If you’re looking for the best way to make your new subscribers feel welcome, you may be surprised that the answer you found is rather old school. According to marketers, they see the most success from email! In fact, 78% agree and they even say it’s one of the best investments in terms of ROI averaging a return of $42 for every $1 spent in the medium.
So, when you’re wanting your followers to feel seen, appreciated, and informed directly from you, you need to be focused on writing an engaging welcome email sequence. If that sounds like nails on a chalkboard to you, don’t worry, we have several tips to get you started. Even better? We’re giving you the GREATEST welcome email template ever! You’re welcome.
Marketing 101: The Buyer’s Journey
Since we’re going “old school,” we figured we’d literally take you to school and give you a refresher on what’s known as the buyer’s journey. This path illustrates the journey that a person takes from deciding they have a need to make a purchase all the way through to actually making it.
Before you tune us out: it’s important to understand this as it will help you know how to speak to the buyer based on where they’re at in their process.
Stage 1: Awareness
In the beginning stage, the buyer becomes aware of their need or pain point. They realize that they need to find a solution for it and start to think about researching it.
Stage 2: Consideration
After a person realizes their need for a service or product, they start doing their research about how they’ll meet it. This typically means they’ll compare providers and weigh the pros and cons of choosing one over the other.
Stage 3: Decision
Finally, the buyer makes their decision and decides which provider they’ll commit to for their purchase.
Looking at these stages, consider what the buyer needs to hear at each point to move forward and also to get closer to choosing your company over your competitor. Do they need to hear the benefits of your product? Do they need a discount code? Should you give them a freebie to make them want more?
Tips on Writing an Engaging Welcome Email Sequence
As you set out to write your welcome email sequence, you want to fill it with your personality and your company’s brand tone and feel. However, there are some tips that you should follow across the board to make sure your campaign engages the readers and leads to conversion. Let’s take a look at them.
Remember That Content Matters
To touch on the buyer’s journey again, the content of your emails matters and it should be geared to where the buyer is at in their purchasing decision. We went over a few ideas with you earlier but just try to get in their head a little and speak to their needs.
Pick Your Subject Line Wisely
Your subject line is how a person decides if they want to open your message. If it’s too impersonal, they’ll skip over it. If it comes across as spammy, they’ll unsubscribe. Take some time and think about a way to get their attention and entice them enough to get them to open it up.
Find a Way to Make It Personal
Whether it’s in the subject line or in the message, find ways to make the email feel as though it was personally written to them directly. Insert their names and reference past purchases, use a conversational tone as if you’re really talking to them. You want your emails to convey your personality and feel natural.
Check Twice for Typos
When you’ve finished your email, be sure that you proofread it thoroughly before you publish it. You can use the built-in proofreader or one found online. Even better, have an actual human read it to check for faux pas and errors.
Keep Your Email List Segmented
As you build your email list, keep it tidy by segmenting it into groups based on where the subscriber is at in their buyer’s journey. By doing this, you’ll be able to easily message them in a way that will speak directly to them. At a minimum, you can have a list of new subscribers, current customers, and cold leads.
ALWAYS Include a Call-to-Action
Every single email that you send out should have an obvious call-to-action (CTA) that lets the reader know exactly what you want them to do next. This could be clicking on a link to register for an event or downloading a freebie. Never leave them guessing.
Make Your Emails POP!
Your emails should be far from boring if you’re going to keep your reader’s attention and inspire engagement. Use fun visuals such as memes, GIFs, and graphs. Change up your fonts with bold and italic words and sprinkle in different fonts (with a light hand!). You want their eyes to feel drawn to the screen and to keep moving all the way to the end of the message.
Automate Your Campaign
When you finalize your email campaign, make sure your followers are automatically plugged in to it when they subscribe to your list. You can choose from several email providers that make this process seamless, you’ll fix it once and be able to put it on autopilot from there on out.
The Greatest Welcome Email Template
Now that you have a handy list of tips for writing your welcome email campaign, we’re giving you a simple template to follow as you get started. Don’t let the word “simple” throw you off though. This is a proven template that moves the reader to action by making them feel valued and engaged. We’ll give you the basic premise of every email so you can focus on filling it out with your personality and company branding.
Email 1: Welcome to the Club!
Your subscriber likely signed up for your list after registering for a freebie or answering an ad, this email is the first communication they’ll receive after that. You want to keep it short and sweet while making them feel welcome and giving them an idea of what’s to come. Most importantly, be sure that you give them the freebie!
Email 2: Hello, My Name is ___________.
In this email, you’ll take some more time to let the reader get to know you. Introduce them to yourself and your team with short bios and pictures. Tell them a little more about your business and why you want got into the field so they get a good picture of your background.
Email 3: Tell Your Foundational Story
Marketers say that you should have three foundational stories that illustrate why you started your business. These stories should convey your values and speak to your mission. Tell one of those stories in this email and end it by giving them another freebie to add value.
Email 4: Share Some Testimonials
Nothing builds credibility better than customer testimonies and now is the time to share a few of those. Find 2-3 stories from customers that will speak to the benefits that your company can offer for people from various backgrounds. The goal is for the reader to be able to picture themselves doing business with you.
Email 5: Encourage Action and Offer Value
What’s the ultimate goal for your email campaign? Do you want the reader to purchase your product? Sign up for your course? Whatever it may be, now is the time to start pushing for action a little harder. Let them feel the scarcity of the offer so they’re encouraged to take the next step. Now is also a great time to offer a discount or a sneak peek of your product.
Email 6: Sign off for Now
The final email of your campaign should offer the reader one last chance to take advantage of your offer and to give your contact info in case they need it in the future. Offer a final discount and then move them over to your “cold lead” segment so they’ll still get occasional emails from you with updates and announcements. Make sure they understand that this is the last email they’ll get from you for a while so they’ll feel a sense of urgency.
Time for a Warm Welcome
Following these tips and the greatest welcome email template ever will get you on the way to the warmest welcome you could ever help to give your new subscribers. While it takes some time to get your emails perfected, it’s all worth the effort to make your readers feel appreciated and valued.
There will always be a new marketing tactic and state-of-the-art app or social media platform that promises customer interaction like never before. While they may be worth a look, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better medium than email. Start with this welcome campaign and see for yourself. You’ll see an increase in engagement and conversions, satisfaction guaranteed.
If you want to learn more about copywriting, here is a list of the best copywriting books you can read to learn more.
Liz Slyman has worked on campaigns for some of the biggest brands you know––and breakout brands that you WILL. As the founder and CEO of an award-winning copywriting agency, Liz turns over a decade of copywriting experience into copywriting courses, coaching, tools, and resources for new and established copywriters.