How to automate email sequences using GetResponse

Automating email sequences is a powerful way to engage your audience, nurture leads, and drive conversions without repeatedly composing individual emails. GetResponse, a robust email marketing software and online campaign management solution, simplifies this process by offering intuitive tools to create automated, personalized email campaigns. Whether you’re a small business owner, marketer, or beginner looking to streamline your communication efforts, this comprehensive tutorial will guide you through the process of setting up your first email automation sequence using GetResponse, providing detailed instructions and helpful tips to maximize your campaign’s effectiveness.

What you will build

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an automated email sequence in GetResponse that sends a series of timed emails to your subscribers based on a specific trigger event—in this case, when a person signs up to your mailing list. This sequence will automatically deliver follow-up emails on predetermined days, each containing personalized content designed to nurture your leads and encourage engagement.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a basic yet fully functional email automation workflow, which you can customize for a variety of purposes such as lead nurturing, customer onboarding, product promotions, or event invitations. This structured approach not only saves you time but also helps to build ongoing relationships with your contacts, maintaining a consistent presence in their inbox without manual effort.

Prerequisites

• A GetResponse account: You’ll need either a free trial or a paid subscription to access the automation features within the platform. Signing up is straightforward at the official GetResponse site.
• An active email list: You can either have an existing list of subscribers or create one in GetResponse. Your list will be the group of contacts to whom your automated emails will be sent.
• Prepared email content or drafts: It’s best to have your email copy ready in advance—this includes your subject lines, body content, any images or branding materials you wish to include, and call-to-action links.
• A computer with a reliable internet connection: The GetResponse platform is web-based, so ensure you have consistent internet access.
• A basic understanding of email marketing concepts: Familiarity with common terms like open rates, click-through rates, segmentation, and CTAs will be helpful as you build your campaign.
• Comfortable navigating web applications: Since you’ll be working within an online dashboard, being comfortable with forms, menus, and drag-and-drop interfaces will speed up your workflow.
• Optional: Your company’s branding: Logos, color schemes, and style guidelines are essential for creating consistent, professional-looking emails that reinforce your brand identity.

Step-by-step tutorial

1. Create or select your email list
   • Log into your GetResponse dashboard using your username and password.
   • From the dashboard, find and click the Lists section in the left-hand menu – this is where all your contact groups are managed.
   • If you already have a list suitable for your campaign, select it to use; otherwise, click Create list to start a new group of contacts.
   • Choose a clear and descriptive name for your list, something like “New Subscribers” or “Lead Magnet Opt-ins”, so you can easily identify its purpose later.
   • Save your list, and if you’re creating a new one, start adding subscribers by importing contacts or integrating sign-up forms.
   • Remember, having a well-maintained and segmented list improves deliverability and open rates.
2. Access the automation workflow builder
   • Return to the main dashboard and click on the Automation tab in the primary navigation menu.
   • Within the Automation section, click Create workflow to start designing your email sequence from scratch.
   • You’ll be offered workflow templates; select the Blank workflow option to customize your sequence completely according to your needs.
   • This opens a drag-and-drop workflow editor where you’ll construct your automation steps.
3. Add a trigger for your workflow
   • Click the + icon in the editor to add your first element to the workflow.
   • Choose Trigger from the available elements—this defines how your automation will start.
   • Select the trigger option labeled Subscribes to list.
   • In the dropdown menu, pick the email list you created or selected in Step 1. This will ensure your sequence activates whenever someone subscribes to this list.
   • Confirm the selection to set this trigger as the starting point of your workflow.
   • This ensures your automation is event-driven, sending emails only after the specified subscriber action.
4. Create your first automated email
   • Click the + icon directly below the trigger to add an action to your workflow.
   • From the available actions, select Send email, this tells GetResponse to deliver an email as part of the sequence.
   • Choose Create new email to design your message from scratch within the platform’s built-in email editor.
   • You can pick a pre-built newsletter template or start with a blank layout; templates often include preformatted sections for images, text, and calls to action, which can speed up the design process.
   • Write a compelling subject line that grabs attention and encourages recipients to open the email.
   • Personalize the content by including subscriber name fields or other dynamic content tags to increase engagement.
   • Incorporate your logo and maintain consistent branding through colors and fonts to strengthen brand recognition.
   • Include clear calls to action, such as buttons or links, prompting readers towards desired actions like visiting a website or making a purchase.
   • Preview your email on different devices using GetResponse’s built-in testing tools to ensure it looks great on both desktop and mobile.
   • Save your email and return to the workflow editor to continue building your sequence.
5. Add delays between emails
   • Next, click the + icon below your first email action to introduce a waiting period before the next message is sent.
   • Select the Wait element from the options. Delays are critical to prevent overwhelming your subscribers with too many emails at once.
   • Specify the amount of time for the delay, common intervals are 3 days or 7 days depending on your campaign goals.
   • You can type the exact delay duration or select from predefined options like hours, days, or weeks.
   • Confirm the delay, ensuring that contacts move through the sequence at the intended pace.
   • Be mindful that too short a delay can lead to unsubscribes, while too long may cause your subscribers to lose interest.
6. Add subsequent emails to the sequence
   • Repeat the process of adding Send email actions followed by Wait steps to build out your full sequence.
   • Create new emails for each stage or select existing drafts from your GetResponse library to maintain content consistency.
   • Ensure each subsequent email delivers fresh and relevant information, gradually guiding subscribers towards your campaign goals like purchasing a product or registering for an event.
   • Apply consistent branding and messaging style throughout the sequence to enhance the professional look and feel of your campaign.
   • Where appropriate, include additional personalization or dynamic content based on subscriber data or behavior.
   • Remember to include clear calls to action in every email to keep engagement high.
7. Review and activate your workflow
   • Once all steps in your email automation sequence are in place, use the workflow preview feature to carefully review the entire logic flow.
   • Check that each trigger leads to the correct email, delays are appropriately spaced, and all connections between elements are properly linked.
   • Test your emails by sending sample messages to yourself or your team to verify content, formatting, and deliverability before going live.
   • When you are satisfied with your setup, click the Activate button to launch your automation workflow.
   • After activation, monitor the workflow status and subscriber activity in your GetResponse dashboard to identify any issues or bottlenecks.
   • Make adjustments as necessary to optimize the sequence for better performance.

Common mistakes

• Not personalizing emails: Failing to include subscriber-specific information such as names or preferences results in emails feeling generic and less engaging, decreasing open and click rates.
• Setting delays too short: Sending emails in rapid succession may overwhelm recipients and trigger unsubscribes; spacing emails too closely reduces the campaign’s overall effectiveness.
• Skipping tests before activation: Launching a workflow without sending test emails can lead to errors in formatting, broken links, or incorrect content, damaging your brand’s credibility.
• Neglecting segmentation: Sending the same content to your entire list without segmenting based on interests, purchase history, or behavior can cause many recipients to receive irrelevant information, reducing engagement.
• Forgetting to activate the workflow: It’s common to build an email sequence but overlook clicking the Activate button, resulting in no emails being sent to your subscribers.
• Overloading the sequence: Including too many emails in your sequence can cause subscriber fatigue and increased unsubscribe rates. Aim for a balanced number of emails tailored to your audience and goals.
• Ignoring analytics: Not reviewing performance metrics means missed opportunities to optimize subject lines, content, timing, and sequencing for maximum impact.

Next steps

Once your email automation sequence is up and running, it’s essential to monitor its performance closely. Use GetResponse’s comprehensive analytics dashboard to track key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribes. This data provides valuable insights into how your audience interacts with your emails and helps you identify what’s working well and what needs improvement.

With this information, you can optimize your email content, subject lines, send times, and frequency to boost engagement and conversions. Consider performing A/B tests on different email elements to find the best-performing versions.

As you become more comfortable with automation, explore advanced GetResponse features such as tagging subscribers based on their interactions (e.g., clicks or purchases), integrating webinar invitations directly into your workflows, or setting conditional branches to send different emails based on subscriber behavior or preferences. These sophisticated tools can significantly enhance targeting and personalization.

For additional marketing tips, strategic guidance, and technical advice on digital marketing, visit our expert articles and resources to further advance your marketing skills.

Finally, to discover more about GetResponse’s full suite of features or to start a new campaign, visit the Official GetResponse site. Leveraging this platform can help you create more efficient, personalized, and results-driven email marketing campaigns that grow your business.

More GetResponse guides

• How to create email campaigns with GetResponse