Email Drip Campaign
Definition
A series of automated emails sent over time to nurture leads or onboard new customers.
Example Use Case
A SaaS company sends a five-part email series to guide new users through its platform.
A drip campaign sends a sequence of emails on a schedule or in response to behaviour, so that each message builds on the last. It is how a single signup becomes an ongoing relationship without someone manually sending messages every week.
Sequences generally fall into two shapes. Onboarding walks a new user toward their first useful outcome, with each message addressing the next obstacle. Nurturing keeps a not-yet-ready prospect informed until they are ready, which is why the strongest sequences are built around questions real customers ask rather than a fixed promotional calendar.
Timing and restraint determine whether it works. Messages that arrive faster than a reader can act on them train people to ignore the whole sequence, and unsubscribe rates matter as much as open rates. Design the exit conditions deliberately — a drip campaign should stop when the goal is met or the reader disengages.
