How to Set Up Email Automation for Beginners (Complete Guide)

Email automation scared me for the longest time. All those workflows, triggers, conditions—it seemed like something only tech wizards could figure out. Then I finally sat down, built my first automation, and realized I’d been overthinking it completely.

This guide is for complete beginners. If you’ve never set up an automation before, you’re in the right place. We’ll start simple and build up to more sophisticated sequences.

What Exactly Is Email Automation?

At its core, email automation is just this: emails that send themselves based on triggers. Instead of manually sending a welcome email every time someone subscribes, you set it up once and it runs forever.

Common triggers include someone subscribing to your list, making a purchase, clicking a specific link, abandoning their cart, or a date-based event like a birthday or anniversary.

The magic is that these emails feel personalized even though they’re pre-written. Someone gets a welcome email three minutes after signing up, and it feels like you were sitting there waiting for them. But really, you’re probably sleeping or doing something else entirely.

Your First Automation: The Welcome Sequence

Every email list needs a welcome sequence. This is your chance to introduce yourself, deliver your lead magnet, and set expectations for future emails.

Here’s a simple 4-email welcome sequence that works for almost any business.

Email 1 (immediately after signup): Thank them for subscribing, deliver the promised lead magnet or content, tell them briefly who you are and why you started, and let them know when to expect your next email.

Email 2 (1 day later): Share your best piece of content, something that demonstrates your expertise, and ask if they have any questions. This establishes you as a valuable resource.

Email 3 (3 days later): Tell a personal story about a struggle you’ve overcome, connect it to a common challenge your audience faces, and offer a helpful tip or resource.

Email 4 (5 days later): Make a soft pitch for your product or service, offer special pricing or a bonus for new subscribers, and include a clear call to action.

Setting This Up in Brevo

Let me walk you through setting up this welcome sequence in Brevo. The process is similar in most email platforms.

First, go to Automations in your Brevo dashboard and click Create a New Automation. Choose “Welcome Message” from the templates or start from scratch.

Set your trigger to “Contact is added to a list” and select your main subscriber list. This ensures everyone who joins gets the sequence.

Now add your first email. Write your welcome message, set the sender name and email, and make sure it sends immediately after the trigger.

For the subsequent emails, add “Wait” steps between each message. Set Email 2 to wait 1 day, Email 3 to wait 2 more days (so 3 days total from signup), and Email 4 to wait 2 more days (5 days total).

Activate the automation, and you’re done. Every new subscriber automatically receives this sequence without any manual effort from you.

Automation Ideas Beyond Welcome Sequences

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, here are other automations worth building.

Abandoned cart recovery (for ecommerce): Someone adds products to their cart but doesn’t check out. Trigger an email 1 hour later reminding them, another at 24 hours with a small discount, and a final one at 72 hours with urgency.

Re-engagement sequence: When someone hasn’t opened an email in 90 days, send a “We miss you” email. If they still don’t engage, send one more asking if they want to stay subscribed. This keeps your list clean and deliverability high.

Post-purchase follow up: After someone buys, send a thank you email immediately, a “how’s it going?” email at 7 days, a request for review at 14 days, and related product recommendations at 30 days.

Birthday or anniversary emails: Collect birthdate during signup and send a special offer on their birthday. Simple gesture, but customers remember it.

Common Automation Mistakes to Avoid

Making automations too long is a frequent mistake. Not everyone needs 15 emails before they buy. Start short and add more emails only if data shows drop-off points where additional nurturing helps.

Another mistake is forgetting to update automations as your business evolves. That welcome sequence from 2022 might mention products you no longer sell or use outdated branding. Review your automations quarterly.

Also avoid setting and forgetting without checking performance. Monitor open rates, click rates, and conversion rates for each email. If one email consistently underperforms, rewrite it or remove it.

Start Simple, Then Expand

Don’t try to build complex 20-email sequences with multiple branches on your first attempt. Start with a basic welcome sequence. Get comfortable with the interface. See results coming in.

Then gradually add more automations as you identify opportunities. Automation should save you time, not consume it. Build what you need, measure what works, and iterate from there.

Your first automation might take an hour to set up. But that hour saves you hundreds of hours over the next few years. That’s the real power of automation—time leverage that compounds over time.