Some of the most useful emails a business sends are never written on the day they go out. A welcome message the moment someone subscribes. A reminder when an online basket is left behind. A thank-you after a donation. A nudge before a membership lapses. Automation lets a small British team offer that level of attention without hiring more staff.
Automations that suit UK organisations
- Welcome emails: confirm the sign-up, set expectations and deliver whatever you promised, such as a discount code or a guide.
- Basket reminders: for online shops, a short email a few hours after a basket is abandoned. Our article on abandoned cart emails covers timing and wording.
- Birthday emails: a small treat for customers who chose to share their date of birth.
- Renewal reminders: for gyms, clubs, insurers, software subscriptions and charity memberships, triggered by a date field.
- Post-event follow-ups: slides, photos and a feedback survey after a conference, open day or fundraiser.
Service email or marketing email?
This distinction matters under PECR. An order confirmation, a password reset or a booking reminder is a service message and doesn’t need marketing consent. The ICO’s view is that if you add promotional content to it, such as a “you might also like” section, it becomes marketing and the PECR rules apply. Keep service automations clean, and send promotional automations only to people who consented or who fall under the soft opt-in. Our guide to UK email marketing law covers the detail.
Triggers and actions
Every Mailpro automation starts with a trigger and runs one or more actions. Triggers include a new subscription, a date such as a birthday or renewal, a click on a specific link, or a tag added to a contact. Actions include sending an email or SMS, adding a tag or moving the contact to another list. The automation triggers page lists them all.
UK timing details
Date-based automations need a sensible send hour. A birthday email at 2am is a missed opportunity, and British subscribers switch between GMT and BST twice a year. Set a fixed local send time rather than firing the moment the trigger happens. For B2B sequences, avoid bank holidays, and remember they differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What automation costs
Mailpro is priced by sends, not by the number of contacts, and automated emails use credits in the same way as campaigns. A welcome email only costs something when someone subscribes, so quiet months cost less. The FAQ on whether automations use credits explains the details. You can start with 500 free credits.
Start with one, then build
Most organisations get the biggest return from the welcome email, so start there. Once it is running, add a second automation and watch the results in automated email statistics. Our guide to sending automated emails walks through the set-up. All data used by your automations stays on Mailpro’s private Swiss infrastructure, outside US jurisdiction, and you pay by sends, not contacts.