Win-Back Drip Email Automation in n8n: Sheets + SMTP

Win-Back Drip Email Automation in n8n (Google Sheets + SMTP) — with compliance approval

Automate your win-back/reactivation outreach in n8n: this workflow reads a “Win-Back Tracker” in Google Sheets daily and weekly, stages the next email based on time since marked_cold_at, routes each message through a compliance/guardrail approval step, sends via SMTP, and updates your tracker—then emails a weekly status summary to your firm.

What this workflow does

• Daily (9am): Runs every morning at 9am and pulls lead records from the Win-Back Tracker sheet.
• Stage calculation: Uses days since marked_cold_at and the configured WIN_BACK_DRIP_STAGES sequence to determine which leads are due for the next drip stage.
• Personalized email build: Generates stage-specific win-back content (subject, text, and HTML) using the lead’s name and practice area.
• Compliance approval check: Sends the draft to a separate compliance/guardrail workflow and checks whether it’s approved or the recipient has opted out.
• SMTP send + tracker update: If approved, sends the drip email via SMTP and updates last_stage_sent and last_sent_at for the matching lead_id.
• Weekly (Monday 8am): Summarizes counts (active/reactivated/unsubscribed) from Google Sheets and emails a weekly summary to the firm via SMTP.

Use cases

• Maintain an orderly, time-based reactivation campaign without manual outreach.
• Ensure win-back emails only send after compliance/guardrail approval (and respect opt-outs).
• Give your firm weekly reporting on pipeline status directly from the tracker.

Technical details

• Google Sheets integration: Reads “Win-Back Tracker” (e.g., lead_id, email, status, marked_cold_at, last_stage_sent).
• SMTP email sending: Sends drip emails and the weekly summary.
• Compliance/guardrail workflow: Approval gate before sending; handles opt-outs.
• n8n nodes mentioned: if, code, no op, email send, sticky note, google sheets.

Setup essentials

• Connect Google Sheets and set WIN_BACK_TRACKER_SHEET_ID to the spreadsheet containing the “Win-Back Tracker” sheet.
• Configure an SMTP credential and set FIRM_FROM_EMAIL (sender) and FIRM_EMAIL (weekly summary recipient).
• Create or select the compliance/guardrail workflow used for approval.