3 Steps For Creating An Engaging Email Sequence

Now that you’ve got a good understanding of how email marketing can help your business flourish…

And you know all of the tips and tricks for building your list…

It’s time to capture the attention of your new subscribers!

Each new subscriber that opts in for your emails presents an opportunity for you as a business owner. 

This new fan has shown interest in learning more about your business, which gives you the chance to wow them with value while raising awareness for your brand.

But how you go about welcoming each new subscriber into your fold is a delicate matter. 

Your goal should be to build a relationship that’s founded on trust with your audience, and that means you need to be careful about when and how you market your offer or service with your subscribers – especially new ones.

Now, don’t misunderstand – we aren’t suggesting that you don’t try and sell your products or services. You are a business owner, after all. 

But how you sell needs to be done mindfully if you want true success. 

Today, we will go over how to create an onboarding welcome email series that educates, engages, and increases trust between your brand and your subscribers, so that the sale comes naturally.

1. Think About Your Message

Emma.com says, 

“A common mistake to avoid: Don’t start with the number of emails and then decide what goes in each one. 

Start with what you need to say, and then determine how many emails it’ll take to say it.

If someone is new to your email list, what do they need to know about your brand?”

Emma goes on to explain that if you sell a product or service, some things your subscribers might need to know could be : 

1. How our product or service works
2. How we’re different from our competitors
3. People rave about us
4. A special offer

If you’re a nonprofit, it might be this:

1. Our history and mission
2. Stories of impact we’ve made
3. Exclusive perks for donors/members
4. A calendar of this year’s events featuring Instagram photos

As you plan out your messaging, don’t forget to address any promises you made in your opt in and to set those expectations right off the bat. 

If your opt in is a weekly newsletter, make sure your new subscriber knows you will deliver on that promise. 

If it’s a free ebook, include the ebook in your very first email, and then proceed with your welcome series. 

Your welcome series is critical, but nothing should take precedence over the deliverable you chose to give in exchange for that email address. 

2. Focus Each Email Around Only One Message

A sequence of four to six emails is a good goal for your welcome series, but it’s not a hard set rule. 

The main thing is that you need to determine what your new subscriber must know, and then focus on one point per email. 

Here’s an example of a welcome series for a diabetic diet course – this business used a free recipe book as an opt in. 

Email #1: Your FREE recipes are here!

Purpose – Deliver the opt in promise (a recipe ebook).

Email #2: What To Do After A Diabetes Diagnosis

Purpose – Address the audiences biggest pain points (fear, declining health, hopelessness), and share the mission of the brand – to provide a solution to these pain points. 

Email #3: Before And After The Diabetes Diet

Purpose – Give real testimonials, or share a powerful story about how the product or service has changed lives for the better. 

Email #4: Top Tips For Managing Your Diabetes 

Purpose – Give away something of value – in this case a list of tips to help new diabetics manage their disease. This builds continued trust in the subscriber/brand relationship.

Email #5: Can Diet Really Really Reverse Diabetes?

Purpose – At this point you have built enough trust that you can directly offer your service, as long as you do it the right way. 

Remind your subscriber of your mission (in this case to help newly diagnosed diabetics regain their health and quality of life). 

This is a good opportunity to ease any objections they may have by offering a risk-free money back guarantee, reaffirming why you’re qualified to be an authority on the subject, and providing a few more testimonials. 

Then end with a clear CTA –  “Join in at The Diabetes Diet today, and learn how to regain your health and your life.” 

3. Make A Plan For After The Welcome Series

Depending on what you promised your subscribers as fulfillment will play a part in how you proceed after your welcome series. 

But whether or not you plan on sending a weekly or monthly newsletter, it’s important that you stay in active communication with your audience, without bombarding them with too many emails.

Try sending a piece of high value content out once a week, and an irresistible offer or discount of some kind once a week. 

Then watch your open, click through, and conversion rates. Your subscribers will tell you which content they are finding the most valuable, and over time you can adjust accordingly.

Remember – every business is different, and your welcome series should sound unique to you. 

But no matter your brand, make sure you lead with value, focus on relationship building, overcome common objections, and shine a light on the benefits of your service or offer.

Need help creating your email welcome series? Contact us today at Littlejohn’s Webshop!