4 ways to automate your email marketing for better communication

There’s a reason why email marketing is one of the most valuable platforms in a digital marketer’s tool kit. It just works. 

In 2019, there were 3.9 billion people using email globally. Experts predict this number will rise to 4.3 billion by 2023, roughly half of the world’s population. That kind of potential reach is pretty tough to beat. 

Email audiences are also more engaged than other digital media platforms. The average email open rate is 21%, and the average open rate for a welcome email is 82%. Last but certainly not least, there’s the ROI. For every dollar you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42. 

In short, if you’re not leveraging email in your digital marketing strategy, you could be missing out on a massive growth opportunity for your business.

Why you should automate your email marketing

Email marketing has come a long way from the humble newsletter. Nowadays, there are so many different apps and strategies that you can use to engage your subscribers and grow your lists. However, if you’re working with limited time, budget, resources, or all of the above, it can be hard to make sure you’re covering all of your email marketing bases.

That’s why you should consider using Zapier to automate some of those day-to-day tasks. With Zapier, you can connect your email marketing software to the other apps you use—such as online forms, eCommerce platforms, CRM apps—to save time and start rapidly building your company’s email list.

Quickly turn contacts into subscribers

Maybe you sent out a survey to get feedback on a new product or service. Or perhaps you just hosted a workshop and collected emails at the event. Entering all of those contacts into your email service provider can be a slog, but you can use Zaps to speed up the process.

The following app integrations can help you automatically update your email list from survey form entries, event attendee lists, and even a simple Google Sheet. Just make sure your subscribers have consented to receive marketing communications from you before you add them to your list to comply with anti-spam and privacy laws.

Create MailerLite subscribers from Typeform entries

Do you use Typeform to collect information from your audience? If they gave you their email address, you could use this integration to add their contact info to your MailerLite subscriber list automatically.

Add new Eventbrite attendees to a MailerLite list

Rather than messing around with CSV files, use Zapier to automatically add new attendee emails and details to a MailerLite list.

Add new subscribers to MailerLite via Google Sheets 

Zapier will automatically add new subscribers to your MailerLite list from a new row in a spreadsheet. This integration works great with Google Forms and Google Sheets.

Automatically segment your email list

As you’ve probably seen for yourself, different subscribers will respond to different kinds of content email content. While some might click on your promotional emails or download lead magnets, some prefer to engage with your educational content. 

That’s why you should use segmentation to organize your subscribers into different categories. From there, you can create and deliver unique messages to each segment. For example, you might want to send unique content to subscribers who’ve made a purchase compared to those who have just attended a webinar. 

Manually divvying up your email list into different segments can be a pretty arduous task, but you can use Zapier to segment your list based on various actions automatically. For instance, you can create segments for new webinar sign-ups and customers. You can even create segments in your CRM and then use a Zap to update those contacts in your email service provider automatically.

Tag new Crowdcast registrants in ConvertKit

Do you host workshops or webinars using Crowdcast? This integration will add your event registrations to your email service provider automatically.

Add customers to ActiveCampaign automations for new PayPal sales

Sending personalized content and deals to new buyers is a great way to keep them coming back for more. If you set up this Zapier integration, you’ll have PayPal customers automatically added to an ActiveCampaign automation.

Add a contact to GetResponse whenever you tag an Infusionsoft contact

When you add a tag to an Infusionsoft contact, Zapier will automatically create a new subscriber in a specific list. This integration will allow you to segment your email list in only one place and automatically make sure everyone gets the correct emails. But keep in mind that this Zapier integration doesn’t import already tagged Infusionsoft contacts — only new contacts you tag after setting up this integration.

Add tags to ConvertKit subscribers with new ClickFunnels contact activity

Keeping your audience in the loop will grow your business, but managing subscribers will bog down your workflows. This integration will automatically add a ConvertKit subscriber to a specific tag as soon as ClickFunnel creates a contact activity record.

Take the busy work out of lead nurturing

Once you’ve segmented your list, you want to make sure you’re following up with them with relevant information as soon as possible. Without automation, sending out targeted, timely emails to hundreds or even thousands of subscribers would be a full-time job in and of itself.

To save time, you can set up drip campaigns to automatically send emails on a schedule or based on triggers or actions the person has performed like signing up for your service or making a purchase. From there, you can use Zapier to speed up the process even more by syncing your apps with your email sequences.

Add new Teachable customers to a ConvertKit sequence

If they’re signing up for your courses, chances are new users might be interested in your other marketing, too. Start engaging with them automatically by setting up this Zapier integration. Every time there’s a new sale on Teachable, this Zap will subscribe the customer to your sequence on ConvertKit, keeping your mailing lists active and healthy.

Send Gmail messages for new ConvertKit subscribers

Welcome your new email subscribers with a personal email message. Or send an email to your team or yourself when you get new subscribers. Use this Zap to send new ConvertKit subscribers emails via Gmail automatically. That way, you keep your new subscribers engaged or your team in the loop—without investing extra time.

Send new ConvertKit subscribers an email

Send new subscribers a welcome email. Or receive an email for every new subscriber. Whatever your need, this integration will help. The trigger is the same: a new subscriber via ConvertKit. The resulting action is an email sent to your customers, or yourself, from Zapier. Save time and get more efficient with this automation.

Re-engage lost subscribers or cold leads

Unsubscribers aren’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, people may unsubscribe from your list because you already solved their problems, and they no longer need what you’re offering them. If you run a physical business, they could have moved out of the area and can no longer use your products or services.

But of course, it’s still possible that they unsubscribed because they don’t feel engaged with your brand or marketing messages. If you feel like this might be the case, or you don’t know why they’re unsubscribing at all, then you might want to get some feedback so you can improve your email marketing efforts.

With Zapier, you can set up automations to keep track of your unsubscribers so you could potentially follow up on a later date or through other channels and try to encourage them to resubscribe. 

Send Slack messages for new ConvertKit unsubscribers

Help keep your team in the loop about unsubscribers by sending notifications to a Slack channel. This Zap sends the Slack messages automatically whenever users unsubscribe from emails. That way, your team is up-to-date and can take immediate action when there are new unsubscribers.

Send Gmail emails for new unsubscribes in ConvertKit

When contacts unsubscribe from your email list, you may also want to be notified via email to stay updated. This integration helps by automatically sending a Gmail email when there is a new unsubscribe in ConvertKit.

Add or update HubSpot contacts with new unsubscribed Mailchimp users

Want to identify who is and isn’t part of your marketing efforts from within your CRM? Use this Mailchimp-HubSpot integration, and Zapier will keep up with those Mailchimp unsubscriptions for you. When a user unsubscribes from your Mailchimp list, this integration will automatically update the corresponding contact on HubSpot CRM (or create a new one), saving you the pain of ever updating them yourself again.

Email is one of the most effective marketing channels. You can directly connect with your target customers and use tools like segmentation and drip campaigns to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. And when you use Zapier to integrating your email marketing with other tools in your marketing toolbox, you can add even more fuel to the fire.