Four automated sales sequences to inform, nurture, convert, and keep customers

These days, inboxes are overflowing, and time is a valuable commodity. If you're not seeing the engagement or sales you hoped for from your email list, your subscribers probably aren't ignoring you—they're just drowning in a sea of emails, all fighting for their attention.

So, how do you stand out and make your voice heard? How do you go from transforming a fleeting glance into a long-lasting, fulfilling customer relationship?

Well, I'll tell you what won't work—sending just one or two emails and praying it leads to more sales.

You need to think bigger if you want to cut through the noise, earn your subscribers' trust, and turn them into loyal customers. You need strategic, compelling automated email sequences that deliver value, spark engagement, and guide your subscribers from initial sign-up and awareness to purchasing your products and becoming brand advocates.

In this article, I'll share four automated email sequences guaranteed to grab your subscribers' attention, nurture lasting relationships, and drive real business growth.

Ready? Let's get into it.

Automated Sales Sequence 1: Top of Funnel (TOFU)

The top of the Funnel (or TOFU) is where everyone starts in your email automation. The most common TOFU stage is, you guessed it, the Welcome sequence. This sequence should do three things well:

1. Deliver value
2. Build trust
3. Create excitement around your offerings

I won't go into much detail here because I have already written extensively about welcome sequence essentials, but the key takeaway is that a successful welcome sequence is more than a friendly "hello"—it's a tool to kickstart action and lead to better relationships and more sales.

Assuming you've checked out my previous content about Welcome sequences (and you really should—I lay out the six emails I recommend you include), it's time to move on to the Middle of Funnel (MOFU).

Automated Sales Sequence 2: Middle of Funnel (MOFU)

At this point, you've sent six emails to your subscribers as part of your Welcome/TOFU sequence. They should be more familiar with you and your brand by now and, if they haven't already, are starting to consider your products/services as potential solutions to their challenges.

This sequence is all about nurturing. But what do I mean by nurturing?

In my book, nurturing means making your subscriber understand you've been in their shoes—that you've come out the other side and have remedies for what ails them.

During MOFU nurturing, I recommend four emails:

• Email 1: Address challenges and provide valuable resources
• Email 2: Introduce your digital product as a solution to previously mentioned challenges
• Email 3: Highlight the unique benefits your subscriber will receive and share success stories/testimonials from satisfied customers
• Email 4: Offer a limited-time incentive to drive action

In emails 1-3, you find common ground with your potential customers, empathize with their struggles, and offer them a solution that others have used before (and has worked).

Email 4 is one I like to include in case you've made a great connection with your subscriber and they're ready to buy. They might not be at this point, but there's no reason to make them wait until the bottom of the funnel (coming up next) if they're in purchase mode.

Either way, these four emails are crucial for moving subscribers from the awareness stage (TOFU) to the consideration stage (MOFU). Next, we'll discuss the final stage of the customer journey, the bottom of the funnel.

Automated Sales Sequence 3: Bottom of Funnel (BOFU)

Congratulations—your customer has arrived at the Bottom of Funnel (lovingly referred to as BOFU). In the final stage of the customer journey, it's all about setting the stage for sales.

I always recommend the following three emails to seal the deal with subscribers who haven't purchased yet:

• Email 1: Overcome objections and reinforcing value
• Email 2: Leverage social proof and offering strong guarantees
• Email 3: A final call-to-action with urgency and compelling reasons to buy

Besides clearly conveying your message, the most important part of these emails is your call to action. Make sure what you're asking your subscribers to do is easy and straightforward (especially in Email 3).

Any unnecessary friction in this stage will lead to lower conversion rates and less revenue—so take this sequence seriously!

When done well, this sequence will become your automated sales machine—putting money into your pocket every hour of the day. Which is the dream, right??

But just because you got the customer means the journey is over. It's actually just beginning.

Let's look at one of the most overlooked automated sequences—the Post-Purchase sequence.

Automated Sales Sequence 4: Post-Purchase Sequence

Maybe you've heard of this sequence, maybe you haven't—but the Post-Purchase sequence is one of the most important automations you can set up for your digital business.

So, what does this sequence do? Why is it so important?

It's simple—you used a lot of emails to convey your value, build trust, and position your product as the answer to your customer's problem. This sequence helps you nurture that purchase and create even deeper customer relationships—turning them from customers into loyal advocates and fans.

In my experience, an effective Post-Purchase sequence includes at least five emails:

• Email 1: Welcome your customer and provide access to your product/service
• Email 2: Deliver any relevant onboarding resources and quick-start guides to help them get the most out of their purchase
• Email 3: Encourage community engagement and sharing stories of their success with your product (you can use these as testimonials further up the funnel)
• Email 4: Offer exclusive bonuses to enhance the customer experience (promoting repeat purchases)
• Email 5: Provide ongoing support and value for long-term loyalty (this is where fans are made)

You can add as many emails to this sequence as you want—in fact, many people put their customers into an evergreen automation at this point. That's another article entirely, but if you're just starting out, these five post-purchase emails are a great way to round out the purchasing experience.

Build your bulletproof sales machine

Taking advantage of automated sales sequencing is a great way to bring customers into your world, share your value, build trust, and create relationships that lead to subscribers becoming lifelong fans.

By implementing the four essential sequences—Top of Funnel (TOFU), Middle of Funnel (MOFU), Bottom of Funnel (BOFU), and Post-Purchase—you can create a powerful sales machine that nurtures leads and drives revenue.

Yes—automations like these take some time to set up initially. But once they're in place, they run night and day to improve your rapport and build goodwill with your audience. Trust me, the effort is worth it. I've seen businesses transform their sales and customer relationships by embracing these strategies.

Feel free to expand on these sequences and add more email touch points if your product or service calls for it, but if you only implement these four sequences, you'll be lightyears ahead of most creators selling digital products.