The ONE guide service-based businesses need to create a stellar welcome email sequence NOW

Did you know?

An average open rate for welcome emails is a whopping 88.7%.

That’s 3 times MORE than a regular newsletter.

And it matters to you becaaaause?

Bollocks, I suck at math, but let’s just say, drop-dead gorgeous welcome email sequence is your chance to enchant even those peeps who ONLY subscribed for the sake of that fab freebie you offered.

Give your subscribers more value than they expected, charm them with your story, your brand, and personality and in the end, offer them to buy a lil’ somethin’ somthin’ from you.

And I present you with a detailed, head-to-toe guide on how to do it!

Ready to dig in?

SETTING UP YOUR WELCOME EMAIL SEQUENCE FOR A TRIUMPH

The way I see it, the welcome email sequence has 3 goals. (By the way, never start an email campaign without goals):

#1 Earn your subscribers' trust

The best way to earn trust in an email sequence (or elsewhere, for that matter) is to give value. And the best way to deliver value is to help your readers solve a problem they face.

You have an idea of what that problem is because the lead magnet they subscribed to your list to get – helps solve it.

So that can be your starting point.

Think about what other value you can give them through those emails to go along with the lead magnet.

What video can you refer them to? What blog post? Point them in the direction of your most popular and useful content.

#2 Answer the question - WHY YOU?

Why should your subscribers care what you have to say? Why should they open your emails?

What makes you stand out among your competition? What are your accomplishments?

What raving testimonials can you share?

I know, so many questions, but answering them will boost your chances for your ideal clients to recognize YOU as the best person to serve them.

#3 Offer your thing

A lot of heart-centered entrepreneurs cringe at the mention of the word sales! But you shouldn’t!

And here’s why:

  1. You will have given so much free value by the end of the sequence. Offering your course/program/coaching/ service at the end won’t be not salesy, sleeky, slimy, or sucky.
  2. Your offer may not “change the world” or change peoples’ lives in a big-bada-boom way,” but it does help people. And it will help anyone on your list who chooses to invest in you. Won’t it?
  3. The reason people see something as salesy is that they don’t need (or want) what they’re asked to buy.

But you make your offer only to the people who subscribed to your list, like your stuff and you enough to read your emails.

So don’t be shy, and make the offer in a final email of your sequence.

How many emails in a sequence?

Keeping the emails sweet & short has proved to be the best practice. (People get too many emails, you know that).

With that in mind, it’s best if you have 3 – 7 emails in your welcome email sequence.

THE NITTY GRITTY EMAIL CRAFTING TIME

Email No. 1

The first email is the most important in your sequence. Consider it to be a movie trailer with a few tasks:

  1. To deliver the lead magnet you promised.
  2. To introduce your readers to your brand.
  3. To initiate the conversation.
  4. To ask them to make a micro commitment.

And here’s how to structure it

Celebrate and thank them!

Depending on your style (handshake, a warm hug, kiss on the cheek or the full – “so sorry neighbors” – happy dance) thank them for signing up and welcome them to your list.

Also, remind your fresh, crisp subscribers of who you are. Just in case they don’t open your email the minute they subscribed.

welcome email screenshot from yourchickgeek

Share the download/link

It’s best not to share it right in the beginning of your email, to maximize your chances of people actually reading it. But, it’s also not fair to make them scroll all the way to the end to find it, so keep it in the middle.

Here’s an example of a cool approach. Brand, heading and intro first, the download link next:

welcome email example from the sleuth source

Image by Natalie Alleblas (www.natalleblas.com)

Pro tip: If you want to sky-rocket conversions for your freebie, make sure you set up a captivating optin landing page for your lead magnet.

 

WHY YOU

This section can be one from a number of things, or even more than one.

Share your story!

You can ponder on these questions to conjure it:

  • What made you who you are and why you’re the best to help your subscribers;
  • Who you have helped so far (share testimonials);
  • Where you were featured;
  • What makes you stand out among your competition;
  • What makes you – you, aka what personality traits make you unique;

 

And don’t take me the wrong way, if you want to keep your emails sweet ‘n’ short, that’s fine! You can make just ONE sentence about you.

Just make it a good one.

Here’s a nifty example:

welcome email example from the she approach website

What can your audience expect from your emails?

How many emails a day/week/months will you be sharing?

Marketers have different recommendations. Some say once a day is a way to go. Others claim people will SO unsubscribe if you suffocate them with so many emails.

The truth is – you know your audience best (or you can ask them).

If you send them a valuable tip every day, (and you’re upfront about it), they’ll look forward to it. OR you can just send them weekly newsletters to keep them in the loop.

The important thing is to set their expectations in advance.

That’s your best chance of building trust and establishing a lasting relationship.

 

What will the emails be about?

If your subscribers signed up for an email course, the answer is a no brainer, but otherwise, what kind of content will you be sharing? Will it be tips, motivational and inspirational messages, your journal, case studies, your newsletter (a little bit of everything) or something else?

 

ONLY do 1 – 3 asks in the first email.

Asks are a fantastic way for your readers to get used to making micro-commitments.

And micro-commitments are a great way to increase your conversions.

  • Ask your readers to whitelist your emails;
  • Invite them to follow you on Social Media and/or join your communities and explain what they should.
  • Ask them a question that will help you learn something valuable about them.
  • Offer them a tripwire product.

 

Bonus tip: Don’t forget the P.S.

You cannot – not love the P.S.s.

They are often funny and quirky, and more relaxed, and in welcoming series they are great for opening loops to make them anticipate your next email.

Tell your audience what (valuable stuff) they can expect in your next email, OR remind them to download your lead magnet and what they’ll get out of it.

Email No. 2

Remind them of the lead magnet that brought them to your list

Between email No. 1 and email No. 2, many people on your list forget to download your freebie, or even why they wanted it in the first place.

Email No. 2 is a great place to remind them of both. Plus, use this chance to tell them once again what problem can your lead magnet help them solve.

That way you will entice them not only to download your freebie but also to open it. Like it or not, but that’s not a given either.

Also, you want to make sure your readers open email No. 3, so


 

…Provide your subscribers with value, value, and more value

Maya Angelou once said: ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

Here are a few examples of how carefully crafted value items in your email can make your subscribers feel awesome?

  • The “aha” moment when they read your insights on something;
  • The relief when they realize they can fix something in their business (no matter how small) thanks to your tips,
  • The self-confidence they’ll have when they learn someone (or yourself) was dealing with a similar issue and overcame it.
  • The feeling you two are connected when they recognize you understand what they’re going through.

 

In a nutshell, email No. 2 is the best email to give them as much value as you can.

And it’s even better if you can give them something that’ll get them to experience instant gratification.

Share your best fast action, quick win tips, success stories, testimonials, links to your most helpful and most popular content, whether it’s blog posts or videos.

 

Finish the email initiating interaction

Ask your readers if they appreciated any of your tips, if they implemented them, and how it went. Ask them if they tried anything else in the past?

Pro tip: No doubt, your email is engaging and packed with value.

That’s why it breaks my heart do disappoint you but stats don’t lie: 80% of people only scan your emails searching for answers to a question that makes or breaks ANY copy: “What’s in it for me?

So, make the main points of your email, that make sense if they’re the only ones you read- BOLD.

See what I just did here? Pro tip: 80% only scan for What’s in it for me – main points bold.

Email No. 3

After you gave your best to help your subscribers, it’s time to subtly change gears and introduce them to your values, mission, you, in a way that motivates and inspires them.

In other words: What's your story, morning glory?

Also, you can use this email to offer something to your subscribers, that they need to pay for. (More so if you didn’t offer them a tripwire product in your email No. 1)

That way they’ll go through the whole process of buying from you and get comfortable to do so


… which then leads to increased conversions.

In the end, since the email No. 3 was more about you than about them, announce what else (useful and valuable) you’ll be sharing in your next email to keep them interested.

Email No. 4

By now, you should have earned respect and trust with your new subscribers. They should have learned that your emails (services and offers) are in their best interest and that only good things happen when they open them and possibly buy from you.

Still, if you plan on offering them your course, program, to hire you as a coach aka sell them your thing, the best strategy is to subtly introduce them to that particular service and how it helped others move forward and achieve their goals.

Share a case study, share a praise video from your clients, share print screens showing the results you helped your clients achieve!

This is a kind of email you get when you subscribe to https://boldheart.com/’s list.

welcome email sequence screenshot from Boldheart

If you can, surprising your readers with a gift is also a peachy idea. Maybe a sneak peek lesson from your course (a cheat sheet, workbook, checklist, template). Don’t forget to explain to them how to use it.

Here’s an email I got from a business strategist, Allie Bierk when I subscribed to her list.

Email No. 5

Can you guess what the goal of this email is?

Yes, it’s to subtly nudge your audience to get on a free discovery (aka the sales call) with you or invest in your service /course/program.

But before you do that, talk some more about their problem, from another angle, show you know all about it (because you experienced it too) or because you helped oodles of clients to work it out.

And by subtle nudge I mean starting one of the final sentences of your email, or even a P.S with: “By the way…” and introduce them to your paid service/program/or an online course. And then, invite them to either get in touch NOW or wait for your next email for more info.

Email No. 6

Email No. 6 is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a proper sales email. The simplest way to go for this one is to:

  • Recap the problem your readers face (if you choose a storytelling method, they are the hero);
  • Explain the main benefits they’ll experience when they hire you/sign in your program, buy the solution you provide (in which way it’ll make their life easier, how they’ll feel). Make sure you cover both tangible and emotional benefits.
  • Give them social proof: Include the testimonials or success stories into your email.
  • Recap your backstory & why YOU are the person to help them.
  • Choose an incentive. Whether fast-action bonuses, early-bird discounts, be it time-sensitive, decide on the way to nudge your potential clients into becoming actual clients.
  • Create a strong, compelling and clear CTA (call to action).

Email No. 7

Your new subscribers will start receiving your regular emails after Email No. 7, the last one in your welcome email sequence.

So this email is perfect to once again give them extra value, remind them of your brand story, tell them what they can expect from you, once more, etc.

Just make sure you choose a different angle, and different stories. You don’t want to repeat yourself.

But more than anything, the last email in the welcome email sequence is your chance to ask them what they expect from you?

What kind of content they’d like to see in the future, what questions do they have for you, and how you can help them. You can also give them some examples, topics to choose from, to make it as easy for them to reply, as possible.

Also, if you already have content for different audiences, this is your chance to set a trigger (question) and segment them so they get the most valuable emails according to their interest.

Now, must you include ALL of this to make your welcome email series a success?

Of course not.

You know your readers and their expectations better than I do. The main thing to remember is to give value to your readers.

And whether that value comes in the form of a cheat sheet, an actionable tip or a good laugh, the better the quality, the more of your soul you pour into it, and the deeper the level you connect with your audience, the more successful your welcome email sequence will be.

Happy emailing!

Meet the Guest Blogger

photo of Maya Saric copywriter at SharpshineCopy

Maya Saric 🌞 SharpshineCopy is a copywriter who helps service-based, and heart-centered entrepreneurs get more subscribers, sign-ups, and clients through copy that converts. She CREATES copy for website pages, sales pages, and email sequences, but she also overhauls & upgrades the copy YOU wrote.

What she doesn’t do, however, is sleazy, sucky, slimy, NOR stodgy. 😉

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2 Responses

  1. You’re welcome, and Marva, thank you SO much for taking the time to comment 🙂. It really means a lot to hear my work will help you and make a difference.

  2. Maya, you just delivered some killer content with this post. I am saving, pinning and keeping this to return to as my go-to resource. I recently started a new site and will use this as my guide for my new welcome sequence!
    Thanks for your expert advice and guidance.

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