Most of the time, when you sign up for an email list, you get a nice welcome message delivered to your inbox shortly afterward. Welcome emails are about more than just good manners, though. They set the tone for all your campaigns moving forward.
If you can get people to open and read your blog’s emails, that goes a long way towards converting them into long-term readers. Your welcome email’s job is to cement that relationship, so they come to expect and anticipate emails.
In this article, we’re going to talk about what makes a great welcome email and how to create one. Then we’ll go over several of our favorite examples to deconstruct what they do right. Let’s get to work!
What’s a Welcome Email Series?
The concept of a welcome email is simple, but what about a series? I’m a big fan of email series because they enable you to space out communication over a period of several days instead of overwhelming subscribers with an info dump.
Let’s say, for example, you use your blog to sell an online course and email plays a big role in your marketing strategy. Once someone signs up for your email list, that gives you the green light to reach out periodically and check if they’re interested in converting.
Email is very much a numbers game – the more subscribers you have and the more emails you send, the higher your chances of converting a few users. The ‘problem’ is, you can’t spam subscribers or they’re going to bolt.
With an email series, you can pre-build and automate the sending of a full onboarding campaign. Welcome email series have been shown to increase conversions by up to 33%, so they definitely work.
We’ve talked about how to get started with email marketing in the past. First off, you’ll need an email marketing service provider, such as Constant Contact. Once you’re set, you can begin building your first automated campaign. In this case, that’s your welcome series.
3 Examples of Engaging Welcome Emails
Be warned – I’m going to include a few long screenshots below, to show to my favorite welcome emails in all their full glory. Then we’ll break down precisely what makes them so great so you can kick ass when you get to work on your own.
1. Filmsupply
The idea of assigning a personal point of contact for new subscribers is pure genius. Even though that person is likely managing dozens of users, it still makes you feel personally taken care of.
If I tell you that you can reach out to a contact email if you have questions, you’re not that likely to do it. When I tell you “This is Olivia and she’s here to take care of whatever you need,” that’s more likely to succeed.
The email itself is quite simple – it introduces you to your contact, tells you what she can help you with, and how to proceed if you want to get in touch.
Even if you don’t have a team, you can copy this model by introducing yourself through your welcome email. Let subscribers know they can reach out whenever they want and use subsequent emails to explain the many ways you can help them.
2. Headspace
Headspace’s welcome email series is much more traditional, yet I’m still a big fan. They welcome you in by reinforcing the fact you made a positive decision to sign up and they break down the benefits they can provide.
Beyond that, they include some tips to help you get started with meditation and a few statistics to back up their claims. One aspect I want you to consider emulating is offering links to multiple resources.
Instead of trying hard to sell you on their premium service, they kick things off by offering you the basic lessons for free. There are also links to their FAQ, social media accounts, and finally, the option to sign up for a premium account.
By giving your subscribers options, you lessen the pressure and turn your welcome email from a hard-pitch to an informative message.
3. Dims
Dims is a small company that builds high-quality furniture at affordable prices. It’s not precisely a marketing powerhouse, but they do handle email wonderfully.
Their welcome email series is one of my favorite examples, not because of its design, but due to its language. Right away, they pull you in with a smart take on welcome lines “Nice to meet you – pull up a chair.”
Once you have readers hooked, you hit them with your value proposition. In this case, that’s their commitment to affordable pricing and the language is short and to the point.
There’s not a lot of information dump here, which I love. Instead, Dims uses simple graphics to break down cost structure and their Call-to-Action is fantastic: Shop Dims. Original.
This is an example of a welcome email that does a hard sell, but it does so with style. One way to improve it would be to include better pictures of the furniture and more customer reviews. Even so, if you want to start promoting your products right from the get-go, this is a great example of how to do it using a welcome series.
Conclusion
The secret of a great welcome email is to build anticipation. Right off the bat, you need to set the tone for all communications moving forward. You can let subscribers know what to expect, when to expect it, and more.
Ideally, you’ll have a welcome email series good and ready to go before the first user signs up for your email list. If you haven’t gotten started with email marketing yet, check out our guide on the subject, and consider trying out Constant Contact to build your first campaign.
Do you have any questions about how to build an engaging welcome email series? Let’s go over them in the comments section below!
Image credit: Pixabay.