To avoid alienating audiences by not recognizing their unique needs, it is essential for businesses to create customized journeys for subscribers based on their individual preferences. By providing a personalized experience, you are more likely to engage your prospects. Here is where drip email campaigns come into play.
In this post, we’ll dwell on the matter and provide an overview of some great drip email software that can easily tweak your email marketing.
Content:
What is drip email software?
Drip email campaigns involve a series of automated emails that are sent to subscribers on your list based on predetermined parameters. These campaigns can be tailored to meet specific needs and can be as simple or complex as desired. It’s worth noting that drip campaigns are known by many names, including automated email campaigns, lifecycle emails, autoresponders, drip marketing, and marketing automation.
To create these email campaigns, you will need drip email campaign software. It is a platform that allows users to create automated flows of pre-written emails. These emails are sent based on predefined criteria, such as a set schedule or user behavior, and can also be sent all at once.
An example of a drip email campaign can be an abandoned cart case, where eCommerce data is leveraged to target customers who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase. This can be done by sending reminder emails and adding incentives like a discount code.
What benefits do drip campaign tools offer?
Drip email software is a great tool for building brand awareness. However, businesses often overlook it, which is rather unfortunate. By regularly sending out emails that address your leads’ with relevant and valuable content, you can establish your brand as a trustworthy source of information in your niche and earn people’s trust. Effective drip email campaign software can take your company to new heights for a number of reasons:
- saving time and money;
- providing targeted market segmentation;
- offering more personalization for your subscribers;
- helping you build and nurture strong relationships;
- facilitating lead conversion;
- re-engaging inactive contacts;
- distributing valuable content;
- establishing brand awareness;
- completing purchases from shoppers who abandon their shopping carts, etc.
As you can see, drip email tools can offer significant advantages when it comes to optimizing your business routine and creating more personalized emails in a flash. With a myriad of such services on the market, it can be challenging to find a perfect one. However, things do get easier if you know what to pay attention to.
What to look for when choosing drip email software?
When selecting drip email marketing software, it can be overwhelming to navigate the variety of available tools. To simplify your decision-making process, focus on some key points:
- Automated lead segmentation. To ensure that you’re delivering the most relevant content to your leads, it’s important to have drip email campaign software that can dynamically score and segment your leads. High-quality drip email marketing platforms offer the ability to create a lead-scoring model and integrate it directly into your drip workflows.
- Branching logic. While basic drip campaigns can be effective, it’s also useful to have the ability to set up more complex automation that incorporates branching logic, also known as “if/else” conditions. It allows you to create drip campaigns that send different emails to different segments of your audience. This feature enables you to automatically offer different workflow paths based on specific user behaviors.
- A/B testing. Running tests within automation sequences enables you to experiment with different email content and flows for similar audiences, helping you optimize your drip campaign performance and gain a better understanding of your target audience. However, not all drip email marketing software allows you to run A/B tests within automated workflows.
- Drip email builder interface. Choose drip email software with an easy-to-use visual builder for your automation workflows. Opt for a no-code automation platform, especially if you don’t have a technical background. Fortunately, many popular platforms now offer automation builders that are simple to use.
- Affordability. Fair pricing is a critical aspect of any drip email software. When evaluating different tools, consider whether complex drip workflows are included, and if testing options or any automation workflows are present in the service you want to implement.
There are many other parameters that you might find important, depending on your specific needs and preferences. For example, for some businesses, drip email software might be essential to integrate and work seamlessly with the rest of the tech tools and so on.
The best drip email campaign software
And now, let’s jump into a more detailed description of drip campaign tools that can leverage your business. If you’re pressed for time, skip to the comparison table of email drip campaign tools below to quickly scan through the best options.
SendPulse
SendPulse is a comprehensive omnichannel platform and drip email software designed to streamline and optimize your sales processes. One of the key features of SendPulse is its Automation 360. This tool simplifies the progression of contacts through your sales pipeline with minimal human involvement. Once you define the conditions, the automation system will be activated based on specific dates or events, such as when a contact joins your mailing list, a new user registers, or a purchase is made. This enables your audience to receive welcome emails, captivating content, reminders for abandoned carts, order confirmations, and other valuable messages.
Using Automation 360, you can effortlessly send thousands of messages across various channels instantly or as per your desired schedule. By delivering timely and relevant messages, you can significantly enhance user engagement. This automation allows timely follow-ups, personalized communication, and effective lead nurturing. Moreover, you can analyze your drip email campaigns’ effectiveness by time, recipients, or other variables to improve user experience and enhance your performance stats.
Another notable advantage is integrating SendPulse’s automation tools with its multichannel communication features. Users can leverage various communication channels such as email, SMS, web push notifications, and chatbots to engage with leads and move them through the sales pipeline seamlessly. This omnichannel approach ensures consistent and coordinated communication, enhancing customer experience.
Pricing: SendPulse, as a drip campaign tool, provides a free plan with the core features you need to get started if you have up to 500 subscribers. The cheapest tier is $6.40 monthly, giving access to more advanced features like a full A/B testing suite.
Snov.io
Snov.io drip email software allows you to create personalized drip email sequences to connect with your prospects, streamline your workflow, and increase conversions. It offers complete automation with unlimited campaigns, follow-ups, and sender accounts.
The visual drag-and-drop campaign editor makes it easy to create custom campaigns. A template library provides ready-made email templates to get you started quickly. Such integrations as NiftyImages, Hyperise, and Hippo Video allow you to personalize email content and add images and videos.
You can use behavioral triggers to ensure the correct email is sent to the right person based on their actions. This drip campaign tool offers detailed analytics and various testing options, including A/B testing, to help track and optimize campaign performance. The sales suite includes Email Finder, Email Verifier, and a free CRM. This service also offers a mailbox warm-up, meaning a gradual increase in email sending volume to a new email domain or IP address to establish a positive reputation with the email provider.
Pricing: The service provides only a free trial, whereas the cheapest tier starts at $30/month.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is another powerful drip email software that enables businesses to create and automate targeted email marketing campaigns. One of the key features of Klaviyo is its advanced segmentation capabilities. Businesses can segment their mailing lists based on various criteria such as demographics, purchase history, browsing behavior, or engagement level.
This drip campaign tool also provides a drag-and-drop email builder that makes it easy to create visually appealing and professional-looking email templates. Users can customize these templates with their own branding, images, and content to align with their brand identity. The software also supports HTML editing for users who prefer more advanced customization options.
Automation is another standout feature of Klaviyo. Businesses can set up automated email sequences or “drips” triggered based on specific events or actions taken by subscribers. These automated workflows help nurture leads, welcome new subscribers, recover abandoned carts, or re-engage inactive customers.
Pricing: Klaviyo offers free access to its tools. With the free plan, users can send up to 500 emails per month to 250 contacts. For those looking for more extensive email marketing capabilities, Klaviyo provides paid plans starting at $20, including 5,000 emails to 500 contacts.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is another drip campaign tool that offers not only the essential features for email campaigns but also a suite of empowering tools for creators. When it comes to automation, ConvertKit provides two options. The first is through Sequences, which allows you to arrange emails based on time delays and list filters. Sequences are ideal for delivering online courses, nurturing subscribers, or guiding them through a specific journey.
In the Automation tab, you get a total of 28 templates, so you can take your email sequences to new heights. These templates offer a variety of automation possibilities, such as promoting content on social media, delivering personalized welcomes to podcast subscribers, or teasing upcoming products or book releases with exclusive content.
In addition to its powerful automation features, ConvertKit also offers ConvertKit Commerce. This integration with Stripe enables users to sell products directly within their emails, reducing friction in the purchasing process. Whether it’s digital products, subscriptions, or even a tip jar for generous supporters, ConvertKit Commerce provides a seamless and convenient way to monetize your offerings. It also provides a range of native integrations, allowing users to connect their email campaigns with other tools and platforms.
Pricing: This drip email campaign software offers a free plan for 300 subscribers or fewer. However, the free tier is rather limited when it comes to automation. The cheapest paid plan starts at $9/month for 300 subscribers, and gives you access to automated email sequences.
Flodesk
One more service we’ll dwell on in this post is Flodesk. Unlike other email marketing services where adding more contacts means paying more, Flodesk takes a different approach. For a flat monthly fee of $35, you can bring in as many subscribers as you want without worrying about limits. This simple and transparent pricing structure allows you to focus on segmentation, automation, and crafting irresistible offers for your audience.
One of the standout features of Flodesk is its sleek and minimalist interface. It provides a user experience that doesn’t overwhelm you with an abundance of controls. Setting up a drip campaign is effortless, even though the platform may not offer the same depth of features as some competitors. It offers a single start trigger, four drip templates — nurturing, welcome, lead magnet, and sales, — and a range of actions to help you segment your audience effectively.
The email builder in this drip email campaign software boasts stunning templates to choose from. Adding personalization to your emails is a breeze. You can even set a fallback value in case a subscriber forgets to provide their first name during sign-up, ensuring the best-personalized experience. The Flodesk analytics feature is simple yet powerful enough to provide useful insights.
Pricing: Despite the lack of a free plan, Flodesk allows you to test its capabilities with no card required. You can select among three plans — Email, Checkout, and Everything, where the first two cost $35/month each and the combined one $59/month.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is one more powerful drip campaign tool that offers a wide range of triggers, conditions, and actions within its automation builder. Whether based on specific subscriber actions, time delays, or predefined criteria, ActiveCampaign allows you to design sophisticated workflows tailored to your unique business needs.
Creating a drip campaign in ActiveCampaign is straightforward. The visual automation builder provides a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to design and visualize the flow of your email sequences. You can start with a trigger, such as a subscriber joining a specific list or completing a form, and then define the subsequent steps and actions based on your desired objectives. You can personalize emails using dynamic content, such as subscriber names or other custom fields, to create a more tailored and relevant experience. Additionally, you can utilize conditional splits to segment your audience and send targeted content based on their interests, behaviors, or engagement levels.
Besides, you can monitor key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, allowing you to evaluate the success of your email sequences and make data-driven optimizations. Furthermore, ActiveCampaign integrates seamlessly with other tools and platforms, enabling you to leverage additional functionalities and enhance the capabilities of your drip campaigns.
Pricing: This drip email campaign software provides a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. After that, you can choose from various plans depending on your business needs. The cheapest plan for email and marketing automation starts at $49 per month.
The bottom line
Choosing drip email campaign software can be a daunting and time-consuming task, as a lot of aspects are involved in making the right decision. Feel free to check the table below to compare the platforms described in this post.
Drip campaign tool | Free tier | The cheapest plan | Automation | Unique feature |
SendPulse | Yes | $6.40/month | All plans | Chatbot auto-replies |
Snov.io | Only a free trial | $30/month | All plans | Email warm-up |
Klaviyo | Yes | $20/month | All plans | Customer lifetime value |
ConvertKit | Yes | $9/month | Only pre-paid plans | Creator network |
Flodesk | Only a free trial | $35/month | In Email and Everything plans | Flat rate |
ActiveCampaign | Only a free trial | $49/month | All plans | Predictive sending AI |
Drip email campaigns have the potential to become your primary sales tool, driving conversions and nurturing leads effectively. Before selecting a platform, consider the level of depth you desire in your automated workflows and identify the specific features that will help you achieve your goals. By carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose a platform that aligns with your requirements and maximizes the success of your drip campaigns.
With SendPulse, for example, you’ll get access to a number of other useful features that you can try out with the free plan. Just like that, you can easily optimize your email campaigns and overall marketing performance.