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Remember in 2022 when ChatGPT had just launched and everyone was trying to figure out how best to use it?

ChatGPT—and AI (Artificial Intelligence) for that matter—took the world by storm, affecting our personal and professional lives.

Once I got past the “playing around” phase (I might’ve asked ChatGPT to write me an email marketing poem or two), I started getting more serious and evaluated how to leverage the AI assistant to make my day-to-day work more efficient as an email marketer.

Can AI streamline the email workflow? Absolutely, but you have to do the work to figure out how it will work for you.

According to our State of Email survey results, email marketers are still coming around on AI for email marketing, but 43% of email marketers are either using AI in email creation or they plan to in the future.

And when we asked email marketers which AI platform they used most, ChatGPT was far and away the most popular.

That being said, email creation is not the only way to use AI in email marketing. There’s so much more opportunity to integrate platforms like ChatGPT into your email program.

One of my favorite ways I’ve incorporated AI into my workflow is by using Generative AI through ChatGPT to help me brainstorm and bring an email sequence to life.

Let’s take a look at the process I go through to use ChatGPT to create an email sequence.

Create an outline and a goal for your ChatGPT query

As email marketers, we’re always finding ways to automate emails that speak to subscribers so they stay loyal to your brand. Each of these automated email workflows should have useful topics or resources for your subscribers and goals that you’d like to achieve. 

Sometimes you can have too many ideas—or you could be drawing a blank—and that’s where a brief outline comes in to sort out what you’d like to achieve.

Going into any AI-related project, remember to draft an outline or have some key ideas going into it. While ChatGPT holds a wealth of information, it’s also up to you to help ChatGPT guide you toward the responses you’re looking for.

Start off with what you know by mapping out these questions:

• Is this a net new email sequence or are you optimizing an existing one?
• If optimizing an existing one, it can be helpful to provide samples of existing copy or the framework.
• Who is your target audience?
• What goals or KPIs (key performance indicators) are you hoping to achieve?
• Do you have a specific structure in mind? For example, do you want to start the sequence with a welcome email followed by another email in a few days?
• Are there specific topics you’d like to touch on across the sequence?
• Are you planning to create multiple versions? e.g. A/B testing or personalized variants
• Now that you have a brief idea of what you’re looking for, you can prompt ChatGPT to create your email sequence.

Plug it into ChatGPT to create your email sequence

Querying ChatGPT is a skill. It can start with a quick question for brainstorming and refining your results to make them more specific to your request. Once you have some details, you can start by sending a prompt of what you’re looking for. 

Prompt: Create a plan for a prospect email sequence that balances product education, customer testimonials, use cases, and a follow-up email. The goal of the sequence is for them to contact our team and schedule a demo.

And here’s what ChatGPT came back with:

Here’s a plan for a prospect email sequence that incorporates product education, customer testimonials, use cases, and a follow-up email to encourage them to contact your team and schedule a demo:

• Initial Introduction Email (Day 1):
  • Subject: Discover How [Your Product/Service] Can Transform Your [Specific Industry/Problem]
  • Briefly introduce your company and product/service.
  • Highlight a key benefit or unique value proposition.
  • Include a call-to-action (CTA) to visit a specific webpage for more information.
• Product Education Email (Day 3):
  • Subject: Learn How [Your Product/Service] Solves [Specific Problem]
  • Provide detailed information about how your product/service addresses a common pain point or solves a problem.
  • Include visuals such as infographics or videos to explain concepts clearly.
  • Encourage them to explore more on your website and download relevant resources.
• Customer Testimonial Email (Day 6):
  • Subject: Hear What Our Customers Are Saying About [Your Product/Service]
  • Share a compelling customer testimonial that showcases real results or positive experiences.
  • Include quotes, case study highlights, or before-and-after comparisons.
  • Emphasize the impact your product/service has had on other businesses.
• Use Case Email (Day 10):
  • Subject: Explore How [Your Product/Service] Fits Your [Specific Industry/Use Case]
  • Present a detailed use case relevant to their industry or situation.
  • Highlight features or functionalities that are particularly beneficial in this context.
  • Include metrics or statistics to demonstrate effectiveness.
• Follow-Up and Demo Request (Day 15):
  • Subject: Ready to See [Your Product/Service] in Action? Schedule a Demo!
  • Recap key points from previous emails briefly.
  • Reiterate the value proposition and benefits.
  • Provide a clear CTA to schedule a personalized demo with your team.
  • Offer incentives like a free trial or exclusive content for scheduling a demo.

Each email should be concise, engaging, and personalized based on the prospect’s industry or pain points. Monitor engagement metrics such as open rates and click-through rates to optimize the sequence for better results over time.

This prompt helped create an outline of key topics, value-adds, and call-to-actions to focus on in each step of the sequence, along with recommendations for time delays between emails. 

At this point, it’s up to you to determine whether these results give you enough to start drafting copy on your own or you might want to go back to the drawing board with ChatGPT.

If you’re still experiencing writer’s block and are unsure of where to start, you can have ChatGPT elaborate and give you more specific advice for a particular email.

Updated prompt: This framework is great! Could you help write potential email copy for the initial introduction email on day 1?

• • Our platform focuses on these key offerings: 
  • Optimize email performance with an all-in-one email marketing platform 
  • QA test and preview in 100+ email clients 
  • Quickly and effectively personalize every send 
  • Get 24/7 protection against unexpected email errors

ChatGPT’s response:

Certainly! Here’s a draft for the initial introduction email focusing on your key offerings:

Subject: Elevate Your Email Marketing with [Your Product Name]

Dear [Prospect’s Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I’m reaching out from [Your Company Name] with an exciting opportunity to revolutionize your email marketing strategy.

Are you looking to optimize your email performance while ensuring flawless delivery across all platforms? Our all-in-one email marketing platform is designed to help you achieve just that. 

Here’s how we can make a difference for your business:

• • • Optimize Email Performance: With our platform, you can streamline your email campaigns for maximum impact. From design to delivery, we provide the tools you need to create engaging content that resonates with your audience.
    • QA Testing and Preview: Say goodbye to email rendering issues. Our platform allows you to QA test and preview your emails in over 100 email clients, ensuring a consistent experience for every subscriber.
    • Personalization Made Easy: Personalization is key to effective marketing. Our platform empowers you to personalize every send quickly and effectively, driving higher engagement and conversions.
    • 24/7 Protection: Don’t let unexpected email errors derail your campaigns. With round-the-clock protection, our platform safeguards your emails against errors, ensuring reliable delivery every time.

I’d love to discuss how [Your Product Name] can specifically benefit your business. Could we schedule a brief call or demo at your convenience? Simply reply to this email or click [Link to Schedule Demo] to book a time that works for you.

Looking forward to connecting and helping you take your email marketing to new heights!

Best regards,

[Your name, title, contact information]

Feel free to customize the placeholders ([Prospect’s Name], [Your Company Name], [Your Product Name], [Link to Schedule Demo], etc.) with specific details related to your company and offerings.

Now, you should have a base email with specific points to touch on! If you still feel stuck, feel free to repeat this step for other emails recommended in the sequence. 

Take your ChatGPT prompts a step further

After training ChatGPT for some time, the model gets smarter and understands your needs.

For example, I could ask for results to be written in a “short, snappy, engaging way” when I’m working on customer onboarding emails or query for a more serious tone for transactional emails.

Here’s what this email could look like:

Subject: Elevate Your Email Marketing Game

Hi [Prospect’s Name],

Ready to supercharge your email marketing? Our platform does it all:

Optimize performance effortlessly

Preview in 100+ clients

Personalize sends in a snap

Get 24/7 error protection

Let’s chat! Click here to schedule a demo [Link to Schedule Demo].

Cheers,

[Your name, title]

Once you’re in a good spot, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start editing your results to sound more like your brand.

Add your brand voice and start finalizing your email sequence

Generative AI can help save time and boost your creativity. When using ChatGPT for email copy assistance, always modify your email copy. Never copy your results verbatim. Why? As email marketers, it’s our responsibility to use AI responsibly, and some of those responsibilities are avoiding plagiarism, copyright infringement, and inaccurate data. 

When in doubt, be transparent with your audience and let them know you had AI assistance by including something like, “This email was written using [AI assistant’s name].”

While using your ChatGPT outline or emails as your base, start infusing more of your brand voice into your email copy. Generative AI is great for creating lots of content quickly, but it may lack empathy since it doesn’t know your audience like you do.  (Need help with email copywriting? This should help.)

Get your wheels turning with ChatGPT

Whether you’re harnessing ChatGPT for new emails or making optimizations to existing ones—ChatGPT is an effective way to provide extra help for email marketers. It’s perfect for the mighty teams of one—or extra hands for teams who need to move quickly to strengthen their email program. AI will only continue to evolve, and this is only one of the ways you can incorporate it into your marketing mix to make your strategy more effective.