Many front-end flows are narrow and exclusive.
Abandoned Cart and Checkout Flows send to people who almost bought.
Abandoned Browse Flows send to people who peeked at a product.
Active-on-Site Flows hit up people who simply checked out your site a few times.
But there’s one that every new subscriber that has never made a purchase should receive:
The Welcome Sequence.
This sequence is your chance to “bring the customer into the fold.” Could be the difference between a one-off purchase and a customer for life.
Below, we’ll dive deep into the Welcome Sequence — the key components, benefits, best practices, and pitfalls to avoid.
Understanding the Welcome Sequence
Defining the Welcome Sequence
The Welcome Sequence triggers when a customer signs up for your email list. It consists of several emails introducing the customer to the brand and pushing the first sale. Thus, the Welcome Sequence happens early in the customer journey.
The Welcome Sequence can consist of emails and SMS messages.
Goals and Role
Welcome Flows aim primarily to secure your first sale from a new customer. They also aim to familiarize your customers with the brand and show them what you’re all about.
How the Welcome Sequence Helps Your Business
The Welcome Sequence helps your business in several ways:
- Maximizes ROAS: Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is like ROI, but specifically for ad spend. A Welcome Sequence raises your ROAS by converting more of your leads on the front end.
- Gathers customer data: The Welcome Flow provides lots of customer data — what kinds of angles/messaging secures the purchase, what kinds of products your front-end leads purchase, what type of content they want, and more. You can use this across your business, including in your Welcome Flow (such as personalizing the flow based on recipient behavior).
- Sets expectations: The Welcome Sequences informs the customer about your mailing frequency, what you’ll talk about, and so on. This “cleans” off uninterested customers and maximizes deliverability/list health. Speaking of deliverability/list health…
- Boosts deliverability/list health: Welcome Sequences tend to have high open rates since the customer’s looking forward to the lead magnet and isn’t used to receiving your emails yet. The former also contributes to high CTRs. High opens and CTRs boost list health. You can encourage replies in emails to help your deliverability more.
- Kickstarts retention: A Welcome Sequence lets you tell your origin story and flesh out your brand mission/values. This screens out the wrong customers and gets the right ones to say “I like this brand.” A great first step to a long-term customer relationship.
The Key Components of the Welcome Sequence
The Welcome Sequence is one of the longer flows out there. They take more work, but can also deliver huge rewards… and offer you a ton of creative room.
In general, your sequence should go from
- Welcoming/introducing yourself…
- To making the sales argument…
- To expanding on your product’s features/benefits…
- To showing social proof…
- To pushing the urgency.
There are plenty of email frameworks and sequence arrangements you can play with to accomplish these goals.
However, we’ll look at a good “base” for a Welcome Sequence. You can use this as a quick “minimum viable sequence”, then add more emails and test new copy/angles in the existing ones later.
So let’s take a look…
The Welcome Email
The first email welcomes the customer to your list, urges them to use the lead magnet (depending on the context), and sets a first impression of your brand.
Subject line
Customers will be primed to engage with this email, so you have tons of angles to try out.
Let’s look at a few good subject lines with explanations of their angles:
- “Welcome to the family/party/*insert similar noun here*”: Straightforward. Offers a warm welcome.
- “Almost there…” — This implies that the customer took action to grab the lead magnet and almost has it in their hands. Works great for eBook lead magnets.
Body Copy
The body copy must deliver the lead magnet ASAP. For instance, if it’s a discount code, greet the reader, thank them for signing up, and then hand them the discount code. If it’s an eBook, give them the download link right after that initial welcome copy.
After that, you can give them a few sentences of a rundown on your brand.
NOTE: You can combine your Welcome and Origin Story Emails in the body copy of the first email.
The Origin Story Email
This email tells your brand’s story to establish feelings of relatability and build a bond with the customer. It accomplishes the Origin Story piece of the Welcome Sequence while starting the shift to Sales Arguments.
NOTE: Again, you can combine this with the Welcome Email by strategically placing your CTAs.
Subject line
The subject line should indicate that you’re about to tell a story. Pretty easy stuff.
Here are some ideas:
- “Why we started [brand]”
- “Why we exist”
- “A little bit about us”
Body Copy
Just tell your origin story. Some elements to consider include:
- A bit about yourself and background
- What you did before starting your brand
- Where the idea for your brand came from
- Why you started your brand
- Challenges you ran into while growing the brand
- “Where you started” vs. “where you are today” (such as “since then, we’ve grown to help over X people solve Y problem) for a bit of natural social proof
The more you can tie your background and passion to your brand’s “why”, the more it will resonate with the right customers.
The “person-to-person” nature of email can truly shine through in an origin story. So let your personality and passion fly.
NOTE: If you combine the Welcome and Origin Story emails, I recommend including a CTA to buy/download your lead magnet right after the “welcome/thanks for subscribing” section… then dive into your origin story. Gives those itching to buy/take action an opportunity to do so.
The Positioning Email
This email shows why your brand and/or product(s) are different and better than the competition. This gets you into the Sales Argument phase of the sequence.
Subject line
The subject line should tell the reader you’re about to explain what sets you apart. It should use curiosity to drive opens.
Some ideas include:
“The truth about [product/industry]”
“Why choose [brand]?”
“What makes [brand/product] different”
Body Copy
To position your product/brand, you’ll want to get into your unique mechanism and USP. Whether that’s how your product is made, what it’s made from, your customer service/support strength, etc.
Remember: Show, don’t tell.
You can plainly state why your product/brand is different and better, but only sparingly. Try to use stories, testimonials, and other “showy” elements to help the reader visualize your product. Show how the unique mechanism/USP behind your product makes the customer’s experience better.
This copy may build off the Origin Story, depending on what you wrote for the Origin Story. If so, this can strengthen your brand’s messaging congruency to create a more cohesive experience.
The Educational Email
This email educates the reader a key pain point/problem/goal while showing your product/service as the answer.
Subject line
Not much I can say in the way of subject lines.
Pick a topic relevant to your offer and a burning customer pain/problem/goal. Use your noggin to secure the open. Shouldn’t be hard if you’re promising valuable information.
Body Copy
Body copy advice is the same as the subject line. Simply educate the customer about their problem/pain/goal and tie your product’s features/benefits to that.
The FAQ Email
This email addresses top customer questions about your brand or product(s) while subtly selling.
Subject line
No need to get fancy here. Some subject line ideas include:
“FAQs about [brand]/[product]”
“Your [brand] questions, answered”
“Got questions, [firstname]?”
Body Copy
This is one of your easiest Welcome Sequence emails.
Just paste the most common questions (informed by your customer data and research) into the email and write the answers.
Use basic persuasion principles when writing the answers. Don’t just answer the question, but build your offer’s perceived value with benefit-driven language.
Then, write up a quick intro about how you’ll answer the most common questions.
Finally, add a quick conclusion about how you hope you were able to answer their questions… then insert your CTA.
NOTE: Format the questions with bold and/or italics. This helps readers skip to particular questions and enhances overall readability.
The Social Proof Email
This email hits the customer with social proof since customers tend to trust other customers.
There are a few broad types of Social Proof emails:
- “Testimonial barrage”: Include several testimonials. Ideally, each addresses a different pain/objection and/or highlights a distinct benefit.
- “Aspirational Identity”: I learned this one from Chris Orzechowski. It’s one longer case study-style email featuring someone famous or authoritative in the field. For instance, if you sell fitness equipment to bodybuilders and an IFBB bodybuilder uses it.
You can also write a regular case study email on a customer if you have no celebrity, mini-celebrity, or industry celebrity endorsements.
Subject line
Testimonial barrage subject lines should allude to the fact that, well, lots of others are enjoying your product.
Here are a couple of ideas:
“What other [BRAND] customers say about [PRODUCT]”
“The reviews are in…”
“The verdict on [BRAND] is in…”
Aspirational identity emails can mention the celebrity in the subject line or just mention what kind of celebrity.
For instance:
“This [CELEB JOB] loves this [PRODUCT]. Do you?”
“Here’s why [CELEBRITY] loves his/her [PRODUCT]”
A great example is Carnivore Snax. Joe Rogan praised them on his podcast, and now they use that praise everywhere in their marketing. You’ll see his testimonial on the Carnivore Snax homepage.
Lesson in there.
Body Copy
Two approaches here.
If you’re doing the “testimonial barrage” style, minimal additional copy is needed. Perhaps a line or two before each testimonial to summarize that testimonial.
If you’re doing an “aspirational identity” email, tell the story:
- Problem
- Pain resulting from the problem
- Obstacles to solving the problem
- Encountering your brand
- Objections/hesitations (if needed)
- Trying the product
- Testimonial
Then tie it back to the customer.
The Final Push
This email ramps up the urgency and/or scarcity to close the sale on any remaining Welcome Sequence customers.
Subject line
Get that urgency pumping in the subject line. Here are some ideas:
“last chance, [firstname]”
“[Expiring] welcome savings gone soon”
If you’re feeling creative, you could riff off these ideas:
“What’s it gonna take?”
“Wow, [firstname], I can’t believe it…”
Body Copy
Push the urgency and scarcity at the bare minimum. Reiterate the main benefits of the offer as well.
Consider including a few short testimonials that reinforce these benefits as well. More social proof doesn’t hurt (when it flows nicely with the rest of the email.
Other Emails
The additional emails you can add depend on what you already have.
For example, if you have a testimonial barrage email, throw in an “aspirational identity” case study email… or even a normal case study.
You could also add a product creation story email if you only have one product. If you segment your welcome sequence properly, tailoring each offer to a different customer segment, you could write a product creation story email for each segment.
SMS’s
SMS can do a few things here.
First, you can send an SMS with most Welcome Sequence emails to complement the email. Reiterate the email in a shorter format or briefly discuss another relevant point.
Another option is to use SMS as a conversation starter. Something like “Hey, have any questions?” and variations can open up sales conversations and gather valuable data regarding questions/objections.
Best Practices For the Welcome Sequence
Let’s look at some tips and best practices for each aspect of the Welcome Sequence:
Triggers and Filters
The Welcome Sequence trigger is when a lead signs up for your email list through a free avenue.
Put another way: If they get on your list through purchasing and thus giving you their email… they should generally NOT receive a Welcome Sequence. A Post-Purchase Sequence serves that customer better.
Similarly — when a recipient in this flow makes a purchase, they should exit the flow. Welcoming them is great, but again, the Post-Purchase Sequence can pick up where the Welcome Sequence left off.
Time Delay
In general, Welcome Flows should not have a time delay. The moment the customer meets the criteria, they should begin receiving this sequence.
Think about it: If they requested your eBook or checklist, you shouldn’t make them wait. If they signed up to grab a discount code that you deliver via email, the same applies.
The exception: If you give them the code up front, a time delay of 10 minutes is a good idea. Gives them a chance to buy before they get distracted by your first email.
(Again, if they buy immediately, the Post-Purchase Flow can take up the reins.)
Don’t go any longer than 10 minutes. If they haven’t bought in 10 minutes, it’s either because:
- They’re not ready to buy (this is where the Welcome Flow helps)
- They’re confused of suffering analysis paralysis (in which case you should tweak your offer structure and copy to clarify things for them)
Copy
The copy will vary by email, but make it fit your brand personality. Your Welcome Sequence should feel congruent and seamless to the recipient.
Keep the focus on the sale, but don’t be afraid to really get into it with the recipient. For instance, if you have an emotional or passion-driven story behind the brand’s founding, let loose a bit. Get the right customers on board with you.
That said:
Early on, use the copy to get the customer excited to join your list. Make it feel like “yet another email list” and more like they just joined a community.
Use urgency toward the end of the sequence to clinch the sale for any outstanding recipients who haven’t bought.
Design
Include your logo and, if you’re comfortable, a signature block with your image/job title/company email.
Social proof emails may include testimonial blocks and screenshots. Whether you want to do the blocks/screenshots or write the testimonials in plain text is up to you.
Measuring Success for the Welcome Sequence
Here are some key metrics to track for the Welcome Sequence and how to improve them:
Open Rate
Chances are your Welcome Sequence will have a higher open rate on the first and last emails. The first email = curiosity, while the last email = urgency to use the discount.
So yes, watch these two emails… but closely monitor the middle ones. These can offer significant improvements per unit of time or $ spent improving opens. Particularly if the copy’s good.
How to improve:
- A/B test subject lines and preview text.
- A/B test sender name and sender email.
- Ensure deliverability is healthy.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The CTR tells you if your Welcome Sequence is getting the customer excited to buy.
Thus, this is a vital KPIs alongside sales in particular. Focus your fire on the emails with the lowest CTRs until you get the number up, then move to the next.
How to improve:
- A/B test copy.
- A/B test CTAs (and make sure they’re clear, concise, and prominent).
- A/B test CTA placement.
- Segment subscribers and personalize content.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate measures how many people completed the action you want. Sometimes, your conversion goal is sales.
However, your main conversion goal on some emails might be lead magnet downloads. This is particularly true for certain service-based businesses and info product brands that need more nurturing. You want to make sure your customer is taking action on what they downloaded. That quick win builds trust and could facilitate a sale.
How to improve:
- A/B test CTAs (and make sure they’re clear, concise, and prominent).
- A/B test CTA placement.
- Segment subscribers and personalize content.
Sales
As mentioned, sales and conversion rate will be the same thing for eCommerce brands looking to nab that first sale.
You will track sales as a separate conversion rate for any other business (aka those that don’t primarily use discount lead magnets).
For instance, if you sell courses and have a free eBook lead magnet, course sales off your Welcome Sequence is a different metric than eBook downloads.
How to improve:
- A/B test copy.
- A/B test lead magnets.
- A/B test offers, promotions, and pricing strategies.
- Use incentives + urgency.
- Optimize your website/online store.
- Segment subscribers and personalize content.
Unsubscribe Rate
Some people just hop on your list for the discount and the free stuff.
Monitoring your unsubscribe rate shows how many “freebie seekers” vs. “potential loyal customers” you have. This can tell you how well your messaging speaks to your customer/if you’re targeting the right customers.
How to improve:
- Clarify mailing expectations (frequency, cadence, topics, etc.).
- Refine your customer avatar.
- A/B test copy.
- Segment subscribers and personalize content.
- Make the unsubscribe button visible (this increases trust and can paradoxically reduce unsubscribes in some cases).
Welcome Sequence Pitfalls to Avoid
Watch out for these mistakes when crafting your Welcome Sequence:
Overwhelming the Customer
I’m a fan of frequent mailing, but there is such a thing as too frequent. Especially for brand-new customers.
Thus, don’t send your regular broadcast emails to Welcome Sequence recipients. You can do this in a few ways with filter criteria on your Engaged segments.
Once a recipient leaves the Welcome sequence (through buying or receiving every email), they can then qualify for your Engaged segment and seamlessly begin receiving your regular broadcasts.
Not Selling in Every Email
Look: You’re a business. You have to sell to make money. This is especially the case in a Welcome Sequence.
Not only is this your golden opportunity to close someone clearly interested in your brand…
But it sets proper expectations early on.
I once heard a story of a business owner who promised her audience she would not pitch them. She was there to help only.
But she wanted to launch a product and, at the same time, wanted to grow revenues. So when she actually did sell, her audience responded in not-so-kind fashion. She made little money and lost the audience she worked so hard to cultivate.
You don’t want that to happen to you, do you?
So sell in every Welcome Sequence email.
Some will unsubscribe, sure, but you didn’t want them anyway. And fewer will unsubscribe if you set proper expectations than if you fail to do so..
Being Overly Salesy
“Wait, Bradley. Didn’t you say that every email should sell?”
Yes. But your emails should not just be “BUY NOW!” (except for the last email).
You have to connect with the customer. Each email type we discussed above has its place in this process. They can all sell at the end of the email (and sometimes earlier on), but they need to offer something the customer wants to read.
Not Making it Long Enough
Not every customer buys off the first, second, or even third email. Lingering objections, questions, and hesitations may stop them. Heck — maybe they just miss the first three because they’re busy or get a ton of emails.
You cannot afford to write a short welcome flow. Five emails is a bare minimum for most brands.
This can even be true for low-ticket items (although more people will buy earlier, given the lower price tag).
NOTE: Just like with the first pitfall (not selling in every email), mailing the customer five+ times sets expectations about email frequency and cadence. Whether or not they buy off the Welcome Sequence, they learn to expect several emails per week from you. Screens out the people who won’t open/click, helping your deliverability and constraining ESP “per-contact” costs.
Waiting Too Long to Send the First Email
When someone signs up for your list, they intentionally opt in to receive emails. They expect to see an email from you after handing you their email address. They want their lead magnet.
So don’t put an unusually long time delay in here. A few minutes maximum if you give them a discount code up front, as I laid out earlier.
The Bottom Line on Welcome Sequences
The Welcome Sequence is most customers’ first email contact with your brand. Its main proximate goal is to make the sale and maximize your ROAS…
But, with that, it also sets expectations, improves deliverability, gathers customer data, and sets up the possibility for a happy, long-term customer relationship.
I won’t lie: The Welcome Sequence is one of the most effort-intensive flows. It has more emails than most, and a lot rides on its quality.
The upside?
The Welcome Sequence can also be one of your biggest cash cows if you nail it. So all that effort (with the help of this article, of course) is worth it in the end.
What to Do Next
- Implement this flow into your business if you don’t have it/Optimize your flow with insights from this post if you DO have it.
- Get on my email list using the signup form below.
- Share this post with someone who would find it helpful or insightful.
- Work with me if you want to earn more revenue, widen your margins, and improve retention through email and SMS… so you can quit worrying about acquisition.
2 Replies to “Essential Email Flows: The Welcome Sequence”
Comments are closed.