Email Sequence

---
name: email-sequence
description: When the user wants to create or optimize an email sequence, drip campaign, or lifecycle email program — "nurture sequence," "onboarding emails," "welcome series," "re-engagement," "email automation," "email cadence," or any multi-email automated flow. For cold outreach, see cold-email. For in-app onboarding, see onboarding-cro.
category: marketing
tier: on-demand
---

# Email Sequence Design

## Initial Assessment

**Product context:** If `.agents/product-marketing-context.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` in older setups), read it first and tailor output to it; only ask for what it doesn't cover.

Establish:

1. **Sequence Type** — welcome/onboarding, lead nurture, re-engagement, post-purchase, event-based, educational, or sales
2. **Audience Context** — who they are, what triggered them into this sequence, what they already know/believe, current relationship with you
3. **Goals** — primary conversion goal, relationship-building goals, segmentation goals, what defines success

---

## Core Principles

### 1. One Email, One Job
One primary purpose and one main CTA per email — don't try to do everything.

### 2. Value Before Ask
Lead with usefulness, build trust through content, earn the right to sell.

### 3. Relevance Over Volume
Fewer, better emails win. Segment for relevance. Quality > frequency.

### 4. Clear Path Forward
Every email moves them somewhere. Links should do something useful. Make next steps obvious.

---

## Email Sequence Strategy

### Sequence Length
Welcome 3-7 emails; lead nurture 5-10; onboarding 5-10; re-engagement 3-5 — scaled by sales cycle length, product complexity, and relationship stage.

### Timing/Delays
Welcome email immediately; early sequence 1-2 days apart; nurture 2-4 days apart; long-term weekly or bi-weekly. B2B: avoid weekends. B2C: test weekends. Send at local time.

### Subject Line Strategy
Clear > clever. Specific > vague. Benefit or curiosity-driven. 40-60 characters ideal. Test emoji (they're polarizing).

**Patterns that work:**
- Question: "Still struggling with X?"
- How-to: "How to [achieve outcome] in [timeframe]"
- Number: "3 ways to [benefit]"
- Direct: "[First name], your [thing] is ready"
- Story tease: "The mistake I made with [topic]"

### Preview Text
Extends the subject line, ~90-140 characters. Don't repeat the subject — complete the thought or add intrigue.

---

## Sequence Types Overview

### Welcome Sequence (Post-Signup)
**Length**: 5-7 emails over 12-14 days. **Goal**: Activate, build trust, convert.

1. Welcome + deliver promised value (immediate)
2. Quick win (day 1-2)
3. Story/Why (day 3-4)
4. Social proof (day 5-6)
5. Overcome objection (day 7-8)
6. Core feature highlight (day 9-11)
7. Conversion (day 12-14)

### Lead Nurture Sequence (Pre-Sale)
**Length**: 6-8 emails over 2-3 weeks. **Goal**: Build trust, demonstrate expertise, convert.

1. Deliver lead magnet + intro (immediate)
2. Expand on topic (day 2-3)
3. Problem deep-dive (day 4-5)
4. Solution framework (day 6-8)
5. Case study (day 9-11)
6. Differentiation (day 12-14)
7. Objection handler (day 15-18)
8. Direct offer (day 19-21)

### Re-Engagement Sequence
**Length**: 3-4 emails over 2 weeks. **Trigger**: 30-60 days of inactivity. **Goal**: Win back or clean list.

1. Check-in (genuine concern)
2. Value reminder (what's new)
3. Incentive (special offer)
4. Last chance (stay or unsubscribe)

### Onboarding Sequence (Product Users)
**Length**: 5-7 emails over 14 days. **Goal**: Activate, drive to aha moment, upgrade. Coordinate with in-app onboarding — email supports, doesn't duplicate.

1. Welcome + first step (immediate)
2. Getting started help (day 1)
3. Feature highlight (day 2-3)
4. Success story (day 4-5)
5. Check-in (day 7)
6. Advanced tip (day 10-12)
7. Upgrade/expand (day 14+)

Detailed templates: [references/sequence-templates.md](references/sequence-templates.md)

---

## Email Types by Category

- **Onboarding**: new users series, new customers series, key onboarding step reminders, new user invites
- **Retention**: upgrade to paid, upgrade to higher plan, ask for review, proactive support offers, product usage reports, NPS survey, referral program
- **Billing**: switch to annual, failed payment recovery, cancellation survey, upcoming renewal reminders
- **Usage**: daily/weekly/monthly summaries, key event notifications, milestone celebrations
- **Win-Back**: expired trials, cancelled customers
- **Campaign**: monthly roundup / newsletter, seasonal promotions, product updates, industry news roundup, pricing updates

Detailed email type reference: [references/email-types.md](references/email-types.md)

---

## Email Copy Guidelines

### Structure
1. **Hook**: first line grabs attention
2. **Context**: why this matters to them
3. **Value**: the useful content
4. **CTA**: what to do next
5. **Sign-off**: human, warm close

### Formatting
Short paragraphs (1-3 sentences), white space between sections, bullets for scanability, bold sparingly, mobile-first (most read on phone).

### Tone
Conversational, not formal. First-person (I/we) and second-person (you). Active voice. Read it out loud — does it sound human?

### Length
50-125 words transactional; 150-300 educational; 300-500 story-driven.

### CTA Guidelines
Buttons for primary actions, links for secondary. One clear primary CTA per email. Button text: action + outcome.

Detailed copy, personalization, and testing guidelines: [references/copy-guidelines.md](references/copy-guidelines.md)

---

## Output Format

### Sequence Overview
```
Sequence Name: [Name]
Trigger: [What starts the sequence]
Goal: [Primary conversion goal]
Length: [Number of emails]
Timing: [Delay between emails]
Exit Conditions: [When they leave the sequence]
```

### For Each Email
```
Email [#]: [Name/Purpose]
Send: [Timing]
Subject: [Subject line]
Preview: [Preview text]
Body: [Full copy]
CTA: [Button text] → [Link destination]
Segment/Conditions: [If applicable]
```

### Metrics Plan
What to measure and benchmarks.

---

## Task-Specific Questions

1. What triggers entry to this sequence?
2. What's the primary goal/conversion action?
3. What do they already know about you?
4. What other emails are they receiving?
5. What's your current email performance?

---

## Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the [tools registry](../../tools/REGISTRY.md). Key email tools:

| Tool | Best For | MCP | Guide |
|------|----------|:---:|-------|
| **Customer.io** | Behavior-based automation | - | [customer-io.md](../../tools/integrations/customer-io.md) |
| **Mailchimp** | SMB email marketing | ✓ | [mailchimp.md](../../tools/integrations/mailchimp.md) |
| **Resend** | Developer-friendly transactional | ✓ | [resend.md](../../tools/integrations/resend.md) |
| **SendGrid** | Transactional email at scale | - | [sendgrid.md](../../tools/integrations/sendgrid.md) |
| **Kit** | Creator/newsletter focused | - | [kit.md](../../tools/integrations/kit.md) |

---

## Related Skills

- **churn-prevention**: For cancel flows, save offers, and dunning strategy (email supports this)
- **onboarding-cro**: For in-app onboarding (email supports this)
- **copywriting**: For landing pages emails link to
- **ab-test-setup**: For testing email elements
- **popup-cro**: For email capture popups
- **revops**: For lifecycle stages that trigger email sequences