Editors note: this post is a guest blog from Kevin at Email Uplers, who shares some of his knowledge on email marketing and the welcome email series.
If there’s one email for which you can be pretty much sure that your email recipients will open, it is the welcome email. This makes it one of the most important transactional emails you will send. A welcome email sets the tone for all the future communications to follow. It will reflect the personality of your brand and give the subscribers a clear picture of what you do. The main aim of a welcome email should be to address the challenges of the subscribers and place your product in such a way that it makes them believe that making the purchase would solve their problems. After all, that’s the whole idea of marketing.
Now, rather than having a single welcome email, many brands have chosen to send a series of welcome emails, that share useful information in installments. Avoid stuffing every detail and making email content cluttered, plan out an email series to deliver value to your customer in parts.
A welcome email series may consist of 3-6 emails. If you are using an email platform like Mailchimp, you can get help from qualified Mailchimp email experts who can set up automation workflows for you.
So why should you send a welcome email series? Why isn’t one email enough?
Here’s why.
Advantages of Sending a Welcome Email Series
- With an average open rate of 50%, chances are that the first email could go unnoticed by half of your subscribers.
- If you’re trying to make an impression with one email, then you may be trying to cram too much information into that one email. Your customer may not be able to absorb everything you want to say.
- If trying to sell your product with that first email, it could be off-putting to your prospects, because of the intense competition in the digital marketplace.
- A welcome email series can give your customer the time to understand what your brand is about. By logically conveying your brand’s ideas and products, and weaving a story, you can eventually win the trust of your customer.
Read on to learn more about how to construct your welcome email series.
Planning the Welcome Email Strategy
Whenever you get a new subscriber, you must follow a step-by-step process to get their journey right.
- The first step is to map their journey ahead. Determine what your subscribers should know about you as a brand before they purchase from you. Also, think about the objectives you are trying to achieve with this welcome series. It could be promoting your social media channels, sharing your success story, or simply getting leads to reply to the emails.
- Based on the objectives identified above, set up a campaign aligned with those goals. Of course, no matter what your objective is, introducing your brand is the first thing you must do.
- Chalk out the welcome email series based on how the customer has started interaction with you. Segment your subscribers in order to send tailor-made communications right from the outset.
Welcome Email Series: Best Practices
First Email: Set the Tone and Pace
The first welcome email is sent immediately once a subscriber drops their email address and sets the tone for the rest of the messages you send to them. This is where the customer is curious to know more about your brand and its offerings. They are open to hearing from you; these days it’s even expected. Express gratitude and welcome them to your brand’s family with a welcome gift.
Take a look at the first email of the welcome series from Birchbox.
The subject line “Consider This Our Welcome Gift To You” is sure to pique the subscriber’s curiosity and get him or her to open the email. It instantly lets the subscriber know what the email is about.
Upon opening the email, the subscriber is informed about the Birchbox subscription with an engaging headline and attractive GIFs in the hero image. The call to action (CTA) is placed in the first content block and draws the subscriber’s attention to click-through. The second section shares a discount coupon code to encourage subscribers to convert.
Second Email: Detailed Product Benefits
The second email should give subscribers more detail about your products or services. It can throw light on how your product works or how the users can avail of your services.
For example: in their second welcome email, Birchbox has included their CTA at the beginning of the email. In the next section, they have explained what is in store for the subscriber if they subscribe to their Beauty Box with four easy steps. The last section incentivises the recipient to join with $5 off. Every section has a relevant CTA that redirects the user to the same landing page and drives the same action.
Third Email: Drive Home the Value
The third email should reinforce the same offerings that you have talked about in the second email. We find it best to send this message within three days of the previous email.
In the third welcome email by Birchbox, they have done exactly this. After sending the first two emails within two days, the third email was sent five days after the recipient dropped their email. Check out how they inform subscribers about Birchbox perks in this email.
This email can even include customer reviews and testimonials to build the recipient’s confidence in the brand. Anything to help encourage customers to convert.
Pro-tip: the CTAs in your welcome email series should offer the path of least resistance for your subscribers to convert. For example, if you’re trying to drive conversions to the premium version of your software, a CTA with a hard sell like “Buy the Premium Version Now” may prove ineffective. Instead, ask for more pocket-friendly options like “sign up for your free trial” or offer a resource for download. Subsequently, you can nurture the lead and persuade them to convert.
The road ends now… not forever!
So we come to the end of the road. There are thousands of ways in which you can craft your emails, but keep in mind the end goal. Ensure that your customer doesn’t get overwhelmed or annoyed. So chart out your strategy to do it. Wishing you all the luck!
About the Author
Kevin George is the head of marketing at Email Uplers, which specialises in crafting Customised Email Templates and PSD to Email conversion. Kevin loves gadgets, bikes & jazz, and he breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on the email marketing blog.
