How to write your welcome email to increase your open rate (and your sales!)

You already know that your first impression is the one that counts.
That’s why you try to portray the best image of yourself when you start a new relationship with someone you like:

• You get ready carefully.
• You talk about your virtues.
• You are super polite.
• You try to have that “something extra”.

In your e-commerce, the first date is when a client subscribes on your website. That’s why it’s essential to take care of every detail in your Welcome Email. Don’t you want to captivate your clients from the very first second so that they fall in love with your brand?
We’ll tell you how to do it.

What is the welcome email?

Let’s start with the definition:

The welcome email is the first email a new subscriber receives.

This can happen through different channels:

• When a user subscribes to your newsletter (they may not be a client yet).
• If they download a Lead Magnet (a present or discount that you offer).

If you have properly designed your autoresponder strategy, you’ll be able to segment people according to the lead magnet they’ve downloaded and send a personalized welcome email to each of them. ?
Bonus: This post contains a ton of ideas to help grow e-commerce subscriber list. ?

Why is it so important to make an effort with the first email you send your subscribers?

It’s funny that even in the e-commerce world, the potential of email marketing to convert users into buyers is wasted.
Just have a look at the data available about Welcome Emails (source):

1. The Welcome email is the most attractive email for users: if you set it up so that it’s sent immediately, you can increase the open rate by up to 5 times.
2. Get an astonishing click rate: the average number of clicks for standard emails is less than 3%, but the rate can be up to 15% for Welcome Emails. This is a great opportunity to send traffic to your website.
3. The conversion rate is incomparable: the conversion rate of this email is 10x higher than that of all other communications and it’s even higher when the email is sent immediately after the user subscribes.

In addition, remember that users actually expect an email when they subscribe (and it’s a great opportunity to start fostering their loyalty).
It’s pretty clear how important this first email is, isn’t it?
A Welcome Email is essential to creating the foundation of a relationship and it can be the beginning of a new peak in sales.
Let’s see how to write it. ✏️

What should your welcome email have to make it impossible to ignore?

You need to “compose” this attraction tool so that your buyer persona simply cannot resist it, so we’re going to break down the key elements you must include in your Welcome Email.

✅ 1. Choose the right time to send it

We already told you before – if you send it immediately after users subscribe or buy, the email is substantially more effective.
But you know that digital marketing isn’t an exact science and results may vary depending on the sector, client, or market.

✅ 2. Write a subject that urges users to read it

Have a look at your own inbox…
How many emails saying, “Welcome, thanks for subscribing to our newsletter” or something boring like that do you have?
Take advantage of that first contact to differentiate yourself and to be more personal.

A good subject grabs your potential customer’s attention and gets them to open the email so you can lead them to your website for them to complete a purchase.

Try doing this:

• Write short subjects: the majority of your subscribers will read the email on a mobile device.
• Use emojis in the title: as long as they fit with your brand image, they’ll grab your reader’s attention right in the inbox.
• Create a feeling of urgency: in order to encourage an immediate open.
• Be sure not to abuse inappropriate resources: we’re talking about capital letters, exclamations and question marks, the word “free”, and so on (the email may go straight to their spam folder).
• Don’t deceive: that’s to say, don’t promise anything in the title that you don’t offer in the message – you’ll be destroying the relationship with your client.

The subject is the most important part of any email you send because if they don’t open the email, it doesn’t matter what you write inside – they’ll never make it that far.

✅ 3. Personalize the messages to create a feeling of closeness

According to Lifecycle Marketing, personalized emails have an open rate and click rate 50% better than generic emails.
We’re not just talking just about the title, but also the body of the message. Any email marketing management tool will allow you to add customized fields such as:

• Name (so that you can greet them “Hi Paul,”)
• City
• Current date
• And other special fields that fit your strategy

The goal is for you to automate the process of sending these emails, but without losing the intimacy of a “real” email written by a real person just for them.

✅ 4. Remember to always include a CTA

Don’t leave your subscriber clueless about what to do after they’ve read the email. The Call To Action can take them to your shop, to your offers, or to a specific landing page for a sales promotion you’re carrying out.

Examples of Welcome Emails to impress your e-commerce subscribers

To make it easy for you to compose this email, we’re providing you with some real examples filled with ideas to use in your welcome email.
Get inspired and start typing!

✅ 1.Introduce yourself, thank them for subscribing, and explain how the relationship is going to be

Even if clients subscribed on your website, it’s possible the they also visited several other shops.

That’s why it’s always good to introduce yourself again and give all the necessary information to start a long-term relationship.

Don’t forget to:

• Humanize your company: despite being brand, your clients would love to know that there are people behind the screen (sign off with a real name, not just the company).
• Add a gift: if they subscribe via an offer or lead magnet, don’t forget to send them the promised content.
• Explain what you are going to be sending them: explain which topics you’ll be talking about and spark their curiosity.

And, since the best option is to lead by example, have a look at how it’s done by subscribing to our newsletter HERE. 😉

✅ 2. Welcome them with an exclusive gift for subscribers

The easiest and most common option is to offer a discount: easy, effective, and much appreciated.
This is how the make-up brand Bobbi Brown, from Estée Lauder, does it.

You can be more original and offer a gift in a different form than a discount so long as it’s related to your brand.
Take a look at the option chosen by We Are Knitters, an e-commerce that is modernizing the knitting art by adding a cool element. They first thing they do is offer a limited-time discount to make a purchase from their shop:

But they also give away a knitting pattern for a vest (as a downloadable file).

It’s the perfect gift to hook new buyers:

• The gift is related to the shop’s overall goals.
• It provides them with a discount to buy the materials needed to make the vest.

A new sale stemming from a free gift isn’t such a bad deal, is it?

✅ 3. Introduce your products

If somebody registers for emails from your e-commerce, it’s because they’re interested in your products. Facilitate the buying process!
Alongside that wonderful discount, show them the products they’re interested in (remember what we said about retargeting?).
That’s how Adidas does it. Clicking the images in their email takes you directly to their online shop.

With this option, the sale is just one click away. 😉

✅ 4. Generate engagement by sharing values with your community

If you know your buyer persona, then you know exactly why they follow you.
And that’s what you have to show them from day one: the values they share with your brand that create a bond and generate empathy.
Have a look at this Welcome Email from The North Face:

They start by offering a special discount and showcasing their products, just as we saw in the previous examples. But, in addition, they share content that their audience can identify with.

✅ 5. Share useful posts for your buyer persona

Adding links to the best content in your blog is a great way to get organic traffic and to keep users on your website (so Google pays more attention to you). 😉
This is the part of that first date when you can talk wonders about yourself, so choose the posts with the most traffic (you can check on Google Analytics) so your visitors can get to know you better. 😉

You have all the tools for a successful first date

Is everything clear when it comes to writing your Welcome Email?
Don’t rush it.
Remember – the welcome email conversion is way higher than with other communication you may send later on down the line.
Therefore, it’s worth thinking carefully about the content because it can mean a huge boost to your future sales. ?