Great Welcome Emails to bring your client into your family.

The average open rate of welcome emails is 50% - we'll look at 5 excellent welcome emails to give you inspiration on what to send to your customers.
Last updated: August 2, 2022

Welcome emails are an important first step in creating a solid relationship between you and your customer. They help new subscribers understand what’s coming next, as well as what benefits they will gain from receiving your emails.

Not only that, but the average open rate of welcome emails is 50%. That’s around 4x more opens than an average email marketing campaign would get. Interestingly, this happens because a welcome email comes just at the right time: when people have just signed up or purchased something, and they’re excited to see what’s ahead of them. We call that a “seducible moment”.

That makes welcome emails some of the most important emails you’ll ever send. With that, I’m going to talk through what makes welcome emails so integral to a customer’s experience – and why they’re so important for success.

What Makes a Great Welcome Email?

It Introduces the Brand

Does the email you’re featuring do a good job of introducing the brand or individual?

It’s okay if this introduction happens in a later email in your sequence. It’s not vitally important for your first-ever welcome message. But it’s always a great idea to let your reader know the brand and the people behind the brand – this way, you can increase connection and trust from the beginning.

Take a look at what Velasca did in their welcome email:

(Source: Moosend)

First things first: there’s a witty little pun in there. Because Velasca is a man’s handcrafted shoes company, they couldn’t miss the opportunity to say that it’s “time to take the first step”. This helps show the brand’s personality from the start.

Next, they refer to their subscribers as “family”, giving the brand an approachable identity. It’s almost like they’re saying, “hey, man, we’re here for you.”

Just below a well-deserved link to a coupon, that’s where they briefly (yet powerfully) talk about the brand’s promises and the people behind all of the work they do. Notice how the human pictures and signatures bring an easy feeling. Those guys look friendly, and you know you can count on them.

It Helps Subscribers Set Expectations

A great welcome email should clearly set out the expectations the new subscriber should have, whilst setting the scene for what’s to come. Another good tip is to let your subscribers know when they should expect another email from your brand.

Here’s the perfect example:

(Source: Affde)

After sweet and warm greetings, this email gets straight to the point: “I promise you not to spam you with a million emails you don’t want to read.”

Right after that, there are details about sending dates: “Expect 1-2 VIP updates per month.” That’s great – you won’t be spammed and you know what to expect.

Here’s the cherry on top: subscribers know exactly what each new email will bring. With a hint of curiosity, of course. Plus, the copy on this email makes readers feel like they’re in for a treat, with language such as “get exclusive access to secret products” and “never miss a soap release”.

It Makes a Great First Impression

Does your welcome email make a great first impression? Does it make the brand memorable? What about this welcome email is instantly engaging for the subscriber?

There are multiple ways you can make an email memorable. You can write catchy copy. You can add GIFs. In the case of the following example, they did both.

GIF link: https://www.sendinblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/onboarding_emails.gif

(Source: Sendinblue)

The above is an onboarding email from Just Eat. As you can see, it stands out from all of the other emails I’ve presented here because it features a fun GIF at the top. The engaging headline also does a fine job of stealing a smirk – it ditches your typical “Welcome, (Name)!” headline and takes it straight to the tummy.

It Delivers Value

Does your welcome email deliver instant value to the person reading it? What value is that?

Remind yourself that this is the first email someone’s getting from you. Delivering value from the get-go will give your subscribers a reason to keep reading your welcome email, but it will also encourage them to look forward to upcoming ones. You should use this opportunity to give them a few ideas about the amazing things they can use your product for.

(Source: Designmodo)

The above onboarding email from YouTube is a gem. Users who are just getting started may find it hard to know where to begin, especially when new features come around. An email like the above clears up a number of doubts, whilst sprinkling a few creative ideas in the mix.

It Reinforces Your Brand’s Benefits

A welcome email is the perfect chance to reinforce the benefits of a product or service you’re offering. Ideally, this type of email should address the problems or pain points you know your customer is experiencing.

As an example, have a look at what HelpScout did for their welcome email:

(Source: Instapage)

Help Scout is a provider of help desk software. Judging from that, it would be fair to say that Help Scout’s marketing team has done enough research to discover what their competition lacks.

Pretty much on any software, users may feel like effective onboarding and hand-holding leaves much to be desired. That’s why they’ve knocked it out of the park with this email – they’ve grabbed a recurring complaint and immediately appeased it.

They did it in three different ways: by adding the phrase “we’re here to help!”, followed by their support email address. And, of course, the friendly faces of the support team let subscribers know real people are there to help them.

Are Your Welcome Emails Anything Like the Above?

If not, you might want to consider tweaking them or recreating them altogether. These are some of the most important emails you’ll ever send!

Think about it: someone took time out of their hectic lives to add another email address to their saturated inboxes. If they did that, they’re likely convinced your brand will provide them with the value they’re looking for. Don’t disappoint them – use your welcome emails to show everything your customers need to see in order to say “Yep, this one’s different.”

Duncan Isaksen-Loxton

Educated as a web developer, with over 20 years of internet based work and experience, Duncan is a Google Workspace Certified Collaboration Engineer and a WordPress expert.
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