Email nurture

Build automated email sequences that educate leads over time, build trust at every touchpoint, and move prospects toward a buying decision at their own pace.

Chapters17 Tools12 Books1 About

Chapters

Article1 min
A lead is not activated until it acts
A form fill is potential, not activation. A lead counts as activated only when it acts, such as booking a call, replying, using the product or returning to pricing.
Article1 min
Common failures
Where activation goes wrong, from counting captured leads as wins to slow replies on hot enquiries, with a fix for each such as reporting activation beside lead volume weekly.
Article2 min
FAQs
Answers on how fast to reply to a new lead, why nurture is more than extra emails, and how to automate the first touch while hot leads go straight to a person.
Article1 min
Make the next step impossible to miss
Leads stall when the next step is vague, buried or too big. Give every touch one clear, small action so interest turns into a booked call or a reply.
Article1 min
Match the message to the moment they are in
Send each lead the message that fits their stage. A beginner guide download is not ready for a demo, and a repeat pricing visitor does not need another guide.
Article2 min
Personal beats automated when the stakes are high
Review sequence performance monthly: open rates and click rates drift as audiences change, and stale content stops working.
Article1 min
Re-engage the dormant before you chase the new
Your cheapest pool of leads is the one you already own. Stalled trials, ghosted demos and old downloads showed intent once, so reactivate them before buying new ones.
Article1 min
Speed to first contact decides the whole game
Intent peaks the moment a lead acts and falls sharply within minutes. Response speed is the plainest and strongest lever you have over activation.
Article1 min
What gets measured between the click and the close
Most funnels are measured only at capture and close. Map and instrument the stages in between so you can see which step of activation is leaking.
Article3 min
New subscriber welcome flow
Build a four-email welcome sequence with a clear job for each message, sensible gaps and exit rules, so new subscribers know what to expect and what to do next.
Article3 min
Nurture to booking
Build an email sequence that moves leads who have not booked yet towards a meeting, with a fast route for hot leads and a slower route for warm ones.
Article3 min
Re-engagement
Run a short, staged campaign to win back subscribers who have gone quiet, using real activity to pick the segment and a clear rule for when to stop.
Article3 min
Post-booking confirmation flow
Build the short sequence that runs between a prospect booking a meeting and the meeting itself, so more of them show up, prepared, and the nurture emails stop at the right moment.
Article3 min
Review open and click rates monthly
Run a 45 minute monthly review of every nurture email, read the pattern in opens, clicks and replies, and decide to rewrite, replace, remove or leave each one.
Article3 min
Test subject lines and send times
Run clean A/B tests on subject lines and send times in your nurture emails, read the results honestly, and roll each winner out across every sequence.
Article3 min
Add new content to sequences
Keep a content log, match each new piece to a slot in your sequences, swap it in without breaking the flow and retire what has gone stale.
Article3 min
Prune inactive contacts
Define who counts as inactive, protect the contacts that matter, try one re-engagement round and then remove the rest, so your emails land in more inboxes.

Tools

ToolClient acquisition
ActiveCampaign
Automates email, SMS and sales follow-up through visual workflows with a built-in CRM and contact lists.
Marketing automation
Sign up on ActiveCampaign
ToolClient acquisition
Brevo
Combines email and SMS marketing, marketing automation, and a built-in CRM in a single platform.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Brevo
ToolClient acquisition
Campaign Monitor by Marigold
Provides analytics and reporting for email marketing campaigns to track performance and audience engagement metrics.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Campaign Monitor by Marigold
ToolValue creation
Customer.io
Triggers email, SMS, push, in-app and WhatsApp messages from real-time user events and behaviour.
Keep customers longer
Sign up on Customer.io
ToolValue creation
Drip
Automates email and SMS campaigns for online stores using behavioural triggers and revenue attribution.
Keep customers longer
Sign up on Drip
ToolClient acquisition
eWebinar
Turns pre-recorded videos into automated webinars that run on-demand without needing live presenters.
Email nurture
Sign up on eWebinar
ToolClient acquisition
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Email and content platform for independent creators and online businesses formerly called ConvertKit.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Tool
Klaviyo
Unifies customer email, SMS, and CRM data to power segmented marketing campaigns for ecommerce brands.
Automation
Free plan
Sign up on Klaviyo
ToolClient acquisition
Loops
Send marketing, lifecycle and transactional email from one platform built specifically for SaaS product teams.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Loops
ToolClient acquisition
Mailchimp
Send and automate marketing emails at scale, with templates and audience management for growing businesses.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Mailchimp
ToolClient acquisition
Outgrow
Build quizzes, calculators and assessments that engage visitors and capture qualified leads without coding.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Outgrow
ToolClient acquisition
Typeform
Builds conversational forms and surveys that present one question at a time on screen.
Email nurture
Free plan
Sign up on Typeform

Books

BookClient acquisition
Hacking growth
Sean Ellis
Read my review
Buy on Amazon.com

About this playbook

Since 2012, I've built B2B marketing automation for my own agencies, for scale-ups, and for enterprise teams. It's one of the areas I know inside out. Most leads are not ready to buy when they first find you, and that's completely fine. The problem is when you either ignore them or blast them with generic emails until they unsubscribe. Neither approach works. What works is a sequence of useful, timely messages that builds trust over time. In this playbook, I'll show you the exact workflows I always build. A welcome flow that sets expectations, a nurture sequence that educates without overwhelming, and a re-engagement flow for leads that go quiet. These are not mass email blasts. They're designed to feel personal, arrive at the right moment, and move people closer to a conversation when they're ready.