How to use Automation and Tools in emails: The 2025 Guide (Free options!)
Email marketing remains the Queen-- and that is how you make it work smarter, not harder with automation. Solopreneur, startup, or scaling brand? Automating your email processes helps you to save time, increase ROI and ensure that your audience is engaged 24/7.
We are going to discuss all of it in this guide: what email automation is, why it is important, the most popular automation tools (including free ones), and how to create your first campaigns step-by-step.
What Is Email Automation?
Email automation merely refers to the idea of using software to automatically send emails, in response to triggers such as a subscriber to your list, a resistance of a cart, or a link click.
Rather than manually sending email to all of your list, automation will allow you to:
1. Deliver the appropriate message at the appropriate time.
2. Break down your audience according to behavior.
3. Save hours of manual work
4. Induce conversions through nudges on time.
The reason you want to automate email in 2025.
The point is as follows: inboxes are crowded, and the user wants the personal communication. Litmus argues that when brands automate, they increase revenue up to 320 per cent more than when they simply send manual newsletters.
Automation also gives you:
1. Consistency (your welcome series is running even when you are asleep)
2. Scalability (50 or 50k subscribers)
3. Improved data (you can see what is and what is not working)
Email automation tools have the following key features.
When picking tools, look for:
1. Segmentation/ tags - to subdivide subscribers into a group based on interest or behavior.
2. Action & Email - send emails on actions.
3. A/B testing - to maximize the subject lines and timing.
4. Integrations - integrate with the Shopify, WordPress, CRMs, etc.
5. Analytics - open rate, CTR, conversion tracking
Free Email Builders to Test out.
You do not need to rob the bank to get started. These are good free sources of 2025:
Tool, Free Plan Includes and Best for are following
1. Mailchimp 500 contacts, 1,000 monthly mailings, 1-step automation Basic, basic workflows.
2. Brevo (previously Sendinblue) 300 emails per day, infinity number of contacts, automation builder Small business.
3. MailerLite 1,000 subscribers, 12,000 monthly emails, automations Click Creators, bloggers
4. HubSpot Free CRM + email automation, 2,000 emails/month B2B businesses.
5. Moosend (Trial) 30-day free trial with automation flows Automation trial: This is a testing of advanced automations.
Hack: Once you need to go beyond free, set up a combination of tools, e.g. gather emails with a free form tool such as Tally.so or Typeform (free plan), and then connect it to MailerLite or Brevo to send.
Introduction to How to Configure Your First Automated Campaign (Free).
This is an easy process you can do nowadays, and it does not require a credit card:
1. Choose Your Tool:
Create an account with MailerLite or Brevo free of charge.
2. Create a List:
Add your contacts (or create a sign up form).
3. Segment:
Include such tags as New Subscriber, Customer, Abandoned Cart.
4. Design a Workflow:
Example for a welcome series:
Trigger: Every new subscriber enters list
Email 1: Welcome + freebie (deliver asap)
Email 2: Your story + value (Send 2 days after)
Email 3: Soft tones / CTA (send 5 days later)
5. Personalize & Test:
Insert merge tags such as Hi [First Name] and A/B test on subject lines.
6. Launch & Monitor:
Monitor open rates, make subject lines better, and get better over time.
Advanced Strategies (Free! still)
When you feel more at ease, you can employ these more advanced, yet less expensive tactics:
1. Behavioral Triggers: Mail emails when users open a particular product or page.
2. Win-Back Campaigns: Reconnect with the dormant subscribers by sending them a We miss you email.
3. Dynamic Content: Display various product recommendations according to the interest of the user.
4. RSS-to-Email: Automate the newsletters in your blog feed.
Email services such as Brevo and MailerLite allow you to do most of this on the free plans.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Watch out even with free automation:
1. Fixed mailing: You are going to wear out your readers (and get tagged spammy).
2. Poor segmentation: Do not send same message to buyers and leads.
3. No testing: Open rates can be doubled with small changes (subject line, timing) made.
Tracking & Optimization
Use these metrics to improve:
1. Open Rate: Does your subject line work?
2. Click-Through: Does your CTA make sense?
3. Conversion rate: Are subscribers following-up?
Pro tip: Compare the performance on devices - most of the free tools display desktop data vs mobile data.
The Future of Automation of emails.
AI is making email smarter:
1. Predictive sending: Tools will send email at the time when each subscriber has the highest likelihood of opening.
2. AI subject line generation: Copy ideas on the basis of previous performance.
3. Multichannel coordination: Link email on SMS, WhatsApp, push alerts.
Even free tools are beginning to introduce AI functionality (such as the subject line assistant of Brevo).
Final Thoughts
You do not require a massive budget in order to start with email automation. Using a free service such as MailerLite or Brevo, you can create a basic welcome sequence, abandon cart series, and win-back campaign - and you will start to experience improved results right away compared to manually blasting your email.
Automatic only one workflow and optimize it. Once you notice the ROI, it is possible to justify the paid plans of higher features.
Do you want me to make this a well-designed PDF lead magnet (free guide) that you might give to your audience in exchange to their email so you can practice what you preach and build your list?