What is Drip Campaign?

How a drip campaign actually works

You write the messages once, a trigger enrols someone, and the platform releases each message at its set interval. Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Zoho and most WhatsApp business tools all handle this natively without any custom work.

Common triggers include a new subscriber, a first purchase, an abandoned cart, a trial start or a webinar registration, and common sequences cover onboarding, post-purchase education and win-back for lapsed customers. The difference from a nurture flow is branching. A drip runs identically for everybody. A nurture sequence changes route based on what the person actually does.

Where teams get drip campaigns wrong

Writing them once and never opening them again. A welcome drip built two years ago is still cheerfully promoting a product you discontinued and linking to a page that redirects twice before landing somewhere unhelpful. Diary a review every six months.

Second, cramming everything into message one, where new subscribers receive your origin story, your full catalogue, your shipping policy and three offers in a single email nobody finishes. One idea per message.

Third, letting drips overlap, so somebody who buys mid-sequence now sits in two flows at once, getting a post-purchase email and a welcome email asking them to make a first purchase. Set exit conditions.

What good looks like in India

The post-purchase drip is the one most Indian D2C brands underuse: an order confirmation, a dispatch update, a usage tip while the product is still in transit, then a reorder prompt timed to roughly when the thing should be running out. That last message drives repeat revenue at almost no cost.

Run it on WhatsApp wherever you have opt-in. Keep messages short, include the order number, and let people reply to a human, because a drip that cannot be answered builds very little loyalty.