Metrics show that email welcome series – two, three or more letters sent after a subscriber opts in to an email list – regularly achieve open rates far greater than routine email campaigns.
That gives marketers a golden opportunity. Determining the best use of a welcome series requires testing and will likely vary from company to company. Here are a few ideas to try:
Provide Helpful Information. By sending useful information that helps readers become better gardeners, you generate good will and give them positive reinforcement for opening your email.
Information can take many forms. One possibility is to offer a downloadable free guide as a bonus for subscribing. Another is to link your email to articles or FAQ sections of your website.
Promote Social Media. You can use your welcome series to deepen your readers’ engagement with you. Invite them to watch your YouTube channel, subscribe to your blog, join your forum, or become a Facebook fan. Don’t just invite them – give them specific reasons why they should!
Generate Quick Sales. Making special offers exclusively for new subscribers rewards them for opening your email and can give your sales a boost.
The offers can — but don’t have to — come in the form of discounted prices. Alternatively, you may have an unusual product or group of products that virtually all your subscribers find appealing. Highlight it in your welcome series, and you may not have to offer a discount to generate more sales.
Segment Your Audience. You can use your welcome series to find out useful information about your subscribers. One of your letters might include a poll or link to a brief survey. Use the answers to segment your audience so you can better target future emails to their preferences.
For a few more suggestions, see our recent blog post on best practices for email welcome series.
