A welcome message or email is the first thing someone sees when they join your email or newsletter list. This email will have the highest open rate of any email you send to the customer, so you need to make it count! The welcome email sent when someone joins your mailing list normally gets an open rate of over 60%, far more than a newsletter or other correspondence. You need to maximize this first impression and not waste this important marketing opportunity.
Most people just send an email thanking the person for signing up for the mailing list, but you should never send an email that doesn’t give the reader an opportunity to do something. Below are some ideas for what you can do with a welcome email to increase engagement:
- Include a Call to Action or link to a section of your website. This could be upcoming classes, a class calendar, the section of your site that shows your class categories. Encourage them to browse and register.
- Encourage them to engage with your social media accounts. Include links to all your accounts and give them a brief list of what to expect to find there.
- Link to a video. This could be a welcome video where someone explains how to best take advantage of your program, or how to find what they are looking for on your website. Video create a “welcoming” atmosphere and lead to more engagement.
- Send them a whitepaper or some valuable introductory content. Give them something they can download and read that shows the value of your program. Class and instructor highlights work well, or student success stories.
- This is also a great place to feature some customer testimonials.
- Link them to your blog if you have one.
- If you want to get really advanced, link them to a survey that asks what types of emails they want in the future (even ask them what programing types they are interested in) and ask them what their preferred frequency is.
Overall you should make sure you are not wasting the opportunity a welcome email affords you. You have a very captive audience who probably will never be this attentive to an email!