Drip campaign
A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent on a predetermined schedule or triggered by user actions, delivered over time to nurture a lead or onboard a customer. Unlike a one-off broadcast, a drip delivers the right message at the right interval — for example a welcome series over the first two weeks after signup.
How it works
You define a sequence of messages with delays between them (time-based) or entry/exit triggers based on behavior (action-based). Contacts enter the drip on an event, receive each message on schedule, and exit when they convert or unsubscribe.
Why it matters
Drips keep leads warm without manual effort and deliver information in a digestible cadence rather than all at once. They are most effective for nurture and onboarding; for active sales prospecting, a multichannel sales sequence with reply-based branching is usually a better fit.
What does a working onboarding drip look like?
Take a trial product with a 14-day window. Day 0: a welcome email with one action, such as connecting the first data source. Day 1: a short tip that removes the most common setup blocker. Day 3: a use case from a customer like them, if you have permission to name one. Day 7: a check-in that offers a call. Day 12: what happens when the trial ends and how to keep their data. That is five messages, each tied to one action.
The better drips branch on behaviour. Someone who connected their data source on day 0 does not need the day 1 tip; skipping it makes the drip feel attentive rather than automatic. Lead nurturing strategies covers longer nurture series for leads who are not ready yet.
How is a drip campaign different from a newsletter?
A newsletter goes to the whole list at the same moment, and everyone gets the same issue. A drip starts when a person does something (signs up, downloads, books a demo) and moves each person along their own timeline. Two people who joined a week apart receive the same drip messages a week apart.
That difference changes how you measure them. A newsletter is judged per issue. A drip is judged per step and by the share of people who reach the goal before the drip ends. If 30% of people who enter an onboarding drip complete setup by day 7, the question is which step moved them, and whether removing a step changes the number.
When does a drip do more harm than good?
When it keeps running after the person has moved on. A drip that sends "still thinking about it?" to someone who bought yesterday tells them the company does not know who they are. Exit conditions are the fix: purchase, meeting booked, unsubscribe and reply should all end the drip. It also hurts when the list was never opted in; drips are built for permission-based audiences, and running one on a cold list risks spam complaints.
For prospects who never asked to hear from you, a sales sequence with reply detection is the better tool. The email sequence vs drip campaign article sets the two side by side.
How often should a nurture drip send?
Less often than most teams think. A post-signup onboarding drip can send every day or two for the first week because the person is actively trying the product. A long nurture drip for leads who are not ready to buy works better at one message every two to four weeks, each with something useful on its own: a short guide, a benchmark, a template. If unsubscribe rates on a step rise above those of the steps around it, the spacing or the content of that step is the first thing to change.
How Autocloz handles it
Autocloz runs scheduled, multichannel drips in the same builder as sales sequences, with auto-pause on reply and a compliance gate, so nurture messaging respects opt-outs, quiet hours and per-channel limits automatically.
Free tools for this
No signup required — they run in your browser.
FAQ
What is the difference between a drip campaign and a sales sequence?
A drip is typically time-based, often email-only nurture that runs on a fixed schedule. A sales sequence is multichannel, mixes automated and manual steps, and branches on replies — it's built for active 1:1-style prospecting rather than passive nurture.
How long should a drip campaign be?
It depends on the goal. Onboarding and welcome drips often run 4-7 messages over the first couple of weeks; longer nurture drips can span months at a lighter cadence. Match the length and spacing to the buyer's decision timeline and keep each message valuable.
Related terms
Multichannel sequencing is automating a coordinated outreach cadence across more than one channel — for example email, then a LinkedIn touch, then a call, then a WhatsApp follow-up — from a single sequence, with per-channel timing and safety rules.
Cold email is an unsolicited but permission-conscious, personalized outreach email sent to a prospect you have no prior relationship with, for a business purpose. Done well it is targeted and relevant (not bulk spam) and complies with laws like CAN-SPAM and GDPR.
A sales cadence (or sequence) is a structured, time-based series of outreach touches — emails, calls, LinkedIn actions, texts — designed to reach a prospect across multiple channels and attempts before disqualifying or moving on. It defines what to send, on which channel, and when.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a B2B go-to-market strategy that treats individual high-value accounts as markets of one — coordinating marketing and sales to target a defined list of named accounts with personalized, multichannel outreach, rather than casting a wide net for individual leads.