Email marketing automation is like having a Brisbane-based sales assistant who never sleeps, never takes a lunch break, and never forgets to follow up with a lead. Instead of manually sending every newsletter, automation allows you to send the right message to the right person at the exact moment they’re most likely to engage.
For Australian small business owners, this is the ultimate way to scale your customer service and sales without adding more hours to your work week. Whether you're a local plumber in Chermside or a boutique shop in Paddington, automation ensures no lead falls through the cracks.
Prerequisites: What You’ll Need Before We Start
Before we dive into the technical setup, make sure you have these things ready to go:- An Email Service Provider (ESP): We recommend platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ActiveCampaign. For this guide, we’ll focus on the logic used by most of these.
- A Lead Magnet or Sign-up Form: A reason for people to give you their email (e.g., a 10% discount code or a free PDF guide).
- Basic Brand Assets: Your logo, brand colours, and a few high-quality photos of your products or team.
- Your ABN and Physical Address: Australian anti-spam laws require you to include a physical business address in your email footers.
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Step 1: Choose Your Automation Trigger
Every automation starts with a 'Trigger'. This is the event that tells your software, "Hey, start the sequence now!"Common triggers include:
- Sign-up: Someone joins your list via a pop-up on your website.
- Purchase: Someone buys a product from your online store.
- Abandoned Cart: Someone adds an item to their cart but doesn't check out.
- Date-based: A customer's birthday or the anniversary of their first purchase.
Step 2: Set Up Your List and Segments
This is where most people get a bit confused, and honestly, the software interfaces don't always make it clear. You don't want to send the same email to a brand-new lead that you send to a loyal customer who has spent thousands with you.- Create a 'Master List': Keep all your contacts in one place.
- Use Tags/Segments: When someone signs up, 'tag' them based on where they came from (e.g., 'Website Lead' or 'In-store Promo').
Step 3: Map Out Your Sequence (The 'Flow')
Don’t just send one email and stop. A good automation is a conversation. Grab a piece of paper or use a digital tool like Lucidchart to map it out. A standard 3-part Welcome Sequence looks like this:- Email 1 (Immediate): The "Here is what you asked for" email. Deliver the discount code or PDF.
- Email 2 (2 Days Later): The "Who we are" email. Introduce your story and why you do what you do.
- Email 3 (4 Days Later): The "How we can help" email. Showcase your best-selling services or products.
Step 4: Create Your Email Content
Now for the fun (or tedious) part: writing and designing. Most ESPs use a 'Drag and Drop' builder.- Subject Lines: Keep them punchy. For Australians, a friendly, direct tone works best. Try: "Welcome to the family! Here's your 10% discount."
- Personalisation: Use 'Merge Tags' to include the person's first name. (e.g., "Hi |FNAME|,").
- The Call to Action (CTA): Every email needs one clear button. "Shop Now," "Book a Quote," or "Read the Blog."
Step 5: Configure Your Timing and Delays
In your automation builder, you’ll see 'Time Delays' between emails. This is where you control the pace.- Delay 1: Set to "Immediately" for the first email.
- Delay 2: Set to "2 Days".
- Delay 3: Set to "3 to 5 Days".
Step 6: Test, Test, and Test Again
This step is annoyingly fiddly, but essential. Send 'Test Emails' to your own inbox. Check every single link.- Does the button go to the right page?
- Does the discount code actually work?
- How does it look on your iPhone vs. your desktop?
Step 7: Activate and Monitor
Once you’re happy, hit 'Publish' or 'Start Automation'.But you're not done yet! Check back in 7 days. Look at your Open Rates (aim for 30%+) and Click-Through Rates (aim for 2-5%). If people aren't opening Email 1, your subject line needs work. If they aren't clicking, your offer might not be enticing enough.
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Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying Email Lists: Never do this. It’s a violation of the Australian Spam Act 2003 and will get your account banned.
- Overcomplicating the Design: Simple, text-heavy emails often perform better than over-designed ones that look like a flyer. People like reading emails from people, not corporations.
- Setting and Forgetting: Check your automations every few months to ensure links aren't broken and your pricing is still current.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Emails going to Spam: Ensure you have authenticated your domain (SPF and DKIM records). If that sounds like gibberish, don't worry—most ESPs have a step-by-step guide in their 'Account Settings' to help you do this with your domain provider (like GoDaddy or VentraIP).
- Automation not triggering: Check if the contact is actually being added to the specific list or tag you chose in Step 1. If they aren't tagged correctly, the 'engine' won't start.
- Images looks blurry: Ensure your images are at least 1200px wide but compressed so they don't take forever to load on a mobile data connection in a regional area.
Next Steps
Setting up your first automation is a huge win for your business. Once your Welcome Sequence is live, you might want to look into:- Abandoned Cart Recovery: To win back lost sales.
- Review Requests: To automatically ask for a Google Review 7 days after a service is completed.
If you find the technical side of this a bit overwhelming, or you'd rather spend your time running your business than fiddling with email tags, we can help. Feel free to reach out to the team at https://lmgroup.au/contact and we can build these high-converting flows for you.
You've got this! Start with that first welcome email today.