This is a trick question as there is no one correct answer. The answer, like most things, is it depends. It depends on your industry, positioning, business maturity but most important your goals.
A well established business may care less about educating the masses about their industry and care more about educating those keen on a solution. Getting as many leads as possible takes a backseat as it’s less impactful than finding your perfect client. They’re likely already well-known and liked so they target product aware groups – those who know your product exists, but aren’t completely aware of all it does or aren’t convinced of how well it does.
However, take a small startup and it’s almost the opposite. Getting leads and educating your target audience is key before making a purchase. These businesses stand to gain more through earning trust, showcasing their unique approach with proof, and making an undoubtedly good offer.
The difference between goals and business maturity is massive. You will even find multiple email courses spread throughout a business who clearly understand their customers.
But that’s not the end to this post. I’d like to go into more detail into common marketing funnel locations with examples for your reference. I aim to inspire you through the several types of educational email courses (or sequences) you could place in your current situation. The intent of educational email courses are not always about creating leads. This is a common misconception I hear at first from people. They do get people to sign up from curiosity based on your messaging. But they also provide opportunities to sell, to only educate, to build authority through content, and to assure readers and learners alike.
Generally speaking I break educational email courses (EECs) into 2 categories: public and private facing. Within each category their intent wildly differs from each other. They have their own strengths and shortcomings. Misplacing where they should belong will mean weakened conversion rates. For example, placing what could be best used privately in a public facing environment will come off as premature and lack context to a reader. And using content within private facing contexts would alienate a lot of readers as their will be far more assumptions in the content.
Public facing EEC
These are the types of sequences that are available to anyone in the public. They are not gate kept though a membership community nor unavailable to the masses. Let’s start with the first 2 that are classically used in a marketing funnel.
As a separate webpage or live within its own domain This is where supplementing or replacing the traditional “newsletter subscribe” form is used. Instead of the immediate popup modal on webpage visit, showcase how you differ and the mistakes your audience may be doing. A clean and clear URL is needed here – ideally one where the intent is in the name.
On lead magnet signup
This is where you attract your ideal customer in particular through social media. Perhaps this is a page where you are running ads to. Maybe this is a page that is generously well indexed through organic search. But someone landed on your lead magnet due to curiosity so writing a welcoming educational sequence is key. It earns trust, shows proof of your approach, then makes you relatable enough to make a call to action with your irresistible offer.
It’s not only about lead generation. The following are some ideas of where you can make use of educational email sequences aside from public webpages:
After a workshop, or the Off-boarding EEC
If you want to impress, write a email sequence after a short-lived engagement for your attendees. This continues the journey with your clients or prospects after you’ve engaged with them.
The key goals of this sequence are: ⁃ to keep users on track ⁃ cross-sell or up-sell a solution in relation to their journey ⁃ answers any questions preemptively to prevent getting stuck
An effective off-boarding sequence gets you repeat buyers and gushing fans.
A Commencement sequence
Take into account a waiting list. What’s makes an effective and successful launch of a product from a waiting list is the built up anticipation leading up to its release. The frequent email messaging coupled with a qualified email list makes or breaks the launch event.
Don’t just launch something and say “here it is everyone” on launch of a new offer. It’s heavy promotion through education that sells the offer.
Some attributes of a successful commencement sequence includes: ⁃ telling stories ⁃ presenting the pains and benefits of your offer ⁃ show unique characteristics of offer ⁃ teach to overcome hesitations ⁃ cause a sense of missing out
Private facing EEC
Now on the contrary a private EEC is more for an audience with more context or awareness in mind. Lets look at some examples below where slowly the difference between each type becomes more evident.
Free trial welcome sequence
The purpose here is to educate a user as much as possible on setting them up for success using your platform. Ideally it will create a user stickiness effect where users are incentivized to return.
During onboarding or Post purchase
Excellent for 1:1 clients or the purchase of a digital good, like a course. Kind of like walking an extra mile with your client. The goals of this EEC are: ⁃ Assures buyers they’re safe in your hands. ⁃ Reduces buyer’s remorse ⁃ Delivers required documents and resources ⁃ Preparation for meeting in 1 to 1s ⁃ Upsell opportunity (if relevant) ⁃ Answers any questions by anticipating users getting stuck
Client success program
Reserved for high-ticket clients or enterprise customers, this type of sequence focuses on:
• Establishing communication channels and protocols
• Setting clear milestones and expectations
• Sharing relevant case studies and best practices
• Providing additional resources specific to their industry
• Offering VIP support access instructions
• Regular check-ins and progress tracking
Partner/affiliate onboarding
When working with business partners or affiliates, a specialized sequence can:
• Explain partnership benefits and responsibilities
• Provide marketing materials and guidelines
• Share successful promotion strategies
• Outline commission structures and payment processes
• Offer partner-specific resources and tools
• Set performance expectations and goals
The key difference between public and private facing EECs lies in the context and depth.
Private sequences can assume a certain level of commitment and understanding from the audience, allowing for more sophisticated content and specific action items. They often focus on implementation rather than persuasion but not exclusively. They can be more direct in their approach since the relationship has already been established.
Remember that private facing EECs should always:
- Acknowledge the recipient’s current relationship status with your business
- Provide value that matches their investment level
- Maintain a more personal and exclusive tone
- Focus on specific outcomes rather than general education
- Include clear action steps and implementation guidance
Where you choose to place your educational email sequence is ultimately up to you. What works for a large business may not apply as well if you’re smaller. It’s the positioning, business maturity and your goals to determine where, what, and how many to use.
Further reading
This post is a sub topic to our key premise which is people do not care about the solution unless they understand the problem. It’s further detailed here to fully understand why educational content is key for a successful business.