The idea of the first impression being crucial is applicable in business just as much as it is in daily life. Therefore, it may be surprising that many companies still do not use a welcome Email, which, as experiences of many Email marketing specialists show, enjoys significantly greater popularity among recipients compared to newsletters, for example, and allows for a drastic increase in the engagement level. Let’s examine how the ideal welcome Email for a customer should look like.
Why send welcome Emails
There are several reasons for this, the most important among them being the fact that welcome Emails have an average open rate (OR) of 50%, meaning that they are 86% more effective when compared to standard newsletters. However, it turns out that over half of brands do not greet their new subscribers with a dedicated message.
That said, it’s worth bringing up the data related to the user preferences – a significant 74% of them expect to receive a welcome Email, while 33% believe that such a message will impact their relationship with the brand in the long run.
So, in what situations do these messages yield the best results? Well, they’re effective for welcoming new users to the newsletter database or a participant in a loyalty program. Also, a welcome Email is the perfect way to showcase all the features of a product or service to new customers to make them feel taken care of.
Furthermore, companies frequently use welcome Emails to greet new employees and initiate their onboarding process. It’s worth noting that you don’t have to limit yourself to a single message here. Advanced Email marketing platforms like MessageFlow offer the capability to deliver an entire communication cycle based on pre-established scenarios. As research shows, a well-designed Email sequence can generate a 51% higher profit, compared to just a single message.
4 best practices for a powerful welcome Email series
Welcome messages have a 10% higher read rate compared to other Email marketing messages. Therefore, it’s worth harnessing their potential by paying attention to every detail within the correspondence.
From timing, to Email subject line, to copy and sequencing, make the Email send to new subscribers an essential part of your Email marketing strategy to create as many potential customers as possible.
Although certain industries may require a specialized approach, in B2C communication several universal principles can be highlighted to guide you through the welcome Email design process and significantly increase your audience engagement.
1. Pay attention to timing and frequency
In the case of welcome Emails, timing plays a crucial role. A customer who has just signed up for your newsletter expects to hear from you shortly. Therefore, if you manage to reach them with a brand message while the brand is still fresh in their mind, you have significantly higher chances of creating a long-term relationship. This is also supported by research – as demonstrated by a report published by Experian, real-time welcome Emails generate 10 times more transactions than those that arrive sometime later.
It’s also worth considering an entire series of welcome Emails, allowing you to greet a new employee, a loyalty program participant, or a subscriber, offering added value in the form of extra information or incentives to use the product or service.
In this context, it’s a good idea to send a welcome Email based on where your recipient is in the sales funnel. If you dispatch the first Email and the recipient makes a purchase, you can follow up with an Email featuring more recommended products, and then perhaps reward them with a discount code as well. That’s how you get a loyal customer.
Importantly, all these activities can be carried out automatically, without the need for expensive marketing automation solutions, within a predefined welcome Email sequence, for example, after assigning a contact to a specific group, once they register in your database.
Using the MessageFlow platform, you can easily implement such a communication cycle based on pre-designed scenarios. It only requires specifying a trigger that will put it in motion, which is usually a certain condition that is met by a given contact, creating content, personalizing messages, and finally, setting the delivery schedule.
2. Keep your Email marketing promise
If you have encouraged customers to sign up for your Emailing list by offering discounts or free downloadable files, make sure to keep your promise. This way not only will you motivate the customer to make additional purchases, but you will also build greater trust. Perhaps it’s also worth considering a surprise element that will make the recipients feel special, undoubtedly deepening the relationship and acting towards strengthening loyalty.
A great welcome Email will not only deliver on the original promise but also strive to exceed it. Going above and beyond involves more than just providing the expected discounts or downloadable content. Consider making it a personal Email, acknowledging the specific reason the person joined your list. Tailor your customer onboarding Email to reflect appreciation for their interest, making them feel valued and understood.
Additionally, seize the opportunity to introduce them to other facets of your brand in the Email body that might align with their preferences. This could include exclusive previews of upcoming products, early access to sales, or insider information that enhances their sense of being part of an exclusive community.
3. Write a welcome Email in a relevant style and format
Speaking of first impression, make sure your message starts with a strong and encouraging subject line. The recipient has to get excited to open the Email immediately and see what’s inside. Next, personalize the Email content. Most tools for mass marketing messaging have personalization features that allow you to address Email subscribers by their names. It’s a small step, but it ensures that your messages won’t look like ordinary, generic content sent en masse to every user.
On the other hand, using formal language may make the Emails sound too stiff. So, if your intention is to come across as a friend who primarily wants to offer assistance, avoid overly formal language in the Email copy, allowing your readers to feel more at ease.
In addition to the language itself, the visual aspect is also of great importance. To create a great Email design with MessageFlow, you can use the convenient drag-and-drop creator or choose from pre-made templates.
It’s worth noting at this point that you don’t have to limit yourself solely to Emails, as MessageFlow also allows for the rapid execution of a welcome campaign through other channels. This way, your actions can be optimized in line with the omnichannel communication strategy including SMS or Mobile Push notifications.
4. Set your welcome series campaign goal and frequency
Your welcome message should straightforwardly communicate to readers what they can expect from your future Email correspondence. And since the success of your Email marketing largely depends on the audience’s engagement, this will help eliminate subscribers not interested in additional content right from the start.
Furthermore, if you use a newsletter delivery schedule, inform the new Email subscribers about how often you will be sending messages. As a result, subscribers will know when to expect new Email communication, helping you avoid being perceived as just another spam sender.
Next, you just need to stick to your schedule and send the Emails as planned to maintain a professional image.
Welcome Email examples
Now that we’ve discussed some of the practices you should consider when implementing your welcome Email marketing, it’s time to have a look if other companies actually follow them. Here are some of the best welcome Email examples to get you inspired.
Figma
If you work in marketing in any capacity, chances you don’t know Figma are slim to none. What this graphic design mainstay does first and foremost is lay out the time frame for their series of welcome Emails, letting the newcomer know they’ll be properly taken care of and introduced to the platform.
On top of that they make it easy to get started right away for those feeling confident in their creative abilities.
All Apps
In this welcome Email example, All Apps, being a part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, puts major emphasis on imagery. The brief copy serves as a complement, assuring the user they’re in the right place.
It’s almost like the rest of the Email could’ve contained more information but on the other hand, this welcome message may come off as positively daring, urging the user to get down to creating and learning on the fly.
Pet Drugs Online
This Email starts with a dog-style headline clearly aimed at the specific audience of pet owners. The organization briefly introduces itself to reinforce the trust in its sensitive business and states its mission which benefits both users and their pawed companions.
This welcome message not only gives off a very positive, communal vibe but also tries to exceed expectations by offering a discount code. Can never go wrong with that.
Udemy
Udemy has a very specific purpose which is to help its users skill-up. It’s a very functionally-oriented platform and its welcome Email wastes no time in giving users what they came for.
This Email is a perfect example of not too many frills for the sake of function. “You’re here, welcome! Start learning right now” is what the Email seems to convey. Well, sometimes less is more.
Despite essentially serving the same purpose, each of these examples of great welcome Emails offers something unique. There isn’t a single best welcome Email subject line or copy you should use. A lot will depend on the business you’re in and the audience you target. What’s really not up for debate is that you shouldn’t neglect this part of your messaging efforts, as welcome Email is a great way to create meaningful impact right out the gate,
From newsletter to onboarding – get started with effective welcome Emails
Welcome Email is often the first opportunity you have to directly and personally address a new user. This makes it an ideal way to give a warm welcome, initiate relations, and start working towards customer retention. These messages have a fantastic click-through rate, making them an invaluable element of any company’s Email marketing strategy.
The entire process of sending them can be easily streamlined using an Email automation platform that allows for the creation of highly efficient series of welcome messages and their distribution across multiple channels, including Mobile Push and SMS.
