A drip campaign is a sequence of automated emails sent to people who take a specific action on your website or within your product.
Founders often struggle with the balance between personal touch and scalability. You want every new user to feel welcomed and guided, but you cannot manually type an email to every person who signs up for your newsletter or creates a trial account.
This is where the drip campaign functions as a critical lever.
It allows you to write the content once and have it delivered over time based on the user’s unique schedule. The term comes from the concept of a “drip irrigation” system in agriculture. Instead of flooding a plant with water all at once, you provide small amounts of water over time to ensure absorption and growth.
In a business context, this means giving your audience small, digestible pieces of information exactly when they need them.
The Mechanics of the Sequence
#The core differentiator of a drip campaign is that it is triggered by an event.
This event could be a newsletter subscription, a whitepaper download, or a first-time login to your SaaS platform. Once the trigger creates an entry, the software waits for a pre-determined amount of time before sending the first email.
Subsequent emails follow a timeline you define.
Day 0: Welcome email immediately after sign up. Day 2: Educational content about the problem you solve. Day 5: A case study or social proof. Day 10: A soft call to action.
This automation ensures consistency. It removes the risk of human error or forgetfulness in the follow up process.
Drip Campaigns vs. Broadcasts
#It is important to distinguish a drip campaign from an email broadcast or newsletter blast.
A broadcast is sent to your entire list (or a segment of it) at a specific time that you choose. Everyone receives it simultaneously, regardless of when they met you.
A drip campaign is individualized.
If User A signs up on Monday, they get Email 1 on Monday. If User B signs up on Friday, they get Email 1 on Friday. They are moving through the same journey, but they are at different stages based on their own actions.
When to Implement Drips
#For early stage companies, the most effective use of a drip campaign is usually onboarding.
When a customer buys your product, they often need guidance on how to use it. A drip sequence can walk them through features one by one rather than overwhelming them with a massive manual.
Lead nurturing is the second most common use case.
If someone downloads a PDF resource from your site, they might not be ready to buy yet. A drip campaign keeps your brand top of mind by providing additional value over the coming weeks without asking for a sale immediately.
Questions for the Founder
#As you build these automations, you must retain a scientific approach to the data.
Are you sending too many emails?
At what point does helpful persistence turn into annoyance?
It is worth asking if your content actually provides value at every step, or if you are simply filling a queue to look busy. The goal is trust, not volume.