Welcome emails. We go on about them all the time. But that's only because of how important they are when it comes to nurturing your email list!
Here is a story that demonstrates EXACTLY why welcome emails are so important:
Your welcome email is like the storefront of a shop on the high street.
Imagine a guy called Doug. Doug just opened a new shop on his local high street selling cupcakes (they’re really good - he’s won awards).
After a few weeks, Doug was pulling his hair out. Hardly anyone was coming in to buy his cakes. So far, his mum was his biggest customer.
He knows his muffins are great. They sold out quickly whenever he set up stalls at local events.
So what was the problem?
One day, after becoming increasingly frustrated, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He stormed out of his store and onto the high street. He grabbed the first local he could find and yelled: “Why won’t you come into my store?!?”
The local took one look at his store and said: “Why should I? What do you do?”
Doug saw his storefront through the eyes of the locals. He noticed it was blank. There was no name, no brand colour, no outside seating, and no visuals, the lights inside were dim so you couldn't see much through the windows, and the door was closed.
Now, it seems ludicrous that someone would open a store without working on the storefront. But without a welcome email, that’s how you’re treating your email marketing.
And having one isn’t enough - you’ve gotta make sure it’s good as well. Here’s why it matters:
Welcome emails have high engagement. Welcome emails are read 42% more often according to martech.org
They have a 91% open rate (Hive.co)
74% of consumers expect a welcome email as soon as they subscribe (WordStream)
Welcome emails see more than 3x the transactions and revenue-per-email over regular promotional emails (InboxArmy)
Anyway - onto the examples! Here are 6 great examples of e-commerce welcome emails that we LOVE (and how we'd improve them).
Example 1: Polaroid
What do we like about it?
🔥 It tells the subscriber what to expect from future emails
🔥 Template is clean and skimmable
🔥 The offer (10% off) is good and the CTA is clear and simple
🔥 Not too much fluff
🔥 Secondary CTA is presented after the image break so doesn't take away from the main CTA
What could be improved?
💡 There is no personalisation
💡 The subject line "Welcome to the Polaroid newsletter" could be more interesting
💡 Tell subscribers when and how often they will hear from you
Example 2: Spritz Society
What do we like about it?
🔥 Very clean template
🔥 It's skimmable
🔥 The main CTA is repeated
🔥 Simple welcome offer
🔥 Details on what to expect from future emails
What could be improved?
💡 Include the welcome offer in the subject line or preview text
💡 Try some personalisation
💡 Get specific with the CTA text
Example 3: Urban Decay
What do we like about it?
🔥 Compelling, gamified loyalty programme
🔥 It's personalised
🔥 The subject line is compelling: "Welcome to UD Beauty Junkies. This Is Where You Rank."
🔥 Details on what to expect from future emails
What could be improved?
💡 The CTA is weak. A more compelling reason to click through is needed
💡 There was no specific preview text set for this email
💡 The body copy isn't skimmable and is confusing
Example 4: Lazy Oaf
What do we like about it?
🔥 Clear welcome offer (10% off)
🔥 The subject line is compelling: "Welcome! Here's A Gift To Say Thank You ❤"
🔥 Simple, clear and skimmable
What could be improved?
💡 The CTA isn't very obvious. The button should be bigger and more irresistible
💡 The preview text for this email was generic
💡 The header image doesn't offer anything of value
Example 5: frank body
What do we like about it?
🔥 Gamified loyalty programme
🔥 Format is fun and easy to read
🔥 Simple, clear and skimmable
🔥 Sets expectations
What could be improved?
💡 The CTA could be improved. An offer would make it more compelling (CTA not pictured - reads "CHECK IN NOW")
💡 The preview text and subject line for this email were both generic
Example 6: disco
What do we like about it?
🔥 The copy has personality - it's fun
🔥 The CTA is repeated with the same offer. It's clear and compelling
🔥 There's some social proof for good measure
🔥 It's skimmable and readable
What could be improved?
💡 The email size is large. Reducing it could help with deliverability
💡 Setting expectations for future emails is key
💡 Some of the copy is fluffy and superfluous
Did you enjoy this? Ever wondered how good your email marketing is?