10 Email Automation Workflows That Will Save You Hours Each Week

Streamline your email marketing with 10 automation workflows to save hours weekly, enhancing efficiency and customer engagement effortlessly.

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools in your digital arsenal, but let’s be honest—it can also be one of the most time-consuming. Every week, you could be spending hours writing individual messages, segmenting lists, analyzing engagement data, and scheduling send-outs. The good news? You don’t have to.

That’s where email automation comes in.

With well-crafted automation workflows, you can reach your customers with the right message at the right time, without lifting a finger every single time. In this blog, we’re going to break down 10 high-impact email automation workflows that will save you hours each week. These workflows are ideal for marketers, small business owners, SaaS founders, and eCommerce professionals who want to work smarter, not harder.

1. Welcome Email Series

Why it saves time: It automates your first impression and builds a relationship without manual follow-ups.

When a subscriber joins your email list, that’s your moment. Instead of one generic welcome email, create a sequence that gently walks them through your brand story, values, and offerings over several days or weeks.

Sample sequence:

• Email 1 (Instant): Warm welcome, thank you for joining, maybe a freebie or discount code
• Email 2 (Day 2): Introduce your story—why you started, what problems you solve
• Email 3 (Day 4): Showcase best-selling products or top-performing blog content
• Email 4 (Day 6): Invite them to follow you on social media
• Email 5 (Day 8): Ask about their interests/preferences with a clickable survey

Tools like ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, or Omnisend can help you build these series easily.

Pro Tip: Segment by source. Someone who signed up from your blog might get a different intro than someone who came via a product page.

2. Abandoned Cart Recovery Workflow

Why it saves time: It brings shoppers back to finish their purchases without manual effort.

Cart abandonment is a major revenue leak. The average abandonment rate is nearly 70%, which means for every 10 shoppers, 7 leave without buying.

How to fix it:

• Email 1 (1 hour later): “Did something go wrong?” – include the items left behind
• Email 2 (24 hours later): Showcase reviews or testimonials of those products
• Email 3 (48-72 hours later): Add urgency (“Only a few left”) or offer a small discount

By automating these, you keep the funnel flowing with minimal intervention.

Bonus: Integrate with SMS for an extra nudge. Tools like Omnisend do this seamlessly.

3. Post-Purchase Nurture Series

Why it saves time: It strengthens loyalty and promotes repeat business.

Your relationship with the customer shouldn’t end at checkout. In fact, post-purchase emails have some of the highest open rates. You’re reaching people who are already invested in your brand.

What to include:

• Thank you and order summary
• Delivery updates and tracking info
• Tips for using the product
• Cross-sell related items
• Request a review or UGC (user-generated content)

Instead of doing this manually, build a timed workflow that delivers these messages after each transaction. This improves customer satisfaction and boosts your brand image.

Pro Tip: Use dynamic content based on product type for more personalization.

4. Lead Nurturing Workflow

Why it saves time: It warms up leads so sales can close faster.

This is a must-have for B2B and SaaS businesses. Instead of sending individual follow-up emails to each lead, set up a funnel that educates and qualifies them over time.

Lead nurture email ideas:

• Guide to solving their pain point
• Case study or customer success story
• Product comparison sheet
• Invitation to a webinar or consultation
• Demo offer or limited-time free trial

These workflows help turn cold leads into hot prospects with minimal involvement from your team.

Example Workflow:

• Day 1: Welcome + lead magnet delivery
• Day 3: Pain point + blog post
• Day 5: Case study
• Day 7: Invitation to book a call/demo
• Day 10: Reminder with urgency or offer

If you’re trying to decide on a platform to build lead nurturing workflows, Omnisend vs Mailchimp is a common comparison. Both platforms offer automation tools, but Omnisend often caters more to eCommerce with its built-in SMS and visual workflows, while Mailchimp offers broader support for general marketing use cases. For businesses operating in regulated spaces, understanding FCC lead generation requirements is essential to ensure compliance when collecting and contacting leads. Choose the one that fits your business model.

5. Re-Engagement or Win-Back Campaign

Why it saves time: It reactivates dormant subscribers automatically.

Your email list is only as strong as its engagement. If users haven’t opened or clicked in months, automation can either bring them back or clean them off your list to improve deliverability.

How to do it:

• Step 1: Identify subscribers who haven’t engaged in the last 90-120 days
• Step 2: Send a “We miss you” campaign
• Step 3: Offer a special incentive (e.g., discount or exclusive content)
• Step 4: Ask if they still want to hear from you
• Step 5: Remove them from your list if they don’t respond

Tip: This is a great place to A/B test subject lines and offers. You might be surprised what pulls them back in.

6. VIP and Loyalty Workflow

Why it saves time: It automates appreciation for your most valuable customers.

Your best customers deserve special treatment. But manually tracking who qualifies is a nightmare.

What to automate:

• Tag high-spenders and frequent buyers as “VIPs”
• Automatically trigger a thank-you email
• Give exclusive access to:
  • Early product drops
  • Premium content
  • Loyalty points or bonus rewards

This kind of attention builds stronger relationships and makes customers more likely to come back.

7. Webinar or Event Series

Why it saves time: It keeps your attendees informed and engaged.

Running a live webinar or event? Automate everything around it.

Workflow steps:

• Registration confirmation
• 24 hours before: Reminder with time and agenda
• 1 hour before: Last-minute link reminder
• Post-event: Recording + follow-up offer or next steps

You can even segment by attendance:

• Attended: Send a deeper CTA (book call, try premium)
• Did not attend: Offer replay or next session

Platform Tip: Use integrations with Zoom or Google Calendar to sync invites and automate attendance tracking.

8. Birthday or Milestone Emails

Why it saves time: Adds a personal touch automatically.

Collect birthdays or signup dates during registration. Then schedule:

• Birthday greeting with discount
• Sign-up anniversary message
• Celebration of first purchase

Even better, tie this into your loyalty program to reward repeat customers.

9. Behavior-Based Trigger Emails

Why it saves time: It reacts in real-time to what users do.

Instead of manually monitoring user behavior, let your automation tool do the work.

Examples of behavior-based triggers:

• Viewed a product multiple times? Send a nudge.
• Signed up but didn’t use the tool? Share a setup guide.
• Clicked a link but didn’t convert? Follow up with testimonials or discounts.

Tools like Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, and Omnisend offer deep behavior-based automation.

10. Review Collection Series

Why it saves time: Generates social proof with zero effort.

After purchase and delivery, a simple automated message can prompt users to leave reviews.

What to include:

• Ask about their experience
• Provide links to review sites or product pages
• Offer a small thank-you (coupon or loyalty points)

This builds your online credibility over time without manual reminders.

How to Get Started With Email Automation

Getting started with email automation might feel overwhelming, but if you follow these foundational steps, you’ll be on your way to saving hours every week and building better customer relationships.

Here’s how to begin:

1. Choose the Right Email Platform
   Selecting the right platform is the first step. Your choice will depend on your business needs:

• For eCommerce businesses: Consider tools like Omnisend, Klaviyo, or Drip. These platforms have strong integrations with shopping carts and behavior tracking.
• For SaaS or service-based businesses: ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, or HubSpot are excellent choices, providing advanced automation and CRM features.
• For general use: If you’re just starting, Mailchimp, MailerLite, or Moosend offer robust but user-friendly interfaces.

2. Map Out Your Customer Journey
   Think about how your customers interact with your brand from start to finish:

• Consider Key touchpoints such as sign-up, first purchase, inactivity, and loyalty.
• Design automation flows that guide customers naturally from one stage to the next—making sure your emails are timely and relevant at each point.

3. Create Evergreen and Valuable Content
   Write emails that will always be relevant to your audience:

• Focus on valuable content that resonates with your subscribers.
• Use a personal tone to make them feel seen and understood.
• Include actionable tips to keep readers engaged and ensure high open rates.

4. Test, Analyze, and Optimize
   Email automation is not a “set it and forget it” process. Continuously test and improve your workflows:

• Experiment with subject lines, content structure, and send times to see what works best for your audience.
• Analyze performance: Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, and optimize your emails based on data.

5. Segment Your Audience
   One-size-fits-all emails don’t perform well. Instead, segment your list to send more targeted messages:

• Segment by location, behavior, or purchase history to send highly personalized and relevant emails.
• Use this information to create tailored campaigns that resonate with each group.

These steps will help you build a strong automation foundation that scales as your business grows.

Conclusion

Setting up email automation takes some initial effort, but the payoff is massive. You’ll reclaim hours each week, improve customer experience, and boost conversions across the board.

Remember, the goal is to create value for your audience while simplifying your workflow. With the right tools and strategy, email automation becomes your 24/7 marketing assistant.

And if you’re running an online business, Sellbery can make your automation journey even smoother. Sellbery helps you manage multichannel listings, inventory, and performance insights—all in one dashboard. When paired with powerful email automation tools, it becomes a force multiplier for your eCommerce efficiency.

So don’t wait. Pick a few workflows from this list. Launch. Test. Improve. And start seeing results without burning out.

Your future self will thank you.