I recently received two questions regarding welcome messages.  I initially stated that it isn’t necessarily easily answered with specifics.  Listrak is always keen on having a chat about the details first.  However, I offered up some broad strokes to help get the conversation started.

“How many different welcome emails should we create?”

I would say that you should have one unique message for each unique acquisition touch point.  So, you may have the following messages:

1) New Organic subscriber Welcome (Pop-up, simple form, etc.)

2) New Customer Welcome (Marketing message for new customers being added to the list for the first time.)

3) New Preference Center Subscriber Welcome (Welcome for subscribers who are offering up more data than just email.)

4) Additional Touch Points (In Store, Special Event, Social Media, etc)

Those messages may all be mostly the same with a small change to some copy, content, or call to action.

Additionally, I would recommend two follow-up emails that occur after the initial welcome message.  These can be generic enough to fit into the messaging requirements of each audience.

“Also, do you have any insights as to what types of messages work best?”

As for messages, I think the following three messages work well:

1) Welcome 1 – Thank You for reaching out, Welcome to our brand, Here is what you can expect, Here is the most important thing you need to know.  This will include specific language that speaks to the funnel through which the subscriber entered.

2) Welcome 2 – Our brand is important (or products), This is why we are different, This is why you can feel “safe” buying from us (trust, awareness, exclusivity, scarcity, etc.)

3) Welcome 3 – There are a few more things you must know about us, here they are…  

Although these are clearly broad strokes, it may give you the starting point you were looking for.  The broad strokes can be distilled down by having a more detailed discussion about your audience, products, brand standards, marketing goals, KPIs, and more.