t work on phones, they don’t work.

The fix: Use responsive templates, keep subject lines under 40 characters, use large buttons (44px minimum).

4. No Clear Goal Per Email

Each email should have ONE primary purpose.

Bad email: “Here’s our product catalog, also we have a sale, oh and read our blog post, and follow us on social media.”

Good email: “Here’s how to solve [specific problem]” with one clear CTA.

5. Setting and Forgetting

Automation isn’t “set and forget.” Markets change, products change, messaging evolves.

The fix: Review performance monthly. Update or pause underperforming workflows.

Advanced Automation Strategies

Once you master basics, try these:

Lead Magnet-Specific Sequences

Different welcome series for different lead magnets:

• Downloaded SEO guide → SEO tips sequence
• Downloaded social media checklist → Social media sequence

Why: More relevant = higher engagement = more conversions.

Re-Engagement Campaigns

Automatically detect inactive subscribers and try to win them back:

1. No opens in 60 days → Trigger re-engagement
2. Send “We miss you” email with your best content
3. Wait 1 week
4. If still no opens → Send “Last chance” email
5. If still no opens → Unsubscribe or move to different segment

The benefit: Keeps your list healthy and deliverability high.

Event-Based Sequences

Trigger emails based on:

• Anniversary of signup/purchase
• Birthday
• Renewal date approaching
• Subscription expiring

Example: SaaS company sends “Happy 1-year anniversary!” email with customer success story and upgrade offer. 15% conversion rate to higher plans.

Win-Back Campaigns for Churned Customers

Former customers are easier to re-activate than finding new ones.

Sequence:

1. 30 days after cancellation → “We’d love your feedback”
2. 60 days → “Here’s what’s new” + reactivation offer
3. 90 days → Final “We miss you” offer

Measuring Automation Success

Track metrics that matter for your goals:

Goal	Key Metrics
Build relationships	Open rate, click rate, reply rate
Drive sales	Conversion rate, revenue per email
Reduce churn	Renewal rate, engagement score
Save time	Hours saved, automated vs. manual sends

Pro Tip: Track revenue per automated workflow. If a welcome series generates $500/month and takes 2 hours to set up, that’s $6,000/year ROI.

FAQ

How long should automation workflows be?
3-7 emails for most sequences. Welcome series can go longer (10+) if you’re providing ongoing value without being salesy.

When should I send automated emails?
Test send times, but generally: 9-11 AM and 1-3 PM perform best on weekdays. Avoid weekends unless your data shows otherwise.

Can I over-automate?
Yes. If people get emails too frequently or receive irrelevant automated messages, they’ll unsubscribe. Cap total emails at 3-4 per week maximum.

Should I automate everything?
No. Save timely announcements, launches, and personal messages for manual campaigns. Automation handles repetitive, behavior-based messaging.

How do I avoid sounding robotic?
Write like you’re emailing a friend. Use “you” and “I.” Tell stories. Be specific. Automated doesn’t mean impersonal.

What’s a good automation conversion rate?
Depends on your goal. Welcome series converting 2-5% to paying customers is solid. Cart abandonment recovering 10-30% of carts is good.

Start Automating Today

Email automation isn’t optional for growing businesses—it’s how you scale personalized communication without scaling your workload.

Your action plan:

1. This week: Set up one welcome email sequence
2. Next week: Add abandoned cart recovery (if applicable)
3. Month 1: Build one behavioral trigger workflow
4. Month 2: Add segmentation and personalization
5. Month 3: Review data and optimize

Start with Brevo’s free plan to test workflows without commitment. Once you see results, upgrading is an easy decision.

Ready to automate your email marketing? Create your first workflow today and reclaim those 6 hours per week.

Internal Link Opportunities

1. Link “segmentation” to article on email list segmentation strategies
2. Link “lead scoring” to guide on qualifying leads effectively
3. Link “A/B testing” to email testing best practices article

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