You’ve offered a relevant and enticing lead gens to grow your email list.
Great. You’ve captured a new email and have the new subscriber’s attention.
Now what?
The worst thing you can do is deliver what they requested (your lead gen offer) and then do nothing else.
You have the subscriber’s attention. You want to keep it.
What is a welcome series?
A welcome series is a sequence of emails you send to a new subscriber, which is your opportunity to make a great first impression.
Although they have already received what they requested from you, consider that a one-time interaction.
The average open rate for welcome emails is 50%, making them 86% more effective than a standard email. [source]
A complete welcome series will allow you to introduce yourself and tell your story—it will enable the subscriber to get to know you. Structuring your welcome series well will begin the journey of KNOW → LIKE → TRUST between your subscriber (AKA potential customer) and you.
There is too much information to throw at a subscriber in one email; hence we send it in a series of emails—a welcome series.
What to include in a welcome series?
The first question to answer is what do you want the result for your new subscriber to be? Knowing your intended outcome will help you decide how many emails to include and the content of each.
I recommend a series of 4-6 emails in a welcome series. A subscriber should be engaging with you through this process—clicking links through an email to read one of your articles, following you on social, purchasing from you, or even replying to one of the emails.
Possible goals of your welcome series emails:
[note: Depending on the type of business you have and your desired customer journey path, some of the following suggestions may not apply.]
- Make a sale (duh!)
- Upsell or cross-sell a product
- Grow your Facebook group or other social channels
- Gain testimonials or reviews
- Drive traffic to popular articles on your site
One of the main goals of a welcome series should be for your subscriber to get to know you and vice-versa.
Example of welcome series emails for health and wellness coaches:
- Email one: introduce yourself; tell your story of how you got to where you are; offer CTA of “Reply to this email and tell me what your (health) goal is. I want to help.”
- Email two: share your Facebook Live schedule and lead them to your Facebook page or group
- Email three: solve a problem; what’s one of the most FAQs or concerns this time of year (this can change seasonally)? Answer that.
- Email four: share a seasonal article that includes a lead to a popular product
- Email five: share a coupon exclusive to this email series
- Email six: share customer testimonials, with lead to your CTA
Example of welcome series emails for realtors:
- Email one: introduce yourself, your story, and the areas you serve
- Email two: offer a checklist (dependent on the segment they are in [seller vs. buyer]) // examples: “What to expect when buying a home” and “How to prepare for selling your home.”
- Email three: “Touch base” – offer your phone number or link to your scheduler to schedule a phone call to see how you can help them
- Email four: Send a link to current listings; include various home sizes (3 BR, 5 BR, with a pool and without) to serve multiple interests
Example of welcome series emails for bloggers:
- Email one: Introduce yourself; share what the subscriber can expect from you—how often you send regular emails, do Facebook® LIVES, or publish YouTube® content
- Email two: Address a pain point of your audience [i.e., parenting tips, easy meal planning] and link to 1-3 of your most popular articles
- Email three: Do you have a Facebook® LIVE series or YouTube® playlist with evergreen content? Or a favorite podcast episode? Lead them there.
- Email four: Introduce your most popular product(s) and include customer testimonial(s). Offer a coupon exclusive to this series, if applicable.
- Email five: Share links to your most active social channels (again), explaining what type of content you share there and how often
- Email six: Ask how you can help/serve the subscriber. You may answer this question in the form of a short (1-3 question) survey or ask them to reply to the email. These responses will serve a couple of purposes: you will get the subscriber engaged, and you will also learn more about your audience and what they are looking for
How often should you send automated welcome series emails?
While there is no set rule, and what works for one will not always work for others, you certainly don’t want too much time to pass between the receipt of the lead gen and the next point of contact. And you don’t want too much time to lag between the next contact either.
Two examples of welcome email series schedule
Example #1
- Day one: user subscribes + receives what they requested
- Day two: welcome series email one
- Day four: welcome series email two
- Day seven: welcome series email three
- Day ten: welcome series email four
- Day twelve: welcome series email five
- Day fifteen: welcome series email six
Example #2
- Day one: user subscribes + receives lead gen
- Day three: welcome series email one
- Day five: welcome series email two
- Day eight: welcome series email three
- Day eleven: welcome series email four
- Day fourteen: welcome series email five
- Day seventeen: welcome series email six
There are various ways to use your welcome series to grow your business. The most important fact is you have one and use it.
While this should typically be an evergreen piece of your business, some details may need revising seasonally. And if you have a brand pivot? Your welcome series should be on your shortlist to change.
