Creating a welcome email sequence is extremely important, even as a brand new blogger! It is never too early to start your email list, and actually, the earlier the better!
Creating a welcome email sequence allows you to stay in contact with your readers, send them valuable information, and market products and services.
By making an email sequence, you allow your audience to get to know you, and gain your trust, so they eventually feel comfortable buying from you! Email marketing can be used not only for your own products and services, but for your affiliate programs as well, which can be a great source of income.
Email marketing can take a bit of time to get set up and running, but once it’s done, you’re good to go! Once users sign up, then will automatically get sent a flow of emails that you have set up, without you even lifting a finger!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Before we get started, you will need to sign up with an email service if you have not done so already. Here are my two favorites:
With both services, you can get started with free subscriptions, which makes it easy to get started. They both also have sections titled “workflow” or “automations” or something along those lines, which is where you will create your welcome email sequence!
Take some time to get your account set up if you haven’t already, then we’ll get started with the good stuff!
Step 1: Create an Opt In
The first thing you will want to do when making your email welcome sequence is to create an opt in. This is a freebie, or an incentive for users to give you their email.
Think about if you go to Old Navy’s website. You automatically get a pop up offering you a discount in exchange for your email. Users aren’t just going to give you their email- they want something in return.
This is where you need to get creative. You can check out this list of opt in ideas here if you are feeling stuck!
If you don’t have a product or service you are selling just yet, create a freebie that is related to your top posts. If your top post is about best lipsticks or makeup, maybe offer a free beauty tutorial as an opt in. Get creative with it!
If you have a product or service you are selling, you will want to create a freebie that goes along with it. For example, if you are selling a fitness service, maybe your freebie could be a free workout video. If you are selling an ebook about best vegan recipes, maybe your freebie could be just one of those recipes. Think of it like a teaser!
A super easy way to create opt ins is with Canva. Get the pro version so you have more creative liberty!
This way, you know your audience is already interested in your fitness videos or recipes, so you’ve already captured your target audience. Now, all you need to do is convince them to buy your actual product. Easy, right!? We’ll get into this more later…
step 2: Create a subscribe form
Once you have your opt in created, it is time to create your subscribe form. You can do this easily through your email service, and it is typically pretty straight forward.
Decide if you want a pop up form, an embedded form (you can put this wherever you want), or both!
Additionally, let’s say you have 2 different opt ins for different products or services. You can create 2 different subscribe forms, which bring your user to 2 difference welcome email sequences! So, make sure you put the form on the pages that make sense!
For example, put your makeup tutorial opt in on your lipstick pages, and your recipe opt in on your cooking pages. Makes sense, right?
If you use Mailerlite, here is a more in depth guide on how to do this.
Make your subscribe form pretty, simple, informative, and catchy. Don’t just say, “Free recipe”. Say, “Download the BEST Pumpkin Pie Recipe that will Blow Everyone Away this Thanksgiving!” Or something along those lines.
Make your audience think they need it. That they want it. And that they need and want it NOW!
Step 3: Create a welcome email
Alright, now that you got some readers to sign up, they will be expecting their freebie right away. This is where your welcome email comes into play. There are a few guidelines you should follow in your welcome email, but the most important thing is to include the freebie!
Say hello or welcome, then immediately give them the download or link to your freebie. This is what they are immediately looking for, so make it easy!
Next, you might want to offer a content upgrade, if you have a product or service related to the freebie. This should be short and sweet. Like, “If you want more ___, check this out!” You don’t want to seem pushy or “sale-sy”, so just briefly mention it.
Next, share a little bit about you or your business. Who are you? What do you stand for? What can you offer? How can you help your reader?
Give your readers a chance to get to know you, and start to gain your trust. Be open and honest, but most of all, tell them what’s in it for them!
Next, let your readers know where else they can find you online. Share your social media links so they can join your other groups!
Lastly, give a little teaser for your next email. Let them know what’s to come, what they can expect from you next. Make it intriguing, exciting, and something you would want to read. Come up with a catchy headline, so your readers will be on the lookout for your next email!
Step 4: Emails 2-4
Next up on your welcome email sequence is, well, more emails! Your second email should be sent out about 2-3 days after your welcome email, then another one 2-3 days after that, and so on. You don’t want to bother your readers, but we also don’t want them to forget about us!
Emails 2-4 are very similar in that they all give your readers value. No one wants a sales pitch in every single email they open from you. Readers want value, freebies, information, or resources! So, that’s what we’ll give them!
This also helps to build reader’s trust, and to get them to feel your business is valuable, generous, and worth their time.
In emails 2-4, I always include some sort of freebie right off the bat, because, who doesn’t love a good freebie?! It doesn’t have to be anything crazy like an entire ebook. Just a simple printable or digital product will do the trick!
Next, you need to offer what you promised in the previous email. Give them information on the topic you teased them with! You can do this with a step by step tutorial, resources, or anything that gives your readers value!
Next, you can offer additional links or resources that relate to your topic. This is a great place to include your own links!
Lastly, tease your next email, just like you did in your welcome email. Keep your readers wanting to come back, and looking forward to their next email from you!
Step 5: The Sell
Your 5th email in your welcome email sequence is where you attempt to make a sale. Your readers have been following you for about a week now, and have received tons of valuable information and resources from you. Chances are, if they made it with you this far, they trust you and like hearing from you!
This is a great time to convince them to buy your product! This can be the same product you briefly mentioned in the welcome email.
The entire email should be almost like a landing page: why they need to buy your product, what’s in it for them, testimonials, and further information about the product.
Additionally, you might want to offer a discount as a further incentive to get them to purchase from you!
Not everyone will make the purchase, and that’s okay! Even if they don’t buy it, they have gotten another exposure to your product. Sometimes consumers need multiple exposures to your product before they make a purchase anyway!
Step 6: What's next?
Once your subscribers make it through the whole sequence, what do you do with them now? There are a few different options.
Firstly, you should weed out the users who didn’t open a single email you sent them. Clearly, they are not interested, and are taking up space in your subscriber count! You can find this type of information on your email service, and easily delete them.
For those subscribers who did open at least 1 or 2 of your emails, you might consider bringing them over to a new email sequence. Or, you can put them in a group that just receives weekly newsletters.
Depending on your email setup with newsletters and automations, you might have different options. If all else fails, just send them the weekly newsletters!
Contact me
As always, if you have any blogging questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me! You can find my contact information in the menu above, or leave a comment below!
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