Definition
Trigger sequence velocity measures how quickly your automation responds to subscriber behaviour. A welcome email should fire within minutes of signup. An abandoned cart email should send within 1-4 hours. A birthday email should send on the exact day.
Why It Matters
Speed directly affects conversion rates for behavioural triggers. The first abandoned cart email sent within 1 hour converts at approximately 2-3 times the rate of one sent after 24 hours. Welcome emails sent within 5 minutes see 30-50% higher open rates than those delayed by an hour.
Optimisation
Review your automation platform's trigger delay settings. Ensure real-time triggers (welcome, abandoned cart, password reset) have zero artificial delay. Batch triggers (weekly digests, monthly roundups) can tolerate longer delays since subscribers expect periodic sends.
Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
Abandoned Cart Email
An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to customers who added items to their online shopping cart but left without completing the purchase. It is one of the highest-converting email types in ecommerce.
AIDA Model for Email
The AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is a classic copywriting framework used to structure email campaigns that guide subscribers from awareness to conversion.
AMP for Email
AMP for Email is a Google-developed framework that allows email messages to include interactive elements like forms, carousels, accordions, and live content. It turns static emails into dynamic, interactive experiences directly inside the inbox.
Anchoring Effect in Email Marketing
The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the first piece of information presented (the anchor) influences subsequent decisions, used in email to frame pricing and value perception.
Announcement Email
An announcement email is a dedicated campaign that communicates a specific update, milestone, or change to subscribers, from product launches and feature releases to company news and events.