Hi everyone! I hope you’ve had a great week! Thanks so much for being back for another edition of Letterly. 

This week, I started studying two email marketing courses—one by HubSpot Academy and one hosted on Domestika called Copywriting Essentials for Email Newsletters by Pam Neely. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned from these courses with you all in future editions. 😊 

Now, let’s dive into today’s edition.

Step-By-Step Guide

My welcome email open rate is 91.7%. 

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of my welcome email so you can achieve a similar result.

But first…

What is a welcome email?

"A welcome email is the first email you receive after signing up, subscribing, or submitting your email to an online store," according to HubSpot.

So, in my case, it was the first email you received from me after you subscribed to Letterly (this newsletter).

Now, you might be wondering, "Is a welcome email that important?"

YES, it is! It's one of the most crucial parts of your email marketing strategy.

Why is a welcome email important?

Three reasons.

One, it gives you a chance to thank your subscribers for subscribing. This is a huge rule in business—to make your subscribers feel APPRECIATED for their attention!

This leads to the next reason: Two, you give a great and positive first impression of yourself and your brand when you thank your subscribers for subscribing, set clear expectations, and provide them with more valuable content.

And three, if you do all the above, your subscribers are much more likely to open and read your emails and, perhaps, buy your products or services in the future.

8 Components of My Welcome Email

Component #1: A great subject line and preview text.

My subject line is, [RESPONSE NEEDED] You’re In! My preview text is, Welcome To Letterly!

Why did I choose this subject line and preview text?

One, they're both short and clear.

Two, they provide a clear confirmation for subscribers that they've subscribed.

Three, they state who it's from and show appreciation to subscribers.

Lastly, there's a sense of urgency and importance due to the brackets, capital letters, and 'response needed' text, making them more likely to open the email.

Component #2: Give thanks. 

The first thing I do is thank my subscribers for subscribing and welcome them to Letterly.

Why is this important?

Because, again, a rule in business is to make your subscribers feel appreciated for their attention. They have just given you direct communication to them. It's worth expressing gratitude for what they did.

Matt McGarry says it only takes 1-2 sentences. So, go ahead and do it!

Component #3: Remind your subscribers why they subscribed.

Next, I wrote: “If you’re here to 1) Start a newsletter 2) Grow your newsletter 3) Follow me on my journey, then you’re in the right place.”

Why?

Because I wanted to remind them WHY they subscribed to my newsletter. To get them EXCITED about what’s to come. And to let them know what they’ll get out of it.

Component #4: Set clear expectations.

Here, you’ll notice I went into much more detail about what my newsletter is about compared to my landing page and thank you page. 

I explain to my subscribers when they’ll get my newsletters, what time, and how often. I also go into detail about the exact formatting. 

Why is explaining all this information important? 

Because our brain craves three things, according to Will Steiner. 

We want to know:

• How long is this going to take?/How often will I receive these emails?

• What am I going to learn?

• What happens once I know this stuff?

Component #5: Remind your subscribers to do two things: Reply and move your emails to their ‘Primary’ inbox.

Email deliverability is weird sometimes.

So to make sure your subscribers get all your newsletters, ask them to do two things and explain why.

One, ask your subscribers to reply to the welcome email. It can be a simple ‘hi, hey,’ or any message. In my case, I asked them to let me know what they’re interested in learning more about so I can write newsletters that are relevant and helpful for them.

Two, ask your subscribers to move your welcome email to their ‘Primary’ inbox if it lands in their Spam or Promotions folder.

Then, I explained in a bigger and bolded font that they may not get my emails if they don’t do either one! Just for added emphasis. 

Component #6: Get your subscribers to engage with your content.

Next, I wrote, “In the meantime, you can read past editions here.”

Why did I include this?

One, I give my subscribers their next step before my Sunday newsletter arrives.

Two, they get to read past editions to get a ‘taste’ of what’s coming.

Three, I’m giving them more value so it builds trust.

If you have a lead magnet (an eBook, email course, webinar recording, etc.), you can write, “As a thank you for doing the above, here’s a FREE [Insert type of lead magnet] to do [Insert benefit or outcome of the lead magnet].”

It’s another way to show appreciation to your subscribers while giving them more value.

Alternatively, you can also ask them to follow you on social media, view your product, or anything you want to promote.

Component #7: Thank your subscribers again.

I thanked my subscribers, again, for subscribing.

And I reminded them that I’ll ‘see’ them on Sunday so they know when to expect my next email!

Component #8: Include an “unsubscribe” button.

Always give your subscribers a way to opt out if they’re not interested.

If they aren’t, then they’re probably not too keen on getting your emails, however often you send them.

Bonus Tip: Don’t use double opt-in.

I learned this from Matt McGarry.

He said by using double opt-in, you risk losing 20-40% of your subscribers.

Instead, he recommends sending emails to everyone. Then, removing non-openers after 30-60 days.

First impressions are important!

So make sure you make a positive impression for your subscribers by writing a great welcome email.

If you don’t, then there’s a high chance your subscribers may never open your other emails.

Best of luck!

A Writing Tip

Spend a ton of time on your subject lines (and headlines and hooks)! 

Why? 

Because no matter how great the body of your content is… no one will read it if your subject line doesn’t grab their attention. 

Here’s how I write my subject lines in four steps. 

1. Brainstorm one newsletter idea. 

2. Write 10 different subject lines about that one idea using Nicolas Cole and Dickie Bush’s Ultimate Headlines Cheat Sheet and Ayodeji Awosika’s Headline Vault. 

3. Analyze the subject line using the Advanced Marketing Institute. (Learned this from Ayo.) 

4. I choose the top two (between 40-50+%)—one for the subject line and one for the preview text.

What I'm Learning

The Fastest and Easiest Way To Increase Your Open Rate—I’ve shared this link before, but it’s SO GOOD! I also referenced it when I wrote my welcome email. Matt includes tons of examples to learn from so I definitely recommend reading this newsletter. 

16 Great Examples of Welcome Emails for New Customers [Templates]—HubSpot explains (in-depth) what a welcome is and why it’s important in this article. Plus, HubSpot provides 16 examples of great welcome emails AND templates for you to use. 

How to Write a Great Welcome Email for Your New Customers—Similar to HubSpot, Mailchimp also explains what a welcome is and why having one is important. It’s worth reading to cement all the information you learned from the above two links. 

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed reading today’s newsletter.

If you have a minute, I’d love for you to respond to this email to let me know:

• Your biggest takeaway

• Your biggest challenge

• Your biggest struggle right now

It helps me understand what you’re interested in learning more about so I can write content that’s helpful and relevant for you!

Thank you so much for that!

I’ll see you next Sunday,

Irene