A welcome email is like greeting a new customer when they enter your shop. It’s your chance to make a great first impression and keep prospects hooked for the long run. Think of it like this: when subscribers sign up to receive your newsletter, they’re showing an interest in you. The least you can do is reciprocate the interest.
In fact, 8 out of 10 customers expect you to send them welcome emails when they subscribe to your email list. So that’s your best chance to build on their ‘sign-up momentum’ and introduce your brand. With an average open rate of 30.69%, automated welcome emails are great opportunity to promote your brand and products to a keen audience who are likely to engage with you.
But, first things first. What is a welcome email?
What is a welcome email campaign?
Automated welcome emails are sent to new email subscribers immediately after they sign up to your email list as a way of saying thank you and confirming their subscription. The content of welcome emails should convey what your brand is all about – without being too sales-y. Great welcome emails are fun, engaging, helpful and informative.
What makes a welcome email drip campaign unique is that it reaches consumers at a point when they are ready. So it follows up to their subscribing momentum, at the time that best works for them, not for you. That’s why it’s crucial to set your welcome email to be triggered automatically whenever a new subscriber opts in your email list.
You can easily set a welcome email on EmailOctopus. After selecting an Automated Campaign, just fill in the necessary fields. Add your subject line and then create a template or choose an existing one from the library. You can even create welcome email sequences if that suits your goals better.
Nomad Cooks used automation to create a sequence of five emails to welcome subscribers and nurture them into paying customers. Just adding this welcome series increased their overall conversion rates by 50%!
What are the benefits of welcome emails?
Investing in a welcome email for new subscribers is like saying a warm “nice to meet you” and a kind “thanks for staying in touch”. By sending welcome emails you:
- Increase brand credibility. 74% of email subscribers expect to receive a welcoming message after signing up for your newsletter. This is crucial to build trust and encourage them to open your future emails.
- Tell a story. This is a stellar opportunity to introduce your brand, share an interesting fact, or share some “behind-the-scenes” content with your loyal fanbase.
- Showcase your products. Sending a welcome email is an excellent chance to introduce your products and share offers and special discounts with your email subscribers.
- Show appreciation. A simple “thank you” is sometimes the best message in a welcome email. You don’t always have to fill it with offers, facts, and products.
- Encourage more touchpoints. Invite subscribers to follow you on social media or answer your survey to create more touchpoints with them.
Email marketing welcome emails can bring huge benefits for your business. Just make sure you prioritise your goals – don’t try to cram all your content into one email. If you focus on one or two clear objectives you’re more likely to get results.
What’s a smart welcome drip flow campaign?
Instead of crafting a single welcome email, you can opt for a sequence of automated welcome emails to keep users engaged while introducing different aspects of your brand. For example, you can create a series of five welcome emails. You’ll see lots of examples of these welcome emails in the next section:
- The first email welcomes subscribers, explaining what your brand is all about and what it has to offer. In addition, subscribers could automatically enter a contest to win a voucher or a prize related to your products. This way, you’ll be able to greet them while breaking the ice with a gift for their interest.
- The second email introduces your products along with customers’ positive reviews.
- The third one shares a bit more about your story. Who founded the brand and why? What makes the brand unique? What is the brand’s vision, and how does it serve your customers?
- The fourth email in the sequence is focused on positive reviews and clients’ testimonials. The goal is to reignite the flame of interest and convert leads into customers. Social proof nurtures subscribers and helps them decide. This Nomad Cooks email is a great example of that.
- The fifth and final email provides a discount code or a special offer. By this point, subscribers know what your brand is all about and how they can profit from it. All they need is a little push to purchase, which can be achieved with a promo code or discount.
You’ll be surprised at how effective a welcome email sequence can be. Not only will you be increasing your conversion rates but also automating sales without spending a single penny.
You can easily schedule a sequence of welcome emails with EmailOctopus. Once you’ve created your first welcome email, simply select “Add an email” to create your sequence with scheduled deliveries. After that, you can pause a welcome email at any time or change their order.
Welcome email subject lines
Whether you craft your subject lines before or after creating your automated welcome emails, they can help you get the most out of your drip campaigns and boost your open rates. Welcome emails don’t always need fancy subject lines, but here are a few ideas to help you out:
- Welcome aboard! Here’s what to do next.
- Welcome to the crew 👋
- Welcome to {brand name}! Here’s 10% off your next order.
- You’re in! Welcome to the family ❤️
- Hi {first name}! Thanks for subscribing
So whether you’re sending a welcome email as a food blogger, nonprofit organisation or finance blogger, there are always ways to personalise it with the right subject line.
The best automated welcome emails examples
Now that you know the importance of welcome emails, let’s move on to some welcome email examples for your subscribers and what you can achieve with them:
1. Show your appreciation.
Sometimes a lot of information can be overwhelming, especially for your novice subscribers. So don’t try to shoot your shot from every angle. Instead, a simple appreciation message thanking your subscribers for choosing to stay in touch with you can go a long way.
For example, StevenAlan uses a simple welcoming eCommerce email, appreciating their subscribers for signing up and inviting them to shop their curated collections or get to know the brand better. They even link to their Instagram badge at the end to encourage different touchpoints with subscribers. Zero fluff, straight to the point and minimal – a simple and effective welcome email.
2. Tell your brand’s story
People love stories. They want to hear about your values, why you’re doing what you’re doing, what motivates you and what are you hoping to achieve. A story is the fastest way to seal the deal with consumers and keep them hooked around your brand.
An excellent storytelling example is Jeni’s. They simply took their space to tell their story and surrounded the text with “a taste of their products”. That’s a vivid example of how storytelling can be a fun way to engage subscribers and shed some light on the “behind-the-scenes” history that led to where you are now. As you can see, the anatomy of a successful welcome email can vary drastically.
Rigby also focused on storytelling for their welcome email approach. They kept things simple with just a short note from their founder. This adds a touch of personalisation and makes the reader feel special – if the founder “took the time” to welcome them, they must be an important addition to the Rigby community.
Speaking of personalisation, at The Slice, they use welcome emails as a way to get to know their subscribers. In fact, they’ve asked all their 921 subscribers to reply to their welcome email to break the anonymity. Naturally, this also helps with their domain and IP reputation while keeping discoverability high and spam folders away. With open rates of 47%, we’d say it works.
3. Communicate your value proposition
A welcoming email is an excellent opportunity to share your unique value proposition and highlight your brand’s best attributes. What makes you different from the competition? Why are you worth your readers’ time? Those are great questions to start with.
One stellar example is Bailey Nelson. They send an initial welcome email to new customers shopping in-store or online, welcoming them as part of a new community, briefly introducing the brand and breaking down their value proposition point by point. For example, they describe how their products are made uniquely in Australia and that they offer full-service optometry in every single one of their shops. They managed to convey their beliefs in a few lines and cultivate a community for their buyers.
4. Introduce your products
Wondering how to write a welcome email as an online store? For starters, make it bold. If you have fantastic products to showcase, don’t hold back. This is your chance to make an impression with eye-catching images, vivid colours, and your most popular products.
Have a look at One Kings Lane. They use a few introductory lines to say welcome and then devote the rest of the email to introducing their collections and products. They use bright images and colourful fonts, along with calls to action to encourage users to shop. It’s a welcome email masterpiece.
4. Offer a discount
Offering a deal or incentive helps break the ice and encourages users to visit your website and buy your products. Once again, you’re taking advantage of the interest subscribers showed when joining your email list at a time that they’re at the peak of their engagement.
One of the best welcome emails is from Sundae School. In a minimal design, they welcome users, talk briefly about who they are, and offer a 10% discount with a coupon code as a gift to their subscribers.
5. Show the benefits
Another great way to form long-lasting connections is by listing the benefits subscribers get from joining your email list. There might be special discounts, VIP lists, dedicated contests, or tips and insights. Be sure to break them down and make them visible and straightforward for anyone to grasp.
Made in Cookware did just that. They thanked subscribers for joining their email list and analysed their perks in their welcome email. Benefits like promotions and discounts, techniques and recipes – as well as new cookware – are listed neatly so users can grasp the information at a glimpse of an eye.
6. Use clear steps for onboarding
A 1-2-3 structure in a welcome email is a great way to break down information and help readers absorb it faster. If your goal is to guide subscribers to their onboarding process, then that’s the optimal way to encourage them to take action. Your call to action can make or break an email. Crafting the right call to action is art, so make sure you take your time with it.
For example, at Bespoke Post, they use an onboarding structure titled “Here’s how things work around here”. Then, in three steps, they describe how monthly boxes work and how subscribers can customise their experience. It’s straightforward and neatly displayed, which supports the takeaway information concept.
Get started with welcome emails
When getting started with email marketing, you get caught up in sales campaigns, promos, and offers. However, a simple welcome email can be the best start you can have with your customers. The e-commerce welcome email examples above are great ways to kick things off if you’re running out of ideas.
Welcome email automation can kickstart your email momentum and educate users about what they can expect from you. At EmailOctopus, setting automated welcome emails is an easy, effective way to win readers’ trust without spending a fortune. So join us today and never send another welcome email manually.
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