Quick Info:
Why care? | Sending a welcome email immediately after subscription increases your chances of getting future emails opened, read & acted upon by your customers. |
Cost: | FREE |
Who should do this: | All Businesses (after making a plan for collecting emails) |
Platform: | Email Service Provider (ESP) |
How? | Read on… |
What is a welcome email?
Your welcome email is the first email a client receives after subscribing to your email list. Generally, the first one should arrive within minutes of the customer signing up.
Why should you automate it?
By automating your sequences, you can guarantee a fast response to new subscriptions – which is good because the longer they wait for that first email, the less likely they are to open it.
And whether or not they open the first one will massively dictate how likely they are to open future emails!
Given this information, you definitely want to use an automatic system so you don’t have to be on guard 24/7 waiting for a new subscriber to show up. Another reason is that you’ll never scramble to find the correct email, or worry about if you delivered them fast enough. The automation will do it for you!
What should be in it?
General rule: You should focus on one specific Call To Action (CTA) with every email you send. You want the reader to consume the email and then take ONE action. (Asking for more than one action per email usually results in zero actions taken.)
For the welcome email, there’s usually some kind of incentive offered in order for the reader to sign up for the email list in the first place. Fulfilling this promise will be your one CTA and should be the focus of this email.
For example: If you offered a discount code for joining the email list, the code should be clearly visible near the top of the email, and the button should link back to your website, where they would be able to shop and use that code.
Secondary information that is good to include in the welcome email would be to set the reader’s expectations and let them know how often they can expect to receive future emails from you.
You should also encourage them to save your email address to ensure future emails don’t end up in the junk folder (more on that next!)
Why this email is particularly special:
When your reader your welcome email, it signals to their email provider that emails received from you are important and should be placed in the Primary folder.
If your email has landed in another folder (like Promotions or Junk), your customer will go looking for the first one and alert their provider that emails from you are indeed not junk.
You just increased your chances of future email opens!
How to Set Up This Automation
You can automate your email sequences through all Email Service Providers (ESPs) like MailChimp, Constant Contact, ConvertKit, Hubspot, and more.
For step-by-step instructions on how to create this automation in MailChimp, click here.
For all other ESPs, a quick Google search should help you find what you’re looking for.
All platforms will have a guide to help you customize your automation, so don’t be afraid to shop around and find the one that works for you.
Final Thoughts
Automating your welcoming sequence will end up making you money in the long run because you won’t have to worry about sending emails manually. Plus, you’re ensuring that the recipient will be more likely to open future emails when you want to direct them to make a purchase. It’s the perfect solution for bringing new subscribers into the fold without adding unnecessary stress to your day.
Today’s task
✅ Create a Welcome Email Automation of your own!
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