Staring at a blank page when trying to write your welcome email can be daunting. Don’t get despondent though, in this article we’ll offer you some handy tips to help you write the perfect welcome email to your subscribers.

What is a welcome email?

Your welcome email is your chance to make a good first impression and introduce yourself to your subscribers. It’s essentially the first email that automatically gets sent to your subscribers when they decide to opt in to your list. Once you’ve enticed your audience to sign up to your list, you’ll want to ensure that you start forming a connection with them right away.

Why is it important?

Once you’ve done the hard work of getting people to sign up to your list you want to ensure they feel like they’ve made the right decision. Email is all about building trust and credibility as it’s such a personal form of communication. People expect to receive welcome emails from brands - don’t disappoint them by not adding one.

Another reason why welcome emails are so important is because stats show that welcome emails receive some of the highest engagement rates in terms of email, with some sources citing that welcome emails have a read rate of 34% versus 24% that is seen on average on other types of email campaigns (ReturnPath).

Where do you start?

Your subject line

The first thing you’ll want to do is decide on a killer subject line. Something simple is best here as you want to clearly identify your email as a welcome email. Research suggests keeping your email subject line to between 6 to 10 words.

Some common examples of welcome email subject lines below:

• Welcome and thanks for subscribing
• You’ve signed up (yay)
• Welcome to (business name)
• Welcome to the world of (business name)
• Welcome to (business name), (subscriber name)
• (Subscriber Name), let’s get you started with (business name)

Now that you’ve created a clearly identifiable subject line to introduce what a subscriber can expect in the welcome email, you’ll get started on your email design and content.

A header or greeting:

Now that you’ve managed to get your subscriber to open your email, you’ll want an eye catching header to set the tone. This could be a brand related image or something celebratory to show them you’re excited that they’ve joined your list - it all depends on your business or promise that was made to entice your audience to sign up.

Below you’ll find some examples of email headers in welcome emails.

An eye-catching question

This is a screenshot of the welcome email we send to our client at Mail Blaze

Celebratory header

Blinkist uses a straightforward Thank you with confetti in their header.

Brand building header image

Fracture shows a collection of images (the business has an environmental edge and prints photos onto glass instead of paper)

Lyft’s image used in their welcome email is completely on brand, instantly communicating what they do and welcomes you to their service.

Body text:

Tell your subscriber what you want them to do next. If there are steps they need to complete, list them. If you want them to explore different categories of products you offer, show them the categories and add call to action buttons to link to these areas. Don’t forget, if you promised subscribers a voucher code or discount code, to add it to your email and also explain how they can redeem these.

The main consideration here is adding value to your audience. Help them move forward and drive action.

Some varied examples of the body text in welcome emails below.

Introduce your brand

Pass on your discount

Dru Kayak uses a great combination of on-brand elements while still providing the welcome code they promised subscribers for joining their list

Provide a how-to or get started

Footer:

Don’t forget to add a footer which ends off your email and gives your subscriber information such as: -Your address

• A way to unsubscribe
• Link to your preference centre (where they can update their information)
• Quick links to your site (optional)
• Any copyright information
• Links to social media platforms (if not already in your header)

You’re now all done and can rest assured that you’ve welcomed your subscribers to your list in an inviting and welcoming manner.

Have you set up your welcome email yet? Tell us in the comments below what your biggest hurdle is when it comes to your welcome email.