Best Email Drip Campaign Examples to Use in 2025

Email marketing is a smart way for businesses to nurture leads through the buyer journey, build brand awareness and increase customer retention. You can also automate campaigns through drip marketing to save time, money and resources.

In this article, we explain drip marketing campaigns, provide a step-by-step guide to creating one and break down seven examples of effective drip campaigns (and why they work).

What is drip marketing?

Email drip marketing involves sending a sequence of automated emails to a target audience at specific times, usually after they perform an action that activates a pre-set trigger.

In most instances, an automated email campaign is intended to move the subscriber to the next phase of the marketing or lead funnel (e.g., sending informational content so they can learn more before buying).

If the subscriber is an existing customer, drip marketing can help move them through the sales funnel via upselling and cross-selling.

For example, one of the most popular email sequences is the welcome email drip campaign, which is automatically sent to readers who:

After doing one of the above, a new subscriber receives a series of emails at a varied cadence, usually to encourage action (e.g., making a purchase, signing up for a free sales demo or joining a webinar).

In the initial email from Altitude Sports below, the company welcomes a new subscriber to its community and offers a discount on a future purchase to encourage them to return.

An email drip campaign can range in complexity depending on:

• The type of product(s) or service(s) you offer

• Your target audience and the problems they’re trying to solve

• Your audience’s position in the marketing funnel (i.e., how close they are to buying)

• Purchasing behavior (e.g., are subscribers buying something out of habit or curiosity?)

• User behavior (i.e., how do subscribers act on your website?)

For example, if you sell a commodity product that most people want (like phone cases), your welcome email series may be shorter – perhaps two or three emails.

Your customers already know they need to protect their devices. A case will help them do this. You don’t need to persuade them to protect their phones or teac​​h them what a case is, so the buyer journey is more straightforward.

Their first encounter with your product might also be after they make their first purchase, in which case the welcome emails point to cross-selling or upselling opportunities.

Suppose you sell a more complex or higher-priced item, such as premium medical supplements. To accommodate a longer buying cycle, you may need a slower, more educational approach.

When your customers are both problem- and solution-aware, drip marketing is more about staying top of mind than encouraging people to buy.

How to create a drip marketing campaign in 5 steps

Creating effective email drip campaigns often takes some trial and error.

Drip marketing becomes a repeatable and scalable process as you discover what resonates with your target audience and refine your workflow.

Follow the steps below to set up your first or next campaign.

Step 1: Select your audience

Except for certain triggered automations, such as welcome sequences or abandoned shopping cart emails, you should tailor your drip marketing to a specific audience.

Getting to know your audience’s pain points more deeply will make the rest of your creation process much smoother, as you’ll understand what motivates them.

The more personal and relevant you can make your drip sequences, the more likely people are to take action after reading them.

Remembering the channel where your subscribers entered your marketing or sales cycle is also good practice.

For example, someone who signed up to your email list via a lead generation social media ad to download a white paper is probably earlier in their buying journey.

On the other hand, someone who filled in a pop-up form to learn more about a specific product case study is likely further along.

It’s important to distinguish these groups because each subscriber type should be part of a different drip sequence.

Step 2: Choose your drip marketing campaign objectives

Start by asking yourself, “What result am I trying to achieve with drip marketing?”

To get the highest return on investment (ROI), choose a specific action as a goal before building your sequence and map out where it fits into the customer journey.

For example, you may want to increase sign-ups for your Premium plan or re-engage with inactive subscribers.

Your goal won’t always be transactional or a true “conversion”, especially if you sell higher-priced items that require more deliberation and multiple decision-makers (e.g., enterprise software sales or real estate).

Here are some examples of non-transactional objectives for drip campaign emails:

• Teach loyal clients how to make the most of a new feature

• Help potential customers understand the complexities of a certain issue

• Qualify (or disqualify) new leads and help them see why your product or service is a fit for them

Whichever you choose, the overall objective of each drip email campaign is to maximize click-through rates.

Step 3: Set up your marketing automation triggers

Each of the automation tools available has different processes for setting up automation triggers, but there are some elements most share.

First, the trigger starts with the email marketing landing page or opt-in form. It can help to think of these pages and text boxes as transactions.

Use your copy to set expectations and accurately describe what users will receive in exchange for sharing their email addresses and signing up for your list.

Getting this right can help boost subscriber engagement, as people feel satisfied they get the value you promised them on the initial sign-up page.

Once you’re happy and your drip campaigns are working, your email marketing metrics (which we’ll cover briefly below) can help you optimize further.

Step 4: Craft your email content

You can choose your drip email campaign content based on your objectives and customers’ problems.

Subject lines are the first thing people see. Using compelling copy in yours can boost open rates. Subjects should be short so they don’t get cut off, relevant, personalized and clearly state what’s inside the email.

According to email marketing platform Litmus, most subscribers only spend two to eight seconds skimming emails, so the main body of your content should continue these characteristics.

Most email automation software comes with pre-made drip marketing templates, which can be a great starting point when designing emails.

However, your drip sequences may be more recognizable and memorable with your business’s own branding design and voice.

Below are some more best practices when creating content for your drip sequences:

• Make it skimmable. Shorter emails can be easier to read but don’t shy away from longer content if it’s helpful or necessary. Try to format it in a way that keeps people scrolling (e.g., break up big blocks of text into smaller chunks).

• Use a clear call to action (CTA). A clear but non-intrusive CTA can lead subscribers to the next step of their customer journey and help boost email marketing conversion rates.

• Conduct A/B testing. Comparing the success of your subject lines and CTA button copy can provide helpful data on what resonates with subscribers and how to optimize future email marketing campaigns.

• Include an unsubscribe link. Unsubscribe links are required by law for businesses (according to the CAN-SPAM Act and General Data Protection Regulation) and decrease the chance of subscribers reporting your emails as spam.

Here’s how these best practices could translate to a drip campaign.

Email 2

Your second drip email can act like a friendly nudge if you don’t get your desired response.

You may want to let the subscriber know there’s a time limit at this stage to inspire action.

Email 3

Your final drip email in the sequence is your last chance to engage subscribers and get them to take the action you want.

Here, you could create a sense of urgency and confirm why your offer is so valuable.

Step 5: Monitor your email drip campaign

There are a variety of metrics to keep an eye on when it comes to email marketing.

Each tells a different piece of the story and is impacted by different variables, so keep context in mind when reviewing your drip marketing performance.

Your marketing team will likely be responsible for your email marketing strategy, but getting feedback from other parts of your organization is important.

For example, your emails may convert well and drive a high volume of leads for your sales team.

You could check in with reps to ensure the leads fit the company. As you collectively learn more about your audience, leverage the team’s insights to further optimize campaigns.

Email marketing software such as Pipedrive’s Campaigns can combine customer relationship management (CRM) and inbox activities.

Use it to segment your recipients, automate repetitive admin and track delivery and open rates from one place.

Build your own drag-and-drop layouts or choose from ready-made templates to keep campaigns looking and sounding consistent.

7 drip marketing examples and why they work

Guides can be helpful, but learning by example is often more beneficial.

Below are seven effective drip marketing campaigns that address different stages of the customer journey.

1. Welcome drip sequence

The welcome email is the first a new subscriber or lead receives when they sign up for your list. It can also be the first email a new customer receives after purchasing.

Welcome emails play an important role for two reasons:

1. They set the tone for future interactions with your brand

2. Based on the content, subscribers usually decide whether or not they’ll continue engaging with your emails or company

The welcome email can be even more crucial for businesses that offer a free trial or freemium model (where the end goal is to turn new users into customers).

In these cases, getting people to sign up is sometimes only half the battle. Subsequent onboarding emails can focus on conveying the value of your product so that subscribers become paying customers.

Project management tool Programa’s first email to new users helps them learn about the tool.

The initial email offers educational material, useful resources and the opportunity to contact the team directly. These three elements help eliminate any doubt about how valuable the tool is and instill confidence in the support team.

The content that different demographics find valuable will depend on their wants, pain points and preferences. Keep those in mind if you want results.

2. Lead nurturing campaigns

Engagement should be your goal to effectively build customer relationships or move subscribers toward a sale.

The selling will come once your subscribers feel seen, heard and understood.

Here’s an example of a lead nurturing email drip campaign that aims to encourage potential customer engagement.

Wavy hair brand Merwave’s first email to new sign-ups details the product’s benefits and offers a sign-up discount.

In the next email, it offers educational content (explaining the difference between wavy and curly hair care) and another discount.

Doing this gets the customer invested in the company’s mission and explains how it applies to its target audience. It balances being promotional and being helpful in the email sequence.

3. Promotional sequence

Promotional email sequences are the type of drip campaign you may want to send when launching a new product, introducing a new feature or running a limited-time offer.

In these types of emails, your choice of format comes down to your audience and what resonates best.

Some businesses use time-sensitive copy like “While supplies last” to appeal to readers’ emotions about scarcity. Others inform customers about the sale in a matter-of-fact manner.

The most effective promotional sequences remind subscribers of their problems and how your product or service solves them.

The below email from Beats by Dre focuses on its new phone cases for iPhone 16s. It focuses on features including MagSafe, premium colors and case size.

An email like this will appeal to someone looking for a high-quality phone case that allows for wireless charging and who’s already interested in Beats by Dre and iPhones.

4. Upsell or cross-sell drip sequences

Drip sequences are perfect for upselling and cross-selling. Your audience is already engaged and may have purchased from you in the past, making it easier to convince them to do so again.

Tactful upselling and cross-selling can increase customer retention, offset acquisition costs and create loyal customers (assuming your products solve a genuine pain point).

Instead of mentioning additional products in “thank you” or purchase confirmation emails, you can prompt upsells on separate occasions.

Personal care company Harry’s does this well in the example below:

In this case, the new subscriber has purchased new shaving razors.

After a previous “Thank you for your order” email, the company cross-sells relevant products that could enhance the shaving experience.

The third email in this sequence may be a follow-up email in which Harry’s offers a small discount to further encourage the reader to purchase again.

5. Cart abandonment sequences

For e-commerce businesses, setting up an abandoned cart email campaign can help you recover otherwise lost revenue from interested shoppers.

In this example from luxury bean bag brand Moon Pod, the shopper has left two items in their cart.

The company reminds potential customers to return while offering 10% off as an incentive.

If the shopper doesn’t engage here, the next drip marketing email could up the ante and increase urgency.

For example, Moon Pod may increase the discount from 10% to 15% or limit the offer’s duration to incite action.

Personalizing abandoned cart emails with the customer’s first name is a good practice that establishes a connection and increases open rates.

To instill further confidence, encourage customers to reach out by replying to the email.

6. Re-engagement emails

For both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses, you can use re-engagement emails to win back inactive subscribers.

In this example, virtual private network (VPN) service NordVPN aims to re-engage a user after their subscription expires.

If the reader doesn’t click through, NordVPN may follow up with an email a few days later noting that the deal expires soon (i.e., the five-day countdown is almost over).

Re-engagement emails can also help you separate truly inactive subscribers from those who may engage again, a process that’s part of good email list hygiene.

The fewer inactive subscribers you have, the better your inbox health and email deliverability.

7. Renewal sequence

Renewal reminders can upsell customers from a free trial to a paid plan.

They’re also effective for establishing trust by reminding paying customers they can expect an upcoming charge.

You can keep your renewal drip emails brief and straightforward or go into more detail to remind customers why they should stay with you.

For example, Venmo shares updates on benefits the user has missed since last using the tool:

The email focuses on its ease of use and integrations with other platforms, like Uber Eats.

Depending on the time left before renewal, you could split the benefits into separate emails and send several emails before renewal.

It’s also a good practice to include contact details for your support team or information on lesser-known features for the customer based on past behavior and user actions.

Final thoughts

Drip campaigns can effectively build brand awareness, improve the customer experience and drive sales based on past campaign performance.

By analyzing your unique customer journey, you can design different types of drip campaigns that offer relevant content to move particular groups of subscribers more smoothly through the buying journey.

To design the most successful drip campaign, refine it based on performance and behavioral segmentation and consistently optimize your emails as your business and audience evolve.