Hi, hello. How are you?

When talking in person, we automatically use such common phrases when greeting friends. Or perhaps more relevant for you reading this post - when talking to a customer.

But what about when doing business online, after someone has purchased from you for the first time? Or when a user has been kind enough to sign up to your mailing list? That initial greeting still matters!

As the name suggests, one of the best ways to greet new customers or subscribers is through a welcome email. ✉️ 👋

Boasting the highest open rates of any email type, welcome emails are one of the most important emails marketers have at their disposal.

Whether you’re an existing EcoSend customer or just passing through (again with the hello!) here is how to use welcome emails to improve customer engagement and ultimately boost your profits as a business. 

Why A Welcome Email Is The Most Important Campaign You’ll Ever Send

When we walk into a store it's always nice to be warmly greeted.

For digital interactions, welcome emails are designed to offer exactly the same introduction for your paying customers but within email format.

Welcome emails can be used to confirm subscriptions (to prevent spam sign-ups), thank new subscribers, offer special promotions or highlight relevant products and services to encourage sales.

Some eye-popping welcome email statistics include 📈 👀 …

• Welcome emails have a 93.41% open rate - Campaign Monitor 

• Welcome emails generate 320% more revenue than other types of campaigns - Process Street 

• The open rate for emails is up to 86% higher than newsletters - Lxahub 

• Around 74% of subscribers expect to be sent a welcome email - Campaign Monitor

• Sending a series of 3 welcome emails compared to 1 generates 90% more orders - Omnisend 

These stats are just scratching the surface of the amazing success formula of welcome emails.

This is especially the case when welcome emails are curated in terms of the subject lines, templates, copy and links included! 

What Should A Great Welcome Email Do?

✅ - Welcome and thank users for their purchase or subscription

✅ - Re-cap the unique value proposition

✅ - Help users get the most out of your products or services

✅ - Encourage clicks to the website through engaging CTAs

✅ - Set the tone for the rest of the emails to follow

✅ - Feel helpful and personalised

If you’re not sure how to achieve any of the above, have a look at some of the welcome emails you’ve received as a customer. 

Ask yourself, what got you opening, clicking and purchasing?

The same conversional actions need to happen with your welcome emails, albeit tailored to your industry and customers.

Welcome Email Examples 

Practically all businesses can benefit from sending a welcome email.

So here's a few our team have been sent recently.

Now TV

Why does someone sign up to a streaming platform? Because they want to watch certain shows on that platform.

In response, what makes a great welcome email? Getting straight to the point to say hi, thanks and click here to start watching. 

By keeping the experience as seamless as possible, hurdles are removed from the user journey. All of which hits the nail right on the head in regards to what users actually came there to do.

Ikea

Likewise, why does someone visit Ikea? Because they are looking to spruce up their home and they are looking for some inspiration!

Hence, this ‘get to work’ vibe is successfully conveyed within Ikea’s welcome email.

Also, Ikea strips back the visuals in the email to reflect brand’s typical no-frills style.

P.S: Did you know that lighter emails are also better for the planet?

Asana

While the choice of the word ‘love’ in relation to ‘tasks’ might be a bit of a stretch, Asana’s welcome email wants you to get straight to work.

This welcome email is a little different, since recipients aren’t direct customers rather team members of the actual customer. 

That said, the need to onboard new users remains important. Also, a good welcome email for team members might just encourage additional subscriptions, especially if any email campaigns that follow feel relevant and helpful. 

So there’s definitely a lot to gain by including everyone with a welcome series.  

The Risks Of Not Sending A Welcome Email To New Customers Or Subscribers 

When getting used to email marketing automation, the concept of sending a welcome email might not register at first. 

Based on our experience as email marketers (having founded our parent company GoSquared in 2006), we happen to know that welcome emails generate significant value for businesses.  💰

Alongside the points we’ve already covered above, it’s also handy to know the potential negative outcomes of skipping a welcome email or a welcome email series. 

Lack Of Information About What Your Business Has To Offer 

So you know everything about your business, products or services. However, a common mistake is assuming your customers (especially new ones!) are also privy to the same knowledge.

In reality, they are looking for you to lead the way, by presenting a selection of items or information most relevant to their needs as a customer.

A welcome email is a perfect opportunity to ensure the most relevant information is presented in a highly engaging way to new customers. 

Without this introduction, can you be sure your new subscribers can find all of this information on their own? It’s better to take care of this for sure, rather than to assume! 

Loss Of User Interest 

The immediate period after someone purchases for the first time or subscribes to your newsletter is golden. 

The more time that passes, the less impact the next email you send (if you send any at all!) will have. 

While the open rates may be astronomical when welcome emails are sent promptly, this isn’t the case when days or even weeks have passed. 

Marketing automation will ensure that new subscribers or customers are instantly taken care of by triggering a welcome email on your behalf. 

Next Email Campaign Seeming Out Of The Blue, Impersonal Or Unrelated 

What we’ve established is that users expect a welcome email, hence why open rates are so high for this campaign type. 

So when that email isn’t sent you go from nothing to a completely random topic. This is equivalent to trying to order food in a restaurant and being asked how well you’d like your burger done - before you’d even ordered a burger.

What if you wanted pizza instead? 

In a nutshell, communication works best when it follows some sense of logic. The communication between you and your customers is no exception, since the cart definitely follows the horse. 

Reduced Email ROI

Why would any business wait to advertise, especially at the exact moment their audience is most captive?

By not sending a welcome email, that business is ignoring one of the best opportunities for sales and engagement that email marketing as a whole provides.

Email offers a typical ROI for $42 for every $1 spent. With welcome emails one of the most profitable email types of the bunch, it’s more than fair to assume that ROIs will be lower if not utilised.

How To Send A Welcome Email 

Welcome emails can be automatically triggered whenever someone makes a purchase for the first time or subscribes to your list. All you need is email marketing software such as EcoSend to make that happen! 

In the 'Automated Messages' tab, you will find the above screen. Here, you can tailor the subject line and body content of your welcome email.

Next, select the users you want to send a welcome email to. Some obvious choices include new subscribers or new users.

Further customisation options allow for you to control when the email will be sent, such as within office hours only.

Hit publish when you're happy, and our automation software will take care of the rest!

Achieving Maximum Success With Welcome Emails

Keep your eye on the time - New leads are those who have subscribed within the last 48 hours. 

First impressions count for everything - Design, write and pitch your welcome emails in advance (also perform A/B testing) so that you know you have a winning campaign on your hands.

Personalise the content - Welcome emails should mention the user by name, and take all opportunities to add relevance based on user purchases or preferences. 

Cap the number of welcome emails to 3 - It can sometimes be warranted to send more than one welcome email (i.e. to demonstrate how certain features may work), but never go beyond the point of over engaging with your subscribers. 

Regularly review your welcome emails - Ensure open rates, click-through rates and engagements remain high and make adjustments if things begin to dip. 

Automate the process - Use email marketing automation such as EcoSend to automatically trigger welcome email sequences. 

Send Incredible (And Sustainable!) Welcome Emails With EcoSend ✉️ 🌎

Don’t yet have an email marketing platform? Or, are you looking to switch from your current provider?

Let us help you there! 

EcoSend is the world’s first sustainable email marketing platform. Our tool packed full of features, and integrates with all your favourite tools.

Unlike other providers, EcoSend runs on renewable energy sources. Plus we plant trees on your behalf for using us! 🌳

Start sending your welcome email campaigns today by signing up for your free trial of EcoSend.