Digital Lab

Email Sequences to 10X Your Revenue

Automated email sequences generate 51% more revenue than individual emails… yet most businesses still haven’t created their first welcome sequence.

In this email, I’ll break down the different types of email sequences you can use based on the type of business you’re in.

Some quick definitions:

Promotion = discounts, bundles, limited-time offers, etc.

Value Add = content more focused on benefiting the reader than making money

Referral / Affiliate = converting a reader into a compensated seller for the business

Upsell / Downsell = selling something bigger or smaller than what was already purchased

Let’s get straight to it.

(jump to the section most relevant to your business)

eCommerce Email Sequences

In eCommerce product sales email has been widely adopted as one of the most important parts of the marketing strategy.

It’s an excellent way to not only encourage first-time purchases but to drive repeat business as well.

The first sequence to build is your “opt-in” sequence.

ie. The prospects give you their email before making a purchase.

This is usually done by offering a discount for first-time buyers in exchange for their email addresses.

Once you have their email the sequence flow should look something like this:

The first 8 emails in your sequence should follow this flow, continue the flow beyond 8 with a similar pattern.

The first email confirms the opt-in, the second delivers the promotion, third introduces the brand.

From there your goal is to send them frequent emails either to build up the brand image or drive direct conversion.

You can’t do all of either, you need to implement a healthy balance so you can get sales but not burn out the audience. A 3:2 ratio like the one demonstrated above tends to work well.

Build an Opt-In Sequence

The second sequence to build is your “purchase” sequence.

ie. the email sequence that starts after purchase.

Your customers are your most valuable prospects.

They’ve already spent money with you, it’ll be much easier to keep them spending with you.

Once a customer completes a purchase, your sequence should look something like this:

The first 8 emails in your sequence should follow this flow, continue the flow beyond 8 with a similar pattern.

The first email confirms purchase details, the second introduces a related product as an upsell / down-sell, and the third introduces a promotion of that related product.

From there your goal is (just like the opt-in sequence) to send them frequent emails. But this time you have less focus on the brand image. Now you should put more effort into a referral/affiliate program.

Incentivize your customers to bring in new customers.

If they love your product(s) and are well incentivized, they will share it with others.

This is a great way to turn your best customers into salespeople for your brand as well.

Build A Post-Purchase Sequence

Consumer Services Email Sequences

Consumer service businesses represent plumbers, electricians, appliance companies, and a lot more.

This business type has the unique benefit of being able to be more “pushy” with their email sequences without burning prospects out or causing brand damage.

Since most consumers only need these services in specific situations, it’s best to send emails often to stay top-of-mind for when they need you.

Your first sequence should be your “opt-in” sequence.

It’ll look something like this:

The first 8 emails in your sequence should follow this flow, continue the flow beyond 8 with a similar pattern.

The opt-in sequence is a great way to get people who aren’t currently buying to sign up for email communication. This allows you to message them directly as frequently as you like.

This makes it much easier to convert them into real revenue down the line.

The opt-in sequence should be a healthy balance of promotions, affiliate/referral programs, and value-add emails.

​Build an Opt-In Sequence

The second sequence to build is your post-purchase sequence:

The first 8 emails in your sequence should follow this flow, continue the flow beyond 8 with a similar pattern.

In a consumer services business, you don’t always have the freedom to immediately sell the same thing to the same person.

So we need to think of inventive ways to get customers to generate more revenue for our business.

The easiest thing to do is to encourage an Upsell / Downsell.

This might create additional revenue from every customer very quickly.

Ex. if you can turn your one-time landscaping job into a once/month subscription

So if you don’t already have Upsell/Downsell opportunities, create some and start emailing your customers about them.

From there the best way to generate more revenue from your customers is for them to refer your business.

While they might not need your services right away, they likely know someone who does. Remind them of this over and over again.

And maybe most importantly, nurture them with value add content.

Help them to remember that you were great to work with so when they DO need you again, they pick up the phone and call you without ever thinking of the competition.

Build a Post-Purchase Sequence

B2B Email Sequences

B2B is one of the hardest yet most rewarding types of businesses to build.

In general, each customer tends to be high value.

But they are also much harder to sell and retain long term.

Email sequences can help you attract, nurture, convert, and retain B2B prospects.

Let’s start with your “opt-in” sequence.

The first 7 emails in your sequence should follow this flow, continue the flow beyond 7 with a similar pattern.

Opt-in sequences in B2B are naturally very long.

You could be nurturing the same lead for 6 months or even a year before they convert.

So the challenge becomes “How do I keep them engaged for THAT LONG?”

The only way to do so is with an overwhelming amount of value-add content.

Unlike many other business types that can push promotions and referral programs non-stop, B2B businesses need to take more time to demonstrate expertise and brand image.

This sequence should be 70-80% value-add content with the occasional promotion or referral/affiliate reference.

When they are ready to buy they’ll come straight to you.

​Build an Opt-In Sequence

Now let’s talk about post-purchase:

The first 7 emails in your sequence should follow this flow, continue the flow beyond 7 with a similar pattern.

In B2B your customers are your biggest weapon.

Your customers are rubbing elbows with other professionals every day.

They also often undergo job changes which could give you an intro to a new company as well.

It’s important that after a customer completes a purchase you regularly introduce them to your referral/affiliate program.

This program should heavily incentivize your customers to refer you to new business, I recommend a strong monetary compensation for referrals here.

In addition to this you need to provide a constant stream of valuable content.

This content helps with retention (continued expertise representation) as well as reminds them of you constantly.

That way when someone mentions they’re struggling with [problem you solve] they instantly recommend you.