$ man campaign-layering

Campaign Layering Approach

The strategy of running multiple campaigns in sequence or parallel that build on each other. Campaign 1 warms the market. Campaign 2 targets engaged contacts. Campaign 3 picks up non-responders with a different angle. Each layer compounds the previous.

Campaigns don't exist in isolation. A contact who opened Campaign 1's email but didn't reply is warmer than a cold contact. Campaign 2 can reference that awareness. A contact who replied "not now" to Campaign 1 can enter Campaign 3 with "circling back" messaging. Layering turns a one-shot campaign into a multi-touch strategy that captures value at every stage.

I layer campaigns across time. Month 1: Campaign 1 hits the full list with standard messaging. Month 2: Campaign 2 targets contacts who opened but didn't reply ("noticed you checked out our last note"). Month 3: Campaign 3 targets the remaining non-responders with a completely different angle (poke the bear, new pain point, or industry-specific trigger). The contact list for each layer comes from the previous layer's performance data. It's a feedback loop. This approach was shared by a friend and I've incorporated it into every partner's workflow since.