Last week I dove in to why your business needs an engaging and trustworthy email marketing strategy. Emails are a terrific way to nurture your existing clients and gain a new following.
Once you have your automation tool, business goals, and marketing strategy in place, you can stop planning and begin writing those emails!
As with any endeavor, the common question is always, “But where or how do I begin?” The best way to begin writing your first email sequence is to start with a welcome series that a.) expresses gratitude to your new subscribers/potential customers and b.) eventually guides them to a sale or opportunity unique to your business.
Why write a welcome email sequence?
The welcome email sequence offers your new subscribers the emotional support and inspiration they need in determining whether or not to buy or opt-in to your services. Welcome emails tell your business’s unique story and give you the opportunity to show that your products or services are ultimately worth the time and energy invested in reading these emails in the first place.
Customers want to know who you are and what makes you different. The welcome email sequence helps your business communicate that level of clarity. And as Brene Brown continues to tells us in many ways, “Clarity is kindness.”
A few things to consider before writing your welcome sequence
Before drafting your welcome email sequence, you’ll want to determine where your customer is at in their journey. Customer journey mapping is an excellent tool in understanding your customers’ needs.
Not every email sequence begins or ends at the same point in your customer’s journey. The welcome email sequence ultimately targets potential customers who are brand new to your business. They’ve just clicked that subscribe button and are expecting those automatic emails to arrive in their inbox at any moment.
Writing a Welcome Email Sequence
Step 1: Write a “no strings attached” welcome email
While drafting your welcome email sequence, you’ll want to pay close attention to how you write your first email.
Your first welcome email is the one that immediately goes to the potential customer’s inbox after they click subscribe. The first email is crucial in building that trust and interest at this stage in the customer’s journey.
The first email in your welcome email sequence should be concise, grateful, and sincere. No more than a paragraph at length, the first email in this sequence welcomes your new subscribers. Remember to set up your automation tool so that your subscribers are always addressed by their first name.
Be sure to express gratitude in this first email. You should go deeper than the plain, impersonal, “Thanks for subscribing” message. Think about why your business really needs a certain type of client or customer. Determine what that is and articulate it to your new following in a human not business way.
Step 2 Write additional nurture emails
Think of your core emails as a form of nurturing. Now that your new subscribers have been formally welcomed, you’ll want to write emails that nurture their interests.
This is a great way to slowly reveal what you have to offer. You may want to include free e-books, giveaways, podcast links, personal but relevant photos, etc.
I recommend writing 2-3 nurture emails that ultimately show how your business works, what you offer, testimonials, etc. Nurture emails deepen trust and reveal to customers how your business can improve their lives.
Remember that at this stage in your sequence, you’ll want to include clear and strong CTAs.
Step 3 Write emails that gradually reveal what you need from your customers
The last few emails in your welcome sequence should be sales oriented. The tricky part is getting those sales without explicitly sounding like a salesman.
I recommend centering these emails around what made your subscribers opt-in in the first place. Unless they’re your friends or relatives, people barely sign up for a newsletter just to receive a newsletter.
What is your customer really looking for? Perhaps they’ve been wanting to sign up for a free consultation but for X number of reasons, they haven’t taken that first step. The last few emails should really hone in on why your business is truly worth the risk, investment, time, energy, etc.
Remember to test your email sequence! Most email automation tools include analytics and helpful tips. If your email sequence isn’t meeting the mark, then test your emails’ language, timing, graphics, etc. and/or return to your customer’s journey and begin again.
Email marketing helps you put your business’s narrative into action! Your clients should be excited to work with unique, wonderful you! I write tested, engaging emails that get your business clicks and conversions. If you think we might be a good fit for each other, drop me a line here.
xoxo,
Emily
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