My last post was an introduction to email marketing. It covered some fundamentals and your very first welcome email!
You might be thinking – Why do I need a whole welcome series?
Well, your first message included an introduction to your brand.
Stopping there would be a bit like introducing yourself to a potential client at a networking event and not speaking to them for the rest of the evening or future events.
Give yourself the time and opportunity to promote your products and brand with a series. That way, you can cover all the things you need to in shorter more readable emails rather than cramming it into one long, boring one.
But, what if subscribers make a purchase or enquiry after the first email? Great! But you don’t want to lose them after that, do you?
Subscribers may very well take up your amazing offer but it’s likely they would buy more and become loyal long-term customers if you continued meaningful contact.
You want subscribers to stay involved and aware so that they choose your services or refer your services again and again.
You want to use the time to build a good image of your brand and their perception of your product/service.
Still not convinced? Here are some stats:
- Open and click through rates are the highest for welcome series than any other email campaign. They gain 4x as many opens and 10x more clicks than other types of emails. (GetResponse)
- A series of three or more welcome emails can generate 90% more orders than a single welcome email. (Omnisend)
- Only 58% of brands send welcome emails as part of their marketing strategy. Stand out from the rest by nurturing a welcoming relationship early on.(Inevspcro)
Okay, we know how important a welcome series is now. But before we go any further into the strategy of that series, we have to explore segmentation as it can be the difference between a successful and a not-so-successful email marketing strategy.
Why is email segmentation important?
Segmentation is the practice of dividing email subscribers into groups based on defined characteristics. And there’s a lot of different ways to group people. For example, you can group by:
- Demographics
- Interests
- Interactions and behaviour
- Business need
By grouping, you can then send targeted emails to certain groups, making them more personal and suited to the subscriber.
This level of personalisation leads to more subscriber sales conversions, as customers are getting exactly what they require from you and feel like they are receiving a special treatment.
Segmented campaigns average 46% higher open rates and can also mean you get less unsubscribes, which is good for your deliverability (see last week’s article on email marketing fundamentals to review this).
But, how do you collect this information from subscribers in the first place?
I wouldn’t recommend asking for it in your first email all in one go! 😰
That’s likely to raise a few eyebrows and prompt several to unsubscribe. People are careful about sharing their data, as I’m sure you are, so you’ll need to build a rapport and explain why you want to collect the information.
When potential customers subscribe, just gather basic details initially. I suggest name, email and company name at the least. That way you can start segmenting by industry and need from your first or second email.
Here’s mine! Simple as simple can be!
An example of initial segmentation is having two groups – wholesale clients and customers. Each needs a slightly different approach in emails to meet their queries and needs.
As you develop your email strategy more long term, you can use surveys to collect more information. See email number 4 further down, where I’ve outlined a good opportunity to ask for more as your community has got to know you a bit better.
Segmentation is a technique that can evolve as your mailing list grows.
Now it’s time to get into the details of the next few emails in your welcome series.
What’s next in a welcome series?
After your first email, you’ll want to send another within a few days to keep your readers engaged.
The time that someone signs up for your mailing list is the time that they are most interested in your brand.
Email every few days for your welcome campaign but do include an unsubscribe button at the bottom of every email as stipulated by law.
Coaching decisiveness
Throughout your welcome series, you’ll want to show ‘coaching decisiveness’.
This is a marketing strategy whereby you praise people for taking action or encourage them to make a conscious decision rather than passively ignoring you. This keeps the control in the reader’s hand whilst also motivating them to make an enquiry or buy.
You’ll also want to move them along a journey (sometimes referred to as a funnel) from least to most aware of your service or product.
Here are some techniques that can be used in each email to encourage the subscriber along in their journey and ultimately end in a sale/enquiry for you.
Welcome email no. 2
I’m going to call this the ‘What if?’ email. You are going to help your reader see the potential of a solution to their problem. A gentle introduction, if you will!
- Problem: It starts with a clear acknowledgment of your reader’s problem. E.g. You don’t have a theme for your nanna’s 80th party.
- Their solution: This is what they think they need to do to solve the problem, but actually it can be easier than they imagine. E.g. You’ll have to research theme ideas on Google and find matching decorations and tableware.
- Your solution: This is essentially how you can make their life easier by providing a simple solution with your help. E.g. But, what if you hire an events planner to take the hard work off your hands?
2 min exercise
1. What is your audience’s problem? Note ideas.
2. How might they try to solve their problem? E.g. Research, trying things themselves, travel, DIY…
3. Now write a one sentence pitch for your solution.
You’ve got a plan outlined for your second welcome email!🥳
This second email is a thinking stage.
It moves the reader from problem-aware to solution-aware.
In this email, you can add some links to your previous content that highlights solutions to their problem such as a blog about the best ways to plan a party or a post where you share top tips for event planning. That way, under their own terms, they can learn that you provide a solution.
It’s also good practice at this point to make sure your emails are being seen and not ending up in the spam folder. Ask subscribers to add you to their ‘safe senders’ list or, in Gmail, add you to the primary folder.
What next?
Welcome email no. 3
This is the empathy email.
Here you focus on connecting with the subscriber’s issues on a human to human level. Talk about your own experiences and how you tackled them to overcome problems. Use storytelling to bring authenticity to your email.
E.g. The weeks fly by, don’t they? I remember a few years ago when I was planning my brother’s stag do and I had no idea where to start…
You need to reassure them that it’s not their fault. Lift the guilt that they may be feeling about not having done things sooner or not knowing what to do in the first place.
After the bulk of the email telling your story, become more specific in your last couple of sentences. Give them your solution but don’t go hard-sale at this stage. You are now moving them from solution-aware to specifically aware of YOU as the solution.
It’s also a nice time to say – get to know me more! Encourage your reader to follow you on socials because that’s where they can see more about your unique selling points and appreciate how you’re different from the rest.
Welcome email no. 4
Here comes your benefits email.
Outline the short and long-term benefits, the journey that they will go on with you and what success will look like at the end.
Move from short-term benefits that they will see immediately to long-term benefits. Think of it like stepping stones. Long-term benefits are hard to believe, especially when your readers are not fully convinced that your product is right for them.
To help readers see future benefits as more tangible use words such as ‘think’ and ‘imagine’.
Set out the path with time words like ‘then’, ‘a couple of months later’, ‘six months’, and ‘the rest of your life’.
E.g. In a few days, you’ll have a meeting date secured so we can discuss your vision. A month later, your theme plan and chosen suppliers will be ready, and when it comes to the party, everyone will be wowed by the stunning décor choices you’ve made. In a year’s time, people will ask – when are you organising my party?
Email 4 is also a great time to highlight that your help can be bespoke to your reader. Ask them to give you some more details about what they need in a survey and collect any information you feel you might need to make segmentation in your email marketing smoother.
Welcome email no. 5
It’s time for your closer email.
It’ll be straightforward and to the point, stating clear benefits of using your specific product or service and how you are different from other similar brands.
You’ll need a clear CTA and a bit of urgency to encourage the sale.
E.g. Redeem your 20% discount by X to get that party planned for less!
Here’s some other useful tactics to close the deal:
- Clarify the reader’s goal once more, showing understanding
- Use a countdown timer for offer deadlines
- Include a loss aversion description e.g. If you wait until next week it’ll be £X more expensive and weighing on your mind for seven more days
- Make your CTA big
- Include a testimonial clip that is relevant – someone who had the same problem as your reader and you solved it
At this point, you will have some people who still haven’t purchased. Give them a week or two and add them to a re-engagement email (more details on how to craft a great re-engagement email in the coming weeks). If they still haven’t interacted or bought anything, consider removing them from your list.
If you’re thinking – wow, this is all very calculated! Rest assured – the biggest brands use these techniques and get results.
And remember – you are reaching out to your community because you care and want to help. If you keep this in mind when you’re emailing, you’ll be able to drive your campaign for your ideal customers rather than driving it for a large audience that never interacts.
Thanks for reading and I hope you’ve got some useful tools to take away and use for your own emails!
No blog post next week as my brain needs a break… catch you in a couple for more on specific email formats such as re-engagement and promos.
Hayley Hickmott-Maurice | Copywriting Services 