Say you’re Lena Dunham and you’ve just announced the launch of a weekly newsletter featuring advice about jumpsuits and related topics. Every major media outlet picks up the news, and you’ve suddenly got this enormous list of email addresses from people who want to hear from you (or are just cynically curious).
…Now what?
You want to give people more than just a subscription confirmation email, right?
It’s hard to underestimate the importance of a smart, strategic welcome series—emails that people receive after signing up for updates from you for the first time. These messages ensure that your most important and meaningful “asks” and messages are seen when your supporters are most likely to be tuned in. These first emails tend to have the highest open and click rates of any email—which means this is your best chance to get something important in front of the newest members of your audience. Use it wisely!
Here are our top tips for creating a smart welcome email series that sets the tone for future communications, builds interest, and primes your audience to take action, whether you’re an actress/director/author/screenwriter, non-profit organization, or brand:
1. Say thanks and set expectations.
The first step is the easiest one—thanking people for signing up. Your audience has entrusted you with their contact information, so show them you appreciate that trust.
At the same time, give them an idea of what to expect in the coming weeks from you—a few emails here and there? A quarterly newsletter? It’s all about being upfront about what you’re doing. People appreciate knowing what you’re going to give them.
2. Make it relevant.
How did someone get on this list—through a donation, a simple homepage sign-up, or a petition? Recognize that entry point and craft a relevant, customized experience based on that first action to show that you’re paying attention. Take the US Olympic Committee (Team USA). They ran an acquisition campaign around gymnastics-centered content, showing people this ad and driving them to a related sign-up page:
So it makes sense for Team USA to send those new people a curated welcome series featuring the voices and stories of America’s top gymnasts. By giving people relevant content to their interests, you’re showing you’re listening.
3. Ask people to do what’s next.
You want people to get accustomed to being asked to take action on your behalf. This might start with something low barrier—like watching a fun video or sharing a compelling graphic on social media—and then escalate to something bigger in later emails, like signing a letter to Congress or making a donation. Don’t be shy or wait too long, or your supporter may not think it’s a priority for your organization. If someone came in from a donation, consider asking them to recruit other friends to donate, or give monthly, or share a personal message about why they donated.
This kind of gradual uptick in the kinds of actions you want people to take, starting small and then pushing them to what’s next, is how we lead people up the ladder of engagement. But don’t drag it out—generally two to three emails should do the trick.
4. Gather data.
You always want to learn about your audience so you can better segment future emails and give them more relevant content and actions. Right? Right. Your welcome series is a great opportunity to start that process. Ask people about the issues they care about or their product preferences. A quick survey or a one-question ask can be a nice email in the series that helps determine what interests people. Then personalize emails from there. The bonus of this strategy? You’re showing your audience that you’re listening.
5. Craft a narrative.
When you’re sending out this series of emails, be sure to logically connect each email to the next one. You want your audience to gain a well-rounded understanding of your organization, not receive disjointed messaging. (We typically suppress new sign-ups from regular communication until they’ve received the full welcome series.) However, it’s worth remembering that it’s very unlikely that people will read each email in a welcome series, and that they’ll skim what they do read. Be sure that each email doesn’t rely too heavily on information from the previous one—they should be able to stand on their own.
These are just five things to consider when creating your email onboarding series—but it’s important to keep in mind all those other email best practices as well: keeping it flawless, telling a great story, and raising money like a boss.
Here’s the thing, though, hypothetical-Lena: Your newsletter isn’t coming until Fall 2015, but your fans (and haters) are way more likely to open an email right now.
Our advice? Strike now, before the blogs move on. Get something out there fast—and make it so good they’d never dream of clicking “mark as read.”