Drip campaign
A drip campaign is a set of pre-written emails that send automatically, one at a time over days or weeks, to people who took an action such as downloading a guide, booking a call or becoming a client. Mailchimp defines it as "a series of automated marketing emails sent to people who take specific user actions on your website".
Also called: drip email campaign, drip marketing, email drip
How does a drip campaign work?
Every drip campaign has four parts: a trigger, a list of emails, the wait between them and a rule for when to stop. The trigger might be a form, a tag in your CRM or a date. Your email tool then sends the first email straight away or after a short wait, the second a few days later, and so on. The stop rule takes people out when they reply, book a call or buy, so a new client does not keep getting sales emails.
The name is said to come from drip irrigation, according to Wikipedia: small amounts, delivered regularly, over time.
What are drip campaign examples for an MSP?
Three or four sequences cover most needs. This sample set is a starting point.
| Trigger | Emails | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Downloads a guide, such as a Cyber Essentials checklist | 4 emails over 3 weeks: the guide, a common mistake, a short client story, an offer of a review call | A booked call |
| Signs up for a webinar | 3 before (confirm, reminder, day-of link) and 2 after (recording, next step) | Attendance, then a call |
| Becomes a new client | 5 emails over the first 30 days: welcome, how to raise a ticket, who to call, security basics, first check-in | Fewer "how do I" tickets, a good first month |
| A quote not accepted after 30 days | 2 emails a fortnight apart: what has changed, a final check | A reply, or a clean close |
Do drip campaigns work?
Automated emails earn more per send than one-off campaigns, though the strongest data comes from online retail. Omnisend's 2026 report, covering 27 billion emails from 150,000 ecommerce brands, found automated emails were 2% of sends but drove 30% of revenue. B2B buying is slower and involves more people, so expect smaller gains.
Microsoft's partner blog, citing Omdia, adds a limit for technology partners: a single asset, email or event is unlikely to keep a buyer engaged through a complex purchase, so partners should run coordinated campaigns in which email nurture is one step alongside content, social and webinars.
How many emails should a drip campaign have?
There is no fixed number. Start with as few emails as the job needs, usually three to five, and give each one a single job: deliver, teach, prove or ask. Space them two to five days apart for a lead, closer together before an event. Watch where replies and unsubscribes happen, then cut or rewrite the weakest email.
Where Yori fits
To write the emails, use the Email Sequence Service in Yori, the AI marketing assistant for MSPs and resellers. It writes a whole sequence, such as a welcome series, a nurture campaign or a sales follow-up, with each email building on the last and timing that fits the trigger. It writes from your Brand Profile and Audiences, so the emails sound like you and speak to your clients' problems. Yori writes the emails and your email tool or CRM sends them, so set the triggers and stop rules there.
Every reply shows the credits it used. Pro is £49 a month with 25 monthly credits. The free trial has 25 one-time credits and needs no card. Start the free trial and run the Email Sequence Service on the guide or webinar you already have.
Often confused with
- Nurture campaign
- Sources do not agree on this one. Wikipedia treats drip marketing and lead nurturing as the same thing. Some email vendors use "drip" for a fixed, time-based series and "nurture" for one that changes with what the reader does. In practice, ask what triggers each email and when it stops.
- Autoresponder
- An autoresponder sends an email automatically when something happens. ActiveCampaign explains the difference: "an autoresponder can be a single message, while a drip campaign implies a series."
- Newsletter
- A newsletter goes to your whole list on a schedule, with news everyone shares. A drip campaign goes to one person at a time, starting from something they did.
Questions
What is a drip campaign in marketing?
A drip campaign is a series of automated emails sent one at a time, over days or weeks, to someone who took an action such as downloading a guide or signing up for a webinar. Each email moves them a step closer to a call or a purchase.
Why is it called a drip campaign?
The name is said to come from drip irrigation: small amounts of water delivered regularly over time. A drip campaign delivers small amounts of information the same way.
What is a CRM drip campaign?
A CRM drip campaign is one run from your CRM, such as HubSpot or Salesforce, so the trigger can be anything the CRM records: a deal stage, a tag, a form or a date. It lets sales and marketing see who received which email.
What is the difference between a drip campaign and a nurture campaign?
Many people use the terms for the same thing. Where they are split, a drip campaign follows a fixed schedule and a nurture campaign changes based on what the reader does, such as which links they click.