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4 min read

8 ways to automate your email newsletters and drip campaigns

By Krystina Martinez · February 13, 2024
A man checks email on a tablet. An envelope icon shows 38 new messages.

While we like to think email is dead, in fact, email newsletters and drip campaigns are still an incredibly effective marketing tool. From highlighting sales to promoting products and providing useful content throughout the sales funnel, they're a great way to engage audiences and promote services. But there's a maintenance cost in doing them well. 

You might not have the resources to maintain your subscriber lists, for example, or experiment with segmentation. Fortunately, automation can easily help you bridge that gap. From automatically subscribing your leads to keeping your subscriber lists updated, here are a few ways to automate your email newsletters and drip campaigns.

Zapier is a no-code automation tool that lets you connect your apps into automated workflows, so that every person and every business can move forward at growth speed. Learn more about how it works.

Table of contents

  • Add subscribers to your newsletters

  • Automatically segment your subscribers

  • Use AI with your email newsletters

  • Repurpose campaigns into new content 

  • Keep subscriber lists tidy

  • Back up your email lists 

  • Automatically add new leads to the right email list

  • Add subscribers to your CRM

To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button. It only takes a few minutes to set up. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

Add subscribers to your newsletters

While putting your newsletter sign-up form in a prominent place on your website is a good first step, there's more than one way to grow your subscriber base. 

For example, you can offer a checkbox in a form where you collect leads allowing people to opt in to your newsletter. Here's where the sneaky maintenance cost comes in: You often need to manually download a CSV file, filter for the people who opted in, and upload their email addresses to your email newsletter software. 

Instead, use a Zap to automatically add subscribers to your newsletters from other apps you use to collect contacts. Keep in mind that you can't automatically subscribe people to your newsletter without permission. 

Create or update ActiveCampaign contacts for new form submissions in HubSpot

Create or update ActiveCampaign contacts for new form submissions in HubSpot
  • HubSpot logo
  • ActiveCampaign logo
HubSpot + ActiveCampaign

Subscribe new Facebook Lead Ad leads to a Mailchimp list

Subscribe new Facebook Lead Ad leads to a Mailchimp list
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Mailchimp logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Mailchimp

Add new LinkedIn Ads lead gen form responses as subscribers in Flodesk

Add new LinkedIn Ads lead gen form responses as subscribers in Flodesk
  • LinkedIn Ads logo
  • Flodesk logo
LinkedIn Ads + Flodesk

Create/Update Subscriber in Flodesk for new lead form entries in Google Ads

Create/Update Subscriber in Flodesk for new lead form entries in Google Ads
  • Google Ads logo
  • Flodesk logo
Google Ads + Flodesk

You can also add a filter, available on our paid plans, to only filter for people who want to subscribe to your newsletter. 

Automatically segment your subscribers

Segmenting your subscribers into different categories allows you to tailor and test messages based on their interests. For example, you might send a newsletter promoting upcoming webinars to subscribers who've previously attended an event you hosted. Or, you could send segmented follow-up resources based on people's answers to a quiz.

Instead of manually tagging subscribers or adding them to lists, you can try a Zap to automatically get the segmentation party started.  

Add new Interact Quiz leads to Flodesk segments

Add new Interact Quiz leads to Flodesk segments
  • Interact logo
  • Flodesk logo
Interact + Flodesk

Add Mailchimp subscribers to tags for new attendees registered in Eventbrite

Add Mailchimp subscribers to tags for new attendees registered in Eventbrite
  • Eventbrite logo
  • Mailchimp logo
Eventbrite + Mailchimp

Save Formsite form submissions to a Constant Contact list

Save Formsite form submissions to a Constant Contact list
  • Formsite logo
  • Constant Contact logo
Formsite + Constant Contact

Learn more about filters and check out our guide to Zapier paths

Use AI with your email newsletters

Keeping your subscribers engaged means sending regular emails on a recurring basis. The hard part? Brainstorming themes and coming up with engaging content every week. 

If you ever struggle with content creation, you can use these Zaps to automatically write email content for you—based on topics you store in Google Sheets or blog posts you publish in WordPress. Once a new row is added, ChatGPT will draft the content for you, then create a campaign or email in your newsletter app. 

Write Brevo emails with ChatGPT based on WordPress posts

Write Brevo emails with ChatGPT based on WordPress posts
  • WordPress logo
  • ChatGPT logo
  • Brevo logo
WordPress + ChatGPT + Brevo

Repurpose campaigns into new content 

Repurposing content is a marketing trick that works. It can give new life to the email campaigns you've worked hard to create. For example, maybe you launched a drip campaign a year ago to help your customers get more out of a specific product feature. There are no rules against repromoting that campaign on social media or in a blog post.

These Zaps will automatically create new posts on social media or your website without the added burden. Of course, some content needs to be email-exclusive to give would-be subscribers an incentive, so you can limit cross-posting to the start of an email campaign if you'd like. 

Post new ActiveCampaign campaigns to your Facebook Page

Post new ActiveCampaign campaigns to your Facebook Page
  • ActiveCampaign logo
  • Facebook Pages logo
ActiveCampaign + Facebook Pages

Post new Mailchimp campaigns on WordPress

Post new Mailchimp campaigns on WordPress
  • Mailchimp logo
  • WordPress logo
Mailchimp + WordPress

Share new Mailchimp campaigns on your company LinkedIn profile

Share new Mailchimp campaigns on your company LinkedIn profile
  • Mailchimp logo
  • LinkedIn logo
Mailchimp + LinkedIn

Keep subscriber lists tidy

Another hidden maintenance cost? Keeping your subscription lists clean. Just like a shrub, you have to prune your subscriber lists regularly. A glut of bounced emails and unengaged subscribers can tank your metrics and give an inaccurate picture of performance. (Unless the percentage of unengaged subscribers point to a trend, then perhaps you want to re-evaluate your content!)

You can use a Zap to track email bounces, get alerts, or even automatically unsubscribe bounced emails.  

Update Google Sheets spreadsheets when MailerLite emails bounce

Update Google Sheets spreadsheets when MailerLite emails bounce
  • MailerLite Classic logo
  • Google Sheets logo
MailerLite Classic + Google Sheets

Update Google Sheets spreadsheet rows when new MailerLite spam complaints are received

Update Google Sheets spreadsheet rows when new MailerLite spam complaints are received
  • MailerLite Classic logo
  • Google Sheets logo
MailerLite Classic + Google Sheets

Get Slack notifications for new ActiveCampaign campaign unsubscribers

Get Slack notifications for new ActiveCampaign campaign unsubscribers
  • ActiveCampaign logo
  • Slack logo
ActiveCampaign + Slack

If you prefer tracking or getting alerts for bounced emails, you can use a digestavailable on our paid plans—to collect bounced emails and alert you at specified intervals. 

Back up your email lists 

You worked hard to build your email lists, so it's smart to back up everything in case some horrible meltdown occurs. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say most people aren't opposed to backing up information. It's just difficult to remember to do it until it's too late. 

If you want to back up your email lists automatically, you can use one of the Zaps below to back up your contacts to your favorite spreadsheet app. 

Save new Mailchimp subscribers to rows in Google Sheets spreadsheets

Save new Mailchimp subscribers to rows in Google Sheets spreadsheets
  • Mailchimp logo
  • Google Sheets logo
Mailchimp + Google Sheets

Create Airtable records for new MailerLite subscribers

Create Airtable records for new MailerLite subscribers
  • MailerLite Classic logo
  • Airtable logo
MailerLite Classic + Airtable

Generate items in Notion databases for new MailerLite subscribers

Generate items in Notion databases for new MailerLite subscribers
  • MailerLite Classic logo
  • Notion logo
MailerLite Classic + Notion

Automatically add new leads to the right email list

Leads are a key ingredient for business growth. From form submissions to events to ads—the options to source new leads are endless. But engaging them all via email after the fact can get complicated. 

For example, do you ever host an event or webinar? You can simplify the lead management process by automatically sending new leads sourced from an event sign-up to a specific list in your email marketing app. That way, your marketing doesn't end when the event is over. You can follow up and nurture event sign-ups through the rest of your lead lifecycle with ease.

Add new Typeform forms respondents to ConvertKit sequences

Add new Typeform forms respondents to ConvertKit sequences
  • Typeform logo
  • ConvertKit logo
Typeform + ConvertKit

Create or update Drip subscribers for new form submissions in Squarespace

Create or update Drip subscribers for new form submissions in Squarespace
  • Squarespace logo
  • Drip logo
Squarespace + Drip

Add new Eventbrite attendees to ConvertKit tags

Add new Eventbrite attendees to ConvertKit tags
  • Eventbrite logo
  • ConvertKit logo
Eventbrite + ConvertKit

Add Woodpecker.co prospects from new LinkedIn Ads entries

Add Woodpecker.co prospects from new LinkedIn Ads entries
  • LinkedIn Ads logo
  • Woodpecker.co logo
LinkedIn Ads + Woodpecker.co

Enroll Teachable users with new tags to ConvertKit subscribers

Enroll Teachable users with new tags to ConvertKit subscribers
  • ConvertKit logo
  • Teachable logo
ConvertKit + Teachable

Add subscribers to your CRM

Before you launch a targeted marketing campaign, you need to make sure your sales pipeline is ready. Is your sales team equipped to handle an influx of new leads? Or do they already have too much on their plate, causing leads to fall through the cracks?

Easily manage your sales pipeline by automatically updating subscriber or contact profiles. With an automated workflow, you can automatically create deals in your CRM when a subscriber takes specific actions from your emails. This allows your sales team to reach out to only the most qualified leads while minimizing manual tasks.

Add new lemlist email acitivity to Salesforce as leads

Add new lemlist email acitivity to Salesforce as leads
  • lemlist logo
  • Salesforce logo
lemlist + Salesforce

Create new Pipedrive deals for new Drip subscribers

Create new Pipedrive deals for new Drip subscribers
  • Drip logo
  • Pipedrive logo
Drip + Pipedrive

Update existing Salesmate deals with new Woodpecker.co prospect replies of "Maybe Later"

Update existing Salesmate deals with new Woodpecker.co prospect replies of "Maybe Later"
  • Woodpecker.co logo
  • Salesmate logo
Woodpecker.co + Salesmate

Take your newsletter automation to the next level

Don't let maintenance and upkeep tasks prevent you from going all in on an email marketing strategy. Automation, especially when used to fuel your newsletters, can be an extra assistant when you're limited on time and resources.

Related reading: 
  • 4 ways to automate your email marketing for better communication 

  • 6 ways to automate your email marketing with Mailchimp

  • 6 audiences to target with email segmentation

  • How to automate Iterable

  • How to grow your newsletter without paid ads

This article was originally published in July 2021. It was most recently updated in February 2023 by Elena Alston.

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A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'