How to Create an Email Drip Campaign with Workflows

Why This Matters

Email drip campaigns nurture leads and maintain relationships through consistent, automated follow-up. Workflows give you complete control over timing, content, and conditions—letting you build sophisticated multi-step email sequences that adapt based on contact behavior and attributes.

Unlike basic email sequences, workflows let you combine email with text messages, task assignments, conditional logic, and contact updates. This creates powerful automated campaigns that would take hours to manage manually.

This guide walks you through building an email drip campaign step-by-step, from planning your sequence to activating it for contacts.

Before You Begin

Plan your email sequence on paper first—decide how many emails, what each covers, and how many days between them.

Create and save all email templates you'll use in the campaign before building the workflow.

Think about any conditions that should stop or modify the sequence (like someone becoming a client mid-campaign).

Know how you'll trigger the workflow—will you add contacts manually, or connect it to a landing page or autoresponder?

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Access the Workflow Builder

Go to Automation in your main menu and click Workflows. You'll see a list of all existing workflows organized by folders.

Click the Add Workflow button in the top right corner.

This opens the workflow builder where you'll create your automated sequence.

Time: 30 seconds

2. Name Your Workflow

Enter a clear, descriptive name that explains the workflow's purpose. Good examples: "New Lead Nurture - 30 Days", "Past Client Reactivation", "Buyer Education Series".

Avoid vague names like "Workflow 1" or "Email Campaign"—you'll thank yourself later when managing multiple workflows.

Click Save or continue to the builder screen (depending on your interface).

Descriptive names make workflows easy to find and understand at a glance, especially when managing many sequences.

Time: 1 minute

3. Add Your First Email Step

Click the Add Step button.

A modal appears showing all available workflow actions organized by category. Look for the Email section.

Click Send Email Template.

A configuration panel opens with three fields:

• Email Template dropdown - Select which email template to send
• Send Email From dropdown - Choose who the email appears from (typically "User who owns Contact")
• Also send this email to the Other Contact checkbox - Check this if you want to send to both contacts on joint accounts (like married couples)

Select your first email template from the dropdown. Choose the appropriate sender. Click Save.

Your first email step now appears in the workflow with a checkmark icon.

Time: 2 minutes

4. Add a Pause (Time Delay)

After your first email, you'll want to wait before sending the next one. Click Add Step again.

In the modal, look for the Flow Control section. Click Pause For Set Duration.

Enter the number of days (or hours/minutes) to wait before the next step. For example, enter "3" and select "days" to wait three days.

Click Save.

The pause appears in your workflow showing "Pause for 3 days" (or whatever duration you set).

Strategic pauses prevent overwhelming contacts with too many emails at once while keeping your campaign top-of-mind over time.

Time: 1 minute

5. Add Remaining Email Steps

Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each email in your sequence. A typical drip campaign structure might look like:

1. Send Email: Welcome Message
2. Pause for 2 days
3. Send Email: Educational Content #1
4. Pause for 3 days
5. Send Email: Case Study or Testimonial
6. Pause for 4 days
7. Send Email: Call-to-Action or Offer
8. Pause for 7 days
9. Send Email: Final Follow-Up

Build your complete sequence by alternating email steps and pauses.

You can see your entire workflow taking shape as you add steps, showing the complete customer journey from start to finish.

Time: 10-15 minutes depending on complexity

6. Add Conditional Logic (Optional but Recommended)

Stop your workflow automatically if conditions change during the sequence. For example, stop emailing someone who becomes a client mid-campaign.

Click Add Step, go to the Flow Control section, and select Stop If.

Choose the condition that should stop the workflow. Common examples:

• "Stop If Contact is Assigned Category: Client"
• "Stop If Contact has Tag: Unsubscribed"
• "Stop If Contact is Assigned Category: Former Client"

Place these conditional stops strategically throughout your workflow, especially after the first email and midway through longer campaigns.

Conditional logic ensures contacts only receive relevant emails and prevents sending promotional content to people who've already converted.

Time: 2-3 minutes per condition

7. Reorder Steps If Needed

If you added steps in the wrong order or want to adjust your sequence, click and drag any step to move it.

The drag handle appears on the left side of each step (three horizontal lines). Click, hold, and drag the step to its new position.

Release to drop it in place. The workflow automatically renumbers to show the new sequence.

The ability to reorder steps lets you refine your campaign structure without rebuilding from scratch.

Time: 1 minute

8. Review Your Complete Workflow

Scroll through your entire workflow from top to bottom. Verify:

• Email templates are correct
• Pauses are appropriate lengths
• Conditional stops are in logical places
• The sequence flows naturally
• The total duration matches your campaign plan

Read through it as if you're the contact receiving these emails—does the timing and content make sense?

This review catches mistakes before contacts enter the workflow, saving you from sending incorrect or poorly-timed emails.

Time: 3-5 minutes

9. Set Workflow Trigger (If Needed)

If you want external tools to trigger this workflow automatically, enable the Workflow Trigger.

Look for the Trigger settings in your workflow (typically in the top navigation or settings area). Toggle Enable This Workflow Trigger to "On".

A unique URL appears—this is your workflow's API endpoint. External systems can send contacts to this URL, automatically adding them to your database and starting the workflow.

Most users skip this step and trigger workflows manually or through landing pages instead.

Time: 2 minutes (if using this feature)

10. Complete Your Workflow

Your Workflow auto-saves as you add the steps. Once complete, return to the list of Workflows.

Your workflow is now active and ready to use. It won't run automatically—you must manually add contacts or connect it to a trigger point.

The workflow appears in your Workflows list, ready to be applied to contacts whenever needed.

Time: 30 seconds

11. Add Contacts to Your Workflow

Now that your workflow exists, you can start adding contacts to it.

For a single contact:

• Open any contact record
• Click the Actions menu
• Select Run Workflow
• Choose your newly created workflow

Contacts immediately begin the workflow sequence, receiving emails according to the pauses and conditions you set.

Time: 1-5 minutes depending on method

Questions and Answers

Q: Can I edit the workflow after contacts are already in it?

A: Yes, but changes only affect new contacts entering the workflow. Contacts already in progress continue with the original version. If you need to change something for everyone, you may need to stop the old workflow and create a new one.

Q: What happens if someone opts out of email mid-sequence?

A: The system respects opt-out status automatically. Contacts who unsubscribe won't receive pending workflow emails, even if they remain technically "in" the workflow.

Q: How do I know how many people are currently in my workflow?

A: From the Workflows list, check the "Current Contacts" column. Click that number to see exactly who's in the workflow and their progress through the steps.

Q: Can I pause or stop a workflow for everyone?

A: You can remove individual contacts from a workflow through their contact records. To stop everyone, you'd need to manually remove each contact or delete the workflow entirely (which stops all pending steps).

Q: Should I create separate workflows for different audiences?

A: Yes. Create different workflows for leads vs. clients, different industries, or different campaign types. This keeps content targeted and relevant. Use tags or categories to segment contacts into appropriate workflows.

Q: Can I use the same email template in multiple workflow steps?

A: Yes, though it's usually better to create distinct emails for each step. If you need to send the same content at different points, you can select the same template multiple times.

Q: What if I want to send emails only on weekdays?

A: Use "Pause Until Day of Week" instead of "Pause For Set Duration" to skip weekends. Or use "Proceed Once In Time Range" to only send during business hours on weekdays.

Q: How do I test my workflow before using it with real contacts?

A: Create a test contact using your own email address, then manually run the workflow on that contact. Watch for emails to arrive and verify timing and content. Remove the test contact from the workflow when finished.

Q: Can workflows send different emails based on contact attributes?

A: Use conditional logic with "Continue Only If" steps. For example, "Continue Only If Tag = VIP" sends special emails only to VIP contacts, while others skip that step and continue to the next action.

Q: What's the longest I should make a drip campaign?

A: This depends on your industry and sales cycle. Short campaigns (7-14 days) work for quick decisions. Longer campaigns (30-90 days) suit complex purchases. Very long campaigns (6-12 months) fit relationship-building or high-value B2B sales.

Q: Can I add text messages to an email workflow?

A: Absolutely. Click "Add Step" and select "Send Text Message" from the Text Messaging section. Text messages work exactly like email steps and can be mixed into any workflow sequence.

Q: What happens if someone re-enters a workflow they already completed?

A: They start from the beginning again and receive all emails in sequence. If you don't want this, use conditional logic to check for tags or categories that indicate they've been through the campaign before.

Q: How do I stop someone's workflow if they book a call or become a client?

A: Add "Stop If" conditions at strategic points checking for Category = Client or Tag = Appointment Booked. Place these after early emails so the workflow stops automatically when status changes. You can also manually stop a Workflow from the Workflow tab on the contact record.

Guide Type: How-To Guide

Estimated Time: 30 minutes