Automate Client Onboarding with MailerLite

Why Client Onboarding Matters

As a creative or a consultant, you know that first impressions matter. Client onboarding is more than a formality—it’s your golden opportunity to build trust and establish a lasting impression that keeps clients coming back.

However, managing this process manually can be a time drain, chaotic, and prone to human error.

The secret to freeing up your time and providing a smooth, professional onboarding experience for every client is automation.

Enter MailerLite—a powerful yet user-friendly email marketing platform that can streamline your onboarding process.

Let’s dive into what client onboarding involves, why automating it is a game-changer, and how you can set it up using MailerLite.

What is Client Onboarding?

Client onboarding is the structured process of welcoming a new client into your business and guiding them through the initial stages of working with you. It’s how you turn leads into loyal clients and set the stage for successful project delivery.

Key Steps in new Client Onboarding Process:

1. Sending Proposal and Contract Terms: Use Pxmo to create and send proposals and contract terms. Clients review, sign electronically, and accept the proposal. This step formalises the agreement and sets the stage for the project. Once the proposal is signed, Pxmo can trigger further automation (e.g., through Zapier) to initiate the onboarding sequence in MailerLite.
2. Welcoming the Client and Explaining What Comes Next: After the proposal is signed, MailerLite handles the client’s welcome process. This includes sending a welcome email with instructions, booking calls, and providing initial information about the project. MailerLite’s automation sequence begins here, ensuring the client receives a smooth introduction and clear next steps.
3. Sending Invoice: This step involves sending the invoice for the initial payment or deposit. While this is a manual process, it’s an essential part of finalising the financial aspects of the engagement. Xero or another invoicing tool is used to handle this.
4. Project Kickoff: Following the welcome email, the project kickoff involves gathering the necessary information or assets to begin the project. This can include forms or questionnaires sent through MailerLite’s automation.
5. Setting Expectations: This includes laying out project timelines, communication preferences, and deliverables, and linking to any client portals or project management tools (like Trello or ClickUp) used for the project.
6. Ongoing Support: Throughout the project, ongoing support involves regular check-ins and updates to keep the client informed and engaged. MailerLite can schedule and send follow-up emails or reminders as part of its automation workflow, ensuring consistent communication.

When done manually, this can involve a ton of back-and-forth emails, reminders, and chasing clients for details. But with MailerLite, you can automate the entire process, allowing you to focus on what you do best—creative work or consulting.

Why Automate Client Onboarding?

Automating your client onboarding unlocks three key benefits that can dramatically improve your business:

• Save Time: No more repetitive tasks like manually sending welcome emails or follow-ups.

• Consistency: Every client gets the same high-quality experience, reducing errors or missed steps.

• Client Satisfaction: By providing a smooth, seamless onboarding experience, you build trust and set the tone for a positive working relationship from the start.

Imagine this: A client signs a contract, and within seconds, they receive a welcome email with everything they need to get started. The process feels smooth, professional, and effortless for them—while automation handles everything in the background for you.

How to Automate Client Onboarding with MailerLite

Here’s how you can use MailerLite to automate each stage of your client onboarding process.

Step 1: Create an Onboarding Email Sequence

The backbone of your onboarding process will be an automated email sequence that guides clients through each phase without manual intervention.

• Welcome Email: MailerLite allows you to send an automated welcome email when a new client is added to your subscriber list, using triggers like signing up through a form or being manually added.

• Information Gathering Email: Use tools like Google Forms or Typeform to gather in-depth client details. MailerLite allows you to send an email with a link to these forms and set up an automation that triggers the next step when a client clicks the link.

• Project Timeline Email: Once the client completes the onboarding form, send a project timeline email through MailerLite’s automation workflow. This keeps clients informed of what’s coming next.

• Follow-Up & Check-In Emails: MailerLite can automatically send follow-up or check-in emails at pre-set intervals, ensuring the client is engaged and supported throughout the onboarding process.

Step 2: Set Up Automation Triggers in MailerLite

Automation triggers in MailerLite let you send emails at the right time without lifting a finger.

1. Trigger 1: Client Signs Proposal via Pxmo: Once the client signs the proposal using Pxmo, use Zapier to automatically add them to a MailerLite onboarding workflow. This allows you to start the onboarding process without manual input.
2. Trigger 2: Client Fills Out a Form: After sending your external form (created using Google Forms or Typeform), you can use MailerLite’s workflow actions to trigger the next step of the onboarding sequence when the client clicks the form link from within the email. This can kickstart their project timeline or provide further instructions.
3. Trigger 3: Timeline Follow-Ups: Use MailerLite’s automation features to schedule follow-up emails at key points in the onboarding process (e.g., a week after onboarding), keeping the client in the loop.

Step 3: Customise Your Onboarding Process for Each Client

Automation doesn’t mean you lose the personal touch. In fact, MailerLite allows you to customise emails based on each client’s needs, ensuring the process feels human, not robotic.

• Personalised Emails: You can easily personalise emails in MailerLite using dynamic fields (e.g., client name, project details) to create a more customised experience for each client.
• Segmented Workflows: MailerLite’s segmentation feature allows you to categorise clients based on their status (e.g., retainer client, one-off project) and trigger specific workflows tailored to their needs.

Even though it’s automated, your onboarding process can still feel personal and attentive—giving your clients the impression that you’re there every step of the way.

Start Automating Your Onboarding Process

Automation isn’t just about making your life easier—it’s about creating a seamless, professional client experience that sets you apart from the competition. When your clients feel taken care of from day one, they’re more likely to trust you, stick around, and refer you to others.

By using MailerLite to automate your client onboarding process, you can save hours of manual work, improve client satisfaction, and free up time to focus on delivering your creative or consulting services.

Get Started Today

Ready to revolutionise your client onboarding process and save hours of manual work? Let’s talk! Book a call with me today, and I’ll help you set up a customised MailerLite workflow tailored to your onboarding process.