Should you send broadcast emails to subscribers in an automated sequence?
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links to products or services that I recommend. I may receive a commission should you sign up through my link (but at no additional cost to you). I only suggest products and services that I wholeheartedly support and believe in and have either used myself or have used on behalf of a private client.
So now you have subscribers signing up to your list, you may have them in a welcome sequence to share more about your brand and products. But the big question is, do you still send them your regular broadcast emails while they’re receiving the welcome emails?
Should you email subscribers in a sequence?
This is one of the biggest headaches out there if you’re an over thinker like me. You might be asking questions like...
Do you send regular broadcast emails to people in your welcome sequence?
Or what about someone in a sales funnel? How do you prevent someone from receiving broadcast emails so that your message doesn’t get diluted?
What about when they’ve finished a sequence, what happens then?
If you DO send broadcast emails when a subscriber’s in a sequence, how can you make sure they don’t get too many emails a day?
These are the questions that all need to be answered!
But first let me tell you that there’s no right or wrong answer here. Because the answer is actually … it depends.
Urgh, I know that probably disappoints you – I hate it when I hear that! I just want someone to tell me what to do – do you feel that too?
Well, by the end of this post you’ll have a much clearer picture of what you should do depending on your unique situation. But I do give my opinion at the end too (which, of course, you can totally disregard).
What is an email sequence?
This might be basic information, but let’s get this out of the way first so that we have set the right foundation to tackle when subscribers move from sequences to broadcasts.
An email sequence is an automated set of emails that send to a subscriber after they take an action. For example a welcome sequence would be sent as soon as your subscriber opts-in to your email list. This allows them to get to know you and/ or your brand first.
To learn more about the differences between automation sequences and broadcast emails, take a look here.
To understand why it’s important to have a welcome sequence for your business, I’d recommend reading this.
Why hold people in a sequence before sending broadcasts?
The reason you may want to have your subscribers only receive your welcome sequence at first is so that they understand more about your brand before receiving your regular broadcast emails or newsletter.
That doesn’t mean you can’t sell in your welcome sequence. However, you want them to get cosy and comfortable with you and your brand so they get to know, like and trust you and what you have to offer. It also lays the foundation for customers who come back for more rather than your one time buyers.
This is one of the reasons why a welcome sequence is often called an “indoctrination sequence”, it essentially on-boards them with your brand, message and mission.
If they receive broadcast emails during this time, you may dilute the message or give mixed signals about what you want them to do.
If you only send a broadcast/ newsletter email once a month, it makes sense to have them go through the welcome sequence first.
But what about if you send emails 3 times a week or even daily?
Well, that’s when it might be more important to have parameters in place to ensure they get the right messages after signing up.
I’m a big fan of the welcome sequence being sent first before broadcasts, but it also depends on what is in your sequence.
If you have one flagship product, your entire welcome sequence could be quite long (several weeks even) and could be entirely geared on educating your reader about the benefits of purchasing your product, and then if they do purchase, you can set your email service provider (ESP) to remove them from the sequence.
This kind of sequence then looks more like a sales funnel and in that case it’s more important to refrain from sending broadcast emails that may interrupt the journey of the purchasing decision of your reader.
Can you still send broadcasts if a subscriber is in a sequence?
Of course you can, your business, your rules.
This may not be a factor to think about if your welcome sequence is quite short, maybe 1-3 emails sent in daily succession.
But if your sequence extends for several weeks, you may want to consider if you’re happy for them to not see broadcast emails.
If you do send broadcast emails this may be an issue if you run promotions or sales on your products which may conflict with the message in your welcome sequence… or you may want to think about how you structure your welcome sequence.
Perhaps you split your welcome sequence into one welcome email and then into a nurture sequence that wouldn’t conflict with any of your broadcast emails.
Of course you’d need to consider whether it matters that they get two emails in a day or even in the same hour (which by chance could happen). Many ESPs allow you to set rules around sending emails if they’ve already received one that day, or even only send automations on certain days of the week so you know never to email on the same day.
So, what’s my advice around holding subscribers in sequences?
My thoughts are to keep welcome sequences short and hold subscribers from broadcasts until they’ve been through the sequence. It makes things less complicated in terms of messages and promotions.
Of course if you have several journeys or funnels that your customers go through depending on actions they take… like purchasing or pre-sale sequences… for these you may want to consider the parameters of each broadcast email and have segments or filters that allow you to send to specific audience groups.
Any questions, send me a message via my contact page here.
Other blogs that may interest you: