Build a nurture program that people finish
A nurture is a series of emails that takes a new lead from “I downloaded something” to “I will talk to you”, one job per email. The ones that work are short (five to seven emails), front-loaded (the first two arrive within a week), leave the moment someone replies or books, and are judged on replies and meetings, not opens. This article gives the standard arc, the entry and exit rules, the tool setup, and how MarqIQ writes and checks one. Ask “build a 6 email nurture program” and MarqIQ drafts it from your own brand facts.
The arc: one job per email
| Day | Its one job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Welcome | 0 | Deliver what they asked for and set the promise for what follows |
| 2 Name the problem | 3 | Describe their problem in their words, before you offer anything |
| 3 Teach one thing | 8 | Something they can use today; no pitch |
| 4 Show it working | 13 | One customer like them, one result, one time frame |
| 5 Answer the doubt | 20 | The objection they hold and will not raise |
| 6 The ask | 27 | One clear next step: a call, a review, a trial |
Gaps widen as the program goes on. Early interest is followed quickly; later emails give room.
Entry, exit, and the rule that protects you
- Enters: anyone who fills in a form or arrives as a new lead, once. Nobody enters twice; a second form fill next week does not restart the series.
- Leaves at once: a reply, a meeting booked, a deal opened, an unsubscribe, or an owner starting a sales sequence. A nurture email that arrives after someone asked to talk is the most damaging email you can send.
- Pauses: while a person is in any other active program. Two programs at once is how unsubscribes happen.
- Ends: after the last email, or after 90 days of silence — then the win-back series later, not more nurture.
What to write
- From a person, not from “marketing@”. Plain text or near it. One link.
- Subject lines that say something specific. Never “A quick note”, “Following up”, “Discover our services”.
- Under 150 words until email 4. The proof email may run longer.
- Every claim you cannot back with a number or a named customer is a gap for you to fill, not a sentence to invent.
Set it up in your tool
Create one program with the entry rule above and a goal that removes people who reply or book.
HubSpot: a contact-based workflow with a goal. Marketo: an engagement program with a stream, plus a smart campaign that removes on reply or meeting. Salesforce: a journey or a flow with an exit criterion. Pipedrive: a Campaigns sequence, with the exit handled by a workflow that removes the label.
Add the emails with the waits between them.
Day 0, 3, 8, 13, 20, 27 for six emails. Waits are business days when your tool allows it.
Send from a person’s name and address.
Rotate the sender to the owner when one is assigned.
Add the suppression list.
Customers, competitors, personal mailboxes, current sales sequences.
Judge it after 100 people have been through all of it.
Replies and meetings booked across the whole program, not opens on email 1.
How MarqIQ helps
Ask “build a 6 email nurture program promoting <your service>” and MarqIQ writes the six emails from your brand profile, with the day each is sent, who enters and leaves, and the setup steps for your tool. The Automations analysis then tells you whether the program is switched on, reaching anyone, or overlapping another. The Email analysis judges the sends once they run.
Next steps
Related articles
Was this article helpful?