Open rates for welcome emails average between 50-60 percent – much higher than standard marketing emails. That’s great, but it’s important for marketers to build off of that winning start and strive to get something more substantial accomplished. In fact, research shows that building trust in the first few months translates into greater long-term success for a customer relationship.

Here are six strategies our team at OMI uses to enable our clients to get the most out of welcome emails and nurture immediate, incremental engagement and brand loyalty:

1. Suggest the next step: Since your prospect has cared enough about your content to subscribe, don’t assume he or she will figure out what to do next – suggest the next step for them to take to engage with your brand in your welcome email. This might include inviting them to your upcoming webinar or in-person event, watching your introductory video or scheduling a one-on-one consultation. The point is to clearly present the ideal next step in your sales process and invite your new subscriber to participate.

2. Convey your brand or mission statement: Your welcome email presents the perfect opportunity to reinforce your business values and goals. This would be ideal for non-profits or even any company that wants to differentiate itself from the competition, or for those businesses whose value proposition may need a bit more of an explanation. Conveying your values doesn’t have to take away from the lead nurturing pipeline; it can actually accelerate the sales process if your prospects can identify and relate to your brand.

3. Offer a free trial:  Free trials provide a valuable way to get your prospects started with using your product. If your company does business online – maybe it offers an online software system, for example -- your welcome email can make it easy for your new subscribers to sign up for a trial subscription. Next, continue to keep the process simple by personalizing their experience with pre-populated data used from their subscription sign up, including providing a user name and a clear “log-in now” button to get them started. Remind them of your solution benefits to entice them to immediately try your system.

4. Communicate subscriber benefits: Don’t just tell your new subscriber about your company, products or services, describe the benefits of being a subscriber, what they can expect in the future, and invite them to start getting more out of the relationship in a variety of ways, such as a coupon, a free training class, a social event or other personalized offer.

5. Ask for more data: You may have kept your subscriber form short in order to not scare off prospects. Use your welcome email as an opportunity to collect more information so that you can tailor future communications and ensure your subscribers receive the right content. You might want to link to a survey or quiz in your welcome email to simplify the information gathering process.

6. Go for the sale: You’ve gathered the new subscriber’s interest, information and attention; why not go for the sale right away? Do this, tactfully of course, by offering a limited time offer or coupon for new subscribers.  

There’s no doubt that welcome emails are important and expected, and best of all, they will almost surely be opened. But it’s also important to take advantage of the welcome stage to guide your new subscribers to the next step in their buying journey. Doing this will not only allow them to solve their challenges more quickly, but also get them closer to a sale.

Outward Media’s proven data cleansing services and targeted, accurate email data can enable you to achieve better email marketing ROI and, ultimately, convert more prospects into customers. Take a look at our case studies to find out more.