In the SaaS world, most customer journeys start long before a sales conversation. Prospects learn on their own, compare options, and only reach out once they’re convinced that you’ll solve a real problem for them. That’s why SaaS teams lean heavily on educational content like ebooks, checklists, templates, whitepapers, and guides to attract and qualify potential users.
But getting someone to download a resource is just the starting point. Many SaaS companies struggle with what to do next. Here’s why:
Downloaders never return to engage with the product
Prospects forget why they downloaded the resource
Leads don’t convert into demos or free trials
In this guide, you’ll learn how to build a complete SaaS lead magnet email sequence such that it delivers the resource, nurtures prospects, and nudges them towards the next step, whether that’s a free trial, demo, or consultation.
Why should you use an email flow?
Email works especially well for SaaS lead nurturing because it lets you reach people directly, without relying on social algorithms or ad retargeting. Users who download a resource have already shown intent, and email gives you the best way to build on that intent quickly and consistently.
With email, you can:
Personalize the follow-up based on the resource topic
Segment leads by role, company size, or problem area
Deliver content progressively to guide the reader
Automate the entire sequence so every lead gets the right touch at the right time
Align touchpoints to the SaaS buying cycle, which often spans multiple interactions
A single email isn’t enough for a SaaS buyer. They need context, reassurance, proof, and clear next steps. A lead magnet sequence provides 4–5 structured messages that help a prospect understand how your product aligns with the problem they’re trying to solve.
What is a lead magnet email sequence?
A lead magnet email sequence is a set of automated emails sent to someone who downloads your resource, such as an ebook, template, checklist, or report. Its purpose is to deliver the resource, increase engagement, and gradually introduce your SaaS product as the logical next step.
Most SaaS lead magnet sequences include:
A resource delivery email
A feedback or engagement nudge
A value-based email connecting the problem to your product
A final nudge prompting a free trial, demo, or consultation
How to build a lead magnet email sequence
Building a lead magnet email sequence is easy if you’re following a well-defined set of steps. Here are the steps for you to follow:
Step 1: Plan your campaign
Planning ensures your follow-up sequence feels intentional, not random. For SaaS teams, this means defining the goal of the sequence (demo booking, trial sign-ups, consultation requests), identifying the audience type, and deciding how many emails you want to send and over what timeline.
Execution in SaaS typically starts by mapping the resource topic to a specific use case. For example, if the lead magnet is about onboarding best practices, the message should connect to how your SaaS product improves onboarding workflows. You’ll also decide whether the CTA should be “Start a free trial” or “Talk to an expert.”
If it seems complex, Mailmodo AI can help you plan your campaign by summarizing your goals, aligning them with your ICP, and suggesting the number of emails and timelines. Take a look at this prompt we used with Mailmodo that gave us back a structure plan outlining the exact email to send, the purpose of each email and the timeline.
Create a detailed campaign plan for a SaaS lead magnet email sequence. Include goals, target audience, number of emails, timeline, and the primary action each email should drive.
Step 2: Create audience segments
Segmentation ensures each lead gets messaging that feels relevant. This is important because leads vary widely. They can be founders, engineers, marketers, operators, or sales leaders, all with different motivations and problems.
To execute this step, segment based on attributes such as role, company size, industry, or product-relevant pain points. You can also segment based on behavior by asking yourself:
Did they click to download the resource?
Did they visit the product page?
Did they engage with any past content?
If you’re using Mailmodo, you can use Mailmodo AI to generate the segment for you with a single prompt. Take a look at the following prompt that we used to create a targeted audience segment:
Create a segment with people who have ever downloaded the Delivery Deep Dive lead magnet.
Step 3: Create the email templates
A SaaS lead magnet sequence should guide prospects from awareness to solution-fit. Below are our recommended emails to have in your lead magnet email sequence.
Email #1: Resource giveaway
When to send: Immediately after the download.
Why it matters: SaaS prospects often download multiple resources. Delivering the asset quickly reinforces trust while it’s fresh in their minds and prevents distraction.
Your resource giveaway email should contain a short thank you, the download link or access to the promised resource, along with the importance of the resource and how it could be useful to them.
Here’s a sample prompt to generate this kind of email, along with the kind of output it will produce.
Generate an email template to send the promised resource to the person who filled out the lead magnet form. Don’t forget to thank the person and explain how the resource is useful for them.
Email #2: Feedback email
When to send: 1–2 days after Email #1.
Why it matters: Feedback requests deepen engagement and remind the user to open the resource if they haven’t yet.
What it should include:
Your feedback email should ask the recipients if they’ve explored the resource yet and invite feedback or suggestions from them. You can also share related templates, guides, or tools.
Here’s a sample prompt to generate this kind of email along with the output it will produce.
Generate a feedback email template where we’re asking for feedback and suggestions about the resource we delivered in the first email.
Email #3: Value and benefits
When to send: Day 3–4.
Why it matters: These emails allow you to show how your SaaS product solves their problem.
What it should include:
Your email must contain the pain point addressed by the resource, explain how your product helps solve their pain point, and a CTA to book a demo or start a trial.
Here’s a sample prompt to generate this kind of email along with the output it will produce.
Generate an email template for a lead magnet email sequence and highlight the usefulness of the resource we’re offering. Also, highlight the features of our product that are around the same topic as the downloaded resources.
Email #4: Final nudge
When to send: Day 5–7.
Why it matters: SaaS buyers often act when there’s urgency or a clear next step or they don’t act because they might have forgotten that they’ve filled up a form.
What it should include:
The email should contain a friendly reminder of the problem and solution, along with a reminder of the next steps if the next steps aren’t taken.
Here’s a sample prompt to generate this kind of email using Mailmodo AI, along with the kind of output it will produce.
Generate an email template that aims to give a final nudge to those users who haven’t opened and read the benefits being passed. You can also include a limited-time offer to nudge them to take action and a CTA that leads to the sign-up page.
Step 4: Build the automated workflow
The workflow ties everything together. The automated workflow ensures that all the users get a consistent experience without manual work.
Your workflow should include:
Trigger: When a user downloads the resource
Email sequence: Emails 1 through 4
Delays: 0 days, 1–2 days, 2 days, 2 days
Exit criteria: If a lead signs up for a trial or demo, exit the sequence.
Mailmodo AI can build this entire workflow for you from scratch. Once the output is ready, you just have to review the overall journey following a set up checklist and ask the AI to make the tweaks you want in the workflow.
Here’s a sample prompt that you can use to generate a similar workflow, along with the a sample output.
Generate a full SaaS lead magnet workflow. Include trigger, delays, exit rules and the complete email sequence. The lead magnet is about Email Deliverability. The goal of the workflow is to nurture the leads into booking a demo with us.
Step 5: Analyze and improve
Once the sequence is live, track the key SaaS metrics that show whether your funnel is healthy. Some of the metrics you can track are:
Open rates of individual emails
Click-through rates
Demo/trial click rate (depending on what your goal is)
Segment-wise performance (by role, company size, or intent signals)
With the help of the collected data, you can analyze what’s working and what isn’t and optimize your workflow or your individual emails accordingly for best results.
An easier of doing this, if you’re using Mailmodo, is to ask Mailmodo AI to do the analysis for you. It will do the analysis and provide you with not just the performance metrics and numbers but also insights into what’s working and what isn’t and suggestions to improve the performance of your email flow.
Here’s a sample prompt you can use in Mailmodo AI to do this analysis.
Analyze my lead magnet email sequence and suggest how to improve the performance of the overall workflow. Also suggest how I can optimize each email in the workflow for better conversion.
Conclusion
Lead magnets play an essential role in SaaS marketing. They help you attract problem-aware prospects who are actively looking for solutions. But the real impact happens when you follow up with a structured email sequence that turns awareness into product interest.
With the right lead magnet sequence, you can turn simple downloads into meaningful product conversations and eventually, convert leads into paying users.
Learn more about Mailmodo
