Discover how to build simple automated systems that will attract customers, save time, and create opportunities to earn income online—even when you're not actively working.
Imagine waking up to discover that someone visited your website, downloaded your free guide, joined your email list, and purchased one of your products.
And the best part? You didn't have to personally walk them through every step.
Your lead generation forms, automated promotions, testimonial and testing tools do the work for you, helping you grow your business while you focus on other things.
That's the possibility of small business marketing automation.
Whether you're starting your first online business or already have products and services to sell, automated marketing systems can help you spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time doing what you love.
You don't need a large team, complicated technology, or years of marketing experience to get started.
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to build a simple automated marketing system using WordPress and Thrive Suite, a collection of tools designed to help small business owners attract visitors, collect leads, promote products, and improve sales pages.
You'll also learn how to connect the pieces so they work together.
What Is an Automated Small Business Marketing System?
An automated marketing system is a collection of tools that performs certain business tasks for you after you've set everything up.
Instead of manually answering every inquiry, sending every follow-up email, or updating every promotion, you create a process that handles many of these activities automatically.
Think of it as building a digital assistant for your business.
A well-designed system can help you:
- Attract potential customers through helpful content.
- Collect email addresses from interested visitors.
- Send welcome messages and follow-up emails.
- Promote products and special offers.
- Deliver digital products after a purchase.
- Gather customer feedback and testimonials.
- Test different marketing messages to discover what works.
The goal isn't to remove yourself from your business completely. It's to create a reliable process that keeps working while you're busy doing other things.
Can Marketing Automation Help You Earn Passive Income?
Yes, automation can support a business designed to generate passive or recurring income. But there's an important distinction.
Marketing automation doesn't create income by itself. You still need something valuable to sell, people who want it, and a way to reach those potential customers.
For example, imagine you create a digital budget planner that customers can purchase and download.
You could set up a system where someone discovers your planner through Pinterest, visits your website, downloads a free budgeting checklist, receives helpful emails, and eventually decides to purchase the planner.
Once the system is working, future customers can follow the same process without you having to personally manage every interaction.
That makes the business more scalable and potentially less dependent on your daily involvement.
However, results vary based on your product, audience, pricing, traffic, and marketing efforts. Automation creates opportunities; it doesn't guarantee sales or income.
The Six Systems That Work Together to Automate Your Marketing
Here's how to build a beginner-friendly marketing system using Thrive Suite and a few connected tools.
Step 1: Create a Website or Landing Page That Encourages Visitors to Take Action
Recommended tool: Thrive Architect
Your website is the home base for your online business. It's where visitors learn about what you offer and decide whether to take the next step.
With Thrive Architect, you can build landing pages using a visual, drag-and-drop editor.
You can create pages for digital products, services, affiliate recommendations, workshops, or free resources.
Your action steps:
- Choose one product or service you want to promote.
- Identify the specific problem it helps solve.
- Create a landing page using Thrive Architect.
- Add a clear headline that speaks to your customer's needs.
- Explain the benefits of your offer.
- Include a call-to-action button that leads to your checkout or sign-up page.
For example, if you sell digital planners, your headline might read:
"Stop Feeling Overwhelmed by Your Schedule. Get Organized With a Simple Digital Planner."
Your call to action could be:
"Get Your Planner and Start Getting Organized."
Remember, your landing page doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to make the next step easy for your visitor.
Step 2: Automatically Collect Leads and Build Your Email List
Recommended tool: Thrive Leads
Most website visitors won't purchase something the first time they see it.
That's why building an email list is so valuable.
Instead of hoping someone remembers to return to your website, you can invite them to subscribe and receive useful information.
Thrive Leads lets you create opt-in forms, including pop-ups and forms placed within your website content.
Here's how to begin:
- Open the Thrive Leads dashboard on your WordPress website.
- Create a new lead generation campaign.
- Choose a form type and customize its design.
- Offer a free resource, such as a checklist, guide, or mini-training.
- Connect the form to your email marketing platform.
- Test the form to make sure subscribers are added correctly.
Example: A visitor reading your blog about starting an online business sees an invitation to download a free Business Launch Checklist.
They enter their email address and receive the checklist.
You now have an opportunity to continue helping that person through email, with their permission.
Tip: Start with one helpful free resource that relates directly to a product you offer.
Step 3: Set Up Automated Emails That Build Trust and Introduce Your Products
Recommended tools: Thrive Leads + an email marketing platform. We recommend aWeber.
Once people join your email list, you'll want to keep the conversation going.
This is where automated email sequences can make a real difference.
Thrive Leads captures the subscriber information, while a connected email marketing service handles scheduled messages.
For example, you can create this simple welcome sequence:
| Timing | Email purpose |
|---|---|
| Immediately | Welcome the subscriber and deliver the free resource |
| Day 2 | Share a useful tip that solves a common problem |
| Day 4 | Explain another helpful strategy |
| Day 6 | Introduce a related product or service |
| Day 9 | Answer common questions and invite the subscriber to explore your offer |
Write the messages once, set the schedule, and allow your email platform to deliver them automatically to new subscribers.
You can improve the sequence over time based on what subscribers click, read, and purchase.
The key is to provide genuine value before asking for a sale.
Step 4: Create Promotions That Run Automatically
Recommended tool: Thrive Ultimatum
Special offers can give customers a reason to take action when the timing is right.
Thrive Ultimatum helps you create time-limited promotions and countdown campaigns on your WordPress website.
For example, you might offer a limited-time discount on a digital product or run a seasonal promotion.
To create your first campaign:
- Open Thrive Ultimatum from your WordPress dashboard.
- Select New Campaign.
- Choose a fixed-date, recurring, or evergreen campaign.
- Set the dates or conditions that control the promotion.
- Design your countdown display.
- Choose where the offer will appear.
- Test the campaign before activating it.
An evergreen campaign can begin when an individual visitor completes a specific action, such as signing up through an eligible form.
Once configured, these campaigns can operate without you manually activating each offer.
Important: Use real deadlines and honor the advertised terms. Customers should be able to trust your promotions.
Step 5: Collect Testimonials and Test What Works
Recommended tools: Thrive Ovation + Thrive Optimize
Two additional pieces of your marketing system can help you build trust and improve your results.
Thrive Ovation — Customer testimonials
Potential buyers often want to know whether other people have had a positive experience with a product or service.
Thrive Ovation helps you collect, organize, and display customer testimonials on your website.
You can use testimonials to help visitors understand what customers appreciated about your offer.
Always use genuine feedback and obtain appropriate permission before publishing it.
Thrive Optimize — Landing page testing
Sometimes a small change to a page can make a difference.
Perhaps your headline doesn't clearly explain the benefit, or your call-to-action button is difficult to find.
Thrive Optimize allows you to compare versions of a landing page to see how they perform.
Try testing two different headlines while keeping the rest of your page the same.
Track which version produces more of your chosen action, such as an email sign-up or a visit to your checkout page.
This helps you make decisions using real visitor behavior rather than guessing.
Step 6: Bring Visitors to Your Website With Scheduled Content
Recommended tools: Your blog, Pinterest, social media scheduling tools (Tailwind and Make), and email marketing (aWeber)
Even the best automated sales system needs visitors.
You can create useful content that introduces people to your products and directs them to your website.
For example, one blog post can become:
- Several Pinterest pins.
- A short social media video.
- A helpful email newsletter.
- A few social media posts.
- A downloadable checklist.
Instead of creating new content every day, you can repurpose what you've already made.
Use a social media scheduling service to schedule posts in advance, then direct interested visitors to the landing page you've built with Thrive Architect.
Thrive Suite provides the website and conversion tools, while a separate scheduler (like Tailwind) handles social publishing.
Try this: Choose one blog post each week and turn it into several pieces of promotional content. Schedule them, monitor results, and update them as needed.
How the Complete Automated Marketing System Works
Now let's connect everything.
Imagine you sell a $27 digital guide that helps handmade business owners price their products.
Here's one possible customer journey:
- Attract: A potential customer discovers one of your Pinterest pins and clicks through to your blog.
- Engage: Your article explains how to price handmade products and offers a free pricing checklist.
- Capture: The visitor signs up through a Thrive Leads form.
- Follow up: Your email platform delivers the checklist and begins a helpful welcome series.
- Promote: The subscriber receives an invitation to explore your full pricing guide.
- Convert: If the customer decides to buy, your checkout system processes the order and delivers the digital product.
- Improve: You review your results, gather feedback, and test your marketing pages.
This is an example of an evergreen marketing funnel—a system that can continue serving new customers over time.
A visitor might make a purchase today, next week, or several months from now. Others may never purchase.
The important part is that you've built a repeatable process that doesn't require you to personally complete every task.
Why I Recommend Thrive Suite for Small Business Owners
When you're getting started online, using separate tools for every task can become confusing and expensive.
One reason I recommend Thrive Suite is that it brings several important WordPress marketing tools together.
| Thrive tool | What it helps you do |
|---|---|
| Thrive Architect | Create landing pages and sales pages |
| Thrive Theme Builder | Design your WordPress website |
| Thrive Leads | Collect leads and grow your email list |
| Thrive Ultimatum | Run timed and evergreen promotions |
| Thrive Ovation | Collect and display testimonials |
| Thrive Optimize | Test landing pages and conversion rates |
| Thrive Apprentice | Create and deliver online courses |
| Thrive Quiz Builder | Build interactive quizzes and collect leads |
You can start with a landing page and an email sign-up form, then add additional tools as your business grows.
Thrive Suite isn't an all-in-one solution for every business task. You'll still need suitable services for hosting, email delivery, payments, and certain integrations.
But for WordPress business owners who want more control over their websites and marketing, it offers a collection of tools worth exploring.
Ready to simplify your small business marketing?
Explore Thrive Suite and discover the tools available to help you create landing pages, grow your email list, promote offers, and improve your marketing process.
Your Simple 7-Day Marketing Automation Action Plan
You don't have to build everything at once.
Start small and focus on creating one working process.
Day 1: Choose your offer. Decide what product or service you want to sell and who it will help.
Day 2: Build a landing page. Use Thrive Architect to create a page that clearly explains your offer.
Day 3: Create a free resource. Make a useful checklist, guide, or worksheet related to your product.
Day 4: Set up lead generation. Create your opt-in form and connect it to your email marketing service.
Day 5: Write your welcome emails. Create a short series that educates subscribers and introduces your offer.
Day 6: Create promotional content. Design Pinterest pins or social media posts that direct people to your website.
Day 7: Test everything. Sign up using your own test email address, click through your links, review your checkout process, and make sure your system works.
At the end of the week, your goal isn't to have a perfect business or guaranteed sales.
It's to have the foundation of an automated marketing system that you can continue improving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need technical experience to build an automated marketing system?
You don't need to be a programmer. Thrive Suite includes visual building tools, templates, and tutorials. However, you'll still need to learn how to configure your website, connect services, and test your workflows.
Can I automate marketing for an existing business?
Absolutely. Existing business owners can start by automating repetitive tasks such as email sign-ups, welcome messages, customer follow-ups, and promotional campaigns.
Does an automated marketing system guarantee passive income?
No. Automation can reduce manual work and create more opportunities to sell products, but earnings depend on many factors, including customer demand, pricing, marketing, and ongoing improvements.
Do I need a WordPress website to use Thrive Suite?
Yes. Thrive Suite is designed for WordPress websites. If you're using another platform, you'll need to explore compatible marketing and automation tools.
Can I use these systems to sell physical products?
Yes. Automated marketing can support businesses selling physical products, digital downloads, online courses, memberships, and services. Your checkout and fulfillment tools will depend on what you sell.
Final Thoughts: Build a Business That Works With You, Not Against You
Starting and growing an online business takes effort. But that doesn't mean every task has to depend on your time and attention.
Automated marketing systems give you the opportunity to create processes that continue working after the initial setup.
Start with one offer, one landing page, one email list, and one simple follow-up sequence.
Learn what works. Make improvements. Add new systems when you're ready.
Over time, those small steps can help you build a business that's easier to manage and has more opportunities to generate income.
You don't need to automate everything. You just need to start automating the right things.
If you're ready to explore marketing tools that can help you do that, take a look at Thrive Suite.
[Discover Thrive Suite and Start Building Your Marketing System — Insert Affiliate Link]
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes. Income is not guaranteed. Business results vary, and building an automated business still requires planning, setup, marketing, maintenance, and ongoing attention.
Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel
We're helping creative business owners go from stuck and confused to empowered and thriving one video at a time.
