Someone downloaded your lead magnet three weeks ago. They're sitting in your CRM, tagged "warm lead," doing absolutely nothing. You've sent two emails. Both got opened. Zero clicks.
You're not sure whether to send more or leave them alone. (Spoiler: you should. Here's how to build a proper email marketing funnel that converts.)
This is the exact moment an email nurture sequence either saves you or reveals you never built one.
What Most "Nurture Sequences" Actually Are
Here's an uncomfortable truth: most people calling their emails a nurture sequence are running a timed blast campaign with a nicer name.
They get a sign-up, queue 5 emails, schedule them every 3 days, and call it done. Same message. Same CTA. No awareness of whether the person opened email 1 or deleted it on sight.
That's not nurture. That's scheduling.
A real email nurture sequence responds to behavior. It shifts based on what someone clicked, what they ignored, and where they are in actually making a decision. Someone who opened every email needs different email 4 content than someone who ghosted after email 1.
The difference in conversion rate between a real nurture sequence and a timed blast? We've seen it range from 2x to 6x across client accounts, depending on product type and list quality.
Significant.
How Many Emails Should Be in a Nurture Sequence?
Everyone asks this question. Nobody wants to answer it honestly.
The real answer: as many as it takes to address every major objection and move someone from "interested" to "ready to act."
For most businesses, that's 5 to 7 emails. For high-ticket products or long sales cycles (SaaS, B2B, premium services), it can stretch to 10-12. That's fine. Longer sales cycles need more touchpoints.
What it's NOT: "I'll do 3 emails because that feels polite." That's you managing your anxiety about annoying people, not nurturing a lead.
If someone opted in, they want to hear from you. The problem is never too many emails. The problem is emails with nothing useful inside them.
The 7 Emails Every Nurture Sequence Needs
Not every email applies to every business. But this structure holds up across ecommerce, SaaS, service businesses, and anything where the sale doesn't happen on first contact.
| Purpose | Timing | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Welcome | Deliver what they signed up for, set expectations | Immediately |
| 2. Problem framing | Name their pain point better than they can | Day 2-3 |
| 3. Education | Teach one idea that changes how they think | Day 5-6 |
| 4. Social proof | One specific story from someone like them | Day 8-9 |
| 5. Objection killer | Address the #1 reason people don't convert | Day 11-12 |
| 6. Soft ask | Make the offer, no pressure | Day 14 |
| 7. Last chance | Close the loop, create urgency | Day 18-21 |
Email 1: The Welcome
This is where most people blow it.
They send a "welcome to our list!" email that reads like a corporate onboarding document. Warm tone, generic content, no real delivery of anything valuable.
Deliver what you promised. If they signed up for a checklist, send the checklist. Don't make them click through 3 pages to find it. Keep the email short. Set expectations for what's coming next. That's it.
Simple enough, right? You'd be amazed how many people overcomplicate this one.
Email 2: The Problem Framing Email
Here's the email nobody writes but everyone should.
Your job: describe their problem so accurately that they stop and think "how did they know that?" Not solving it yet. Just naming it with precision.
"You're sending emails regularly but revenue from email is basically zero. Your open rates look fine on paper, but clicks are dead. You're not sure if the problem is your subject lines or your entire strategy."
When someone reads that and recognizes themselves, you've built more trust in one email than 10 promotional emails ever will.
Email 3: The Education Email
Teach one thing. One.
Not "10 email marketing tips." Not "the complete guide to automation." One concept that changes how they think about the problem.
A client of ours switched from a "5 tips to improve open rates" format to a single concept email about deliverability and inbox placement. Click rate on that email went from 2.1% to 5.8%.
Less content, more clarity. Every time.
Email 4: Social Proof
Not a testimonial page. Not "over 10,000 happy customers!" That's a badge, not proof. Nobody trusts badges.
One specific story. One person like them. Specific result.
"A 3-person ecommerce team was getting 9% email conversion. They changed the timing on their abandoned cart sequence and added a behavioral trigger to their welcome flow. 90 days later: 19% conversion. Same list. Different strategy."
Specific. Believable. Relevant to what the reader is trying to do.
Email 5: The Objection Killer
Pick the #1 reason people don't buy from you and spend this entire email on it.
Too expensive. Too complicated. Already tried something similar and it failed. Not sure it applies to their specific situation.
One objection. Address it directly. Don't hedge.
"You've probably tried email automation before and it was a mess. That makes sense, most platforms overcomplicate it by default. Here's what was different in every case we've seen it work..."
Acknowledge it. Then dismantle it with evidence.
Email 6: The Soft Ask
Make the offer. Keep it simple.
Lead with the outcome they want and mention your product as the path to get there. Not "BUY NOW BEFORE IT'S GONE." One clear outcome, one CTA, one link. That's it.
If you're linking to 3 different things in this email, you've already lost.
Email 7: The Last Chance
Create urgency without being obnoxious about it.
If you have a real deadline (trial ending, promo expiring), use it. If not, use a soft close: "I'm wrapping up this sequence today. If you've been on the fence, here's what I'd suggest based on what you've read..."
Then stop.
If someone doesn't convert after 7 emails over 3 weeks, they need more time or they're not the right fit right now. Continuing to hammer them will just hurt your sender reputation and annoy people who might have come back later on their own terms.
Timing That Doesn't Kill Your Deliverability
Here's something the "nurture sequence best practices" blogs skip over entirely: timing isn't just a conversion problem. It's a deliverability problem.
Send too fast on a cold list, and ESPs notice. Gmail tracks engagement rates. If you're firing daily emails and getting 12% open rates, your email sender reputation takes a hit. Soon you're in Promotions, then spam, then nowhere.
The sweet spot for most nurture sequences: every 2-4 days in the first two weeks, then weekly after that.
Something like this:
- Day 0 (welcome)
- Day 2 (problem framing)
- Day 5 (education)
- Day 8 (social proof)
- Day 11 (objection killer)
- Day 14 (soft ask)
- Day 21 (last chance)
That's 7 emails over 3 weeks. Enough presence to stay relevant. Not so aggressive that you're training your list to ignore you.
Hot take: the biggest nurture sequence mistake isn't bad copy. It's sending 8 emails in 8 days to people who've known you for 8 minutes.
For a deeper look at cadence, see our guide on email send frequency.
Segment Your Nurture Sequence (Or You're Wasting It)
One nurture sequence for your entire list is lazy. I'll say it plainly.
Different people sign up for different reasons. Someone who downloaded a "beginner's guide to email marketing" needs a completely different conversation than someone who searched for "abandoned cart email sequence for Shopify." One needs trust-building. One needs tactical help now.
At minimum, segment by three things:
Sign-up source. Cold traffic from Google needs more trust-building than someone who's been reading your content for a month. Same emails, different outcome.
Engagement behavior. If someone opens every email but never clicks, the issue is your CTAs. If someone clicked email 1 and ghosted after that, they got what they came for or your subject lines stopped landing. Both situations call for different next steps, not the same sequence.
Lead magnet topic. If someone signed up for a guide about SMS marketing, email 1 should deliver that guide and the rest of the sequence should connect to it. Not a generic welcome that has nothing to do with why they opted in.
Even basic behavioral email list segmentation makes a measurable difference. Across accounts we've managed, segmented nurture sequences consistently convert 30-40% better than unsegmented ones. Every time.
FAQ
What is the difference between a drip campaign and an email nurture sequence?
A drip campaign sends the same emails to everyone on a fixed schedule. A nurture sequence adapts based on behavior. Someone who clicks on email 2 might get different email 3 content than someone who ignored it. Drip is simpler. Nurture is more effective. Most people start with drip and call it nurture. There's a gap between those two things.
How long should a nurture email be?
200-400 words for most emails in a sequence. Long enough to make one clear point. Short enough to read in under 2 minutes. If you can't say it in 400 words, you're trying to cover too many ideas in one email. Split it into two.
When should the first nurture email go out?
Immediately. Or within 5 minutes if instant delivery isn't possible. Email 1 has the highest open rate in any sequence by a wide margin. Waiting 24 hours is leaving the most engaged version of your subscriber on the table. Send it now.
What's a good open rate for a nurture sequence?
Emails 1-2 should hit 40-60% if your welcome email sequence has done its job. By email 5-7, expect 20-35% from engaged subscribers. If you're below 15% by email 3, either your subject lines need work or you have a list quality problem worth investigating.
How do you know when your nurture sequence is finished?
After the sequence ends, move non-converters to a lower-cadence long-term list. Monthly or biweekly, valuable content only. Don't cut them off completely. Some people take 4-6 months to convert. Stop the aggressive sequence and let the long game run.
Is it possible to over-nurture someone?
Yes. If every email is trying to move someone forward without giving them space to breathe, you'll see unsubscribes spike after email 4 or 5. Value-first emails should outnumber asks at roughly 3:1. Three useful, interesting, no-ask emails for every one that pushes toward a conversion. The sequence above is built around that ratio.