You no doubt wish that you could transfer the open rate for your newsletters to an email marketing campaign. Oh! The dream. However, there is one email that you send which has a much higher open rate than even your newsletter; a welcome email. Yet these are often sent with little thought and, remarkably, without a target.
If this is you then you are missing an opportunity.
Ask yourself what you want your welcome email to demonstrate to your new subscriber. The obvious targets are loyalty, interest and desire. You will also want to demonstrate how efficient you are. If they came via a free gift, such as an e-book, then the email should provide a direct link to the source. If the process is something of an obstacle course, consider what this says about you.
There are some problems though, the first of which is that you know little about the person: no data, no returns, no, or at least very little, personal information. That doesn’t mean your welcome email needs to be bland. Just the reverse in fact. You need to show them that you can relate to them.
You will probably know one or two details, the most obvious being their route to subscribing to your email marketing list. If they came via a trade fair then they might well be similar to those who have come via the same way previously.
If it was from a click through from your newsletter then you can make the reasonable assumption that they have some knowledge of your products. Not only that, the headline subject matter of the newsletter gives a further clue.
The tone of voice of the copy should be friendly but not overly so. Being too familiar can be as bad as patronising. You can take a lead from the nature of the free gift. If it is something exciting, then build on this. If it is little more than mundane consumables then still be bright and positive.
Many companies opt for a personal style of introduction. There might be an image of the company founder together with a positive ‘working together’ type of message. It shows what you are after some form of close relationship.
It would seem that more than one welcoming email gives a much better return. If you are going for two or three then point this out on your first. Give a reason for them to open the second. Tell them that, for instance, there is a knowledge base that as a subscriber, they have access to and you will provide the link in the follow-up email.
By the time they have opened the second welcoming email, you will have demonstrated who you are rather than telling, always the better way. You are generous, friendly and welcoming. You will show that you are aware of their problems and your purpose is to resolve them.
It might be counter-intuitive, but the welcome email is not the place for the hard sell. You can make them an offer they’d be rather silly to refuse, but even so, do it lightly. Get them on-side first.
