Everyone wants to make an exceptional first impression. Your welcome email—or a series of welcome emails—can help your brand make a solid first impression with new subscribers.
A “good” first impression in the email world involves introducing new subscribers to your brand’s mission, values, products, services, and overall message.
Why are welcome emails important?
Putting considerable thought into your welcome email is crucial. Why? Welcome emails have some of the highest open rates of 50%, on average. In other words, they’re 86% more effective than standard email campaigns.
Welcome campaigns have an average 50% open rate—among the highest of any email.
When should you send a welcome email? If you’re using a double opt-in system, you should send an initial welcome email as soon as a new subscriber confirms their email address. If you’re not using a double opt-in system, you should send a welcome email as soon as a new subscriber signs up for your list.
How often should you send other automated emails?
Instead of simply sending one welcome email, plan a welcome email or onboarding series to give your new subscribers a comprehensive understanding of your brand.
Consider sending an email each day for the first three days after new subscribers sign up. You could plan static content for each automated email or create triggered campaigns based on the actions subscribers took in your previous welcome emails (if applicable).
Source: Campaign Monitor
Factors to consider when planning an automated campaign
Every industry and every subscriber is unique. Consider the following when timing your emails:
- What’s your subscriber’s schedule like? Schedule your emails based on their time zone and working hours.
- Inform new subscribers about your social media accounts, app, business hours, other contact methods, and anything that makes your brand unique.
- Consider addressing your welcome emails from specific people in your company, such as the head of sales or CEO.
- Set one specific topic for each welcome email.
How to measure the results of your welcome email
Welcome emails take a little extra effort and patience to measure. First of all, you’ll want to look at your welcome email’s open rate. Did your new subscribers open the first email you sent?
Next, you’ll want to see if your subscribers are clicking the links in your welcome email to learn more about your brand. Don’t get discouraged if the click rate in your welcome email isn’t perfect—especially if you’re a B2B service or selling high-end products. Sometimes people need to learn more about your brand and how you can help them before they feel comfortable taking action.
Be patient. After you’ve finished your automated welcome email series or onboarding emails, look at the final results over the entire campaign. Did your click-through rate improve in later emails? Are subscribers taking action after they’ve learned more about your brand?
If the results still aren’t where you’d like them to be, reevaluate your audience’s needs and problems and switch up your welcome campaigns.
Does it really matter?
Yes, first impressions are essential in all types of relationships, and email communication is no different. Your goal shouldn’t be to shove information down your subscribers’ throats as soon as they sign up, but rather gently coax them along.
You want to educate your audience in two ways. First, you want to educate them about your brand’s services, products, and values. However, you also want to educate them about your industry in general—how can you help them solve their problems? Think of yourself as a teacher.
What now?
Now that you know how to time your welcome email or onboarding series, you can start planning your strategy. Think about what type of tone and voice would resonate best with your audience. Consider the type of content you want to include in your welcome emails. From there, you can start working on your subject lines and copy.
Do you want to learn more about creating a welcome email that wows? Read this Campaign Monitor post about 10 effective tips for sending a welcome email.