Email Marketing: 8 Tips for a Successful Welcome Series
Demonstrate your usefulness to new email subscribers and keep them engaged.
What is a welcome campaign?
The welcome campaign is the first series of emails that you send to an email subscriber. A welcome series is a nurture campaign, not a sales campaign. It’s a timed set of emails that grows your relationship with your subscriber over time.
How you treat a new lead in your welcome sequence gives them an idea of how you’ll treat them later, as a customer or client. New subscribers are primed to act. Something enticed them about your offer. They want to learn more. But… it’s not time to jump into a sales pitch. Inboxes stuffed with marketing emails are the reality. Prove that you won’t take your subscriber’s attention for granted.
1. Choose an email marketing tool
Before sending your first email, set yourself up for success with an email marketing platform.
Effective platforms offer features to:
create professional-looking emails
automate campaigns
target emails and segment your email list
analyze the success of your marketing efforts
Mailchimp is a popular choice for small businesses but far from the only one. The best tool is the one you’re happy to use: don’t be afraid to test several platforms before settling on one.
2. Focus on your customers
Before you write a single word of email copy, take a moment to set your intention: to connect with the customer. In the words of Donald Miller of StoryBrand, "The customer is the hero of our brand’s story, not us."
What does a lead want to know about you?
How do you want your subscriber to feel reading your emails?
How will you help your customers achieve their dreams?
3. Select a cadence and length for your email campaign
How many emails will you send in this series?
A welcome series can be as short as 3 emails or as long as 8 emails. Tiny Marketing is all about efficiency: start with fewer emails. A couple of delightful emails, not an avalanche of boring ones.
How frequently will you email new subscribers?
An ideal starting cadence is 2-3 days between emails. It’s short enough that your leads haven't forgotten subscribing. It's long enough that you aren't being a pest.
Decisions you make about cadence and length don't need to be rules for all eternity. You can play with the cadence and total number of emails to see what performs well.
4. Set expectations with the first email
The first email should go out right after someone subscribes. It’s a way to say “hello” and “thanks for checking this out.”
Give your subscriber an idea of what’s to come:
I'll send you a few emails over the next week to tell you about financial planning and how I’ve helped clients like you plan for the future. I'll include some extras so that you can evaluate whether you’re on track for a secure retirement.
You have a warm lead, not a captive audience. Keep your email brief. Let your lead look forward to the next one.
5. Tell a story with the second email
If your first email was “hello,” your second should be the answer to “where are you from?” This email is an opportunity to tell your backstory and explain your mission. Find a way to establish trust and build authentic connections. Remember your unique value proposition.
A bakery owner might describe starting in his grandmother’s kitchen, baking coffee cakes for the church social. A financial planner could talk using her love of spreadsheets to help a friend save for a fairytale wedding.
Again: keep it short. Email newsletters are not memoirs. Emails under 125 words typically perform best.
6. Provide value in the later emails of your nurture campaign
What value can you provide to your email list?
Once you’ve reached the third email, it’s time to show subscribers what they gain from being on your list. You can start introducing your product or service at this point, but balance that with usefulness. For example, a home renovation business could include a free guide to choosing fixtures.
If you’re already creating webinars, guest posting on blogs, or creating graphics, you have value to provide. It can be as simple as pointing a subscriber to useful content.
The “unsubscribe” option is always right there. Your subscribers need to see benefits to staying on your list beyond the first couple of emails.
7. Tell a cohesive story
We’ve listened to stories since we were infants. Make your message easy by telling a cohesive story.
Imagine: In the third email, you want to build a bit of connection, introduce a product, and present a discount. You could split this into three sections, but that demands that your reader switches focus for each section.
Better, you could weave these elements into a single story:
Build a connection by telling a story
Introduce the product
Add a discount related to that product
8. Don’t hide from the data
Data is your friend, even if she can be blunt about your shortcomings. Once you’ve run a campaign long enough to collect data, take a look at your results.
You might find, for example, that 20% of subscribers opt out of your list after the third email. Low open rates, lots of unsubscribes: these are signs to help you redirect your campaign and improve.
Email marketing isn’t one-and-done. If the data shows a problem, switch up your campaign.
Try shifting one element at a time. Replace the copy in the third email. Offering a coupon? Try a different discount. You’ll learn more by making small changes and evaluating than by replacing the whole email. Email is a great opportunity for A/B testing if you want to dig into the data.
Email marketing is effective when you do it right
One study found that email marketing had an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent. When you approach your emails with purpose, offer real value to your subscribers, and use data to improve your campaigns, it pays off.
The first step is a compelling welcome series that helps you connect with your new subscribers.
