How to automate follow ups with Kit, Dubsado and Zapier to nurture leads and grow your email list.

80% of sales require multiple follow-ups, but 44% of us never send even one.

This highlights and underlines the importance of following up with inquiries that never book a consultation or move forward.

When I started my business, creating a system for follow ups was the LAST thing on my mind. Maybe you too?

While it’s obviously never too late to implement an automated system for this, it’s definitely something that should be done sooner rather than later.

Recently, I helped a 1:1 client streamline her own follow up process, which turned into giving my own processes an overhaul. And while I used to rely solely on Dubsado for this, I realized I was letting leads slip through my fingers who didn’t book a consultation right away.

I used to collect inquiries soley through Dubsado, and use Zapier to add those people to Kit. There’s a couple major issues with this (hold that thought for now, I’ll explain in a bit). I got to thinking, what if I switched it up?

Enter Kit and then Dubsado—two powerful tools that, when combined with a bit of automation magic through Zapier, can streamline this process while keeping your leads engaged and your inbox organized. In this blog post, I'll guide you through setting up an inquiry process using Kit for email marketing and Dubsado for scheduling, ensuring you maintain a professional edge and stay in touch with those not quite ready to commit.

^^ Please note that the best way to follow up is the one that works for you. If you area great at remembering follow ups? Awesome. Need some automation? I can help. The strategy taught in this blog post uses Kit, Dubsado and Zapier.

Why followups are so important

Let me drop that stat from the beginning again— EIGHTY percent of leads will book on a follow up and most of us never reach back out.

I get it— I’ve failed here myself. It’s awkward, we all hate sounding sales-ey, we get distracted, we don’t think of it in a timely manner, or we simply don’t know what to say.

A well-structured inquiry process is more than just collecting information and taking the next first step—it also needs to start a relationship that can be nurtured whether or not the recipient is ready to move forward. When someone expresses interest, they're often in a tentative stage.

This process is crucial for building trust and making it easy for them to take action when they're ready. Plus, a well-thought-out system helps you keep track of where each lead is in their decision-making process, allowing for more personalized follow-ups and a higher conversion rate.

It starts with the inquiry

There are multiple ways to kick off communication with a prospective clients. Most people embed a scheduler on their website or start have a contact form. Both ways will lead to an automated response and ~hopefully~ an action. But what if the recipient doesn’t go through with scheduling or take the action you want them to?

I’ve done both of those ways (scheduler and contact form), and they work well— for those who are ready to book. I, for one, would not click that button unless my mind was already pretty certain I as going to hire that person. If I wasn’t? Simple, I wouldn’t click that button.

The problem? If someone was a just little bit curious about working with me, they only had ONE option- to schedule a consultation through my website. But we know that not everyone is ready to get married on the first date, so I wondered what it would look like if we could move a little bit slower.

Using Dubsado to automate follow ups

I’m a big fan of Dubsado for my client communications. Certified Dubsado Specialist since the beginning, I get paid to help others with this, and I HEAVILY rely on Dubs to for contracts, invoices, streamline my entire booking and offboarding process…. yes, I’m ALL IN on Dubsado— but it’s not quite the best solution for inquiries IF you want to continue to nurture this lead through an email list.

Here’s why:

1. The lead receives an automated inquiry, but doesn’t take an action. You can send an automated follow up sequence through Dubsado, but eventually that lead is dead and should be archived.

   *The biggest problem here goes back to the fact that not everyone is ready to buy in, and this isn’t the best way to nurture those leads. Also, if someone doesn’t want to receive any more emails from you, there is no ‘unsubscribe’ button in Dubsado. Without an unsubscribe button, you’re increasing the chances that someone would mark your email as spam, which can hurt your sender reputation. (which is a pretty big deal, but we can get into that another time)

2. The lead is interested, but not in the same place you are– as in not committed enough to hit that button.

3. Can’t you use Zapier to connect the lead to their email service provider and move the conversation over there for continued nurturing?

   *You could, but there is one major issue with this method– getting express permission to send marketing emails. There are actual laws in place to prevent spam, and I’d rather err on the side of being 100% in compliance.

   *I’ve seen service providers put a check mark on their lead capture form that would let the lead know they are agreeing to receive emails. Is that enough? I really don’t know. I’m not sure I’m willing to take the risk when there is an easier way to do this.

👉🏼 Note: If you want to use Dubsado exclusively for and don’t do email marketing at all— i gotchu. Check out this blog post to see how to automate that. The method listed in this blog post is for those who are actively growing an email list and want to nurture leads who don’t book through that process)

Use your email service provider to automate follow ups

By utilizing your email service provider for inquiry responses, you can send an automated response with an invitation to a scheduler––just the same as you can with your CRM (like Dubsado), but this way will allow you to seamlessly add your new lead to your newsletter and comply with laws that require an easy opt-out. You also have the option to allow double opt-in, to be extra certian that this person wants to hear from you.

By adding this person to your email list during the inquiry process when they do become a client, it also means that there’s no more awkwardly trying to figure out how to add them to your email list when their project is complete. That alone is super helpful, because you VERY much want to maintain a relationship with past clients, and email is the absolute best way to do that.

I use Kit for my email marketing. I have an automated response set up for new inquiries that includes a link to my Dubsado scheduler, which has a lead capture form attached. So in a perfect world, my new lead will click that button to schedule an appointment. The lead capture form creates a new project in Dubsado. I could then attach a workflow that form if I wanted to, but at this point I don’t need that yet.

If the lead does NOT book a consultation through that first email, I have 2 more emails waiting in the queue, lined up and ready to go.

Stop the follow ups when the person schedules a call

Okkkkk… this sounds great, but what if they take an action when they receive the inquiry response? They don’t need follow up emails.

Absolutely!

We don’t want to be annoying and continue the ‘hey don’t forget the free consultation calls’ when they’ve already booked. That not only looks super unprofessional, but will quickly uno-reverse the trust that was built when the original call was scheduled.

The best way to stop this is by adding this step in the visual automations. In Kit, you can skip steps inside a visual automation with certain events— the one that I use is when someone is tagged.

Zapier is the magic ingredient that really ties this whole thing together, and you can use the free plan for what I have in mind here. You’ll do this by creating a Zap where the trigger is creating a new project in Dubsado and the action is adding a specific tag in Kit.

Let me show you exactly what to do…

Step by step, how do this:

START IN DUBSADO

1. Create a lead capture form. This will be attached to your scheduler and should ask for basic information

2. Go to the email templates and write your appointment confirmation and appointment reminder emails. Include the smart fields for video conferencing, if you will be using that.

3. Create your consultation scheduler. Check the video conf button if using. Attach the lead capture on the advanced tab and add your confirmation and reminder emails.

4. If you don’t already have a status for these people, create a new status under the leads. I call mine Lead. (yes, lead/lead 🤠)

NOW OPEN KIT:

1. Create a new form in Kit. Design the form how you like, then go to Settings. (I like the Clare form - plain and simple. Style with your website and this form will fit in seamlessly)

2. Go to SETTINGS > INCENTIVE and add the scheduler link from Dubsado as the incentive link, then go to edit email contents to write your email. Remember this is an automated inquiry response email, so make sure to welcome them and explain how your consultation or first step process goes. Always let them know what to expect and what to do next.

3. Change the words on the button to be your call to action. (remember the link is not on the main settings page, so don’t let that throw you)

4. Save this. Click on GROW > SUBSCRIBERS at the top and create a tag that says ‘potential’ or ‘lead’, (or however you want to tag them)

OPEN UP ZAPIER:

1. Sign in or create a free account

2. Create a new Zap that looks like this:

GO BACK TO KIT:

Now you’ll create a Visual Automation and write your follow up emails.

1. Go to Visual Automations and start a new one from scratch.

2. The first step to start this will be when someone joins a form, so find the form you just created.

3. Hit the plus sign and add an email sequence. Just write an internal name for this sequence and hit enter. We’ll write it in a minute.

4. Do that ^^ for however many emails you want to send (we’re going to separate each email into it’s own sequence for this case)

5. Then click the plus button and add an event. Click ‘jump to here when a tag is added’, and select the tag you created and made a Zap for. It should look like this:

*I like to add a tag at the end that says ‘newsletter’. That way when I send out my weekly newsletter (broadcast), I can make sure to only send it to people who have already gone through my welcome sequence.

LAST STEP:

1. Open up your web builder and embed the code for your form on your website.

2. Put in a test email and see how it works!

Final thoughts

By integrating Kit, Dubsado, and Zapier, you're not just setting up an inquiry process—you're creating a comprehensive client journey that nurtures leads from their first expression of interest to becoming a loyal client.

This approach not only enhances your professionalism but also ensures that no potential opportunity slips through the cracks.

Want to see this system in action? Click the 'Get Started' button below to begin your own streamlined inquiry process and book a consultation with me. Let’s make your client communications as efficient and engaging as possible.

* Resources I might have mentioned

• Start a free trial with my preferred email marketing platform, Kit

• get 30% off your first payment with Dubsado after the free trial (click HERE for a free setup guide)

• Free Canva Pro credits when you sign up for a free account to make your promo materials

• Get your legal stuff in place with affordable and customizable legal templates through the Boutique Lawyer

WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER:

1️⃣ 60 Minute Power Hour 👉🏼 let’s figure out roadblocks and create an action plan. Schedule here →

2️⃣ VIP Day 👉🏼 quick single asset project or your patchwork to-do list, let’s knock it out. Get started →

3️⃣ 1:1 Custom Work 👉🏼 Complete end to end work that meets your goals. Let’s talk →

When you’re ready: here are 4 SPECIFIC areas I serve in:

💻 WEBSITES | I research, write and design each page around your business goals and the client experience you want to create. Each project is completely custom. Learn more here →

📬 EMAIL MARKETING | Starting your list from scratch, or need hand with writing a weekly newsletter/creating an opt-in/or all of the above? Let’s taco about it →

🧼 DUBSADO | Your go-to friendly Certified Dubsado Specialist is here to help turn your CRM into a dream client managing machine. Full setups, custom form design VIP Days are right over here →

📝 TEMPLATE SHOP | Squarespace templates, Dubsado forms & workflow’s, Finance & budget spreadsheets, vacation planners, and more. Templates galore, this way →

Did you know Dubsado is free for your first the 3 clients?

Use the code PARADISE for 30% off your first year or month when your trial is over!

[free] streamline your client communication with dubsado

Dubsado is hard to set up and clunky.

I said what I said. And I’m a Certified Dubsado Specialist.

Want the exact steps I take with every client build? It’s yours:

Get it here