Welcome emails are some of the essential tools of email marketing. Welcome emails are a way of thanking new subscribers for subscribing to your business. Several studies have shown that welcome emails have the highest rate of engagement. On average, welcome emails have an open rate of about sixty percent. This rate is higher than any other email marketing tool. More importantly, the same studies have shown that about seventy percent of new subscribers expect to receive a welcome email. Now that the importance of welcome emails has been established, it is paramount to develop ways to use your welcome email to pique and keep the interest of your subscribers, and avoid badly written welcome emails that lead to poor subscriber engagement. Writing an interesting, engaging welcome email is something you can achieve by keeping some things in mind.
Introduce Yourself
The first thing to do is let the reader or subscriber know who you are by introducing yourself in a warm and friendly manner. There’s a greater chance that the subscriber will read your email if you create a connection with them.
Try breaking the ice by telling an exciting story about your business or a fact about your business that the subscriber might like. This is crucial to building a connection because, down the line, you will need to sell some of the business’s products, and having a prior connection will help you.
Another advantage of this semi-formal relationship is that it sets you apart from competing products. You have built a relationship with the subscriber, which makes you stand out in the subscriber’s mind.
Set Subscriber Expectations
From the get-go, let the subscriber know what they are getting for subscribing. On this matter, be very clear. One of the things that puts people off is ambiguity and dishonesty. After introducing yourself, let them know the advantages they stand to gain by subscribing.
If you are offering a weekly newsletter from your business, for instance, or advance information on new products and services, tell them that. This way, when they receive further emails from you, they will not be surprised. It also prevents your emails from being blacklisted, as the subscriber knows what they are getting from the start.
It is possible that their expectations don’t match yours. Being clear from the beginning decreases the possibility that the subscriber might feel they have been led on.
Deliver on Promises
Honesty is paramount in business in order to build and keep customer trust. If you promised subscribers a free eBook, for instance, before they signed up, make sure you provide the link for the download in your welcome email.
Another point that slightly veers off-topic is getting people to subscribe to your list and giving them a gift. It doesn’t have to be something substantial. A workbook, eBook, or planner is sufficient. Everybody loves free things.
Give Subscribers Your Contact Details and Social Media Handles
Another important thing you should include in your welcome email is how your subscribers can reach you through phone, text, or email. If you have a website, be sure to include it too. An added advantage is, if you have a live chat feature on your website, let them know they can talk to you there.
Apart from your contact details, include all your social media handles and encourage them to check you out and follow you on the various platforms. What this does is creates an aura of availability in the mind of the subscriber. So, no matter which medium the subscriber wants to reach you on, you are always available.
There is also the added advantage of the subscribers seeing your products and the services you have on offer on your social media channels.
Make the Email Concise
The attention span of most people is short. And generally, long emails will not be read. Getting your message across doesn’t have to take more than a few lines. Introduce yourself, state your business, and enable them to unsubscribe if they want.
The conciseness of your email increases the chances that it will be read, and that the subscriber is open to receiving more emails from you.
There are various sites where you can get a welcome message for customers to build off of. These sites provide templates you can customize to create your welcome email.
Leave a Clear Way to Unsubscribe
Even after writing a killer welcome email, the subscriber might not be interested in what you are selling. If that’s the case, make the option of unsubscribing from your mailing list easy. It is better if your emails get to a willing recipient than blacklisted or sent to spam.
It also shows that you are considerate of the subscriber’s feelings, which paints your business in a positive light—a one-click button to unsubscribe at the bottom of your message will do.
Ask Subscribers to Add You to Their Contact List
Whitelisting your email means any subsequent emails from you do not go to the spam folder. One way to ensure this is by letting them know the advantages of keeping you on their contact lists. For example, telling subscribers that they can get news about your business’s promotions and new products by whitelisting might encourage them to keep you on their list.
Make the Subject of Your Email as Creative as Possible
The first thing a new subscriber sees when you send anemail is the subject. A generic subject line might not pique their interest enough to open your email. Ensure your subject line is as attractive as possible. And it doesn’t have to be long–just creative! Try various subject lines and see which one has the highest open or engagement rate. Then tweak it and start using the new version. A killer subject line might be the difference between your email in the spam folder and a new contact.
Warm up Your Email
If you are sending your email or just setting up your auto responder, don’t forget to warmup your email address and content so you get maximum inbox delivery with higher open rate and CTR. You can do it your own or hire an email warm up service provider. If you are doing email warmup first time, ensure you consult with an expert or go with a reputable agency so you avoid all future hassle of email blacklist, delivery in spam and even worsen than that. You can try email checker free to validate your email database this will help you minimise the bounce rate.
Conclusion
You can also check out samples of other welcome emails and study them to see what they are doing properly, and adjust accordingly. A good welcome email might be the key to an upsurge in business, so do it right.
