Welcome emails

Developing a welcome strategy

Your welcome emails are the biggest foundational factor in driving a successful email program. On average, subscribers who engage with your welcome emails are more than four times as likely to continue engaging with other emails you send if you send a single welcome email. Plus, they’re 12 times more likely to continue engaging if you send a series of three welcome emails.

Regardless of your strategy, subscribers who don’t receive a welcome email at all or who don’t connect with your welcome message are unlikely to convert into happy subscribers. A well planned and carefully crafted welcome plan, that includes thinking about the what, when, and who of your messages, leads to a positive first impression and the best path to long term subscriber satisfaction.

Key elements

Here are a few key elements to consider when building your welcome email or emails:

Send your message ASAP
If you’re offering a promotion, your new subscriber will likely be waiting on the website to get the email before making their purchase. A delay of even 5–10 minutes here can mean a lost sale. Even if you don’t have a promotion, they’re currently expressing interest in your brand. So you need to engage with them while their interest is peaked instead of taking a chance at a later time.

Create strong subject lines and pre-headers
You need to not only thank them for signing up—you also need to catch their attention and give them a reason to want to open the email. Don’t forget to capitalize on the extra room in the pre-header to make your case.

Set expectations
Make it clear that your focus is on a positive experience for them. State what they should expect from you and how often to expect it. Providing a way for them to easily manage their experience (i.e., a link to a preference center) is also a good idea. Also consider adding links to prior content so that users can reference the content they are subscribing to.

Let them get a feel for your brand
Every brand has a voice. Let yours be clearly displayed in your welcome email. This helps your new subscriber connect more with the brand and avoids them feeling surprised by a change in style with later emails.

Keep it concise
You have a lot to say and an eager ear in your new subscriber. But your first message should be short, simple, to the point, and not overwhelming.

Send a series of emails
As noted previously, you have a lot to say to an attentive audience. Building a full welcome series (3–5 emails) allows you to keep each of them to the point while still covering all the information you want to share. It also fosters continued interest from the subscriber, which leads to continued positive engagement, boosted reputation, and improved deliverability.

Get personal
If you’re doing a series of welcome emails, use one of them to show the personal touch. Use any information you collected at sign-up or from their purchase to showcase how you can make their experience unique and more valuable to them. If you didn’t collect any data yet, use this as an opportunity to show what you could do if given the chance. Then, ask them for the information you need to enrich their experience.

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