Email marketing is something that every business, large or small, no matter the business, could benefit from. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your customers and subscribers and keep them coming back, but only if you use it in the correct way and start off on a good footing. The first email you send to a new customer could just be the most important; it will help them decide if they want to stay on your list or not. 

MyEmma has some great resources for email marketing campaigns, and below are five tips from them for the perfect welcome email to make the best first impression.

5 things every welcome email needs to do

Offer easy-to-understand information for getting started

A lot of welcome emails are sent after some type of purchase or initial interaction. This is great news because you know that you already have an engaged customer on the other end. You also know that they may have your product sitting in their home or, at the very least, it’s on its way.

This is your opportunity to share some great information that will enhance their customer experience and begin creating brand loyalty.

Not only is this information helpful, but it also shows that your emails add value rather than simply push products or sales. Subscribers will appreciate that you want to help them enjoy their purchase as much as possible.

The welcome email for Google Home Mini, shown below, is a great example of how to offer a quick start guide inside a welcome email.

Google uses the opportunity of a welcome email to help new users navigate their way around features, and it also provides an overview for those who want to get the most out of their device.

IMAGE: Really Good Emails

Introduce the team to your subscribers

Just because you aren’t having a face-to-face interaction with each customer doesn’t mean you can’t have a personal interaction and introduce the faces behind your brand. After all, the people that make up your business are one of the most important pieces of your business.

Introducing certain team members may be a great way to kick off your email subscriber relationship. This is especially true if your subscribers will be interacting with these employees regularly. This helps break the ice and gives your business a warm and approachable personality.

A great example of this is the Peloton welcome email that introduces a subscriber’s trainers they’ll be working out with.

On its way to becoming the year’s biggest trend in fitness technology, Peloton—a fitness bike that comes equipped with live or prerecorded virtual classes, is also leading the way in personalized communication and approachable branding. They focus on the trainers who will be leading the classes, creating a connection with the people behind the brand from the get-go.

From their social media accounts to the welcome email that subscribers receive, Peloton wants users to feel personally connected to the people that will be representing their company on a daily basis. See how they do it in email form:

​

Image: Really Good Emails

Keep it clear and simple

When someone subscribes to your email list, it may be tempting to share everything great about yourself or your business. However, like a bad first date, there is such a thing as oversharing. It’s important to keep in mind that this is the start of a long-term relationship, and you want to nurture it and provide value.

You will have plenty of opportunities to share information with your subscribers—you just need to know how to choose the right opportunities for your brand.

Instead of overloading new subscribers with information, try to keep things simple. In fact, minimalism is one of the big trends in design and marketing right now.

People get a lot of marketing messages every day via email, television, web browsing, print ads and more. Instead of loading up your email with information that may or may not be memorable, just keep things simple and make your email approachable for new subscribers.

People may not always remember each and every detail of a message, but they will remember whether or not your message was enjoyable and easy-to-read or cluttered and messy.

The email below keeps simplicity and minimalism in mind.

New subscribers are presented with appealing images, a few short bullet points, and a simple call-to-action button. They get the important information, can make a quick decision about whether or not to follow up on the offer, and they may end up becoming paying customers right away.

One thing is for sure, they won’t be unsubscribing because of messy design or cluttered information.

Image: Really Good Emails

Time to get social with your subscribers

Marketing involves using a variety of different channels and email marketing is one of the best, most cost-effective ways of building up multiple communications channels at once. If people are email subscribers in addition to being social media followers, then they are much more likely to be reminded of your messaging and become more engaged with your business.

Asking for people to join you on your social media channels is a great way to send a simple welcome email with a very basic request that isn’t overwhelming. The example below shows just how easy a welcome email can be if your goal is to help grow your social media presence alongside your email subscriber list.

Image: Really Good Emails

Everyone loves a welcome gift

We mentioned before that you may want to avoid blasting your new subscribers with special offers and sales messages. You are trying to build a relationship and there will be plenty of time for discount codes and sales.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t extend a special offer or gift to your subscribers as a thank you for joining your email list.

A coupon or voucher that can be used when your subscriber makes their first purchase is a great welcoming gift.

We do caution you against making the welcome email too much of a hard sell. Offer the coupon as a thank you gift rather than a limited time offer. This will take pressure off your welcome email and make it seem more like a friendly gift.

 

Image: Really Good Emails

Article originated from MyEmma.

As I see all of these mentioned tips on email lists I subscribe to myself, I believe they are going to be really useful for your business and keeping hold of those precious email subscribers for a long time to come. I find especially useful “getting started” emails if I’ve purchased a new product for example; and a money off voucher after making a purchase is always appreciated too, as it gives me an incentive to buy again.

These tips are relatively easy to put into practice, and by also using some of the many other guides on MyEmma, you could make your email campaigns the best they can be.

*PR collaboration