2.2 Drip E-mails

In the last episode, we talked about basic e-mails and about it being the bare minimum every brand should do. And, if you didn’t know better, you’d probably think that basic e-mails are all a brand can do when it comes to e-mail marketing. But the truth is, it’s just the start. Here’s where it gets really fun. 

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And on that note, welcome to Drip e-mails. 

Drip e-mails are sent to a person on a more frequent basis with the purpose of building a relationship with them, getting them familiar with your product or service and eventually getting them to buy something. 

Smart brands understand that not everyone coming to their website is ready to buy from them and sometimes they need a little more convincing. 

Think about the number of times you would search for information about a product or service before making a purchase.

How many unboxing videos and MKHBD reviews have you seen before you bought a phone?

It’s human nature to want to be fully convinced and this isn’t just with buying technology, we need to be convinced when choosing the right university, finding a place to travel, buying a car and even an e-mail marketing course for that matter. 

Smart brands understand this behaviour. And so what they do sometimes is, before they even try to sell you something, they first try to get your e-mail address. Because once they get your e-mail, they know they can reach you with the right message and tip you over. 

Let’s take a few examples:

Ramit Sethi is an author who writes books and speaks on the topic of money and how to become rich. No really. His website is literally www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com. 

Ramit has a course that teaches you how to make money that he sells for $100. Now he’s a smart guy and knows that you may not want to drop that kind of money on his course when you first get to his website. So what does he do?

He draws you in with a quiz! A very interesting and seemingly harmless quiz that will tell you how much you can actually be earning. Who doesn't want to know that! So you click on that button and he asks you a bunch of questions. But guess what happens at the end of the quiz?

He says to get the results of your quiz, you need to give your e-mail and he will send them to your inbox. Now, notice an important thing here. Ramit says he will ‘keep you updated with a few e-mails per week’ which roughly translates to “I’m going to send you a series of e-mails until you love me and want to give me your money”

What he’s doing here is putting you on a drip e-mail series where he will give you tons of resources and ideas on how you can become rich, but will slowly but surely plug in his paid courses. He will first gain your trust, add value to your life and then get you to take the leap with him. 

If this sounds a bit too shrewd or sneaky to you...well...welcome to marketing. 

Because let’s be honest, after this video you’re all going to go to his website, check out the quiz and give him your e-mail. 

Here’s another quick example. 

Top universities is a website that helps students get information about the different colleges and universities across the globe. They offer services ranging from helping you choose a university, prepare for your entrance tests to even assist you with your application process. 

They have two interesting things on their website. 

1. A course finder that helps you find a course that’s perfect for you
2. An option to join them for ‘free’. 
   

Either option you choose, it will ask you for your e-mail and you will be put on a drip e-mail sequence that will send your e-mails about top universities, programs, scholarships and more. Exactly what you need. 

This whole thing of using a resource, a quiz etc. to get someone’s e-mail address is called a Lead Magnet. Here’s another important word in the e-mail ecosystem. 

Now that you have a fair idea of how a lead magnet works, let’s get into what actually goes into a good drip e-mail sequence, which is what happens once you actually get their email address. 

Every good drip e-mail series starts with something we have already discussed - Welcome e-mails. Now, these play a big role because they create a strong first impression. 

Now let’s move on to the next ingredient - adding value. Value is the only reason your e-mail subscribers are going to keep coming back and opening your e-mails. Your goal is to create so much value that they can’t do without it. You can do this by giving them key information that helps them, providing them with resources or giving them a fresh perspective. 

The third key ingredient in drip e-mails is brand recall e-mails. Now, these e-mails don't necessarily do much in terms of adding value or sales but they just keep your users engaged with updates, news or interesting findings about the brand. 

Here is an example of a brand recall e-mail from Asana - A leading project management tool used by teams across the world. 

Now you see that this e-mail really isn't doing a whole lot. It's just a simple e-mail about research on remote teams and a guide on returning to office. But it does a great job of connecting with the audience. This e-mail was sent during the pandemic when the whole world went on lockdown and everyone had to work from home. Steph from Asana talks about the changing work environment, plugs in a study on remote teams that every single user could relate to and additionally drops a resource that will help them plan returning to normal work life.

E-mails like this play a big role in keeping subscribers engaged and constantly coming back to the brand.

Now the goal of every drip e-mail is eventually sales and in the next episode, we will talk about how drip e-mails lead to sales and how great brands do that. 

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