How Real Estate Education Duo Frank and Sherri Used ActiveCampaign to Grow a Million-Dollar Business

“We started with just an Excel spreadsheet and a small list of 100 names,” Sherri said. “But soon, we were up to thousands of people, and it became impossible to keep track of everything manually.”

Beyond managing their ever-growing list of contacts, building campaigns was also a slow and tedious process. Sherri (a self-professed perfectionist) would often spend over an hour drafting emails only to find mistakes later, leading to frustration and unnecessary delays. “The whole process was slow, and we still found typos in our emails,” said Sherri. “We needed a better way.”

Frank and Sherri discovered ActiveCampaign through a recommendation from a consultant who was helping them with marketing. He initially set up ActiveCampaign for them and helped manage their marketing operations, but $85 per hour, the contractor's services were both costly and time-consuming. After about three months, however, Frank and Sherri found that they were able to use the platform themselves without needing his assistance.

“It was that quick that we were able to go from depending on our contractor to being able to build emails and campaigns ourselves. The learning curve was immediate,” Sherri shared.

The Solution: ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign's marketing automation platform transformed how Frank and Sherri ran their business. The platform’s AI Campaign Builder has allowed them to automate email marketing, segment leads, and track customer behavior—all in one place and with the help of powerful AC Agents to ensure efficiency and accuracy.

Streamlining Email Marketing with Automation

ActiveCampaign’s AI Campaign Builder simplified the email creation process. Frank and Sherri no longer needed to spend hours drafting, reviewing, and sending emails. With the click of a button, they could generate personalized emails that were ready to send, saving them valuable time.

“The campaign builder has made our lives so much easier. We just click a button and get exactly what we need,” said Sherri. AI Campaign Builder reduced the time spent on marketing tasks, allowing them to focus on their core mission.

Example Workflow:

 For those looking to replicate Frank and Sherri’s success, here’s a simple guide to using the AI Campaign Builder in ActiveCampaign:

1. Navigate to the "Campaigns" tab.
2. Click “Create Campaign” and select the "AI Campaign Builder" option.
3. Choose your campaign objective (e.g., webinar promotion, product update).
4. Input the campaign details, such as the subject line, target audience, and sender information.
5. Use the AC Agent to generate content (the AC Agent will provide suggestions for subject lines, body text, and calls to action).
6. Customize the email (replace any stock images or tweak content to suit your brand tone).
7. Review and send or schedule the campaign for later.

This simple process allows you to create effective, professional emails with minimal effort, just like Frank and Sherri.

Using Tags and Behavior Tracking to Personalize Communication

One of the most valuable features ActiveCampaign offered was its ability to track and tag leads based on their behavior. Frank and Sherri use tags to monitor how engaged leads are with their content. This behavior-driven approach helps them personalize follow-ups based on where a lead is in their customer journey.

“We track the digital 'breadcrumbs' our students leave—clicks, signups, interests—and ActiveCampaign helps us turn those signals into meaningful, personalized follow-up,” Frank explained.

For instance, when someone fills out a form on their website or engages with a webinar, ActiveCampaign automatically tags them for follow-up. The automation then sends personalized messages, reminding the lead of upcoming webinars or offering them additional content that aligns with their interests.

Example Workflow

To set up behavior tracking and tagging for your business in ActiveCampaign:

1. Create a lead capture form or integrate ActiveCampaign with your website, Facebook, or Google Ads.
2. Set up a new automation that triggers when a lead submits the form or clicks on specific links.
3. Create a “Tag” action in the automation to categorize leads based on their behavior (e.g., "Webinar Attendee," "Course Interest").
4. Segment your audience based on these tags to send personalized follow-up emails (e.g., send a special offer to "Webinar Attendees").
5. Monitor engagement and adjust your tagging and follow-up strategies as needed to improve personalization and drive conversions.

Using this method, you can tailor your messaging based on real-time customer behavior, ensuring that each communication is relevant and timely.

Managing Member Access and Course Enrollment Automatically

Before ActiveCampaign, Frank and Sherri handled course enrollments manually, sending links and passwords to customers after a purchase. This process was both time-consuming and prone to errors.

Now, ActiveCampaign takes care of the entire course delivery process. When someone purchases a course, the system automatically tags them, grants access to the course, and sends the necessary enrollment emails without any manual intervention. This has drastically reduced their administrative workload.

“ActiveCampaign is our central source of truth,” said Sherri. “It manages member access to our online courses, tracks engagement, and keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes.”

Integrating with Other Tools for Lead Capture and Engagement

Frank and Sherri use integrations with Zapier, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads to connect ActiveCampaign with their other marketing tools. These integrations allow them to seamlessly capture leads from various sources and bring them into ActiveCampaign for further nurturing. Once the leads are in the system, they can be tagged, segmented, and added to relevant automations based on their behavior and interests.

For example, when someone fills out a form on Facebook, the information is automatically pulled into ActiveCampaign through Zapier, triggering an automation that sends a welcome email and moves the lead into a nurture sequence.

“We built a chatbot that helps direct people to our housing model and also captures leads for our classes,” Frank explained. “When someone expresses interest in housing or classes, the chatbot automatically triggers an email through ActiveCampaign to explain how to apply or register.”

Business Impact: Exponential Growth

Since adopting ActiveCampaign, Frank and Sherri have significantly reduced manual work and improved operational efficiency. The platform has allowed them to scale their business while keeping overhead low, with no need for additional staff.

• Time Savings: ActiveCampaign helped reduce their time spent on email marketing and customer engagement by over 95%, from hours to just minutes.
• Cost Reduction: They cut costs by eliminating the need for a contractor who was previously paid $85/hour to manage email campaigns.
• Customer Growth: Their contact base has grown by 52.5% year over year, with over 5,000 active customers now engaged.

Conclusion: Empowering Growth with ActiveCampaign

For Frank and Sherri, ActiveCampaign has been more than just a tool—it’s been a critical partner in scaling their business. From automating email marketing to tracking engagement and managing leads, the platform has empowered them to grow their business without the need for additional resources.

“We wake up every day asking, how can we serve more people?” Frank said. “Without ActiveCampaign, we wouldn’t be able to reach our goal of opening a thousand homes across the country. It’s helping us turn that dream into a reality.”

For entrepreneurs looking to scale their operations efficiently, ActiveCampaign provides a straightforward, powerful solution. Just as Frank and Sherri transitioned from a simple spreadsheet to a million-dollar business, other businesses can implement ActiveCampaign to automate their marketing, improve customer engagement, and ultimately drive growth.

If you’d like to see how ActiveCampaign’s suite of AC Agents can help you grow your business and scale your audience, get started with a 14-day free trial today!