eM+C: Critical Elements to Getting Welcome Messages Right, From the Start Part 1
By Ross Kramer, CEO, Listrak
From 3.26.10 issue of eM+C All About Email.
A Welcome Message is an important part of your email marketing strategy for many reasons: it validates email addresses; confirms opt-in and subscriber details; provides opportunity to collect profiling data; and engages subscribers at the time they’re most interested in your brand.
But, if you’re sending a single message you’re missing opportunities to truly engage your audience when they’re most likely to read your messages. A welcome series, on the other hand, allows you to increase engagement and the subscriber lifecycle. With a series you can set expectations, build relationships and provide valuable information to enhance the brand experience.
A welcome series is very effective when it’s targeted. You should consider creating a different series for past purchasers and non-purchasers. For example, a buyer who opts-in to your list during the online checkout process your welcome series could include member benefits, return policies, preference inquiries and surveys. For those subscribers who have not yet purchased, the welcome series could include special offers, product reviews, and video testimonials to encourage a first sale.
Whatever type of welcome series you create, several elements should be considered. This article explores five critical elements.
Set specific goals - Think about what you want out of your series and each message. Be specific. Knowing your goals in advance will help you build a successful series and ensure the messages work together to achieve the goal.
Determine the right number of messages – This is entirely determined by your audience, sales process and campaign goals. A series should consist of at least three messages, but depending on the purpose of the series it could be more. I’ve recently received series of five messages when subscribing to a digital marketing forum. The key is to test various options to identify what works.
Set the right cadence – The initial message should be sent immediately upon subscription. However, you need to test the timing of consecutive messages to find what works for your audience, products and sales process.
Differentiate the welcome messages – Filter out new subscribers during the welcome series process so those messages stand out. The welcome series is designed to engage subscribers and build brand advocates so don’t dilute the messages by sending other email campaigns at the same time.
Automate – In order to be timely and effective, your series must be automated. Using a behaviorally triggered email solution you can set up the messages in advance and the system automatically deploys the first message upon subscription and subsequent messages based on a defined time frame. Automated campaigns save you time and enable you to easily segment subscribers and personalize messages.
A targeted, thoughtful welcome series will increase the engagement level of your subscribers and achieve more interaction with the brand. There are several additional elements to consider when developing your welcome series which I’ll cover in part two of this article, including segmentation, subjects, branding, content, and personalization, so keep a look out.