How to Automate Emails to Turn Leads Into Subscribers

Watching your business's social media posts go viral can be thrilling, but don't underestimate the power of email marketing. For over a decade, it has been a central component of successful marketing campaigns for small businesses. Why? Email is personal and engaging, often leading to improved conversion rates and a compelling return on investment—an average of $40 for every dollar spent.

However, managing email campaigns can be tedious and time-consuming. From setting up workflows to personalizing messages, the process can eat up hours that could be better spent growing your business. That's where email automation comes in.

If email marketing has felt like a hurdle, it's time to explore the advantages of automation. And here's a surprising solution: Paperform can help you set up email automation for your small business. Read on to understand how.

What is email automation?

Imagine having a magical assistant that automatically sends emails on behalf of your sales and marketing teams. With email automation, you can create personalised and timely messages that reach the right people at the right time, i.e. emails based on customer journeys without you lifting a finger.

Email automation takes care of it all, whether it's a welcome email for new subscribers, a confirmation message for an online purchase, a friendly reminder to follow up on something or just a transactional email. It saves you time, keeps your messages personalised, and ensures your communication is top-notch.

What are the benefits of email automation?

With email automation, you can save time, provide personalised email experiences, engage customers effectively, and ultimately increase your sales and conversions, saving hours for your sales reps. It's like having a superhero sidekick that takes your business to the next level.

Let’s look at these key benefits in detail:

1. Time-saving magic

Email marketing is a prime candidate for automation, with 65% of marketers utilizing this method to save time. This freed-up time allows you to focus on other vital areas of your business like networking with key customers or building new strategies.

Take the example of running an online store. Automation enables you to set up order confirmation emails that are sent out automatically whenever a customer completes a purchase. Instead of manually sending individual emails for each order, you save significant effort and time, allowing you to concentrate on growing your business.

2. Personalised customer experiences

With email automation, you can create personalised messages that make your customers feel valued. Research shows that personalised emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates. For instance, you can send your loyal customers a personalised "Happy Birthday" email with a special discount, making them feel appreciated and encouraging repeat purchases. An AI email generator can also be used for crafting personalized emails.

3. Enhanced customer engagement

Email automation helps you stay connected with your customers and nurture relationships. Automated follow-up emails can significantly improve customer engagement.

Did you know, according to data from Omnisend, sending three abandoned cart emails results in 69% more orders than just sending one? By setting up a series of automated emails, you can gently remind customers about their abandoned carts and entice them to complete their purchases.

4. Improved sales and conversions

Email automation can boost sales and conversions by delivering targeted and timely messages. Research suggests that automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated ones.

Let's say you have a new product launch. By setting up a series of automated emails, you can create anticipation, provide exclusive sneak peeks, and ultimately drive more sales when the product becomes available.

5. Increased customer satisfaction

By utilising email automation, you can provide proactive customer support and timely information. For instance, automatically sending order confirmations, reminder emails, shipping notifications, and delivery updates can keep customers informed and satisfied.

By delivering exceptional customer experiences, you can reduce inquiries and enhance overall customer satisfaction.

6. Data-driven insights and optimisation

Email marketing automation software often provides valuable analytics and reporting features. These insights help you understand the performance of your email campaigns, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

By analysing this data, you can make informed decisions, optimise your email strategy, and continuously improve your marketing efforts.

6 practical ways to implement email automation in your business

To say that email automation can do a lot for you would be an understatement. But let’s look at some practical uses to understand its true potential.

1. Sending subscribers timely emails

Timely emails can be a game-changer in engaging your audience and driving conversions, and not doing so in time is like leaving money on the table.

With email automation, you can send emails triggered by specific events or actions. For example, say you're selling t-shirts through Paperform. You can set an email automation so once a purchase is made, buyers receive a personalized thank you note alongside their receipt.

Notice the curly braces "{{". These personalize the message by piping responses from Paperform. When a user interacts with a Paperform form—such as filling out their name, email, or answering a specific question—the information they provide can be captured and inserted into follow-up communications like emails.

This is the kind of detail that makes an impression on buyers. And, while it would be impossible to scale manually, with email automation it only takes a small initial investment of time to set up.

2. Converting leads into subscribers

Email automation can help you capture leads and turn them into loyal subscribers. For instance, you can create a lead magnet like an e-book, discount offer, or a free discovery call on your website.

When a prospect fills out a form to access the lead magnet, you can automatically send them a welcome email with the promised email content. This helps build trust, initiates a relationship, and makes a positive first impression.

See how this lead magnet flow works with our YouTube video on the subject.

3. Segmenting subscribers into different email lists

One of the most promising uses of email automation is that it allows you to segment your subscribers based on their interests, demographics, or purchase history. Why does it matter? Segmented email campaigns have a 14.31% higher open rate than non-segmented emails, as they are highly targeted and relevant.

For example, if you run an events business, you can create segments for clients who booked you for birthdays and anniversaries in the past and send them a reminder before the upcoming dates so that they can book your services again.

4. Re-engaging lost subscribers or cold leads

Email automation can help you re-engage with subscribers who have become inactive or lost interest. For instance, you can set up a re-engagement email campaign that targets subscribers who haven't interacted with your emails for a certain period. You can offer a special promotion or simply ask if they still want to receive your emails.

According to MarketingSherpa, re-engagement campaigns have an average open rate of 38%, making them an effective way to reconnect with your audience.

5. Upselling and cross-selling to existing customers

Which business doesn’t want to upsell to their customers? Whether it is suggesting complementary products or upgrades to your existing customers, you’d like that, right?

Conditional logic is a great way to upsell or cross-sell to customers. You can trigger emails to send based on their previous responses to your Paperform. For example, say you're a photographer and you have a form where people can sign up for your course.

If someone chooses a photography course through your Paperform, you can use conditional logic to upsell additional products or services. Here's how it might work:

• Offer Supplementary Materials: Trigger a prompt offering them supplementary learning materials such as an exclusive e-book, access to extra online tutorials, or photography toolkits. These supplementary products align with their chosen course and might provide additional insights or tools that enhance their learning experience.
• Promote Advanced Courses: You can also use conditional logic to promote an advanced course or a specialized workshop that takes place after the initial course. This could appeal to those who are looking to deepen their skills or explore a specific area of photography.
• Bundle with Equipment Rentals: You might upsell a package that includes the course plus a rental of professional-grade photography equipment for the duration of the course. This will allow the students to practice with high-quality tools, thus enhancing their course experience.
• Offer Discounts on Future Bookings: As a thank-you for signing up for the photography course, you might offer a limited-time discount on future bookings, such as consultations, other courses, or equipment rentals. This can incentivize customers to engage more deeply with your business and its offerings.

By using conditional logic in this manner, you create personalized and targeted opportunities to upsell products and services that align with the customer's interests and needs, thereby increasing the likelihood of additional sales.

It also enhances the user experience by making the offers relevant and tailored to their choices, reflecting a deep understanding of your customer's needs and interests.

6. Nurturing leads with drip campaigns

It’s the hard truth, but today nobody buys products/services the moment they see them unless they have already spent hours researching and comparing them. Bottom line: you have to nurture your prospects before they become a customer, and that’s where email automation can help a lot.

For instance, if someone signs up for a free discovery call at your recruitment agency, you can set up a drip campaign that sends them case studies and success stories over a specific timeframe. This helps nurture leads and build trust, increasing the chances of conversion.

Setting up email automations with Paperform

Paperform provides an easy and efficient way to set up email automations for your business. With the right tools, you can send personalized emails to your customers, clients, or subscribers. Here's how:

Built-in automations

Paperform's built-in automations allow you to create email workflows directly within the platform, without the need for any third-party tools. You can set up triggers based on user responses, purchases, or other interactions, and the platform will automatically send the corresponding email.

1. Customize Your Emails: Tailor emails using Paperform's templates or create your own design. Utilize the "{{}}" syntax for personalizing emails based on user input.
2. Set Triggers and Actions: Define the conditions that will trigger an email. This can be anything from submitting a form to purchasing a product.
3. Track and Analyze: Use Paperform's reporting tools to track the success of your emails and make adjustments as needed.

Email automation through integrations

If you need more robust email automation features or wish to integrate with your existing email marketing platform, Paperform offers seamless integration with various popular tools like Mailchimp, SendGrid, and thousands of others.

1. Connect Your Preferred Platform: Link Paperform to your email marketing tool using built-in integrations, Make or Zapier.
2. Design Your Workflow: Utilize your email marketing platform's automation features, while leveraging Paperform's forms and response data.
3. Personalize and Target: Use Paperform's data to segment your audience and send highly targeted emails.

With Paperform's flexible and comprehensive email automation features, both built-in and through integrations, you can save time, personalize your communications, and optimize your marketing efforts. Check out the examples below for inspiration:

Start automating today

Email marketing isn't just a powerful tool; it's an essential strategy for connecting directly with your audience. With the added benefits of email automation, you save time without sacrificing personal touch, ensuring that the right messages reach your customers at the perfect moments.

And when you leverage Paperform to integrate your email marketing with other tools and systems, it takes your campaigns to a whole new level. It's not just a time-saver; it's a total game-changer. Get started free today and try it for yourself.

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