So you’ve gotten down a substantial email list. Congratulations. You’re one step closer to making it big. But don’t forget that this is a very crucial moment for you, you could make it or break it in an instant.

The easiest and the first thing that most businesses get wrong from this point is in writing their welcome email.

They are so engrossed in getting people to subscribe to their list that they completely forget about the first impression they are going to put on their customers.

That welcome email is going to set the entire tone for the kind of relationship you have with your client. It is the moment that decides if your client is going to any further emails sent by you or not. 

Confirmation Email Vs Welcome Email

A confirmation email is a tedious message that anyone would want to just get off their back.

You can not expect engagement when you’re saying things such as “add us to your email safe list”, “welcome to our newsletter or please verify your email address”, you’re not setting your brand apart.

Confirmation emails are important in their regard, but with just a bit more effort you could turn them into something very engaging. That is what a welcome email is for. 

Starting your welcome email 

Your email should start with a warm and welcoming note, something that feels organic and written by a human.

This is why you should never follow a template for emails. It seems robotic and no one is going to have fun skimming through that. But once you sit down a spell out a humane and vibrant welcome note for your email, it could do wonders for your business.

ASOS, a fashion marketing company starts their email as such: 

“Oh, hey girl! Welcome to ASOS. It’s great to meet you!”

Now, this isn’t the staple opening line for every business, but it surely better than a simple “Thank you for signing up to get our emails.”

Know your customers 

If you’re only sending out automated greetings to your subscribers, chances are that they are not going to be very interested in them.

This is a very fast-paced age, and no one has the time for idle chit chat. You need to give your consumers a reason to keep reading.

One of these reasons can be that your email contains certain special offers or content that is relevant to the consumer.

Responses to such content can help you better understand your user-base, and you can tailor new and appropriate content to their needs. Cater to what your customers want and you will be able to form a more positive relationship with them.  

Online store Michaels is a fine example. They open their welcome email with a simple thank you and end it with a free promo code for the customer to use on their first purchase. 

Keep them engaged

Signing up to a website is a long and tedious process with multiple checkpoints to go through.

A customer might lose track of things in this process.

They would forget why they signed up to you in the first place. And they might even forget about your services.

You need to keep a customer interested. Give them a reason to stick around by reinforcing the reasons why a customer signed up to you.

You could in a quick and short recap section in your email. This would remind your customers of the benefits they are going to receive.

WWF (World Wildlife Fund) does this by breaking down the positives and perks of signing up to them in short and easy to digest bullet points in their welcome email. 

Setting Expectations

A customer is going to be clueless about what to expect from you when it comes to future emails. You get to set the expectations for them. This is what decides if a customer reads any of your future emails or notes.

Your welcome email should maintain a friendly and concise tone, and let your subscribers know what they are going to receive.

It could be a weekly newsletter or timings of important updates that the user has subscribed to. The updates could be about existing or future products on your site.

This is going to help prevent users from receiving surprise email content in the future. That could have lead to spam complaints and unsubscribes from your email list.

BBC includes a quick “what to expect” section in their welcome email that speaks of a newsletter, future notifications, and other subscriptions. 

Linking your content

You have a very good opportunity in your welcome email to promote your products with links to the content on your website by making a FAQ section.

This will let users know more about your company. And also help them navigate through any issues they are having as well. This kind of information is essential for new users that are just learning about your services.

Fun.com links its email back to its site where subscribers can easily find what they are looking for through labeled categories. 

Conclusion

Your marketing campaign can get a significant boost with better welcome emails. They give you a chance to increase user interaction with your content, and this turns them into loyal customers.

A positive relationship goes a long way in making a business flourish. And great welcome emails are the first step to that.

A good welcome email would create a list of engaged customers while a poor welcome email would do the opposite. It depends on you.

So make the right decision with your emails, and watch the results shine in more click-throughs and engaged users.