What is an Email Nurturing Campaign?

Nurturing your audience is all about building and maintaining relationships. Your customers may not be ready to buy just yet, and that’s okay. You want them to think of you in their time of need.

So when they are ready, they think of you first.

This is where an email nurturing campaign comes in. You’re planting the seeds now, watering them along the way, making sure they get enough sunshine and nutrients to grow and eventually bloom.

Here are a few ideas on how to nurture your people with email marketing whether you’re a nonprofit, a consumer products company trying to sell a product, or a log home builder or a contractor trying to build a business.

Email Nurturing Campaign Ideas for Nonprofits

We all want to make the world a better place, but it can be challenging to keep donors engaged and attract new donors. 

Show the Impact

When we give, we want to know that our contribution, whether it’s volunteering or monetary, is moving the cause forward. When developing your campaign, ask yourself these questions—

• Why do you need these donations or volunteer efforts to carry out your work? Why is it important to your audience?
• How can you strengthen your relationships with this campaign?
• How do you want your donors to feel after giving?

Here’s an example of an email nurturing workflow you can set up.

• A welcome email: When someone subscribes to your emails, trigger an email introducing your mission and vision for the future.
• Follow-up emails: A week later, trigger a series of emails to be delivered at regular intervals, diving deeper into sharing real-world stories of how your organization is making an impact in peoples’ lives. There is no right or wrong cadence to delivering these messages it could be every week, every month, or every other month. You decide and experiment to see what works for you. 

Real World Example

When you subscribe to Charity Water’s email list, you will receive a welcome email below.

The email first states the organization’s mission, then expresses gratitude for joining the cause, explains why the mission is important, and finally explains how you can help and make a difference. The email is short and direct, and the call to actions to either donate or invite the audience to learn more about the cause and how they can help.

Email Nurturing Campaigns for CPGs

According to HubSpot, “nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads and produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities (on average). So, in short? Yes. Lead nurturing emails have proven highly effective at moving potential customers through the sales funnel and ultimately driving conversions.”

For consumer product goods, aka CPG, companies’ successful email nurturing campaigns can drive sales and brand loyalty. Here are a few tips to help you succeed:

1. Get their attention. Start with a compelling visual to grab your audience’s attention.
2. Decide on a purpose. Should it educate them? Inspire them to make a purchase?
3. Make it personal. Segment your audience based on their interests.
4. Focus on one topic per email and keep it short.
5. Know who you are. Be consistent with your branding.
6. What’s the step? Include a clear CTA (call to action). Tell your customers what they should do next.

Real World Example

The Dollar Shave Club’s welcome email kicks off with a 25% discount code after I subscribe to nudge me towards a purchase. It also offers product suggestions based on what others are buying, showing what’s popular among its community.

Email Nurturing Campaigns for Log Home Builders and Contractors

Email nurturing doesn’t always have to start with the subscribe button. You can also nurture your current customers. One great example of this for log home builders and contractors is a series of maintenance and log home care emails.

Here are a few ways you can do that.

Project Updates

If you’ve already won the project, send updates to your current clients to:

• Let them know where they are in your project queue.
• Showcase projects you’ve already finished to build trust and expectations.
• Educate them on maintenance after the project closes.

Spring and Fall Maintenance Emails

Create a series of emails to remind current customers of spring and fall maintenance. Deliver the emails once a month.  Include tips on keeping maintenance costs down and what to look out for when inspecting their log home in the spring and fall. You could even include a maintenance list like this Log and Timber Solutions, I created to make it easy for homeowners.

Log Home Maintenance Reminders

Owning a log home and keeping that dream alive takes special maintenance and care. Create a series of emails educating your customers on what and when maintenance needs to happen. Trigger these emails based on their personal timelines. 

For instance, if they had their log home stained in the summer of 2024—

• Start by letting them know what to expect when caring for their log home. 
• At 12 months, remind them to do an annual inspection, clean out their gutters, and deal with any pesky carpenter bees. 
• At 24 months, maybe it’s time to re-apply a clear coat? 
• And so on…

Real World Example

Below is an email template I designed for Log and Timber Worx. It was designed to stay in touch with current customers and let them know where in the queue their project was and showcase completed projects.

Final Thought: It’s All About Relationships

In each of these industries, the key to successful a email nurturing campaign is building strong relationships. To do that you need to stay in touch with your audience in thoughtful and human ways and on a consistent basis.

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