Sending a big thank you to the junior copywriter on my team, Sarah Kaufmann, for repurposing my YouTube video on How to Create a Welcome Email Sequence in 5 Steps into this super handy blog post!
So you have an email list, but what do you do when someone joins? What do you do after someone grabs your freebie?
How do you turn that into someone who knows, likes, trusts you, and buys from you?
You have to offer them value and warm them up.
You need an effective welcome email sequence.
[This is something that I teach more in-depth with my writing coaching clients. We get into the specific phrasing of words and brand messaging. If you’re interested, I’m happy to help. Click here to learn more about writing coaching.]
So… what are the components of a welcome sequence?
Welcome Email #1: delivering the freebie/welcome.
The first thing that you want is to make sure you’re delivering that freebie. Make sure they actually receive it, know how to open it, and know that they can save it.
I also recommend giving them some instructions on how not to miss these emails. You can tell them that over the next week, they’re going to get some fantastic tips that aren’t in the freebie, so they should keep an eye on their email. And they should make sure it doesn’t get lost in their spam folder.
Optional: tell them how to avoid sending emails to their spam for both Gmail and Outlook accounts.
Welcome #2: share a short version of your origin story.
Just tell them a little bit about you — a paragraph will do! It’ll help immensely with your structure if you have an origin story.
I usually say something like: yesterday I was so excited to tell you about your freebie that I forgot to introduce myself!
My name is [ ].
From there, go into why you want to help them.
Welcome #3: freebie standout.
Point out a standout element of your freebie. Often when people receive a freebie, they think, oh, I’ll open up the PDF later.
But they never do.
And then they don’t experience how incredible you are.
They may never get to the bottom of your freebie, where it recommends the first step to working with you.
We want to make sure they open up their freebie and that they’re getting everything they can out of it.
Bonus: (if you know you’ll actually respond to them) give them a Call to Action to respond to the email with: for example, ask them to let you know if they’ve used this super tip, or what they think of it. This is an amazing, personalized experience to warm them up and even start a longer conversation.
Don’t worry if you know you can’t commit to responding to every email (it’s better, to be honest with yourself than to not respond to your audience). But… I do think if you’re able, especially if you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, this is an awesome opportunity to keep the conversation going. Maybe you’ll even invite them to a sales call!
Welcome #4: share a client success story.
This is another one of the core story types that we can work on in a VIP Messaging & Marketing Day.
If you don’t have one, use a testimonial. Start by describing your previous client’s situation before working with you to demonstrate the during and after of the client’s journey.
Always make sure that you have that client’s permission to use their story!
Something like: When I first met Clara, she was dealing with this, this, and this, but then we decided to work together through this program. Clara and I had a 1:1 coaching call where I gave her 3 takeaways that immediately helped her business.
Here’s what she says [insert testimonial]. So now Clara feels this incredible way, etc.
Note: I’d recommend using a testimonial from the offer/program you’ll pitch in the following email.
Welcome #5: introductory offer.
Hopefully, this is the offer you gave a testimonial for in the previous email because this is the time to invite them to take you up on it!
They’ve seen how awesome your freebie is, and now if they want to get to the next level faster, you can help them. This can be a special offer just made for your welcome sequence, your bite-sized offer, or some sort of temporary offer that you’re testing.
These are all great because they’re at a lower price point. You want to make this first offer low in both time commitment and in price, so it’s less risky. It’s still early in the relationship, so get them to go on the first date with you first before asking them to marry you.
Then after they have that intro experience and love it, they’ll be more likely to continue on the customer journey with your business.
Completion of the sequence, but the beginning of their journey.
Next, move them to your regular email list. This is where you share updates, discounts, or your new product line/service.
The key with your email updates is to have a strong balance between giving value (showing your latest Youtube video, teaching them something, etc.) and, less frequently, an offer. Ultimately, the point of your email list is to warm up and nurture people, so when you do make an offer, they’re ready to say yes.
Okay, so the welcome email sequence has been written, but how frequently do they go out?
There’s no right answer. Just like how you can tweak these emails to how you see fit, these aren’t the only emails you can send for a Welcome Sequence.
So here’s my general advice for how you distribute these five emails:
Email #1: The moment they’ve signed up for the freebie. It’s really important because you want to ensure that they get immediate use out of it.
Email #2: I send it the day after. This is why I give you that example: I was so excited yesterday to share this freebie with you that I forgot to introduce myself.
From there, I’d spread out the rest of the emails in the sequence by about two days. I like two days because while you don’t want to bombard them, you also want them to stay warm and keep yourself top of mind.
Beyond your welcome email sequence.
Now, focus on why your people care and be of service to them. Then after three months, as long as there have been a few people signing up every week for your freebie, look at your welcome sequence again. Maybe you want to update the intro offer, or you notice people dropping off after Email #2, so you decide to improve your subject lines or revisit the content, etc.
The key is that 3 months is a great period to test out your content marketing efforts, welcome email sequence included, before making any improvements based on the results.
I can’t wait to hear about how you’ve been able to sell your first offer to someone who was super warmed up through this experience!
