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Think of it like dating…
You only get one chance to make a good first impression. If you turn somebody off, then your second date chances nosedive.
Welcome Email – the first friendly email exchange between a business and a new subscriber. Sets expectations and tone for future communication.
Mess this up and you potentially handicap every email you send afterwards.
Here’s a reality check from Experian:
As you can see, Welcome Emails are more 4 times more likely to be opened than other mailings. In my experience, this is always the most opened email we send (we often see over 50% open rate).
What this means for you, is IF you can send a Welcome Email that captivates your subscriber, you can increase the open rate of every email you send after it.
Good news.
You’re about to discover a simple 6-step formula for irresistible Welcome Emails
I call it “Love at 1st Sight”
- Start With An Eye-Grabbing Subject Line
- Make A Memorable Introduction
- Set Proper Expectations
- Connect On Social Media
- Encourage The Next Step
- Leave Your Reader On Pins And Needles
We’ve tested this email formula in multiple industries, everything from forex to travel. It consistently improves open rates and click-through rates for following emails.
Let’s dive deeper into the first (and maybe the most critical) step.
Step 1: Start With An Eye-Grabbing Subject Line
The average person receives 147 messages a day. How are you going to stand out?
That’s where an eye-catching email subject line comes into play. Nothing happens until your emails get opened.
After working in multiple industries and spending time at a fast-paced digital marketing agency. Nothing moved the needle with our email marketing results like the subject line.
Effective email subject lines are:
- Specific
- Share a Benefit or Create Curiosity
- Non-SPAMMY
- Directly related to email content
Here are 3 awesome resources on email marketing subject lines to help you get fast results.
- 103 of today’s highest converting email subject lines
- 5 Things Your Email Subject Lines are Missing
- 14 Subject lines That Will Get Your Email Deleted Immediately
Stand out from the competition with an eye-grabbing subject line
Once you get your foot in the door, the real work begins…
Step 2: Make A Memorable Introduction
Here’s your big chance, don’t choke!
Research shows you only have 3 seconds to capture someone’s attention before you lose them.
How do you break the ice and move the conversation forward immediately?
During the introduction, you must focus on keeping the attention of the reader. The best icebreakers immediately identify who you are and remind the reader why they made the right decision to give you their email address.
A great way to do that is by giving them what they came for. What did you promise in exchange for that subscriber’s email? This could be a link to a PDF, a download or a login to your membership site.
Check out these 2 examples of strong introductions:
This one is from Aweber.
Below is a Welcome Email from Amy Porterfield. Notice how she immediately delivers on the promise of her landing page. This is an easy way to capture attention and create goodwill.
Word to the wise.
Continuously test your “Welcome Emails” to make sure this process is always running smoothly. I’ve had links and downloads break out of nowhere… and it’s never fun.
Once you have your reader’s undivided attention, then it’s time for the next step of the “Love At 1st Sight” Welcome Email Formula.
Step 3: Set Proper Expectations
Think about it.
Your subscriber has just given you their email address. Now you plan on emailing them more. Why should your subscriber want that? What’s in it for them?
Will you send them:
- Content?
- Coupons?
- Invites To Events?
It’s important you connect the dots for people. Remember, this is like starting a relationship and good relationships are built on trust. Let the reader know exactly what email communications to expect from you.
This is also a key section to remind someone to whitelist your email address or add you to their contact list. Below is an example of how to add someone to your contact list in gmail.
Getting someone to white-list or add you to their contacts is a powerful hack.
It’s the key to avoiding the annoying email filters. (Ex: Google’s “Promotions” tab). See, a beautiful relationship is already brewing.
You got your date’s the reader’s attention, delivered on your promise and even managed to get them excited about the next steps. What’s next?
Step 4: Connect On Social Media
Make it easy on yourself.
Expand the reach of all your marketing rapidly by driving new subscribers to other social media…on autopilot.
How?
Share links to your preferred social media profiles.
Like dating, when two people really vibe on a 1st date it’s normal to exchange contact information to keep in touch. Same principle, just on a much bigger scale.
This is why we always tell our clients to build your email list first.Because as you grow your email list, you can also grow your social profiles and gain new followers at the same time.
That’s how you work smart. Not hard.
Here’s an example of how Digital Marketer drives new email list subscribers to their social profiles.
Now that your new subscribers know how to connect with you…There is only one thing left …
Step 5:Encourage The Next Step
What do you want your prospect to do next?
The “Love 1st Sight” Welcome Email Formula is powerful because it constantly drives new leads and subscribers to take action on whatever it is you want them to do the most.
What’s would that mean for you?
- Login to their free trial?
- Read your best piece of content?
- Check out a highly relevant offer?
- Call you to schedule an appointment?
It’s up to you what you want to do right now. PLUS you change this focus at any time later. So tell your new subscriber what you want them to do next.
Remember, this is the most opened email you will ever send.
Your. Best. Shot.
No pressure right? Here are a few emails with high converting CTAs:
This is an email my agency put together for a client in the travel industry. The goal is to get the reader to deposit their current timeshare week. Notice the big unmistakeable button.
However, buttons aren’t the only way to present nice Calls to Action via email. Check out how CoSchedule uses simple text links to send the reader to their landing page offering a free trial of their offer.
You should always tell your reader what to do next, not only in your emails but on your website and ALL your marketing communications.
It’s kinda a big deal.
Step 6: Keep The Reader On Pins and Needles With “The Cliffhanger”
Now for the secret sauce…
The Cliffhanger is one of my favorite psychological tools. If you have ever watched the season finale of a TV show or heard the news say things like “Is [insert name of politician everyone hates] attacking your amendment rights? Find out next.”…
…Then you already understand the concept.
The cliffhanger creates incomplete thoughts in our minds. This is powerful because the human brain naturally wants to complete things and satisfy its curiosity. We are psychologically pushed to find what we are missing
This is the reason people can’t help but eagerly sit in front of Tvs and mobile devices trying to find out what happens next.
Using a PS. is a great way to create a cliffhanger and preview of what’s coming next. It allows you to wrap up the main email, then generate curiosity as an afterthought.
Here’s an example from one of the Welcome Emails we use here at Max Your Sales.
Teasing future emails causes the subscriber to anticipate them over the next few days. This will increase the open rates of upcoming emails.
Back to dating… When you leave someone in anticipation of what’s coming next, it always leaves them wanting more. Cliffhangers are powerful tools in attraction as well as persuasion.
When Should You Use This Welcome Email Formula?
The best time to send the “Love at 1st Sight” Welcome email is right after your lead joins an email list.
Whether they are signing up the very first time or joining a new list segment, we found deploying an email like this as an introduction consistently boosted open rates for every email that followed.
The Takeaway
If you want to immediatly captivate new email subscribers and boost the open rates of future emails, then you should use the “Love At First Sight” Welcome Email Formula.
As entrepreneurs, we don’t have time to waste and our relationships are everything.
It’s critical we start out on the right foot
This is not a difficult email to produce at all. Especially since you now have a proven formula.
- Start With An Eye-Grabbing Subject Line
- Make A Memorable Introduction
- Set Proper Expectations
- Connect On Social Media
- Encourage The Next Step
- Leave Your Reader On Pins And Needles
The Welcome Email is hands down the most important email you will ever send and you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Do you want a second date? Or do you want to get ignored like everybody else?
Use this new formula to hook subscribers and leave them on pins and needles waiting to hear from you again…
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