Create an epic email welcome sequence

A welcome sequence is a series of emails that you send automatically when someone has ‘opted in’ to join your list. The average email open rate across all industries is around 20-25%. However, the average open rate of a welcome email is 58%. With 74.4% of consumers expecting a welcome email when they join your list. These stats combine to show you clearly that you would be silly not to have a welcome email!

 

Studies show that there’s a 33% increase in long-term engagement if you send a welcome series, so you need to get on it right now. A study done by Experian indicated welcome emails produce 4X the open rates than other emails, which is massive!

 

Often subscribers are the most engaged with us and our brands when they first join our list. Welcome sequence not only sets out the housekeeping points (like how often you’ll email and to white list your email etc), but you can use the sequence to share information about you, your story, how you can help them and other content to help draw them more into your world.

 

Think of your email list like your home. If  a new friend came to the door, you wouldn’t just open the door and walk off without saying a word. You’d introduce yourself, say hi, take their coat and offer them a drink. This is what your welcome sequence should do. Make them realise that they did do the right thing by joining your community and make them feel welcomed.

 

Your welcome series should:

 

• Introduce yourself and your brand, sharing relevant parts of your story.
• Set expectations/housekeeping
• Begin to build trust and engagement
• Give them value
• Help them get results
• Provide an unexpected gift/surprise

 

 

How to create an email welcome sequence

 

Number of emails?

 

You need at least 3 emails to make it a sequence. It’s common to have between 5-7 emails, but you can build these up over time.

 

 

How frequently should you send emails?

 

This one is up to you and there’s no right or wrong. You might choose to send 3 daily, then the next 2-4 every other day. If you have only 3 then you might start with every other day. My advice would be to test it. Keep it the same for 50 people to go through, then look at your open reports and see if there was a decrease in the open rate at any point.  Then tweak and test again.  

 

 

What should I write?

 

• 1st email – Sent immediately after opt in

 

This email will have multiple purposes. You might be including your opt in gift. You’ll need to cover some housekeeping points (such as making sure they know how to white list your email address) and let them know what to expect from you and your email communication. Welcome them to your tribe and start to share your brand story, so they get a feel for who you are and why you do what you do. Include social proof, where you’ve been featured? This will help you start to build trust. You can share your social channels and invite them to join you somewhere specific, ie Facebook.

 

I also ask 3 questions to all new subscribers, two related to the niche I’m in and I also ask them to share with me what they’re struggling with the most right now. A great idea would be to give a hint of something great coming in the next email, to increase the chances of them opening it.

 

• 2nd email – 24 hours later

 

In this email I would give them a quick win. Share something that you know will get them a result. It might be a strategy, a tool or giving them an extra freebie. Whatever you decide make sure it’s relevant to your audience’s pain point.

 

You might want to send;

 

• An exclusive piece of content or unadvertised lead magnet
• A list of your most valuable and helpful blog posts
• A list of tools and resources to help them
• A tip or some advice

 

Use this email to get to know your subscribers and start to build a connection. Ask them a question, and find out what makes them tick. What are their pain points? Find out where they want to go and what’s stopping them. The more you can learn about your subscribers – the better. Ask them to hit reply and let you know. This information is so valuable and will help you shape your future content and offerings.

 

 

3rd email – 24 hours later

 

Think of your audiences most urgent pain point and share a lesson you’ve learned relating to this problem. Add in more about your values and what’s important to you, as this will help them to resonate with you. You want to be seen as relatable, which will help your subscribers begin to trust you.

 

You might want to include:

 

• Some more personal information.
• Invite them to your Facebook Group or another platform where you spent time/have a community.

 

 

4th email – 48 hours after the last email

 

In this email deliver something unexpected. This bonus will make your subscribers feel valued and will position you as a helpful resource. This could be an additional freebie or some valuable information.

 

 

5th email – 48 hours after the last email

 

Again, as with all of your emails you should be looking to provide value. However, you’re also going to mention your product/service.  You may choose to use student testimonials. Don’t treat this as a sales email, just a subtle mention.

 

 

6th email – 48-72 hours after the last email

 

If you have a product or service, this is the time to share the details and encourage them to take action. You might want to include a countdown timer in your email.

 

 

7th email – 48-72 hours after the last email

 

Now is a great time to ask your subscribers what they need help with right now. This would be a great chance to segment your list, ask them to click which statement is most appropriate to them. This then tags their account accordingly. You can then shape future emails to suit each segment.

 

 

Are you going to keep new subscribers off your main list until they go through the welcome sequence

 

 

People who are going through your welcome sequence are  going to be getting a higher number of emails from you and they are going through a specific sequence for a specific reason. Therefore, it might be better for them not to also receive your weekly emails as well. You want to make sure they are indoctrinated properly and not distracted by any other offers or promotions.

 

How to do this will depend on your email service provider. I use Convertkit (affiliate) and I tag people with two separate tags when they enter any sequence (the welcome sequence or a challenge). One tag will be the name of the sequence and one ‘in a challenge/sequence’. When the sequence is finished the tag ‘in a sequence/challenge’ is removed. This means when I send my weekly email I just exclude the ‘in a sequence tag’, so they won’t get the weekly email.

 

 

Analyse the statistics

 

 

After a chunk of people have gone through your sequence have a look at the stats and see if you need to make any tweaks. Look at the open rates, is there a drop off between two specific emails? Is it more than 12%? (I.e. 32% opened email 2 and 18% opened email 3). If so then you need to tease email 3 in email 2 and change the subject line of email 3.

 

 

Now you can go ahead and create your welcome sequence. Remember to tweak it and improve it, so you can make sure you are delivering the best value possible. Do you have a welcome sequence? Have you ever analysed the open rates of this sequence?

 

 

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