How to Convert More Customers This Year with a Welcome Email
I was nervous walking into the gym three years ago.
Forget the butterflies—I had bees in my stomach.
I didn’t know anyone there.
I had never trained before.
I didn’t even know what the inside of a martial arts gym looked like!
You know what made the bees buzz off?
The welcome I got from Pablo.
Pablo smiled, came out from behind the front desk, and shook my hand. He asked me about my goals, my experience.
Then he gave me a tour of the gym. He told me about the culture. He told me about the classes.
He even taught me a few kicks and let me practice on a bag.
Finally, he asked if I wanted to sign up for a $25 trial run of 4 classes.
Three years later, I’ve become the guy who welcomes new people when they show up to class—and I don’t even work there.
That’s the power of a warm welcome.
Now, obviously your welcome email ain’t going to be as powerful as an in-person encounter with you or your awesome staff.
But a good welcome email can be a lucrative marketing tool. It can drive up to 320% more revenue per email basis than any other promotional email.
It gets more views than any other email you’ll ever send.
It gets 5x more clicks than regular emails.
You only set it up once. After that, it works for you, even if you’re drinking with friends or reading bedtime stories to your kids.
If you don’t set it up, you’re disappointing a lot of people. 74% of customers expect one when they subscribe to a company’s email list.
That affects your reputation. It’s like saying you don’t care about your customer—a blow you can’t afford to take.
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, what your business model looks like, or how many employees you have.
The welcome email is a powerful tool.
If you haven’t set one up, there’s no better time than now. If you have one, now’s the time to optimize it.
But first, let’s clear the air.
The Difference Between Welcome vs. Confirmation Emails
There’s a big difference between confirmation emails and welcome emails. Both are important, and both have different purposes.
The Confirmation Email
Confirmation emails do just that: confirm.
Email subscriptions, purchases, downloads, and registrations—you name it.
So keep your subscription confirmation email separate from your welcome email (especially if you’re using double opt-in).
But add some salt to it.
You think I mean attitude? I was thinking potato chips, actually. But you’re getting the right idea.
Instead of just saying, “hey, thanks for signing up,” you can:
Start building rapport. Every email is a chance to engage, to connect. Add brand personality to the confirmation email copy. You’re setting the tone for all encounters with you.
Tease the welcome email. Let your subscriber know you’ll reveal more about your company, product, and story in a bit. This makes a small promise, so that when she receives the welcome email, she already starts to think you’re legit and dependable.
And that brings us to . . .
The Welcome Email
Neil Patel says welcome emails should do 3 things:
Set expectations
Share the benefits of being a subscriber
Add a strategic call-to-action
In other words, your welcome email should work like Pablo.
Remember how warmly Pablo welcomed me?
He made sure to say hello and welcome. He asked me about my goals. He showed me around. He set expectations. He let me sample some gear.
And he asked me to take action.
Your welcome email is the chance to pull a full-on Pablo.
4 Simple Steps to Writing a Warm Welcome Email
#1: Write Down Your Target Audience
If you don’t write to one person, you’re not writing to anyone—which means no one will listen to you.
So, who are you writing to? Let’s keep it simple.
Write down:
The fictitious name of your target customer or client
His/her role or job
His/her industry
Got those things written down? Good.
As we run through the remaining three steps, keep this person in mind. Imagine him or her standing in front of you.
Okay, let’s keep going.
#2: Pick a Goal for Your Welcome Email
What’s the one thing you want your welcome email to accomplish?
Is it to learn more about your prospect’s problem?
Or maybe to get your prospect hooked on your product with a sample?
Every email you send should have a call-to-action (CTA), and your welcome email is no different.
So take a second to write or type your CTA.
Then, let’s move on the next step.
#3: Structure Your Welcome Email
Do this, and your welcome email is 98% done.
Write down:
Why your prospect will hear from you, what kinds of emails you will send her, and how often you’ll send them
What she’s going to get from you (remember, she wants to know what’s in it for HER). Are there any benefits she’ll see that no one else will? Do you regularly offer powerful insights or freebies? What benefits do you offer that she won’t get from your competitors?
Finally, ask her to take your strategic action. Tell you more about her problem, take advantage of a sample, whatever.
BOOM. You just drafted your “welcome” email.
#4: Write Your Subject Line and Preview Text
There’s only one rule for the subject line of your welcome email.
Use “welcome” in the subject line. Seriously.
But don’t stop there. Remember: add savory. Make your subject line your own.
If you need inspiration, Mailerlite has a fantastic list of welcome email subject lines.
Finally, write the preview text. I’d suggest using this to tease the benefit of opening your welcome email. Hint at what’s inside.
Okay, two final notes about the welcome email:
It’s NOT an about page, so keep it short and sweet (100-200 words). Save all the details for your about page.
It’s NOT a white paper. Remember to use “I” and “you,” the way you would if you were talking to your prospect face-to-face.
Congratulations. You just wrote a powerful welcome email. You’re one of the 57.7% who bother to send one. But even better? You took your welcome email to Pablo level.
Which means your email has a good chance of converting more customers—and keeping them around.
Outstanding work.
I’d say you’re good to go—but if you’d like me to take a look at your email, shoot me an email at joe@copywriterjoe.com and I’ll give your welcome email a free audit.
