According to Invespcro, welcome emails increase the clickthrough rate by five times. It means that if the emails were opened by every 1 in 10 customers, the likelihood of the same rises to 5 out of every 10 customers. So, you get more traffic, engagement rises and so do your profits. Sounds fascinating, isn’t it?
Well, that’s the beauty of welcome emails in email marketing. In case you aren’t aware of what exactly they mean and how you can use them to improve your marketing methods, this article is meant for you.
Read along to learn about the best and effective ways of using welcome emails. Let’s not spare a moment and dive into the details.
What are welcome emails?
As the name suggests, welcome emails are one or more emails sent to newly acquired customers. Welcome emails are a crucial part of any email marketing strategy, as they are the first point of contact with a new subscriber. There are several best practices to keep in mind when crafting a welcome email, such as using a friendly tone, outlining the benefits of your email subscription, and providing value right from the start.
For example, say you have a ‘Subscribe Now’ button placed on the homepage of the website. So the new visitor can click on the subscribe button to receive emails from you.
What’s important here is to time your emails right. Here, also remember that overwhelming your customers might cost you, accounting for the loss. However, if you manage to set things right, you might end up earning more than you expected.
How welcome emails help in email marketing?
Even though it sounds trivial, sending welcome emails is more than just an introductory letter. Statistics indicate that if done in the right way, welcome emails are more likely to increase, more than the figures obtained through a promotional email. The survey suggests that a welcome email earns 320% more revenue. To add to this, there occurs a 196% surge in click rate and 86% open rates.
One of the most effective ways to use welcome emails is to consider a series of welcome emails, rather than just one. This allows you to gradually introduce new subscribers to your brand and build a relationship with them over time.
Some examples of welcome series emails might include an initial welcome message, a series of educational emails about your products or services, and a series of promotional emails highlighting special offers or discounts.
What makes it mandatory to send welcome emails?
There are multiple reasons why it is absolutely essential to send out welcome emails:
It’s an expectation that must be Fulfilled and it works!
Provided that 74% of users expect welcome emails and the open rate for these emails is 86% i.e. much higher than any other marketing emails, you can stay assured that this marketing technique always works. If you succeed in gaining their trust at this point, odds are the subscriber would engage more with your future endeavors.
Welcome emails save time and leave an impact
Instead of manually approaching your users, later on, running automated email campaigns is a much better idea that could save you time. Also, as the person has just subscribed, it won’t be a good idea to miss sending an email now and reach out to the person later on for other campaigns. If you do so, you are reducing your chances to impress/engage the recipient.
It sets expectations from your brand and fetches you the needed attention
A warm welcome with creative design and words could help you improve your brand image. The text and its placement in it will decide how much is being read (with welcome emails having 10% more read rate) and remembered. So, always make sure to include details related to future interactions, while ensuring to add a wow factor in your welcome mailer.
It initiates a business relationship and builds loyalty
A welcome email is, kind of, the official introduction, meaning that when you lend in the inbox of the same user again, chances are very high that you will be recognized (and most probably, read). In simple words, it builds the trust and loyalty of the email subscriber towards your brand. And that is why you need to craft your welcome emails creatively.
How to use welcome emails for better results?
Now that we know welcome emails have an excellent impact, let’s move to the part where we outline ways to use welcome emails to your benefit. Note that you can also refer to email marketing tools such as Icegram Express to automate the process of sending emails, saving time and efforts.
Use a friendly tone
You might think of an email as a professional message sent to the user, one that must carry out a direct tone, right?
However, such is not the case when we talk about welcome emails. Being too sale-oriented can turn off the customers forcing them to abandon the email.
What’s best here is to set a friendly tone in your welcome emails. A warm and welcoming attitude induces a sense of attachment, compelling readers to stay connected and read till the end. It increases their curiosity, thereby increasing the likelihood of hitting the reply button.
The best and the most efficient way to do so is by personalizing your emails. Instead of sending a hello, replace them with Hello Sam! This adds a personal touch, making your content user-specific. Another way to set the tone is by avoiding formal phrases.
Remember the email is directed to a customer and not your employee. Take note of how the message flows before you hit the send button.
Outline the benefits of your email subscription
Why would someone subscribe to your mailing list if it doesn’t do good? Everyday users get an array of messages. So another one from you would only add to the list unless you give them a reason to treat you differently.
Hence the need to specify the advantages or say the perks of subscribing to your business emails. When your customers know what good your email would do, they are more likely to click on it and stay connected.
There are multiple ways to outline the benefits. Subtly, outline the type of content users can expect from your email. For example, a business that publishes content on recent events, and other news can highlight their best pieces and mention what type of content is published.
Also, you can create a hook by hinting at the next topic. Either way, you will increase your conversion rate.
Provide value right out of the gate
Now, what does this mean? Do you need to reward them?
Yes, something like that!
You need to step out of the line and give your users an incentive to stay connected and be an active reader. It could be anything from an ebook to unpublished content, an invitation to a webinar, or access to premium features. Either way, you are giving your subscribers one more reason to invest in your business.
In addition to the above, you must make sure that you stick to the promises kept. For example, if you committed to giving your subscribers one-month of free access to the newsletter, you have to deliver it right to them. This way you gain their trust and not end up in the spam box.
Consider using a series of welcome emails
The last tip is to have an email chain. Now, this might sound frivolous. Why would you send a welcome email more than once? It’s just an onboarding email, right?
Well, that’s how everyone else thinks but you need to be different. Of course, you don’t have to spam the inbox of your customers. But sending a series of welcome emails will help you boost the engagement between you and your subscribers.
Make sure you don’t send emails just for the sake of sending. Instead, you can segment your emails in a way that each of them makes sense. The first email could talk about a reward, the second one could a reminder or a topic-intensive pitch. Also, do not send emails one after the other. Keep a few days’ gaps, schedule them, and you are done.
Conclusion
Welcome emails can improve your email marketing results and help you build stronger relationships with your audience. Sending a welcoming email to your onboarding users is the best way to gain their trust and be on the good books. This way you can create an email chain and keep your users hooked. Looking for an effective tool that helps automate the process?
Icegram Express allows you to achieve that success with welcome emails. Download for FREE and get started with your first welcome email.