Short answer
- Build three to five workflows before anything else: welcome, post-visit (with review request), reminder and win-back.
- Every workflow needs a trigger, a goal and an exit, so people stop getting emails once they've done what you wanted.
- Keep deliverability healthy: set up your domain authentication and make unsubscribing easy.
How a workflow works
Every email workflow, simple or complex, has the same four parts:
| Part | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | What starts it | Someone books their first appointment |
| Steps | The emails and the wait between them | Thank-you now, care tips in 2 days, rebook prompt in 5 weeks |
| Goal | What you want them to do | Book a second appointment |
| Exit | When they leave the workflow | They book, unsubscribe or reach the last email |
The exit is the part people forget. Without it, a customer who already rebooked keeps getting "Time to rebook!" emails, which looks careless.
The five workflows to build first
- Welcome. Triggered when someone joins your list. Deliver what you promised, introduce yourself, and set expectations for how often you'll email.
- Post-visit or post-purchase. A thank-you, any useful aftercare tips, and a polite review request with your direct link. Keep rewards out of review requests; Google doesn't allow incentivized reviews.
- Service reminder. Timed to how often customers usually need you: a haircut every few weeks, a car service every few months, a furnace check once a year.
- Win-back. For customers who haven't been back in a while. A friendly check-in, sometimes with a reason to return.
- Abandoned booking or cart. If your booking tool or online store supports it, a reminder to people who started but didn't finish.
Drip campaign examples
A drip campaign is a series of emails sent on a schedule. Here are two examples for local businesses. Timings are starting points to adjust, not rules.
Example 1: new gym member (goal: build the habit)
| When | |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | Welcome, what to bring, how to book classes |
| Day 3 | "How was your first week?" with a beginner-friendly class suggestion |
| Day 10 | Meet the coaches, short intro video |
| Day 21 | Simple progress tip and a reminder to book next week |
Example 2: home service lead that didn't book (goal: book the job)
| When | |
|---|---|
| Same day | Your quote, what's included, how to book |
| Day 2 | Answers to the most common questions and photos of similar jobs |
| Day 7 | A short, personal check-in: "Any questions about the quote?" |
| Exit | As soon as they book or say no |
Best practices that prevent problems
- Start small. One good welcome email beats a twelve-step sequence nobody finishes.
- Write for one person. Automated doesn't have to sound automated. Use first names only when your data is clean.
- Use real triggers. Connect your booking tool or store so emails fire on actual events, not guesses.
- Avoid overlap. Make sure someone in a win-back workflow isn't also getting a welcome series and a campaign the same day.
- Test every path. Put yourself through the workflow with a test email before turning it on.
- Honor unsubscribes everywhere. If someone opts out, they leave every marketing workflow, not just one.
- Follow the law. In the US, automated marketing emails still follow CAN-SPAM. See the FTC's guide.
Deliverability basics
Automations only work if they reach the inbox. Google's email sender guidelines require senders to authenticate their email, and bulk senders (close to 5,000 or more messages a day to personal Gmail accounts) must also set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, make unsubscribing easy and keep spam complaints low. Even if you send far less than that, setting these up is good practice.
Review your automations every quarter
- Read every automated email again. Are prices, hours, links and offers still correct?
- Check which workflow brings the most bookings or orders, and which gets ignored.
- Look at unsubscribes per email. A spike usually points to one email that needs rewriting.
- Remove or rewrite anything you'd be embarrassed for a customer to read today.
If you'd rather not build this yourself, my Email & SMS marketing plan ($149/month) includes setting up the welcome, review and win-back automations on the platform you use, plus monthly campaigns.