Imagine this.
You meet a girl at a party and you think you guys really kicked it off well. You send her a text the following day but don’t get any response.
You accidentally slept in and come rushing to your job interview 20 minutes late with your wrinkled shirt and undone tie.
You attend your partner’s parents dinner party and meet them for the first time, but end up making a fool of yourself after having a few too many beers.
What do these all have in common?
First impression. As cliche as it sounds, first impressions matter.
Studies have shown that we have a seven second window before our brain forms an impression of someone. Within 60 seconds, the brain will then decide what kind of person they are, what they’re like, and whether we’d like to get to know them better.
This translate to our welcome email. When we send that very first email to a new subscriber, they’re forming a mental image of us and our brand. The welcome email should be simple, actionable and informative. That is why there are certain “touches” that we can implement to create the perfect welcome email.
But first…
What’s the purpose of the welcome email?
If you’re not already sending welcome emails, then you should definitely start. They have an 4 times higher open rate and 5 times click through rate compared to normal mailings.
A welcome email should let your user know that they subscribed to your mailing list successfully.
However, the best welcome emails are the ones that move your subscriber to the next phase of your onboarding process.
This will depend on the type of industry you’re in (blog, ecommerce, software), but it should still lead to some sort of action you want to be performed by your new subscriber. This could be downloading an ebook, creating their profile, or making their first purchase. Whatever it is, your email must be delivering some sort of value.
What makes the perfect welcome email?
There are many ways you can craft a welcome email. However, here at MageMail, we believe that the perfect welcome email should contain several of the following:
Alright, now that we know what we’re looking for, let’s take a look at some real live examples:
1. Eyebuy Direct
Most users want some sort of confirmation to know their email sign up was a success. Eyebuy Direct does just that with this very simple email. They believe in their product so they don’t need any pushy message or button to convince their visitor to make a purchase. However, they inform their users what other bonus features are included for creating an account and includes a CTA button to bring users back to their site.
2. Lids
Here’s a unique email. Lids make users feel welcomed and tell them that they joined an exclusive membership known as the “Lids Access Pass”. They list all the benefits of this membership and encourages users to spend more to earn the rewards.
They opt for a 1-2-3 method which makes it easy for readers to know what action to take next with a simple diagram. They get users to finish completing their profile by inserting a bright orange button in the middle of the email.
3. Warby Parker
Warby Parker takes an approach of showing users what their brand is all about. They crafted a unique systematic timeline so that as you scroll down, users will be getting hit with the brand’s personality and story.
Most people are biased to high-quality products, which is why Warby Parker shows users how their glasses are made. As we scroll down further, we see how for each purchase we make, Warby Parker will donate a pair to someone in need. This will negate any buyer’s remorse if we feel bad about a purchase. We see a blog and music playlist section which further shows brand personality.
4. Jenson USA
Jenson USA trust that their product will sell itself hence there is no push for customers to shop or any CTA button. They only inform users that they joined some epic mailing list with their creative copywriting, “adventure awaits”.
They build trust with their subscribers by showing that they are always happy to help with any queries and are always seeking customer feedback.
5. Pottery Barn
Here’s the first example featuring a discount code. This is a very popular method of encouraging your new subscribers to make their first purchase. They make sure this is the very first thing readers see when opening up their email. They want customers to take immediate action by showing the coupon code, followed by a CTA button below.
Maybe your visitor forgot what they got themselves into? No worries, Pottery Barn shows eye-catchy images below to remind users what they have in store.
6. Lucky Vitamin
This welcome email from founder Sam Wolf is personal and unique. He lets subscribers know what their brand stands for and what kind of experience you can expect when using their products. He does this in a clever way by adding a video. Although it’s only a GIF within the email, when clicked on, it sends users back to their website onto their “about” page.
This is a personal message from the founder which makes users feel like there’s deeper personal connection with the brand and not just a seller-customer relationship.
7. Look Fantastic
There’s a lot going on in this welcome email but Look Fantastic somehow makes it work.
Aside from your typical welcome message and the benefits of signing up to the newsletter, they ask users to follow their social media accounts in a not-so-boring way. They list why you should follow by showing you the benefits. By liking their Facebook page, you will be up to date with beauty news and tips, and by following their Instagram, you will find inspiration from their images.
8. Rocket Reach
For any software company, if no one downloads your product, it is worthless to them. That is why it’s super important to get users to download your product as soon as possible. Rock Reach makes it simple by describing what their product does is in one sentence. As you can see, it’s a very simple email with very few words and a CTA button to get users downloading their product. They even included a video link explaining what their product is about if anyone is unsure.
9. Beatrix
Here’s Beatrix’s welcome email for trial users. They establish a relationship with their users by displaying their contact email if anyone has any problems or queries. They advise users to create an assistant which will make the software more valuable to users. By doing so, it will encourage users to become a paying customer quicker as they will see the value in the product.
10. Swim Outlet
Here’s another discount code offer email. However, two things are different about this email than what we saw in Pottery Barn. First, they tell users that the 10% discount code is only valid until a certain date. This provokes a sense of urgency, encouraging users to purchase something before it expires. Second, they added a customer testimonials section at the bottom of their email. This is great social proof as it shows what other customers think about their products.
11. King Arthur Flour
This is another great email that showcases the company’s brand and personality. They give a fun, childlike feeling while showing their passion for food. Aside from welcoming users to their mailing list, they make it clear what value users will receive in future emails: recipes, tips, and baking inspiration. They also have several CTA buttons throughout the email to bring users back to their site.
12. Zavvi
Here’s a simple welcome email by Zavvi where they thank users for joining their list and what to expect in future emails. What’s great about this email is the clever use of the image. Being an electronics entertainment company, they used a character from one of their products to emphasize an action – a cartoon guy from the video game, Fallout, giving the thumbs up as if it was the right choice to joining their mailing list. Clever.
Zavvi also wants to connect with users on a more personal level so that they can send more personalized emails by asking users to fill out more information about themselves.
13. The Children’s Place
This welcome email is dynamic and loaded with colors, but somehow, they make it work. The design reflects the brand’s personality of being childlike, which contrasts well with their target audience. Rewards is the theme of this email. They offer discounts for each purchase you make at Children’s Place and by adding your child’s birthday.
14. BuzzSumo
Here’s a very interesting email. BuzzSumo went for a plain-text welcome email. BuzzSumo focuses on making the user’s trial experience worthwhile by providing links to helpful resources. The more a customer sees value in a product, the quicker they will become a paying customer.
Although it’s not a very appealing email, it never hurts to try out all different types of email. Sometimes less is more and can outperform dynamic emails.
Also note the email was sent personally from Matthew and not just a generic email – a clever use of personalizing your emails.
Conclusion
And there we have it, 14 examples of welcome emails.
What other tips do you guys have in creating the perfect welcome email?
