First impressions count.
That’s something you learn when you start attending job interviews as a fresh-faced teenager.
Once you start marketing for your business or a client, that crucial lesson is something you need to keep in mind for every interaction you launch, online or offline. Whether you’re meeting with people at a networking event or sending the very first direct message to a possible client over Instagram, those initial interactions are essential.
One of the most common ways to make a first impression is through email.
Read on for some welcome email ideas that will blow your audience away.
Discovering Welcome Email Best Practices
Welcome emails have an average read rate of 34%.
Why?
Because if someone has signed up to be part of your list, then they’re probably ready to hear from you.
A welcome email is your chance to engage your subscribers, let them know that they did the right thing by connecting with you, and provide them with plenty of useful information.
So, how do you roll out the red carpet for your audience?
The following welcome email templates will give you some much-needed inspiration.
Welcome Email Ideas #1: Setting Expectations
When a customer subscribes to be part of your email list, they agree to a long-term relationship with your brand. Your client is giving you a key to their inbox, where you can reach them any time of the day, whether they’re at work, at home, or stuck in traffic.
A welcome email is an excellent chance for you to tell your audience what you’re going to do with that all-important access to them.
First, acknowledge the other person and let them know that you appreciate them agreeing to receive your emails. Then, use your welcome email to outline the benefits involved with signing up. For instance, are the people on your list going to be the first to know about any exciting new blog posts you share? Will they get exclusive discounts as part of your community? What sort of VIP perks can they access?
Check out this example from Birchbox:
When you establish the basics of the new relationship you’re building with your audience in a welcome email, your subscribers are more likely to be receptive to the future emails you send. This means you get fewer bounced messages and more engagement overall.
Welcome Email Ideas #2: Tell Them What to Do Next
Telling your audience what you plan on doing next is great, but how about letting them know what they can do to make the most of their relationship with you too? Many of the best Welcome email templates are useful because they use links, content, and call to action buttons to drive your audience further along the buyer funnel.
Let your customers know what they can do now that they’re a part of your subscriber list. Just make sure that you focus on the value that you can bring to them, not the other way around. For instance, Airbnb uses its welcome email to highlight the next stages of the onboarding process. With this email, customers have a chance to personalize the future messages that they get from Airbnb by filling out some essential user details.
The option that Airbnb gives customers to share more information about themselves ensures that clients have the chance to receive more engaging and relevant emails. At the same time, Airbnb gets to learn more about their target audience. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to segment and personalize your content according to their needs.
Pro tip: Don’t ask for too much information straight away. This could turn your relationship with a new customer sour by making them feel as though you’re asking for too much, too soon.
Welcome Email Ideas #3: Let Them Know You Appreciate Them
According to Statista, people send and receive about 124.5 billion business emails each day, as well as around 111.1 billion consumer emails. That’s a lot of clutter filling up your customer’s inbox.
When someone agrees to welcome you into their digital space, they’re also allowing for even more noise in their inbox. It’s a pretty big deal to them, so it should be something that you take seriously too. With that in mind, make sure you say “thanks” for the opportunity you’re getting to interact with your customers going forward.
One of the most straightforward welcome email ideas is to provide your customers with a quick thank you for giving you their seal of approval. Show your appreciation with a video, image, Gif, or just a couple of lines of text. Check out Sidecar’s efforts here. It’s a cute little “thanks” for signing up. What’s more, there’s a promise that there are some exciting things to come now that the customer has joined the Sidecar community.
Remember, this is an excellent chance for you to show your personality too. The easiest way to capture your audience’s attention is to spruce up your welcome email templates with some fun graphics or imagery, just like Sidecar did.
Welcome Email Ideas #4: Introduce Your Brand
When someone signs up to your subscriber list, there’s a good chance that they’re just starting to get to know you. They may have arrived on your site because they love the luxury products that you’re selling. Perhaps they read your emails, and they’re keen to find out more. Whatever the reason, they’re engaged – but they’re not experts on your company yet.
To turn potential leads into repeat customers, you need to create something called “affinity” with your subscribers. That means letting them know that you and they have the same values in common. Start by introducing yourself and showcasing a personality that your target audience can connect with. If you know that you’re reaching out to younger customers with a passion for the environment, use emojis and video to showcase your own CSR initiatives.
Look at how Away.com introduces their personality with a fun initial introduction:
The presentation that Away gives here is an excellent insight into the heart and soul behind the brand. Immediately, customers know that they’re dealing with a team of “thinkers and seekers” committed to genuine and memorable moments of travel. Passionate explorers instantly see that they’re talking to the right brand.
Pro tip: Use your buyer personas to make sure that you’re sending the right kind of message with your introductory email. Mimic your target audience’s language to make them feel more comfortable with your company.
Welcome Email Ideas #5: Deliver on Your Promises
To some extent, your welcome email ideas are an excellent way to make promises to your customers about what’s to come. You can let them know what sort of benefits they’re going to get from you as a subscriber. You’ll also be able to highlight what kind of relationship they’re going to build with you as a brand. However, don’t forget to come through on your initial promises too. This will help to build trust with your customers.
Most companies encourage customers to opt-in to their email list with a lead magnet. For instance, you might promise a free download, eBook, or even a discount. Whatever you’ve told your customers they’re going to get from you, make sure you deliver it fast.
Automated email programs will help with this. You can set up a trigger that sends a pre-established message to any customer that signs up to your list, complete with the item you promised. Check out how Uber does it, for instance:
Delivering on your promise instantly is how you show your target customer that you’re not all smoke and no cigar. In a world where consumers are becoming more nervous about who they trust online, it’s essential to establish this credibility as quickly as possible.
Welcome Email Ideas #6: Empower Your Customers
Finally, today’s customers love researching the brands and companies that they decide to do business with. Think about the last time you made a purchase. You probably spent a while searching for reviews and testimonials from customers like you before you went ahead with the buy. The same applies to your customers today.
Rather than asking your audience to believe that you’re an authentic business just because you say so, give them some resources where they can do their research. Link out to case studies or include a couple of customer reviews in your welcome email. If you’ve got blogs, videos, or articles that highlight your story as a brand, you can link out to those too.
One particularly good way to empower your customers is to help them learn more about you by providing them with links to your social profiles. Most email marketing programs today come with the option to add a link or button to the bottom of your templates. These buttons give your customers a quick way to click through to an additional source of information about your audience.
Glossier uses buttons combined with the snappy line of “See you on Instagram” to encourage customers to go and find out more about their brand. When you click through to Instagram, you’ll find more visual information about the company, as well as plenty of user-generated content.
Welcoming your Customers to Your List
We’ve all heard that the “money is in the list.” However, if you want to unlock the real value of your subscribers, then you need to start building a beneficial relationship with them from day one. Don’t just start your interactions by asking your audience to make a purchase straight away. Instead, use your email content to let customers know that they’ve made the right decision in connecting with you.
Get the first impression right, and the rest will follow.
Remember, follow our content here on Smartemailtrends.com for more tips and tricks on how to make the most of your email marketing campaigns.
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