Are you looking for ways to grow your business in a meaningful way?
Do you want to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry?
Are you sick of posting to social media every day without seeing engagement and results? We’ve all been there.
Do you have an email marketing strategy? Maybe you think email isn’t right for your business. Or that email is dead. No one uses email marketing anymore. It’s not true! I’ve talked before about why you can’t ignore email marketing, but this article is going to dive into the specifics of a welcome series and why it is so important.
What is an email welcome series?
A welcome series is 3-5 emails people get after they opt-in to your email list. The welcome series is sent within the first 2-4 weeks after signing up and is for brand new subscribers. You will want to build this as an automated series that is triggered by someone joining your email list for the first time.
Why is a welcome series important?
I want you to know this…if someone signed up for your email list, they are excited about what you have to offer. Our email address are extremely valuable. If someone handed over their email address to you, it means they want what you have to offer. They want to hear from you.
Do not make the mistake so many people do by not following up and staying in touch and staying top of mind.
What should a welcome series include?
- Share your story. People want to know why you do what you do, how you got here. This builds trust and grows the relationship with your customers.
- Let them know what they are in for. How often will they hear from you, what can they expect going forward?
- Share other ways for them to connect with you. Are they following you on social, reading your blog, have they checked out your website. How do you want them to connect with you? Tell them and then make it easy for them to do so.
- Teach something. Give them a quick win. Can you share a tip or trick that will make their lives better or easier? By offering a quick win, it encourages them to stick around and stay on your list. Quicks for them = results. Results mean they will be more willing to stick around.
- Answer a common question you get all the time.
- Ask a question. Encourage them to respond to your email and start a conversation.
Welcome series best practices:
- Think about what your audience values and what knowledge you have that you can share.
- It doesn’t have to be complicated.
- Use your welcome series to build rapport with your audience and give them an idea of what it’s like to work with you.
- Help your audience overcome hesitations and fears around working with you.
- Include a call to action in each email.
- Resist the temptation to sell. You need to warm them up first.
- Keep them short and sweet.