If you’ve just started collecting new leads but your follow-up is all over the place—or, honestly, non-existent—this is for you. This guide walks you through setting up automated email campaigns in Keap that actually work, without the extra bells and whistles that look nice in demos but don’t do much in real life.
Whether you’re a business owner, a solo marketer, or just the unlucky person who drew the short straw, you’ll get practical steps, not hype. Forget the “set it and forget it” fantasy—this is about building simple, effective automations that make sure no new lead slips through the cracks.
Before You Start: What You Really Need
Don’t get distracted by all the shiny features. All you need to set up a basic automated campaign in Keap is:
- Access to your Keap account (obviously).
- A list or a way to capture new leads (forms, landing pages, imports, etc.).
- A clear idea of what you want to say to new leads, and when.
- About 1 hour for the first run-through. (Yes, it always takes longer than you think.)
If you don’t already have your lead capture set up, pause here. Automating emails without a steady stream of contacts is just…automating nothing.
Step 1: Map Out Your New Lead Campaign
Before you even log in to Keap, sketch out what you want your new leads to experience.
- How many emails? 2-5 is plenty for most small businesses.
- How often? Once a day, or over a week? Don’t spam, but don’t go silent.
- What’s the goal? Book a call, download a resource, buy something, or just get to know you.
Pro tip: Write your emails first in a Google Doc. Editing in Keap’s builder is clunky, and you’ll save time (and sanity) with copy-paste.
Ask yourself: If you were a new lead, what would you want to know right away?
Step 2: Get Your Lead Capture Ready
Your campaign’s only as good as the leads going in.
Use Keap Forms or Landing Pages
- Keap’s built-in forms and landing pages are decent. They’re not the prettiest or the most flexible, but they get the job done.
- If you use another tool for forms, make sure it integrates with Keap or can zap leads over via Zapier.
Tag New Leads Automatically
Tags in Keap are your best friend. Set up your form or integration so every new lead gets a tag like New Lead.
- This tag will trigger your campaign.
- Keep your tag names simple and obvious. You’ll thank yourself later.
Step 3: Build Your Automated Campaign in Keap
Everything in Keap runs on “Campaigns” (sometimes called “Automations” in newer versions).
3.1: Go to Campaign Builder
- In Keap, navigate to Automations > Campaign Builder (or sometimes just Automations depending on your version).
- Click Create Campaign.
3.2: Set Your Trigger
- Drag in a Tag Applied goal.
- Set it to your new lead tag (e.g.,
New Lead). - This means the campaign starts every time a new lead comes in.
Skip the “Contact Added to List” trigger unless you have a really good reason. Tags are more reliable and make troubleshooting easier.
3.3: Add Your Sequence
- Drag a Sequence onto the canvas and connect it to your trigger.
- Double-click to open up your sequence.
3.4: Add Emails
- Inside the sequence, drag in Send Email steps.
- Paste in your pre-written emails, one per step.
- Use the visual editor if you want, but plain text emails often get better engagement and are less likely to end up in spam.
3.5: Set Delays
- After each email, add a Delay Timer (e.g., wait 1 day).
- Don’t overthink timing—1-2 days between emails is solid for most.
3.6: Publish
- Once all your emails and delays are in place, publish your campaign.
- Test it with your own email before sending real leads through. This catches all the dumb mistakes everyone makes (wrong links, typos, missing tags).
Step 4: Test Like a Skeptic
Don’t trust any automation until you’ve run yourself through it. Seriously—do not skip this.
- Fill out your own lead form.
- Double-check: Did you get the tag? Did the emails arrive, in the right order and timing?
- Click every link in your emails to make sure they aren’t broken or pointing to the wrong place.
- If you have a team, ask someone else to test it too. Fresh eyes catch things you’ll miss.
Common issues: - Wrong tag applied (campaign never starts). - Emails stuck in draft mode (nothing sends). - Delays set to hours instead of days (emails go out all at once). - Ugly formatting (copy-paste from Word is a frequent culprit).
Step 5: Activate and Monitor
Once you’ve tested, flip the switch and let real leads enter.
Watch Your Automations Like a Hawk for the First Week
- Keap’s reporting isn’t fancy, but you can see who’s entered and which emails they got.
- Spot-check new leads to make sure everything’s flowing.
- If you get complaints or weird results, pause the campaign and fix it fast.
Don’t Rely on “Unsubscribe” Data Alone
People will just ignore you if your emails aren’t relevant. Low open or click rates are often a bigger warning sign than a handful of unsubscribes.
Step 6: Keep It Simple—But Iterate
The classic mistake: tinkering endlessly or layering on more complexity. Don’t do it.
- Stick with your basic campaign for a month.
- Gather real feedback (replies, bookings, conversions).
- Only add more emails, branching, or conditions once you know the basics are working.
Things to ignore for now: - Fancy automations that trigger based on opens/clicks (open tracking is unreliable). - Over-designed emails. Plain text works, looks more personal, and is less likely to hit spam filters. - “Personalization tokens” everywhere—use their name in the first line, that’s enough.
Pro Tips & Honest Observations
- Keap’s email deliverability is decent, but not perfect. If you’re seeing lots of emails in spam, check your sending domain and authentication (SPF, DKIM).
- You don’t need more than one “new lead” sequence. If you try to build one for every product, you’ll end up with a mess.
- Automate only what you can monitor. If you’re not going to check the stats, don’t bother automating.
- Documentation is your friend. Keep a Google Doc listing all your tags, triggers, and what each campaign does. You will forget.
Wrapping Up: Less is More
Setting up automated email campaigns in Keap for new leads isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to get sucked into complexity. Get the basics working: simple trigger, clear emails, a couple of delays. Test it yourself, watch what happens, and only get fancy once you see results.
Above all: Keep it simple, write like a human, and tweak as you go. You’ll be way ahead of most businesses—and your future self will thank you.