The Anatomy of a Welcome Email
The Anatomy of Your Welcome Email
We have been talking about collecting email addresses and building your biggest asset (your list) for some time now. Now we are going to dive a little bit into the nitty gritty. You may be asking yourself…
Once I have the email address, what the heck do I send them?
I admit when I started my first email list I had collected almost 25 subscribers before I sent them anything! Email marketing is a specific topic, that has specific strategies involved.
No need to be afraid though…we’re here to help.
The most important email you will ever want to send a prospect will be the first one. A Welcome email is the message that is sent after someone signs up for your list. Typically you will deliver what was promised from your optin form, and then follow up with new subscribers with a Welcome email. Moreover, over 50% of Welcome emails are opened, compared to 15% of the rest of your emails.
This means that the Welcome email is very important! The Welcome email is more than just a simple email: This is the email that will set the tone for how you will be communicating with your list, delivers your first impression, and will most importantly communicate what they can expect from you.
Here are the 4 things that every Welcome email should include:
- The Introduction
For the people who signed up for your list, they are going to want to know that they made a good decision. The introduction will let your new subscribers know who you are as a person, a company, your values and reasons why they should choose your business over the competitors. Even if you think your new subscribers may already know you, you should go ahead and introduce yourself, anyway.
Do not be afraid to showcase your success! Let them know they are part of a community of X number of subscribers. This is a good way to reaffirm their decision to join your list.
Finally, make them feel safe by letting them know you will protect their email address and never sell their information.
- Set Expectations
In your Welcome email you should always set the expectations for your subscriber s in terms of what being on your list means to them. Tell them how many emails you send per week, or that you send emails on Wednesdays that include your latest blog posts. This way when they receive your email on Wednesday, they won’t be thinking “why are you sending me this”?
It goes without saying that it is important that what you tell your subscriber in the Welcome email should be what you actually do. Do not offer coupons and freebies and then just send blog posts or informational newsletters.
- Next Steps
This depends on the nature of your business, but in our Welcome email we like to ask our readers to:
- Join our Facebook group
Our Facebook group is a way for our subscribers to join us on a deeper, more personal level. Once they join our Facebook group, they are exposed to more value that we have to offer our group members.
- White list our emails
Most people are using free email providers like Hotmail or Gmail. Sadly, even the most experienced or well-known company emails will fall into the SPAM filters.
To avoid this, you can ask your email readers to “white list” your email address, or add your business to their list of “Trusted Contacts”. This way your emails will end up in the Inbox, and also be recognized by your reader.
- An Open Ended Conversation
The whole reason you started a list is so you could communicate with your prospective customers, right? Your Welcome email should get your readers looking forward to what is coming next so the chances that they open your next email increases.
In our case, we want to lead with value. This means we want to deliver and plan to deliver more freebies than are expected! This way, when it comes time to offer a product, you have provided SO much for free, the paid content can’t help but be astonishing!
Conclusion
This is your chance to introduce your email marketing and reintroduce your business to your audience. Make sure you have written this to reflect who you and your business are personally. You will be providing an experience that will shape the way your customers and potential customers think of your brand.
Join our Instagram Challenge
Learn how to attract your ideal customer using this social media giant and ultimately drive more revenue.
14 comments