A drip campaign is a sequence of emails sent over time to guide recipients toward a goal, such as activation, education, or conversion. Drip campaigns are designed to be systematic. Instead of manually sending each message, teams define the series once and let it run for every new user or segment that enters the flow.
How Drip Campaigns Are Built
Most drips are implemented as an email workflow with defined entry rules, timing, and exit conditions. They often rely on email automation tooling so sends happen reliably at scale. Some drips are purely time-based, while others branch when recipients click, purchase, or complete an in-product milestone.
Drip Versus Triggered Messaging
When modeling a drip, define what happens if a user takes the desired action early. The sequence should adapt. You can also insert small checks between steps, such as “did the user log in again,” to avoid sending irrelevant messages.
A drip campaign can include triggered email steps, but the concept is broader. Drips describe the overall sequence, while triggers describe specific event-driven sends inside that sequence. Many lifecycle programs use both to keep messaging relevant and timely.
Keeping a Drip Campaign Effective
A practical optimization is to add simple exit rules. If a user completes the goal after step one, stop the sequence rather than continuing to drip. This reduces annoyance and improves metrics because recipients only receive what still applies.
Drips need ongoing maintenance. If the product changes, a step may become outdated or misleading. Measure drop-off between steps, refine subject lines, and ensure CTAs match the user’s stage. Drips are often part of a broader lifecycle email strategy, so align them with the outcomes you want at each stage.
Drip Campaign and Topol
Topol helps teams build drip templates with reusable blocks and predictable rendering, so sequences stay consistent even as content evolves. Learn more at Topol or create an account at Topol signup.