18 Facts About Email Welcome Sequences That All Course Creators Should Know
You’re using a lead magnet - or several, even - to build your email list.
But what do you send after you deliver the freebie your new subscriber requested?
Marketers who consistently create email content for their audiences have the option of simply adding their new leads to their main email lists, so their new subscribers start receiving their regular emails immediately.
But if you struggle to email consistently, or you have a more refined vision for your new subscriber experience and want more control over how new leads interact with your brand in the early stages of your relationship, you might want to consider implementing an automated welcome sequence.
An automated welcome sequence is, very simply, a series of emails that you send out to your audience over a period of time. Once it’s set up in your email service provider, it runs automatically, according to a schedule that you’ve predetermined.
Meaning you have control over how often your new subscribers receive emails, on which days they receive them, and what goes into them.
Whether you’ve already got an automated email sequence in place or you know you should but you haven’t made it a priority, here are 20 things you should know about email welcome sequences.
1. There's no agreed-upon number of emails to include in a welcome sequence
It might be easier if there were rules to follow, but there aren’t any, other than you need to write however many emails you need in order to meet the goals of your email sequence. On average, my clients usually have 4-7 emails in their initial sequences, but they can be much longer.
2. You can promote an offer in any of the emails in your welcome series
In fact, the emails in your welcome series are 320% more effective in generating revenue than your regular broadcast messages are (aka your newsletters).
Plus, your new subscribers signed up to your list looking for help with something, and your product or service might be exactly what they need. If you aren’t sharing what you have to sell with the people who might want and need it, you’re definitely missing out on an opportunity.
3. There are 5 things you need to clearly define in order to write an effective welcome sequence
what your offer is
the problem your offer solves
the ideal client for your offer (i.e., Who has the problem your offer solves? Why is your offer the right solution for them?)
a lead magnet that leads into your offer and meets your ideal client at whatever stage of marketing awareness they're at
the goal of your welcome sequence
A common mistake is kitchen-sinking your email sequence, sending out a bunch of random info without intention behind it. In doing so, you degrade your brand and sabotage the potential for a real connection with your new subscriber.
4. Using curiosity loops gets readers excited and brings them back for more
Tease your reader with what’s coming in your next emails to build anticipation and keep interest and engagement high. This helps prevent a situation where your new readers lose interest after your first couple of emails.
5. One call to action (CTA) in every email will yield more conversions
The calls to action you include will depend on the overall goal of your email sequence and the goal of each individual email in the sequence. Examples include calls to action to book a service, download a checklist, follow you on Instagram, join your Facebook group, reply to your email, click a button that identifies them as a particular segment of your list, etc.
6. You don't have to sell in your welcome sequence
But don't shy away from it either. If you do have something to sell, it’s great to do it at this stage, because your new subscribers are highly engaged and interested.
It’s up to you to understand your brand and audience and plan an email sequence that fits both.
7. Your welcome email sequence is one of the most crucial pieces of marketing content you'll ever write
Someone just joined your email list, and this is a Big Deal. Why? Because this is typically the very first transaction they have with your business.
Understand that anyone who opts in is genuinely interested in your business and trusted you enough to allow you into their inbox.
8. On average, sending a series of welcome emails yields an average of 51% more revenue than a single welcome email.
A single welcome email isn't enough to create a lasting connection with your subscribers.
A longer series of emails helps establish a deeper relationship and create a strong impression of your brand.
9. The order of your emails matters as much as their content
Structure your emails so that they lead to what you want them to do at the end of the series and take action on that end goal.
If you think about your email sequence as offering your new subscriber an experience with your brand, you could compare it to someone entering a store for the first time. You walk in, get a feel for what’s inside, interact with a sales person and check out the products, and then you buy something.
Of course sometimes you know what you want and you’re ready to buy, which is why you can include info about your offers early in your sequence.
It’s really about understanding who’s receiving your emails and where they are in terms of the stages of marketing awareness.
10. No one will read your emails, no matter how value-packed, if your subject lines aren’t clickable
So give every email a compelling subject line.
11. Your emails are an opportunity to show your subscribers you truly care about them
Thank them for joining your list. Deliver insider-only freebies or discounts. Provide them with info and inspiration that’ll help make their lives better.
Doing so builds trust… leading to more sales in the future.
12. Using strategic microconversions in your welcome sequence establishes the kind of relationship you want to continue
Want your subscribers to say to larger offers in the future? Use your email welcome series to get them to say “yes” to smaller asks. Invite them to a free training, a 3-day challenge, or even to quick a quick “yes” or “no” reply to a question. Doing so gets them used to taking action in response to your prompting.
13. Customer communication shouldn't end with a welcome email
Contrary to popular belief, unsubscribes don’t happen because you email too often. They happen because subscribers see your emails as irrelevant.
If you neglect your list and email infrequently (i.e., when you decide to launch but haven’t emailed for 4 months), your readers won’t trust you, won’t remember you, and will see your emails as annoying… and then leave.
14. The open rate for your welcome sequence is significantly higher than the open rate for a regular email campaign
Help your business by taking advantage of your new subscribers’ higher interest level by automating an email series that goes out after they get your lead magnet.
15. A welcome sequence allows you to control how your subscribers get to know your brand
If someone’s new to your list, what do they need to know about your brand? Your values? Your services? How you’re different? What it’s like to work with you?
16. Decide up front whether your new subscribers are added to your main list right away or after they finish the welcome sequence
I typically recommend that my clients add them to the main list only after they’ve gone through the welcome series, so that they don’t receive any other emails you send out without having context about your brand.
17. It’s important to monitor your results and refine your emails based on what you learn over time
That doesn’t mean you need to tweak your welcome sequence emails every week, or even every month. But as your business evolves, you work with more clients, and more subscribers go through your welcome sequence, you’ll start to see patterns emerge.
Use the information you gain to refine your emails and make them more specific for your audience.
18. The more you try to add to a single email, the less effective your email becomes.
People have limited attention and decision fatigue is real. Respect your new subscriber by focusing your message. Avoid bombarding them with too much in your initial email.
Multiple emails, each with a single focus, are far more effective than a single email with multiple messages.