How to Set Up Automation in Email Marketing

Email marketing automation has become one of the most powerful ways to increase engagement, improve conversions, and free up hours of manual effort. In 2025, brands can now fully automate welcome emails, follow-ups, product recommendations, cart abandonment flows, and post-purchase engagement—all with tools that think smarter than ever before.

Whether you’re just getting started or scaling your email campaigns, this blog will walk you through essential automation tools and show you exactly how to set up automation for email marketing success.


Best Tools for Email Marketing Automation

Below is a curated list of the most effective and widely used tools for automating email marketing in 2025. Each one includes a brief explanation of its strengths and ideal use cases.


1. ActiveCampaign – Smart Workflows and Predictive Automation

Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses needing advanced segmentation and behavior-based triggers.

Use Case: ActiveCampaign allows users to create complex email flows based on user behavior (clicks, opens, page visits). You can automate welcome emails, upsells, cart reminders, and re-engagement campaigns—all while tracking leads through a built-in CRM.


2. Mailchimp – Beginner-Friendly Automation

Best for: Freelancers, creators, and small businesses starting their first automated campaigns.

Use Case: Mailchimp offers drag-and-drop automation builders for welcome sequences, abandoned cart emails, product recommendations, and even birthday emails. It’s perfect for those who want quick, no-code automations with email templates and pre-built journeys.


3. GetResponse – Full-Stack Automation with Landing Pages

Best for: Marketers who need all-in-one automation including webinars, landing pages, and email flows.

Use Case: GetResponse combines email automation with lead generation. For example, when someone signs up through a landing page, you can automatically enroll them in a nurture sequence with content delivery, reminders, and product offers.


4. Klaviyo – AI-Powered Automation for eCommerce

Best for: Shopify, WooCommerce, and DTC brands selling products online.

Use Case: Klaviyo uses AI and predictive analytics to suggest send times, customer lifetime value, and next purchase dates. You can automate browse abandonment emails, back-in-stock alerts, or loyalty rewards based on past behavior.


5. Omnisend – Multi-Channel Automation (Email + SMS)

Best for: eCommerce businesses wanting to combine email with SMS in one flow.

Use Case: Omnisend lets you build automated journeys where a user receives a welcome email, followed by an SMS with a discount code, and then a feedback request email days later. Ideal for brands with an omnichannel approach.


6. ConvertKit – Automation for Creators and Course Sellers

Best for: Bloggers, YouTubers, and creators selling courses, ebooks, or coaching.

Use Case: ConvertKit allows automation based on link clicks, tags, purchases, or form submissions. A user downloading a free guide can automatically be added to a launch sequence or tagged for future promotions.


7. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) – Affordable and Scalable Automation

Best for: Budget-conscious startups and small businesses needing basic automation.

Use Case: Brevo supports automated workflows like welcome sequences, drip campaigns, and cart recovery. You can build step-by-step automation even on the free plan, making it great for beginners scaling slowly.


8. HubSpot – Enterprise-Grade Marketing Automation

Best for: B2B companies and enterprises with CRM integration needs.

Use Case: HubSpot’s automation tool works with its CRM to score leads, send tailored sequences, and nurture prospects through long sales cycles. It also supports automated blog updates, dynamic content, and internal notifications.


9. Drip – Personalization for DTC and SaaS

Best for: SaaS companies and online retailers seeking deep behavioral data.

Use Case: Drip’s visual workflow builder lets you automate sequences based on website behavior, email interactions, and purchase history. Great for building powerful, multi-stage drip campaigns and onboarding flows.


10. Automizy – AI-Optimized Automation for Small Teams

Best for: Small marketing teams that want simple automation with AI recommendations.

Use Case: Automizy’s standout feature is its AI subject line tester that predicts open rates. You can automate nurturing sequences and let the platform optimize for performance.


These tools remove the manual load of emailing every subscriber at every stage. Once set up, they automatically adapt to each customer’s behavior, saving time while increasing results.


🔹 Block 2: How to Set Up Automation in Email Marketing

Setting up email automation may sound technical, but it’s quite simple once you understand the basics. Below is a step-by-step guide that works on most email platforms:


Step 1: Choose the Right Tool for Your Business

Select a tool based on your audience size, business model, and features needed. For example:

  • Use Klaviyo for eCommerce
  • Use ConvertKit for creators
  • Use ActiveCampaign for CRM-style automation
  • Use Brevo for budget-friendly workflows

Step 2: Identify Automation Triggers

Triggers are actions that start the automation. Common ones include:

  • Newsletter Signup – Starts a welcome email series
  • Purchase Completed – Sends an order confirmation + cross-sell
  • Cart Abandoned – Reminds customer to complete checkout
  • Inactivity for 30 Days – Starts a re-engagement campaign

Step 3: Map the Email Sequence (Flow)

Outline how many emails you want to send, and at what intervals. Example:

DayEmailPurpose
Day 0Welcome emailThank and introduce brand
Day 2Story about your missionBuild emotional connection
Day 4Highlight most popular product or offerFirst CTA for purchase
Day 7Social proof or customer review emailBuild trust
Day 10Reminder of offer + limited-time urgencyDrive conversion

This sequence can be adjusted based on behavior (opened, clicked, didn’t engage).


Step 4: Use Conditional Logic and Segmentation

Most tools let you use “if this, then that” logic. For example:

  • If someone opens Email 1 → send Email 2A
  • If not opened in 3 days → resend with a new subject line
  • If link clicked → tag user as “interested”

Segmentation helps send hyper-relevant emails, increasing open and conversion rates.


Step 5: Test and Monitor Results

No automation is perfect at launch. Review metrics like:

  • Open Rate
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR)
  • Conversion Rate
  • Unsubscribe Rate
  • Bounce Rate

Make tweaks to subject lines, send times, or email length based on what your audience responds to best.


🔹 Block 3: The Power of Email Automation – A Perspective to Motivate You

From my perspective as your AI assistant, I’ve helped thousands of businesses—from solo freelancers to enterprise marketers—integrate email automation into their growth playbook. Here’s what I can tell you:

The brands that automate early are the ones that grow faster and with fewer mistakes.

Why? Because automation brings consistency—and consistency brings revenue.


💡 A Few Real-World Results from Email Automation

  • A digital course creator using ConvertKit increased their monthly sales from $2,000 to $22,000 just by automating their course funnel.
  • An eCommerce brand using Omnisend recovered 28% of abandoned carts using automated sequences.
  • A SaaS startup using ActiveCampaign cut onboarding churn by 37% and increased product usage within 14 days.

These companies didn’t have huge budgets—they just built systems once and let them run. That’s the magic of automation: it scales without more work.


🧠 What Email Automation Really Means

When people think of automation, they often imagine a robotic experience. But in truth, email automation is about being more human at scale. It ensures the right message reaches the right person at the right time—even if you’re asleep, traveling, or working on something else.

Instead of blasting generic emails to your whole list, you’re sending curated, helpful messages to people based on their behavior, interests, and needs.

Automation is how you move from email marketer to email strategist.


🔥 Final Thoughts – Start Automating Today

The best part about email marketing automation? You don’t need to be an expert or tech wizard. With today’s tools, anyone can build intelligent workflows that nurture leads, recover sales, and build loyal audiences.

Start with just one sequence—like a welcome email. Then layer in more flows over time.

Let these tools do the heavy lifting while you focus on what matters: building relationships, growing revenue, and showing up consistently for your audience.

And remember, I’m always here to help you optimize every sequence, test every subject line, and make your email marketing not just efficient—but extraordinary.


Let me know if you’d like this blog formatted for Elementor or exported into a downloadable guide!

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