How to Create an Automated Email Sequence + New Job Vacancy
Nurture your leads with an email automation that works hard even while you holiday.
Hi everyone,
Today I am writing to you from Melides. If you haven’t heard of Melides, you’ve probably heard of its less covert neighbour, Comporta. Just 1.5 hours after leaving home and I’m in full vacation mode. No airport chaos, no lost bags, no dramas.
After a busy year of travel, there's something very appealing about staying local this summer. Easy to say when you live in Portugal, I suppose. It comes down to a matter of discovery vs familiarity, and this summer I am very content knowing I’ll be eating grilled robalo all week.
We're just under five months out from the end of 2025 and while part of me wants to dedicate a vacation day to revisiting my 2025 goals, another part of me is pretty convinced that the most productive thing I can do for my future self is absolutely nothing at all. I’ll report back on who won.
Before I disappear into a good book, I have a few things worth sharing with you, including a job opportunity with one of our wonderful clients, plus, for paid subscribers, we have a fantastic email automation guide for you, so you can take a break this summer without your e-comms having to take one too.
WE HAVE A(NOTHER) JOB FOR YOU!
Remember our recent job board success story? That’s right, the one that landed one of our readers a highly coveted role with a leading Build to Rent operator in London. Well, we’re pleased to present another opportunity to work with this market leader, who is currently seeking a Marketing Coordinator to work across the brand and its portfolio of BTR projects.
If you have c.5 years of experience in project management within a marketing or advertising environment and are looking to break into BTR - or further develop your experience in project marketing - please get in touch for more details.
Know someone who’d be perfect for the role? Send them this post!
If you’d like us to shout out to our readers about a job vacancy in your business, just hit reply and tell us more.
Caitlin x
The following content is usually only available to paid subscribers only. These practical frameworks are exactly what paid subscribers receives each month, so make sure you’re one of them!
THE EMAIL AUTOMATION SOLUTION
How to nurture your leads at the same time you're nurturing your tan
If you're manually sending follow-up emails to individual enquiries, or batching and sending EDMs periodically, we need to talk. Not only are you creating unnecessary work for yourself, but you're very likely losing opportunities to convert leads into sales by missing critically-timed customer communications.
The solution is beautifully simple: automate your e-communications and let your EDM sequence do the heavy lifting while you focus on getting more leads into the funnel - or just work on your tan.
We’re going to show you how.
THE BENEFITS OF AUTOMATED E-COMMUNICATIONS
Using automated email sequencing ensures new enquiries receive timely, informative and regular communications to assist and persuade them during their decision making process, in a predetermined, intentionally-timed sequence.
A succinct, yet informative email sequence provides enquirers with the right information at the right time.
Customers are communicated with immediately after submitting an enquiry - when they’re most engaged.
Content can be crafted to reflect the customer’s position in their decision-making journey.
The reliability of automation ensures all leads are contacted efficiently and frequently during critical stages of the purchase journey.
Consistent follow-up increases conversion rates by up to 35%
Professional, timely responses improve brand perception.
Better lead tracking = better sales insights.
Automation frees up your team for other high-value activities.
AUTOMATION BEST PRACTICE: CONSIDERATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
DATABASE SEGMENTATION
NEW SUBSCRIBERS
These customers have newly engaged with the project and are seeking more information.
The primary objective with a new subscriber is to move them forward in the purchase journey - ie: convert them from enquiry to a marketing suite visit or sales team appointment.
CURRENT LEADS
These customers have engaged with the project relatively recently and are receiving project communications. It is important to attempt to define where these customers are in the purchase journey, as this segment can be further defined, ie:
Has visited the sales gallery and/or spoken to and/or met with a member of the sales team
Has not visited the sales gallery and/or engaged with sales team
PAST ENQUIRERS
These customers have previously engaged with the project and/or sales team, however are not currently active. It is noteworthy however, that they also have not unsubscribed from project communications. Analysis of EDM engagement can identify leads within this group who may be re-engaged - ie: are they opening the emails? Are they clicking on links for more information?
For this group, reinforce project features and benefits, plus new products or offers introduced since their original enquiry - show them what they’re missing out on!
CONTENT & MESSAGING
Aim to include content not already available on the source of the enquiry - ie: Don’t just re-use website content if most enquiries are received via the website! Engage customers with new and interesting information.
Content should extend beyond the project being sold, and highlight features of the local area and community that the customer could become part of.
Put yourself in the shoes of the customer and consider what might compel you to take the next step?
Re-purpose content from other sources to provide new and interesting content. This may include:
Testimonials (eg. 1st-hand feedback, Google reviews).
Customer case studies.
Photographs instead of only CGIs.
Video including project walk-throughs.
Social media posts and user generated content.
Media articles.
Project events and activations.
Show apartment photographs.
Local area and community events & activations.
Local area new business openings (ie: cinema, cafe, metro station)
Local transport links (walk, drive, bus, tube, boat, fly)
Show activation of the project - ie: people and the community engaging with the development and local surroundings.
Consider your Call-To-Action messaging. CTA buttons offering ‘Book your viewing’ and ‘Reserve Now’ don’t allow for personalised communications. Providing a phone number with an individual’s name or direct email contact at this early stage presents much friendlier and sends the message that the business values personal relationships. Not providing a telephone number means potentially losing a lead and never knowing why.
Consider ways to connect project features with third-party endorsements for higher impact. ie:
EDM Example A - The developer states that the scheme is pet-friendly and features pet-washing facilities.
EDM Example B - A third-party testimonial states "Me and Buddy absolutely love living here. We meet up with other dog owners every Sunday at 11am for walkies and coffee!”
Ensure good housekeeping on your EDM template, including:
Is the subject line engaging and descriptive?
Is the customer greeting correct? Personal greetings are ideal.
Is the telephone number correct? Can it be live-linked eg. via Whatsapp?
Do all links click through to the correct web pages?
Are all contact methods clearly communicated?
Are all CTAs clearly communicated?
Is the format is mobile-friendly?
Vary your EDM designs to test performance of alternative formats
Consider ways to overcome potential barriers a customer may have to booking a marketing suite visit - ie:
Provide a range of contact options (email, telephone, Whatsapp, Calendly instant bookings)
Use personalised greetings and CTAs - eg. ‘Call Caitlin’ is friendlier than ‘Telephone our Sales Team’
Provide appointment times outside of business hours to accommodate customers with reduced availability
Invite the customer to an event or open day to alleviate any perceived ‘pressure’ at a 1:1 sales appointment. Does the scheme have a co-working space? Invite them to a VIP trial with a day-pass!
De-mystify the marketing suite experience by sharing photos of the interior, details of whom the customer will meet, how long the visit will take, etc.
Share a location map link and modes of transport and parking, whether by bike, car, bus, tube, or train to ensure a seamless journey - and on-time arrival!
AUTOMATION FREQUENCY
Email sequences should recognise the average length of time of a customer’s purchase journey, with communications at key milestones and with content that reflects the buyer’s typical considerations at each stage.
The purpose of these e-communications is to move the customer forward in decision-making. In project marketing, that can mean converting a website enquiry to a marketing suite visit or an appointment with a sales agent.
To determine what’s best for your project, first, answer these 3 questions:
What is the average number of days or weeks between a customer enquiring about the project and visiting the marketing suite?
What is the average time between marketing suite visit and apartment reservation?
What is the average time between apartment reservation and contract signing?
The minimum duration of an email sequence should adequately cover the average length of a customer’s purchase journey. For example, if the average time from initial enquiry to reservation is 2 months, then a minimum 3-month email sequence is recommended, nurturing leads from day one (and keeping them engaged during the contract negotiations period).
The automated sequence should commence with more frequent communications, reducing over time from daily, to weekly, to monthly, with a content plan that follows a logical sequence from a micro to macro perspective, meaning starting with product-specific content then broadening to local area content, in an effort to engage the customer via a range of themes while sharing a thorough overview of the project.
SAMPLE AUTOMATED SEQUENCE
The following proposed sequence and content themes are based on a four month minimum automation. This is just an example and should be adapted to suit the individual characteristics of your project.
YOUR AUTOMATION CHECKLIST
A brief guide to help you get your automation project off the ground!
PERFORMANCE KEY METRICS
Last but not least, it’s important to define some performance metrics so you know what you’re trying to achieve - and what success will look like when you achieve it!
Comparing automated newsletter engagement and conversion data vs your old newsletter statistics is a great way to highlight the benefits of automation.
Start with these 3 simple metrics and over time dig deeper into the data to extract fascinating insights that enable you to craft automated sequences that work hard for you!
Open rate % - eg: total number of emails opened as a % of the total sent
Engagement rate % - eg: clicks on links, shares and forwards
Conversion rate % - eg: via phone calls, emails or appointments booked
Share your experiences in the comments or via email - and let me know if you’d like a PDF copy of this guide for future reference!
Gold! Who won? 2025 or your future self?