“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast,” wrote Shakespeare in the The Comedy of Errors in 1594. The same rings true 423 years later.
A well-crafted welcome series is a virtual extension of a warm (un-clammy) handshake, embracing your new prospect into the fold and inviting them to feast upon the fruits of your product range.
People that read at least one welcome message read more than 40% of their messages from the sending brand during the following 180 days, according to a recent study by Return Path, so it’s clear how important it is to get things right.
We’ve singled out this awesome welcome series from NET-A-PORTER for turning a humble email into an online opportunity to build trust, earn respect and score sales.
First things first: make sure your welcome series conveys the breadth of your product offering and clearly links to your brand.
Inserting your website navigation bar into your email is a simple but effective way to ensure your new subscribers are immediately aware of your entire product proposition (and can shop straight away).
(This first example was formerly NET-A-PORTER’s first email in the series.)
Why we love it:
Subject line: Welcome to NET-A-PORTER
Why we love it:
Subject line: How to stay stylishly in the know
Why we love it:
Subject line: How can we help you…
Why we love it:
Being ready for mobile is nothing new. But many great emails built on desktop don’t work on smaller devices, so be aware.
According to BlueHornet, 67,2% of consumers use a smartphone to check their email, while 42,3% use a tablet. If you’re not optimised for mobile, you’re not going to survive (UK shoppers spent an estimated £15 billion via mobile devices in 2015, an increase of 77.8% on £8.41 billion in 2014).
NET-A-PORTER’s relatively data-heavy messaging displays beautifully on smartphone, putting their store in the hands of millions of hungry shoppers.
It’s also important to keep in mind that, as mobile screens are smaller, your subject lines shouldn’t be too long (character limit: 30–35).
Drawing inspiration from NET-A-PORTER, your next welcome series should include many sides to your personality, with consistent branding, easy navigation and many CTAs that get your new subscribers off-email and on-site.
Your series could look something like this:
Every journey begins with a single step and building brand loyalty starts with your very first interaction.
A welcome series presents a key opportunity to highlight your product range, showcase your brand story and reinforce your greatness – to ultimately bring new subscribers back onto your website (and onto the buy button).
Differentiate your welcome series from your regular messages, and coordinate with regular emails to avoid spamming (and the unsubscribe button) and don’t wait to introduce yourself. Real-time welcome emails see more than 10x the transaction rates and revenue per email over batched welcome mailings.
Never forget to optimise for mobile, with mobile readership continuing to rise, welcome emails should be easy to view and interact with on mobile devices.
Finally, never waste an opportunity ask for your subscribers specific email preferences to tailor future mailings. Relevance is always king.
Ometria is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, and we’ll only use your personal information to administer your account and to provide the products and services you requested from us. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.
Take the first step toward smarter customer marketing