Email marketing
Drip Campaign
Last updated
An automated sequence of emails sent on a schedule (typically time-based) to subscribers who entered a specific trigger — most commonly used by coaches for lead-magnet nurture and course launches.
Full definition
A drip campaign is an automated email sequence delivered on a pre-defined schedule after a subscriber takes a specific action — opting in to a lead magnet, attending a webinar, abandoning a cart, or purchasing a product. The 'drip' refers to the steady cadence of messages over days or weeks. For coaches and course creators in 2026, drip campaigns are the workhorse of email-driven sales: a typical course launch drip is 5–7 emails over 7–14 days, taking a cold subscriber from initial opt-in to a cart-open offer. All major ESPs (MailerLite, Kit, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse) handle drip campaigns natively. The difference between platforms shows up in conditional drip logic — sending different emails based on subscriber behavior — where ActiveCampaign and GoHighLevel materially outperform Kit and MailerLite.
Examples
- ·5-email welcome drip after lead-magnet opt-in: day 0 (deliver lead magnet), day 2 (background story), day 4 (problem deep-dive), day 6 (solution preview), day 8 (offer).
- ·7-day cart-open drip during course launch: day 0 (cart open), day 1 (story), day 2 (objection handling), day 4 (case study), day 5 (last call), day 6 (final hours), day 7 (cart close).
- ·Re-engagement drip for inactive subscribers: 3 emails over 14 days, testing whether they want to stay subscribed.