3 Automated Email Sequences Every Zoo and Aquarium Should Have
Email automation is an important part of any email marketing strategy. It allows you to deliver on your promises when people join your email list, to show up consistently for your subscribers, and to save time.
If someone subscribes to your zoo or aquarium’s email list and never hears from you, you’re not holding up your end of the bargain.
You told them they’d hear from you.
They gave you access to their inbox so they could hear from you.
They don’t hear from you.
This is the fastest way to lose trust. It’s also one of the easiest things to avoid.
For zoos and aquariums, and any nonprofit or business for that matter, success is all about building relationships with people so they want to support your organization.
If you lose your audience’s trust, you’ll never get a donation from them.
You might think that sending automated emails to subscribers when they sign up for your zoo or aquarium’s email list is impersonal, but it's actually the key to creating an emotional connection with your audience, which is exactly what you (and they) want!
Email automation isn’t impersonal—it’s how you stay personal at scale.
Why Automated Email Sequences Matter for Zoos & Aquariums
Most zoo and aquarium marketing relies heavily on monthly newsletters, social media posts, and one-off event announcements.
While all of those are important, they are not the same as relationship-building sequences.
Newsletters inform. Automated sequences nurture.
Automation allows you to welcome people personally to your zoo or aquarium family, continue the emotional momentum after a visit, thank donors in a meaningful and personal way, and stay present without overwhelming your team.
Instead of asking, “What should we send this month?” automation allows you to ask, “What does this person need to hear next, based on where they are at in the customer journey?”
1. The Welcome Sequence
Turn new subscribers into connected supporters.
This is the most overlooked, and most powerful, automated sequence in zoo marketing.
The most common mistake I see zoos and aquariums making in this regard is a single “Thanks for subscribing” email or no email confirming joining the email list at all… and then nothing. It’s a huge missed opportunity.
When someone joins your email list, they are raising their hand saying they are interested and want to hear from you. That moment is precious.
A welcome sequence ensures that interest doesn’t fade into silence, it is nurtured.
Welcome sequences are for:
New email subscribers
New members
New donors
Anyone entering your zoo or aquarium’s world for the first time
Note: New email subscribers, new members, and new donors should each receive a different welcome sequence, based on their status. This can be done within your CRM or email marketing platform through tags.
What a simple welcome sequence can look like (3-5 emails):
Warm Welcome – Thank them for joining and remind them what they signed up for.
Your Mission Story – Why your zoo exists, your zoo’s mission, and the conservation impact behind the gates.
Animal or Keeper Behind-the-Scenes Story – Emotional connection through story.
Ways to Engage – Visiting, programs, events, membership, etc.
Soft Ask (Optional) – Support the mission through membership or giving.
This is not a brochure. This is the beginning of a beautiful, and impactful, relationship!
2. The Visitor-to-Member Nurture Sequence
Don’t let first-time visitors be one-time visitors.
Every day, zoos do the hard work of getting people into the gates. But what happens after they leave?
For most zoos, the answer is nothing.
Creating a post-visitor email sequence is a huge opportunity to move one-time visitors to lifelong members.
When zoo visitors leave, they are filled with joy and inspiration. Having a post-visit email sequence for one-time ticket purchasers is a great way to nurture a relationship that can lead to membership.
Post-visit email sequences are for:
Ticket purchasers
Event attendees
First-time visitors
Out-of-town guests
What a post-visit email sequence can look like (3-4 emails):
Post-visit Thank You – A warm, personal follow-up to their visit several hours after they provide their email address during ticket purchase.
Conservation Impact Email – How their visit helped contribute to the care of the animals they saw and the zoo’s mission.
Behind-the-Scenes Story – Animal care, rehabilitation, or a keeper spotlight.
Membership Invitation – Framed as an invitation to be a part of the zoo family, not a transaction.
The post-visit email sequence is where emotional momentum can turn one-time visitors into loyal members.
3. The Donor Nurture Sequence
Thank them like their gift actually matters, like they actually matter.
Too many donor relationships look like this: Donate → Receive a tax receipt → Get asked for more money again later.
No "Thank you."
No relationship-building communications.
No follow-ups about the impact of their donation. And often, another ask for money.
That’s not stewardship. That’s a transaction. And it's the fastest way to turn donors off from donating again.
A donor nurture sequence focuses on gratitude, transparency, impact, and connection.
Donor nurture sequences are for:
First-time donors
Repeat donors
Monthly supporters
What a donor nurture sequence can look like (3-4 emails):
Immediate Personalized Thank You – Not robotic, not generic, with a personalized salutation.
Impact Story – Show what their gift made possible.
Behind-the-Scenes Update – Vet care, habitat improvements, rescues, etc.
Soft Invitation to Deeper Support – Events, recurring giving, legacy giving, etc.
Donors who feel seen and valued will give again. Those who feel like an ATM will quietly disappear.
These Three Sequences Work Together as a System
When these three sequences are working together, your email strategy becomes a relationship path, not a series of disconnected messages:
Welcome → Visitor → Member → Donor → Lifelong Supporter → Bequest
This is why email is so powerful and why it should be your primary focus for your zoo or aquarium’s digital marketing strategy.
In addition to your nurture sequences, you should also be sending regular emails, at least once per month. This ensures consistent communication, which is the key to keeping these relationships alive.
Social media has its place, but should never be your primary form of communicating with supporters. It should be used to drive people to your email list where you can begin the supporter-zoo relationship.
Not Sure Where the Gaps Are in Your Zoo or Aquariums Marketing?
If you’re not sure:
Which of these sequences you currently have;
Where subscribers are falling through the cracks;
How your email system is actually supporting (or hurting) donor and member relationships;
How to implement a nurture sequence.
That is exactly what I look at inside my Email Marketing Audit.
It’s designed to show you what’s working, what’s missing, and where your biggest opportunities for connection, and revenue, really are.
