The most important email you’ll ever send hasn’t changed, it’s still the Welcome Letter. Whether you are offering a service, selling retail or running a nonprofit organization, the goals are all the same. Increase the customer, client or member base and keep them happy and interested.
You want to increase that number with people who ideally are invested in your business, service or cause. To keep these folks invested, it seems one would have to take time to cultivate and maintain their interest, even after they hired you, purchased that dress or donated their time and money. It’s worth the time and effort to do this because happy, invested folks act as your agents, speak about you to their friends and family, which will ultimately grow your list.
Unfortunately, few businesses and organizations take the time to develop a relationship with their new list member right after the new subscriber purchases, hires or donates. What the business should do, and I have written about this before, is welcome those folks with open arms, or in the digital sense, with a personalized inspirational Welcome Letter.
Saying Welcome to your new list member and telling them what they can expect from future emails, may not be enough. You want to grow this relationship, so start by telling them that you really appreciate their interest and list subscription. Make them excited that they joined so they look forward to your next correspondence.
The Basics: There are three reasons to send a Welcome Letter:
- Acknowledge their new membership
- To thank your new member for joining
- Set their future expectations by explaining the purpose of your email list
How the Welcome Letter is executed is just as important as sending the Welcome Letter. Make them feel comfortable with their decision by writing a Welcome Letter with positive attitude and language and give them:
- A genuine warm, heartfelt Thank You and what they could look forward to
- The reason that they made a great decision and why
- Details on their purchase or contribution
- Useful information and features of interest
The Welcome Letter
Decisions, decisions: which email format will be well received by your new subscriber? Is Mobile or Html the way to go, or should you considering emailing in plain text, which can be perceived as being more friendly and personable to some recipients. To decide on the format, consider this:
- Are you trying to build familiarly with your brand or are you communicating on a personal level with a new list member who joined to support your charity? Where a colorful HTML email that would work in one situation may not work in another. Whatever you decide to use, allow your subscriber to express their preferences, with a link to their profile page.
- Consider using a person’s name in the From Address. Which, do you think, looks more personable; receiving an email from ZYDcharity@lists.com or Judy@zydcharity.org.
- Do you under-use the word you? Your newsletter is for them, not you. So take “you” out of the equation and write to them. Limit the use of the word, “I”, or remove it altogether from your message.
- Your Welcome Letter is not a novel. You probably have a lot to say, but most people do not want to invest a lot of time reading one message. Keep it short, simple and get to the point. Add website and social links to your letter: your recipient may want to know where else they can find you.
The most important email you send, your Welcome Letter, should be designed to Welcome your new recipient to your company/organization. A Welcome letter, genuine and sincere can eliminate buyer’s remorse and sets the stage for a long term relationship. You can read about my other suggestions for a Welcome Letter here. And if you want a sample, join our mailing list.
