One marketing strategy you must consider when drafting your business plan is Email Marketing. Email marketing gives you direct access to your prospects and better odds of selling to them. Therefore, it is worth including a detailed email marketing strategy in your business plan.
And because there’s so much work to be done, the ability to automate your email marketing campaigns is worth consideration.
This guide will explore how the FluentCRM WordPress plugin can be a revolutionary tool for your online business by automating your agency’s marketing campaigns.
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The Importance of Automation of Email Marketing Campaigns for Businesses and Agencies
In a nutshell, here are some of the importance of automation of email marketing campaigns for businesses and agencies:
- Automating your email marketing campaigns will help save the tremendous amount of time and resources that would have otherwise been spent manually sending follow-up emails each time a new user joins your list.
- Email automation also allows your agency to easily deliver personalized and targeted email campaigns by segmenting your customers based on behaviors, preferences, demographics, etc., increasing engagement and conversions.
- Email automation also ensures you deliver timely and relevant emails to your customers at different stages of their journey, nurturing leads, building trust, and guiding them through the sales funnel to purchasing while ensuring a positive user experience.
- Email automation can also help you foster customer relationships and loyalty by sending automated personalized email campaigns based on triggers such as birthdays, sign-ups, and purchases.
- Email automation can also help scale your agency’s marketing goals and ensure a consistent brand presence by handling the sending of automated email campaigns to a large number of subscribers simultaneously.
- Automation tools also provide valuable data, metrics, and analytic insights into various aspects of your email campaigns and users’ behavior towards them, such as delivery rates, bounce rates, open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, etc., for making informed decisions and optimizing your email campaigns for better results.
Now, there are various means by which you can get subscribers to your email list from your agency’s website. You can use popup optin forms, lead magnets, special offers, etc. However, you need the right tools to manage and deliver messages directly to their inboxes.
The whole purpose of email marketing will be defeated if your emails end up in your prospects’ spam folder, which can happen when you use the wrong email marketing solutions. That’s why we recommend using FluentCRM.
What is Fluent CRM and How Does it Work?
FluentCRM is a self-hosted email marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) automation solution for WordPress businesses and agencies.
FluentCRM is a WordPress plugin that lets you manage your customer relationships, build your email lists, create, design, and send email campaigns, segment and manage your email subscribers, build funnels and email templates, increase conversion rates, and increase sales.
Unlike other email marketing platforms, you don’t need to connect your WordPress site or create contact forms with an external server. FluentCRM provides all the features you need to automate your business within your WordPress dashboard.
How do you set up FluentCRM on a WordPress site?
Step 1: Install and Activate FluentCRM
The first step is to install and activate FluentCRM on your WordPress site. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
Search for FluentCRM. Then, install and activate the plugin.
Step 2: Set up FluentCRM with the FluentCRM Wizard
Next, click on FluentCRM from the WP dashboard and use the quick setup wizard to set up FluentCRM on your website. We recommend using the setup wizard to make the FluentCRM setup faster. It will take less than a minute. Click Let’s Go to get started.
Provide your business’s name, address, and logo. This information will be used to send your email marketing campaigns. Click Next.
Moving on, create a Contact Segments List. Add a Segment name. The slug is automatically filled, though you can edit it. You can add more segments by simply clicking the Add More button. When you are done, click Next.
The next step is to add Contact Tags to filter your audience more specifically. To add more tags, click the Add More button. When you are done, click Next.
Then, moving on to the final stage, you can install the Fluent Forms plugin and opt-in for FluentCRM’s official email list for updates or ignore it.
Finally, click Complete Installation.
You can explore other settings options, but the setup made with the wizard should suffice to get you started.
How do you set up automated email campaigns and workflows with FluentCRM?
Now, let’s see how your agency can create automated workflows for sending automated emails based on your customers’ behavior and automate various tasks inside the WordPress website initiated by different actions and triggers.
To begin, go to FluentCRM > Automation.
Click the + New Automation button.
From the popup, select the trigger for the automation.
FluentCRM has various trigger options, but the free version is limited to only the New User Sign Up trigger.
To use this trigger for automation, click the WordPress triggers tab > New User Sign Up and Continue button.
From the popup, enter the automation name and description. If you want the user listed as subscribed, unsubscribed, or pending, set the condition for the trigger if the contact already exists. Then, enter the targeted user roles for this automation, e.g, Customers, Subscribers, etc.
When you are done, click Save Settings. An automation funnel or workflow will be generated for you.
Click on the workflow’s plus (+) sign and select Add Action / Goal.
There are several actions, goals, and conditions to choose from. However, the free version only allows you to access a few.
In this guide, we will attempt to develop an automation workflow that sends an automated welcome email to new users who sign up for InstaWP and then warms and nurtures them into buyers.
To do this, scroll down the list of Goals to the Email subsection and click Send Custom Email.
You will be provided all you need to create the email campaign for this funnel.
In the internal label field, enter the title for this workflow and a short description in the internal description field.
Tick the Send to the Contact option since we want the email sent to each new user who signs up on the website.
Next, enter the email subject and pre-header (summary text that follows the subject line when viewing an email from the inbox). You can use personalized information in your email subject by selecting the three horizontal dots at the right side of the input field.
In the Email body field, enter your message for your email campaigns. You can add a personalized touch with SmartCodes, e.g.,{{contact.first_name}} by selecting {{ }} at the top right corner of the editor.
The left side of the email body editor has a cogwheel icon for the email styling and footer settings. Next is an eye icon allowing you to preview your email. Then, you have different email templates, the last being a visual builder template.
After entering your email information, you can send a test email to your email address to preview its look in your inbox.
You also have the option to schedule the email to a specific date.
When you are done, click on the Save Settings button.
You will be redirected to your newly created and updated workflow.
Click the plus (+) icons to add more Actions/Goals anywhere in the workflow.
For example, you can add another Send Email action and insert the Wait X Days / Hours action in between to add a delay before the next email is sent.
Once you have set up the automation, you can publish it by clicking on the toggle at the top right corner.
Note: If you do not wish to create a new workflow, you can change the trigger by clicking on the Gear icon at the top right and changing it according to your desires.
That’s it! You now know how to automate your agency’s marketing campaigns using FluentCRM.
What About FluentCRM Pro?
Now, let’s discuss some additional features that come with FluentCRM Pro. While many features are reserved for Pro users, we will highlight only a few.
Dynamic Segmentation: FluentCRM Pro only allows you to define recipients for email campaigns either by dynamic segment or advanced filter. For example, you can send an email campaign to a list of contacts who haven’t opened your emails for the last 60 days. Conditional content, A/B testing of subject lines, and Post-Campaign Actions are also pro features.
Recurring Campaigns: Recurring campaigns set at different intervals, from daily, weekly, or monthly to broadcast, and sending your agency’s latest posts, products, or posts from available post types are pro features.
Email Sequence: As the name implies, an email sequence is a series of successive emails sent automatically on a schedule to persons on an email list or segment. In FluentCRM, Email sequencing is quite different from Email automation. FluentCRM offers an advanced email sequence feature that can be triggered by automation and run independently if added to automation.
More Automation Trigger Options: Pro features include creating automation funnels for CRM and WooCommerce and the User Login WordPress-based triggers.
More Automation Actions, Goals, and Conditions: Several Actions/Goals, such as Canceling automation, Link clicks, Sending Campaign Emails, Creating a WP User, etc, and the use of conditions are also pro features.
Integrations: Integration with native WordPress users’ data and comments, other WordPress plugins such as WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, LMS, Membership, Forms, Page Builders, etc., and CRM automation tools such as Zapier, Integrate/Make, and Pabbly Connect is reserved for Pro users.
Advanced Reports: Detailed reporting and analytics are also pro features.
If you are interested in these pro features, check out FluentCRM pricing and sort out the FluentCRM license that is the best solution for your business. You can get started with as low as $90/year.
Alternatives to FluentCRM
If you are not yet convinced about FluentCRM, here are FluentCRM alternatives that you can give a trial. These alternatives to FluentCRM offer automation features similar to that of FluentCRM. They also offer a range of marketing features and pricing options to explore before choosing the platform that best fits your agency’s needs and budget.
However, to prevent adding unwanted files and tables to your WordPress site and database, we recommend using the InstaWP staging environment to test these FluentCRM alternatives before making your choice.
1. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a popular email marketing platform renowned for its versatile marketing automation system. It features features for building sales pages, email marketing, CRM, and sales automation. ActiveCampaign also supports personalized messaging, audience segmentation, and integrations with various third-party CRM tools.
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the oldest email marketing platforms out there. You can use triggers from sign-up forms and the WooCommerce checkout process to set up email automation workflows. The Mailchimp for WooCommerce plugin allows you to collect your customers’ contact details from the checkout form and add them to your email list. Mailchimp also lets you create custom contact fields, audience segmentation, tags, and email templates. You can also track performance metrics and integrate them with other CRM tools.
3. Brevo
Brevo (formerly known as SendinBlue) is an all-in-one marketing platform supporting email and SMS marketing. Bravo also supports marketing automation with features such as advanced audience segmentation, pre-built automation workflows for faster setup, and analytics to track campaign performance. The Brevo WordPress plugin stands out with its ability to create multiple subscription forms and set independent redirect URLs for each form.
4. Drip
Drip is an e-commerce email marketing platform that lets you create custom contact fields, advanced segmentation, and personalized workflows. It also offers a powerful automation solution that uses behavior-based triggers to send targeted email campaigns. Drip supports integration with popular e-commerce platforms, making it suitable for online e-commerce businesses.
Final Word
One advantage of email marketing that makes it a crucial part of any successful online business plan is the ability to get in front of your audience more intimately and precisely. Automating your agency’s marketing campaigns with FluentCRM will save you time and resources while increasing conversion and sales.
FAQs
1. How do you send direct email campaigns with FluentCRM?
To send direct email campaigns to your contacts, go to FluentCRM > Campaigns. Click the + Create Your First Email Campaign button, enter the title of your campaign, and click the Create Campaign button. Then, proceed with the 4-step process.
2. How do you create Forms with FluentCRM on a WordPress Site?
To create opt-in forms with FluentCRM, install and activate the Fluent Forms WordPress Form Builder plugin on your WordPress site.
3. What should you do if email campaigns are not being sent?
To fix your email campaign delivery issue, install and activate the FluentSMTP WordPress Mail SMTP, SES, SendGrid, and MailGun plugins and configure it with any supported email services that best suit your agency.
4. Which Email Services Does FluentCRM and FluentSMTP Support?
Amazon SES, Gmail OAuth, Google Workspace OAuth, Outlook OAuth, SendGrid, Mailgun, Brevo, Pepipost, Postmark, Zoho ZeptoMail (TransMail), SparkPost, Elastic Mail, Zoho via SMTP, and any SMTP email provider are supported.
