What Is A SaaS Drip Campaign: Everything
You Need To Know

Recently, SaaS businesses have benefited a lot from revolutionary marketing channels and strategies.

Social media marketing, content marketing, video marketing, and a lot more have been all the rage when it comes to building brand awareness and promoting SaaS products.

But these newer marketing channels shouldn’t draw your attention away from the most proven SaaS marketing channel of all time.

I’m talking about email marketing.

Did you know that email marketing can yield a return on investment (ROI) of up to 4200%? That means for every dollar you spend on it, you can earn a revenue of up to $42.

Still, your actual ROI from email marketing would ultimately depend on how well you are doing it. You have to know and implement the right strategy.

The good news is that there have been innovations that revolutionize how email marketing is done today. Most of the email marketing SaaS solutions now can help you automate and personalize your emails without much effort.

In this article, we are going to talk about one of those strategies.

And that would be SaaS drip campaigns.

What Is A Drip Campaign?

An email drip campaign is a series of automated pre-written emails that are sent to your email subscribers and customers at specific intervals.

The emails usually contain valuable content that is meant to nurture the relationship between the SaaS business and its leads or customers.

Drip campaigns can also be in forms other than email. SaaS businesses whose target audiences include younger age groups also use SMS. While SaaS providers that offer mobile apps can also include push notifications in their drip campaigns.

The intervals at which the emails or other messages are sent can be daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly. It all depends on what SaaS business you have and what your target audience is.

Benefits Of Having An Email Drip Campaign

There are several benefits of using drip campaigns for SaaS businesses. Primarily, it covers three things that you need for a successful email marketing strategy. Those would be the right people, the right message, and the right timing.

We are going to discuss some explanations as to why drip marketing encompasses all of those.

Here are some of them, along with other benefits of drip email campaigns.

Email Marketing Automation

One of the best things about SaaS drip campaigns is that they can save you a lot of time through email automation.

You no longer have to manually send out emails to each and every one of your customers or subscribers. Once you’ve set up your email drip campaign, it will do all the work for you while you focus on other important tasks for your business.

It Increases Your Engagement Rates

Another benefit of using SaaS drip campaigns is that they can help increase your engagement rates.

Remember, drip campaigns are automated email sequences that are sent to your leads or customers at specific intervals.

Since the messages are sent at regular intervals, it makes sure that you have frequent and consistent touchpoints with your contacts. This increases the likelihood that your leads or subscribers will engage with your emails.

It Helps You Nurture Your Leads

Drip campaigns can also help you nurture your leads.

The emails in your drip marketing campaign can contain valuable information that can help educate and guide your leads through their buyer’s journey.

This is especially useful for SaaS businesses that offer complex products. By sending helpful and informative emails, you can continuously educate and even entertain them until they are finally ready to make a purchase.

It Improves Your Customer Retention Rates

SaaS drip campaigns don’t just improve pre-purchase marketing and sales operations. It also helps with your customer retention efforts.

Your SaaS users are more likely to stick around if they feel valued and appreciated. And one way to show them that you appreciate them is by sending them helpful emails even after they’ve made a purchase.

This could be in the form of a thank you email, an educational email about how to get the most out of your SaaS product, or even just a simple check-in email to see how they’re doing.

Whatever it is, as long as it’s helpful and relevant, your SaaS customers will appreciate it.

Drip Emails Are Targeted

Another benefit of SaaS drip email campaigns is that they are targeted.

Since you already have the email addresses of your leads and customers, you can segment them into different groups and send them personalized messages.

For example, you can segment your list according to their location, age, gender, interests, or even past interactions with your SaaS business.

You can then create different drip campaigns for each segment. This ensures that your messages are relevant and valuable to each group of people.

It Re-Engages Inactive Subscribers

SaaS drip campaigns can also help reengage inactive audiences.

If you have leads or customers who haven’t interacted with your SaaS business in a while, you can use drip campaigns to try and get them back.

The first few emails in your drip marketing campaign can be designed to attract your dormant subscribers again. These could be in the form of special offers, discount codes, or even just helpful information about your SaaS product.

It’s Measurable

Another good thing about SaaS drip campaigns is that you can measure how well they are doing.

You can track the performance of your drip campaign using email marketing tools. This lets you know which parts of your campaign are working and which ones need improvement.

This way, you can make the necessary adjustments to your drip campaign to make it more effective.

How To Create A Drip Email Campaign For A SaaS Product

Now that you know the benefits of SaaS drip email campaigns, it’s time to learn how to create one.

Here are the steps you need to take:

• Choose The Right Tools For The Job
• Create A Lead Magnet
• Set Up Your Lead Segmentation System
• Write Your Emails
• Launch The Campaign
• Monitor And Analyze Your Drip Campaign

Choose The Right Tools For The Job

The first step in creating a SaaS drip campaign is to choose the right tools for it.

There are a lot of different email marketing platforms out there. But not all of them are created equal.

Some platforms are more suited for small businesses while others are more suitable for large enterprises. So, it’s important to choose a platform that’s right for your SaaS business.

Some customer relationship management (CRM) solutions also have advanced capabilities that enable you to run both email and SMS drip campaigns. A few examples would be Agile CRM and Zoho CRM.

The beauty of running your drip campaigns on a CRM platform is that it can seamlessly synchronize with your sales pipelines and contact histories.

Still, if you’re using a standalone email marketing software, you can always integrate it with the third-party solutions you are using. If they have such integrations, that is.

Create A Lead Magnet

The next step is to create a lead magnet.

A lead magnet is an incentive that you offer to people in exchange for their email addresses. It could be a free report, an ebook, a video course, or even just a discount code.

Whatever it is, make sure that it’s something that your target audience would find valuable.

Set Up Your Lead Segmentation System

Once you have your lead magnet, the next step is to set up your lead segmentation system. This is where you decide how you’re going to categorize your list of leads.

There are a few different ways to do this.

Usually, email list segmentation is based on demographic or firmographic factors, such as location, age, gender, or role in the company. But with drip email campaigns, you segment your leads more often according to their interaction with your SaaS business.

For example, you can categorize them according to their behavior, such as the following:

• Visiting your website
• Downloading your ebook
• Using your SaaS product’s free trial
• Subscribing to a paid plan

Don’t worry. You don’t have to segment your leads manually. Most email marketing platforms have automation features that let you segment your leads automatically.

So make sure that you use one that can help you with these tasks.

Write Your Emails

After you’ve set up your lead segmentation system, it’s time to craft some powerful emails.

When writing your emails, make sure that they are relevant and valuable to the group of people you are sending them to.

Your goal is to offer something that would be of use or interest to them so that they would want to continue reading your emails.

It’s also important that your email bodies are short and to the point. No one wants to read a long and rambling message that looks more like an essay.

So keep your emails focused on one topic and make sure that they are easy to read. Use short paragraphs and bullet points where possible.

What’s more, don’t forget to include a call-to-action (CTA) in each email. Your CTA could be something like “Download our free ebook” or “Subscribe to our paid plan.”

Make it clear what you want your leads to do and make it easy for them to do it.

Now, another thing you can do when crafting your emails is to do it using HTML.

Composing your emails using HTML can help you add color and more layout variations to them. That can make your email bodies more visually appealing. Not to mention that it enables you to design them based on your branding.

But if you’re not familiar with HTML, don’t worry. There are plenty of email marketing platforms that offer templates that you can use. Just make sure to choose one that is mobile-responsive so that it would look good on both desktop and mobile devices.

Just note that HTML emails are not a silver bullet to email drip campaigns. There are times to use HTML and there are times to use plain text.

If you want a fully branded email to promote your product, then by all means decorate it with the full force of your brand. But if you want your email to look personal, plain text emails would be the way to go.

Launch The Drip Campaign

After you’ve written your emails, it’s time to launch your drip campaign.

To do this, simply set up the email sequence in your email marketing platform or CRM. And make sure to set the intervals on when each email should be sent.

Drip email campaigns usually last for weeks or even months. So make sure that you have enough content to sustain it for that long.

Monitor and Analyze Your Drip Campaign

Once your drip campaign is up and running, it’s time to monitor and analyze its performance.

Email marketing platforms usually provide analytics tools that show you things like open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, and more.

Use these data points to improve your drip email campaign over time. Try different subject lines, different email bodies, different CTAs, and so on. Always be on the lookout for ways to improve your drip email campaign.

Common Drip Campaign Types

There are practically no limits to the drip campaign types you can make. You can create one for every stage of your SaaS sales funnel if you want to.

However, there are some drip campaign types that are more common than others. Here are some of the most popular ones:

• Lead Nurturing
• Welcome
• Cart Abandonment
• Post-Demo
• Free Trial
• Feedback Collection
• Churn Prevention
• Product Announcement
• Upselling
• Reactivation

Lead Nurturing Drip

This is one of the most common uses for drip marketing campaigns. The goal of a lead nurturing drip is to turn leads into paying customers.

To do this, you need to establish trust and build rapport with your email subscribers first. Only then will they be more receptive to your sales pitch down the line.

Here’s an example of a lead nurturing drip:

Email 1: Introduces the SaaS product

Email 2: Provides more information about the SaaS product and its features

Email 3: Compares the SaaS product to other similar products in the market

Email 4: Offers a free trial of the SaaS product

Email 5: Asks for feedback on the SaaS product

Each email has to be written and timed strategically to maximize its impact.

Welcome Drip

Welcome or onboarding drips are also among the most common uses for email drip campaigns.

As the name suggests, the goal of a welcome drip is to make new customers feel welcome and onboard them smoothly into using your SaaS product.

A well-crafted welcome drip can help reduce churn rates and increase customer lifetime value (CLV).

Here’s an example of a welcome email drip:

Email 1: Welcomes the new customer to the SaaS product

Email 2: Provides an interactive slideshow on how to use your SaaS product

Email 3: Gives a tour of the SaaS product interface

Email 4: Asks for feedback on the SaaS product

Because these are used for onboarding a new customer, emails that are utilized for tutorials should have shorter intervals.

While you don’t want to overwhelm your new customers with too much information all at once, you also don’t want to take too long doing it.

Remember that your goal in customer onboarding is to launch them for success as soon as possible.

Cart Abandonment Drip

Now, this type of drip campaign is often used by e-commerce businesses or others that have a “cart”. But if you’re like Monday.com which offers a lot of different SaaS products that users can mix and match, this could work too.

The goal of a cart abandonment drip is to… well… recover abandoned carts.

These are people who’ve added items to their “cart” but for some reason didn’t complete the purchase.

There could be any number of reasons for this. Maybe they got distracted and forgot. Maybe they had second thoughts about the purchase. Or maybe they were just comparing different options and decided to buy from another vendor.

In any case, a cart abandonment drip campaign can help increase your SaaS’s conversion rate by reminding people of the items they left behind and urging them to complete the purchase.

Here’s an example of a cart abandonment email drip:

Email 1: Reminds the customer of the items in their cart

Email 2: Gives a special offer or discount for completing the purchase

Email 3: Urges the customer to complete the purchase

Email 4: Asks the customer why they didn’t complete the purchase

You may want to consider offering a discount on your cart abandonment drip. This could help motivate people to actually buy your SaaS product.

But be careful not to give too big of a discount. You don’t want to devalue your SaaS solution too much.

Post-Demo Drip

A post-demo drip is a great way to follow up with leads who’ve already had a live demo of your SaaS product.

The goal of a post-demo drip is to build from the momentum that the demo has started. You need to keep your lead engaged and interested in your SaaS platform.

This is important because, even if someone has shown interest in your SaaS solution and a live demo, there’s no guarantee they’ll become a paying customer.

There’s always a chance they could get distracted or lose interest.

Here’s an example of a post-demo drip:

Email 1: Thank the customer for having a demo of the SaaS product

Email 2: Recap what was discussed during the demo

Email 3: Provide additional resources, such as case studies, blog posts, and more

Email 4: Schedule a follow-up call

A post-demo drip is a great way to keep the customer interested in your SaaS product and increase the chances of winning them as paying customers.

Free Trial Drip

A free trial drip is a great way to increase conversion rates for SaaS products that offer a free trial.

The goal of this email drip campaign is to get trial users to become paying customers when the free trial ends.

Here’s an example:

Email 1: Welcome the customer to the free trial

Email 2: Introduce the customer to the SaaS product and how to use it

Email 3: Offer tips and advice on getting the most out of the SaaS product

Email 4: Remind the customer that the free trial is about to end

A free trial drip can be a great way to increase conversion rates by getting people so they would experience the real value of your SaaS product. And if they do, there’s a high chance that they would be willing to buy a paid subscription after the trial ends.

Feedback Collection Drip

A feedback collection drip is a great way to get customer reviews about your SaaS product.

This is important because customer feedback can help you identify areas where your SaaS product needs improvement.

Here’s an example of a feedback collection drip campaign:

Email 1: Send a Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) survey

Email 2: Send a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey

Email 3: Ask the customer what features they would like to see added or improved

Churn Prevention Drip

If you’ve collected feedback from your customers and have found out their most pressing concerns, you can also use another drip campaign to address them.

A churn prevention drip is a great way to keep customers from canceling their subscription to your SaaS product.

The goal of a churn prevention drip is to address the reasons why people might cancel their subscriptions and encourage them to stay.

Here’s an example of a churn prevention email drip:

Email 1: Thank the customer for being a subscriber

Email 2: Offer help if the customer is struggling to use the SaaS product

Email 3: Share resources, such as blog posts, case studies, and more

Email 4: Schedule a call with the customer

A churn prevention drip can be a great way to keep customers from canceling their subscription by addressing the reasons why they might cancel and offering help.

Product Announcement Drip

Product announcement drips are email drip campaigns that announce new features or products to your customers.

The goal here is to keep your customers updated on the latest developments with your SaaS product. This way, they would be more likely to stick around and continue using your product.

Here’s an example of a product announcement drip campaign:

Email 1: Announces a new feature for the SaaS product

Email 2: Provides more information about the new feature

Email 3: Asks for feedback on the new feature

Email 4: Thank the customer for their feedback

A product announcement drip can be a great way to keep your customers updated on the latest developments with your SaaS product. This way, they would be more likely to stick around and continue using your product.

Upselling Drip

An upselling drip is a great way to increase revenue from your SaaS product.

The goal of an upselling drip is to get people to upgrade to a higher-priced plan or add on additional features.

This is important because it can help you increase your Average Revenue per User (ARPU).

Here’s an example of an upselling drip campaign:

Email 1: Introduce the customer to the new features in the upgraded plan

Email 2: Offer a discount for upgrading to the new plan

Email 3: Provide more information about the benefits of upgrading

Email 4: Schedule a call with the customer to discuss upgrading

An upselling drip campaign can be a great way to increase your recurring revenues by getting people to upgrade their plans. This would also ultimately increase your CLV.

Reactivation Drip

A reactivation drip is a great way to get people to start using your SaaS product again.

The goal of a reactivation drip is to get people to come back and start using your SaaS product.

Here’s an example of a reactivation email drip:

Email 1: Send a survey to find out why the customer stopped using the SaaS product

Email 2: Introduce the customer to new features that have been added since they last used the product

Email 3: Offer a discount for reactivating their subscription

Email 4: Schedule a call with the customer to discuss reactivating their subscription

Final Thoughts About SaaS Drip Campaigns

SaaS drip campaigns can be a great way to increase customer engagement and retention.

The key is to find the right type of drip campaign for each lead segment that you have. What’s more, you need to send these emails at the right timing and intervals.

Once you’ve found the right type of SaaS drip campaign, you’ll be well on your way to increasing customer engagement and retention.

Finally, don’t forget to track your results so that you can improve your SaaS drip campaigns over time.

For more marketing and sales strategies to help you grow your SaaS business, visit our blog here.