How to Create Drip Campaigns Using Gmass in Gmail

If you’ve ever tried to follow up with leads, prospects, or even job applications one by one, you know it’s a huge pain. Drip campaigns solve this—automating those nagging, follow-up emails so you don’t have to remember who to chase and when. If you use Gmail and want to skip the enterprise-level tools, Gmass is one of the simplest ways to pull this off.

This guide is for people who want to run simple, effective drip campaigns without getting bogged down in jargon or overpaying for bloated software. You’ll get a real-world walkthrough, plus some things I wish I’d known before starting.

What is a Drip Campaign (and Why Bother)?

A drip campaign is just a fancy way of saying: “Send Email 1 now, Email 2 later if they don’t reply, and so on.” You set up a sequence of emails that go out automatically at set intervals—usually until you get a response or run out of things to say.

Why bother? - You save time (and sanity). - You don’t forget to follow up (no more sticky notes). - You can actually see what works (open and reply tracking).

Gmass lets you do all this inside Gmail, with almost no learning curve.

Step 1: Install Gmass and Connect Your Gmail

Before you get clever with campaigns, you need Gmass working inside Gmail.

  1. Install the Gmass Chrome extension
  2. Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for “Gmass”.
  3. Click “Add to Chrome.”

  4. It’ll add some new buttons to your Gmail.

  5. Authorize Gmass with Gmail

  6. Open Gmail.
  7. You’ll see a red Gmass button next to “Compose.”
  8. Click it, then follow the prompts to let Gmass connect to your account.

Pro Tip:
If you use Google Workspace (business Gmail), make sure your admin hasn’t blocked third-party add-ons like Gmass. Otherwise, you’ll be fighting IT before you ever send a drip.

Step 2: Build Your Email List

Gmass sends campaigns to a list of email addresses. You can use:

  • A Google Sheet: Best for anything serious. Create a Sheet with columns for Name, Email, and any other personalization (like Company).
  • A Gmail Label: If you’ve already got conversations going, label the emails and Gmass can pull them in.
  • Manual Entry: For very short lists, you can paste addresses into the Gmail “To” field. Fine for tests, but clunky for real campaigns.

What works best?
Google Sheets. It’s easy to update, and you can personalize emails by pulling in columns (e.g., “Hi {{FirstName}}”).

Step 3: Draft Your Initial Email

Now, the meat of your message.

  1. Click “Compose” in Gmail.
  2. Write your email as usual.
  3. Use personalization tags like {{FirstName}} or {{Company}}—these pull from your Sheet.
  4. Add your recipients:
  5. If you’re using a Google Sheet, click the little spreadsheet icon (next to Gmass) and link your Sheet.
  6. For labels or manual, just fill in the “To” field.

What to avoid:
Don’t overthink the message. Write like a human, not a robot. If a cold email sounds like a sales pitch, it’ll get deleted.

Step 4: Set Up the Drip Campaign (Automated Follow-Ups)

Here’s where Gmass actually earns its keep.

  1. Click the arrow next to the red Gmass button.
  2. This opens the settings panel.
  3. Go to the “Auto Follow-up” section.
  4. Write your follow-up messages.
  5. Gmass lets you add up to 8 follow-ups.
  6. Type the message for each step. Keep them short—think reminders, not essays.
  7. Set the trigger.
  8. By default, follow-ups send if there’s no reply. You can also choose “no open,” “not clicked,” or “regardless.”
  9. “No reply” is best for most cases.
  10. Choose the timing.
  11. Pick the number of days to wait between each follow-up.
  12. Don’t be annoying—2–4 days is a good gap.

Real Talk:
Don’t set up a 6-email sequence unless you have something genuinely helpful to say each time. And if people ask to be removed, stop emailing them. Gmass won’t save you from being a pest.

Step 5: Personalize (Without Losing Your Mind)

Personalization is great—but only if it’s easy to keep straight.

  • Use columns in your Google Sheet for anything you want to personalize (first name, company, role, etc.).
  • In your email, use {{ColumnName}} to pull in that info.
  • Gmass will fill in the blanks for each recipient.

What to watch out for:
- Make sure every row in your Sheet has the info you’re referencing, or your emails will look broken (“Hi ,” is not a good look). - Test with your own email address first.

Step 6: Test Your Campaign

Before blasting out to dozens or hundreds of people, send a test.

  1. In the Gmass settings panel, there’s a “Send Test” button. Use it.
  2. Check if the personalization works and the formatting looks normal.
  3. Double-check your links and signatures.

Pro Tip:
Send the test to a Gmail account on your phone AND desktop. Weird formatting sometimes only shows up on mobile.

Step 7: Hit Send (and Monitor Results)

When you’re happy, click the red Gmass button to start the campaign. Gmass will:

  • Send your emails in batches to avoid spam filters.
  • Track opens, clicks, and replies.
  • Automatically send follow-ups based on your rules.

You’ll get a summary report in your inbox, plus a campaign dashboard (there’s a “GMass Reports” label in your Gmail sidebar now). It’s not as pretty as some tools, but you’ll see who opened, clicked, or replied.

Pro Tips, Gotchas, and What to Ignore

  • Don’t go crazy with volume.
    Gmail has sending limits (500/day for free accounts, 2,000 for paid Google Workspace). Gmass spreads out sends, but don’t try to send 10,000 emails at once.

  • Warm up your account.
    If you’re new to sending mass emails, start small. Gmail hates sudden spikes.

  • Unsubscribes matter.
    Always include an unsubscribe link. Gmass can add this automatically. Not just for compliance—it helps your deliverability.

  • Don’t trust open rates blindly.
    Open tracking uses a tiny image. If someone’s email blocks images, you’ll never know they read it.

  • Ignore “AI” add-ons and magic promises.
    Gmass does the basics well. You don’t need AI-powered outreach or “guaranteed” deliverability tools. Focus on writing clear, relevant emails.

  • If you get stuck:
    Gmass has thorough docs, and the founder actually answers support emails. Weird, but true.

Keep It Simple and Iterate

Drip campaigns work best when they’re simple and honest. Write like a person. Start with one or two follow-ups, see what gets replies, then tweak from there. The best campaigns aren’t the fanciest—they’re the ones you actually send.

Set it up, test it out, and keep improving. And if it ever feels like more work than it’s worth, step back and ask: is this helping me reach real people, or just filling up inboxes? Gmass is just a tool—the results come from how you use it.