Your welcome email when someone signs-up for your agency newsletter and general communications must be sent out immediately after they sign up and it must be a barn-burner that makes the subscriber happy to have joined. Does your current welcome email do that? When was the last time you reviewed it? Can it be better?
Often overlooked, this welcome email sets the tone for what they can expect from you. It’s important that the email be written well. Of course you want to acknowledge their subscription, but you have to also tell them what will happen next, and affirm that they’ve got a place in your community, a vital place.
Your short email should include ….
- A heart-warming, sincere thank you with specifics on what they signed up for (no generic info!)
- Reassurance that they made a fantastic decision
- A summary of what they just signed-up for
- Helpful information and features they might like
- What will happen next
The tone of your short email should be very personal, very genuine, and excited. It should be about building a positive relationships vs being pushy. The purpose is to solidify the relationship, make donors/constituents feel comfortable with their decision (which reduces unsubscribes).
You must begin to build bonds with donors/constituents in the first email you send.
The email must come from a real person’s account. People are more likely to open an email from Suzy or Sam Smith than one from your agencies info@account. A real name gives a human quality to your agency. Also, it must be as personable as possible and use the donor’s voice approach: say “you” instead of I.
Some say the email should be graphically formatted, others say, no, keep it simple so that the reader feels that he or she is getting an email directly from the sender. You can go either way.
I think having two clickable banners to your agency’s Facebook and Web site should be part of the email, plus you will want to make use of a PS, and also have your phone number in it.
See below for a sample of a welcome email when you sign-up to use Pinterest:
Hi Grasshopper,
You are the newest member of Pinterest, a community to share collections of things you love. We’re excited to have you as a member and can’t wait to see what you pin. A few tips to get the most out of Pinterest:
-Install the bookmarklet. It lets you add a pin from any website with just one click. -Follow a few more pinboards. After all, Pinterest is as much about discovering new things as it is about sharing. -Pin carefully! As one of the first members of Pinterest, your pins will help set the tone for the whole community. Use big images, write thoughtful descriptions, and pin things you really love.
Thanks for joining and happy pinning!
-Ben and the Pinterest Team
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