How To Automate A Welcome Email Sequence For More Signups

In order for you to have quality newsletters signup, you’ll need to automate a welcome email sequence in your marketing strategy. Some companies completely overlook the importance of running an email newsletter. Others try to dip their toes into it, but end up simply regurgitating their blog posts through email. 

Don’t be that person. This article is dedicated to a very certain aspect of any email newsletter: the welcome sequence.  Before we jump into the specifics of how many steps should be in your sequence, what should be their triggers, and how many days should you wait between sending them, we need to address the elephant in the room.

According to Omnisend, a welcome email is the first interaction your business has with your new subscriber after he/she confirms having an interest in you. The main goal of this welcome message is to confirm a new registration and welcome a new subscriber aboard. This is one of the main types of automation workflows to do email marketing.

You should send this email when your site’s visitor submits the signup form for your newsletter. Usually, retailers use an automated workflow so they don’t miss welcoming anyone and sending a “thank you for signing up” email.

Why Should You Automate A Welcome Email Sequence?

Barely, if fewer than 50% of businesses actually invest their time and resources into an automated welcome email sequence, why should you? The reason for this is actually extremely simple. Whenever people sign up for your newsletter, they are at their peak engagement with you. In essence, they’re telling you that they want to see more of what you offer.

This translates into open and click-through rates for the first emails in your welcome sequence skyrocketing. Some people believe that customers that have spent a considerable amount of time in your email list and have gone through multiple stages of lead nurturing are higher-quality leads than new ones.

And while on paper, it might seem like there are enough grounds to believe that this is true, the reality is much different. Muhammad Muzamil, Digital Marketer at Cloudways – Managed WordPress hosting, believes, “Any digital marketer who turns a blind eye to the importance of newsletter signups would carve their way towards loss.

Suffice to say, every web content marketer must utilize some steps to automate a welcome email sequence in order to spread the awareness of the brand they are marketing. As well as to educate the target customers about the products offered, and even enlighten the general lead website visitors about the main business services.

After all, if someone has gone through multiple stages of lead nurturing and still hasn’t made a purchase, that only means one thing. They are not interested in your product. And while the goal of your first welcome email isn’t necessarily to get a sale, you shouldn’t underestimate its potential.

Contributing Triggers To Automate A Welcome Email Sequence Plan

Emailing people that don’t want you to email them is the quickest road to the spam folder. The best-case scenario is that they don’t flag you, and your emails just remain unread for all eternity. So there isn’t really any choice when it comes to triggers – you should only send your welcome email sequence to people that have signed up for your newsletter.

According to Amira Irfan, the business lawyer and founder of A Self Guru, a welcome email sequence is really important to build trust, rapport, and credibility. So focus on providing valuable information and resources from the start to encourage your new subscribers to stick around and continue engaging with your business. 

Pro Tip: Through Leads Library, you can utilize their toolkit that offers a 96% email accuracy guarantee as you get valid B2B contacts to reach out to your target audience. The Leads Library services allow users to access a business database containing thousands of entries. Their database covers hundreds of job-specific titles. Thus, you can have a successful marketing campaign because they can provide you with a highly targeted list.

Realistically, there are a few different ways to create an opt-in form for your email newsletter to reach more potential subscribers to your business. But, there are some basic steps that you’ll need to actualize in your strategic plan first.

Consider the following basic steps:

• First, decide what information you want to collect from subscribers.
• This info could include their name, email address, and perhaps some demographic information.
• Secondly, create a form that collects this information.
• In that case, you can use a tool like Google Forms or Microsoft Word to create the form.
• Thirdly, place the form on your website or blog.
• Whereby, you can use a plugin like Gravity Forms to easily add the form to your site.
• Lastly, add a link to the form in your email signature and promote it in your newsletter.
• In this case, when people fill out the form, they will be added to your email lead list.

In addition, you should always collect more than just their name and email address. This is important for segmenting your email list. There are a few reasons why you should always segment your email list in your strategic plan. On one side, it allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails to your subscribers.

On the other side, it helps you to avoid emailing people with information that they don’t want to know. Some people want to stay tuned for your blog posts, while others only care about those sweet discounts. Luckily, by providing them with a choice on the emails received, you’ll both improve your user experience and your email campaign’s performance.

How Many Emails Should Be In Your Sequence Strategy?

Basically, in order to automate a welcome email sequence successfully, it should have at least three emails. For one thing, it takes time to build trust and rapport with a new subscriber. In the first email, you should introduce yourself and your business. While, in the second email, you can start to provide value by sharing a helpful tip or teaching a mini-lesson. 

Again, in the third email, you can offer a discount or freebie to show your appreciation for being on your list. For example, let’s say you are a design website that sells digital fonts. Then, you can offer a 10% discount on your best-selling fonts collection or share a link to free download some fun fonts.

Always remember, that the three emails are a very basic version to automate a welcome email sequence. Meaning, that you can have as many emails as you want in your sequence. Bearing in mind, that the main purpose of your email sequence is to push your subscribers through the stages of awareness.

Some stages include:

• Product Unaware: The customer is not aware that the product exists.
• Problem Aware: The customer is aware that they have a problem that the product could potentially solve.
• Solution Aware: The customer is aware that the product exists and that it could potentially solve their problem.
• Product Aware: The customer is product features aware, but hasn’t yet decided that it’s the best solution for them.
• Most Aware: The customer is fully aware — has decided that they want it — all they need is the payment details.

It’s important to realize, that 8 out of 10 customers expect to receive welcome emails after they sign up for a mailing list. I think we can agree — that’s a huge untapped opportunity to approach your new subscribers who’ve just confirmed that they are into you. In fact, welcome emails are one of the best email marketing examples in today’s world.

Therefore, if you still don’t send these emails because of whatever reason, you should definitely get on board. Start introducing your brand with well-performing welcome messages for more marketing success. Many different reasons make a welcome email stand out from the entire digital marketing toolkit as showcased below.

Consider the following main reasons:

• First of all, the data shows that it’s worth sending a number of emails to subscribers
• 74% of email subscribers expect to receive a welcome email just after subscribing to a new newsletter
• Sending emails alone should make it a fundamental part of your email marketing strategy
• This high interest is also a reflection of the email engagement numbers
• Welcome emails have an average open rate of 30.69%. That’s a 202% lift over the usual email campaign
• New subscribers tend to read the welcome message and even buy when incentivized by them
• The average conversion rate (51.94%) overcomes the vast majority of other automated business’s emails

Apart from those numbers, you can also automate a welcome message to reveal more ways for new subscribers.

The Main Benefits of Welcome Emails in Marketing:

1. By sending a welcome email, you increase the credibility of your brand
2. Many customers don’t trust newly discovered brands
3. A welcome email (with a well-crafted message) can help warm up new members faster
4. It can also push them further through the sales funnel
5. A welcome email is a great tool for storytelling
6. It can help you tell your brand story, reveal some facts, sell propositions, behind the scenes, etc.
7. Many retailers often include an incentive to buy with their welcome message.
8. You can easily include some small discounts or free shipping for the first purchase
9. The high conversion rate of these messages shows that these are the best welcome emails that customers love
10. Welcome emails also help to get more touchpoints with new subscribers
11. Brands invite new subscribers to follow them on social media using cool email messages
12. Businesses can also respond to a survey with their user’s personal data and complement their customer profile
13. Sending a welcome email is a brilliant opportunity to showcase your products
14. It’s also a great way to introduce your brand with your best offers and product categories
15. Likewise, it’s also your chance to show appreciation to your customer

Of course, you should prioritize your goals and not try to achieve all of them with a single email. Chiefly, for many marketers, the question of what the best timing to deliver welcome emails is can be a bit confusing. When speaking of sending campaign emails in general, the answer is much clearer. You need to know the best time to send emails too.

Some timelines to consider:

• The beginning of the month has better results
• Thursday was the best day of the week to send email
• Emails sent at 8 am had the best open rates, but 5 pm had better click rates

This is certainly useful for one-off campaigns. But, when talking about the welcome email series, we’re talking about automated messages sent out after someone signs up.

To emphasize, in order to show appreciation to your customers, you can send a “thank you for joining our mailing list” email to them. So, as you can see, there are many goals that come in when you automate a welcome email strategy successfully. And, they can help you to achieve quite a lot in terms of email marketing. Before you start, you can use B2B email lists.

The Best Steps To Automate A Welcome Email Sequence Plan

First of all, in order to automate a welcome message sequence plan successfully, you’ll need to find a marketing automation platform that provides such a workflow. As an example, you can start using Omnisend for free and drive sales on autopilot with pre-built welcome email templates! Remarkably, for welcome emails, you don’t need to go that far.

For instance, it’s not necessarily important to have to look for a unique subject line. Most often, merchants use “thank you for subscribing” text, or simply – “welcome to [brand name]!”. Whatever your key goal of the automated welcome email is, you should stick to a clear structure and bright to that Call to Action (CTA) button.

Also, keep in mind, that a good email design is really important for converting subscribers into buyers. Support your email with high-quality images – only good imagery will create the right effect. Be polite to your customers and choose the best preferred way to end an email in your strategy too. But, there are even more attributes that you’ll need.

Include the following aspects:

• Introduce yourself the best way you can.
• Tell your story and showcase your products and offers.
• Give your new subscribers that “good decision to join” feeling.

On the same note, I’ve also checked my inbox where I subscribe to 100+ brands and came up with key subject lines.

Here’s the subject lines list:

1. Hi! Welcome to the A-List!
2. Welcome to [brand name]! Enjoy £10 off your next order
3. Greetings! Welcome to [brand name]. Here’s what to do next.
4. You’re in. Welcome to the family.
5. Hi Karolina! Thanks for subscribing!
6. Welcome to [brand name]! Get 20% off your first order!
7. ✨ Welcome to [brand name] – here’s 15% off
8. Howdy! Welcome to the club! ❤️
9. Welcome! Thanks for signing up!
10. We are [brand name]. Let’s meet up!

Perse, don’t be afraid of using an emoji in your subject line. This small icon helps you get noticed. Whilst, for a proper introduction of your brand, you can choose one email or a series of 3–5 welcome emails to send. In our case, we see that a series of three emails generate better results.

They can bring you more than twice higher engagement rates, as well as higher revenue. Further below, we’ll also look at some welcome series email examples. As well as some welcome email best practices. So, let’s look at some methods that retailers can employ to their welcome emails in their marketing strategies with great welcome email examples.

Step #1: Introduce Your Target Leads To Your Business (Your First Email)

At all costs, the first email in your welcome email sequence should introduce the reader to your business brand and what you have to offer. In addition, it should be sent as soon as someone subscribes to your list —  can be written in a friendly and informal tone. But, the most important part is providing clear steps for what the user should do next.

Whilst, providing them with whatever it is they expected from you. If they’re in it for the content, provide them with links to your best articles. If they’re here for the coupons, explain how they can get one, and so on. As an example, below is a very bare-bones outline for the first email in your welcome sequence.

Consider these email lines:

“Hello! Welcome to our community! We’re so glad you’re here.

We can’t wait to get to know you better and help you grow in your journey.

Here are some things you can do to get started:

• • • Check out our resources section for helpful guides and articles
    • Join in on the discussion in our forums
    • Connect with other members in our private Facebook group

We’re looking forward to getting to know you better!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]”

Step #2: Introduce New Subscriber To Your Brand (Your Second Email)

The second email in your strategy to automate a welcome email sequence should be sent a few days after the first email. Its purpose is to introduce the new subscriber to your brand and to start building a relationship with them. It’s also the email where you should start addressing your users’ pain points, assuming they are at the “problem aware” stage.

Your job is to make them “solution-aware”. To write a good second email, you need to answer certain questions.

Ask yourself this:

1. Which pain point does your customer need addressing?
2. What do they think they need they need to do to solve it (but don’t in reality)?
3. What do they actually need to solve it?

There’s no need to start pitching your product already – ideally you want people to be at their “most aware” stage. You should provide them with a solution – just not necessarily your solution. Equally important, the second email is also the perfect place to tell your brand story, and, more specifically, how YOU dealt with the aforementioned pain point yourself.

One thing is for sure, this will help establish your credibility and push the users closer to a purchase.

Example: Starbucks.

Starbucks’ second email might not have all of the features I just described, but it is a very simple and good example. 

Problem: people hate waiting in lines.

Solution: order ahead. 

Because Starbucks is already such an established brand, there is no need to “warm-up” the customer to start using their products, but the email still focuses on the pain point and its solution. Another great way to create a sense of urgency is to offer a limited-time discount or another special offer, like a 2-for-1 deal. 

Step #3: Describe Your Exact Product Features (Your Third Email)

Of course, you guessed it right! Overall, this is where your product comes in. In it, you can describe exactly what features your product has, how much it costs, and how is it different from that of your competitors, and create a sense of urgency. One way to create a sense of urgency in a sales email is to use words and phrases that convey a sense of urgency.

Such as “act now,” “limited time only,” or “while supplies last.” They say actions speak louder than words, but that depends on what kind of words you’re using. As you automate a welcome email herein, note that some words are magic. They get people to do things. They have an emotional resonance that hits people hard and encourages them to take action.

These powerful words are the ones you want to be using in your copywriting. They speak directly to readers, drive traffic to your page, and boost sales. In fact, according to Optinmonster, you could see a 12.7% increase in conversion rates by adding just a few power words to your copy.

Step #4: Get More Target Leads Email Conversions (For Newsletters)

When it comes to online marketing, nothing is more valuable to a business than an effective email subscriber list full of interested customers and prospects. Many believe that the spam filter age has killed email marketing forever. But, the fact is, that spam filters are only designed to protect people from unwanted mail.

There are several proven (and profitable) ways how to use an email list to milk money from other peoples’ gut-wrenching loneliness. To have your customers not only love you for it but maybe even thank you for selling them this way. Rather than simply pitching your product, generate content that your customers will value.

Learn More: 12 Thank You Email Templates And Examples For Ecommerce

As you automate a welcome email sequence, you should also build a list of folks who want to receive your emails. You’ll avoid spam filters and stay top-of-mind with your prospects. It’s so annoying to use a blatant sales pitch in your email marketing. Customers that receive too many “buy my product” emails are likely to hit the unsubscribe button — not good!

We all know that “content is king.” But, there’re questions to ask yourself that practically guarantee your emails (and other content) make far more sales. So, what is an Email List really? An email list is a collection of emails that you have received through your blog or website. It’s a collection of email addresses used by an individual or an organization.

Learn More: Email Subscriber List | 10 Online Leads Newsletter Signup Tips

More so, to send marketing material to multiple recipients. In simple terms, an email list refers to the total amount of subscribers you have, which basically is a synonym for “the mailing list”, or “subscriber’s list”. If you have been around long enough you probably know that email marketing has a higher ROI compared to all other marketing methods.

This is true in most industries and basically shows how much you can make if you decide to sell products/services to your subscribers. In the long term, this makes email marketing is one of the best digital marketing methods you can use to grow your business. And now, nothing works better than having an Email Subscriber List attached to your belt.

Step #5: Write P.S. In Your Email Marketing Strategy (For Signups)

Only 16% of users read your content word-by-word; others just scan it, trying to point out what’s in there for them. Subconsciously consuming that all the significant information will be at the end, readers go to the final lines of your email first. (After the subject line, of course.) So, add a P.S. to your marketing copies — summarize what you’ve just written.

By doing so, you create urgency and make your email sound more persuasive. A P.S. here allows readers to take proper notice of your message, clearly understand it, and more likely take the desired action. Use P.S. in marketing emails to provide CTA and invite readers to take action.

This trick will optimize your email content and influence your email CTR. How often do you read the last page of a newspaper? Because, as a rule, it contains the most entertaining content there. It’s like a dessert: you know it will be the most delicious part of the meal, so you want to eat it first. The P.S. of your marketing email is that dessert.

It has a visual advantage and is understood as something you forgot to mention in the email body — you can write whatever you want. Or, it can be a funny thought! Something that makes your email stand out from other marketing messages to your readers. A humorous quote or a clever joke, if appropriate, will help potential prospects remember you.

Related Topic: 25 Email Sign-Offs To Get Sky-High Response Rates

You should also use P.S. to make connections. Even if you don’t sell anything via emails, you can use P.S. for networking or encouraging the audience to follow you elsewhere online. Add links to your social media pages, invite readers to join your network, or subscribe to your side-content (podcasts, videos, “tip of the day,” etc.)

It’s a great way to grow your network online and a perfect way to end an email as well. For an even better customer experience, make your P.S. visually appealing so they would hook readers and meet their eyes at once. Use a bold text, write it with a different font or color, format it like a separate information box, make it a button, etc.

Last but not least, you can also use P.S. to promote your business product bonuses or even share surplus values. For users, a postscript is like a summary of what they’d find in the email. It can help them understand if it’s worth spending time reading the whole text. So, use this section to share discounts, previews, bonuses, extra tips, testimonials, etc.

Or even alongside other surplus values for readers to see that there’s something more for them in your email. In the case of testimonials, they work better for B2B products, as they can motivate users to take the next step and place an order. They give a sense of assurance, so it would come in handy to mention testimonials in your marketing P.S.

But, don’t forget to track rankings “before” and “after” a corresponding email campaign to compare results. Also, consider revising the P.S. and editing your marketing emails every couple of months to cover different audience segments.

Summary Thoughts:

By all means, the sequence I have described above is a very basic model that just about covers the basics of a welcome email sequence/funnel. Not to mention, it’s not uncommon for brands to use 4-5-6 steps in their sequence, or just one. Depending on your niche and the kinds of products you sell, more or fewer steps can work for you better.

So, don’t be afraid to experiment with the formula. You can dissect the third email into three separate ones, for example, slowly introducing users to your product/service. While also, providing them with more and more useful information before ending with a big call to action, such as a discount. There are many software options at your disposal as well.

Some that you can use to automate a welcome email sequence in your email marketing and campaign strategies. Some popular options include Omnisend, MailChimp, AWeber, Sendinblue, Constant Contact, MailerLite, etc. As well as HubSpot, Moosend, MailJet, Sender, SendPulse, etc. — the list of best email marketing tools is just endless.

Learn More: How To Write Email Subject Lines That Get Opened And Read Easily

Be sure to A/B test your email campaigns to figure out what works for you, and keep providing users with what they want, be it content or exclusive deals, and you should see your revenue increasing quite considerably through the inexpensive and risk-free medium which is email marketing. That’s it! A full guide on how to automate a welcome email.

With that in mind, you can always Consult Us if you’ll need more help. You can also share your additional thoughts, opinions, contributions, suggestions, recommendations, or even questions (for FAQs & Answers) in our comments section. All in all, don’t forget to share this guide with other online web readers like you or even donate to support our mission.