Welcome Email Opportunity
The welcome email is probably the single greatest opportunity that email marketers have to engage subscribers and drive action
. Welcome messages generate superior open rates and, done well, create a halo effect that boosts subscribers engagement with subsequent promotional and trigger emails. After examining the welcome email practices of 112 of the largest online retailers for our newly released Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study, here are five ways to squander that welcome email opportunity: 1. You do not send a welcome email. Given the golden opportunity that welcome emails present marketers, it is unfortunate that so many still let the moment pass. Only 76 of the retailers in our study send out welcome emails. While that is up from 72 in 2007 and 66 in 2006, it is disheartening that more companies are not seizing this key marketing moment. 2. You take longer than 24 hours to deliver your welcome email. First impressions can be everything and a quickly delivered welcome is a critical element of this. Twenty three percent of retailers took more than 24 hours to deliver their welcome emails, greatly diminishing their effectiveness. I would encourage marketers to get their welcome emails into new subscribers inboxes within 10 minutes. A solid majority of retailers 62 are already doing this. If you are in the minority and take more than 10 minutes, more than 24 hours or even more than a week to deliver your welcome, then you are risking unsubscribes and spam complaints because of your delays. 3. Your welcome email is difficult to recognize in the inbox. Help your welcome emails stand out with strong branding in the sender name, sender address and subject line. Be sure to use the brand that the recipient is familiar with, not a parent or sister company name. Nearly 4 of retailers used no branding in their sender name, rendering it unrecognizable and putting their future deliverability at risk by courting a spam complaint. Even if you have solid branding in both your sender name and address, your subject line should echo your branding and should make it clear that this is the welcome email you were expecting by using the word welcome or some form of thanks. More than 75 of the retailers in our study included their brand name in their welcome email is subject line and 80 included thanks or welcome. 4. Your welcome email does not set expectations for future emails. While some subscription processes are rich with detailed descriptions and sample newsletters, most are not, which heightens the need for detailed welcome emails. However, retailers did a poor job of setting content and frequency expectations. For example, only 76 explained the benefits of being a subscriber. Regrettably, retailers have become less and less open about the frequency at which they will be emailing subscribers. This year only 6 said even in somewhat vague terms how often subscribers should expect emails. That is down from 13 in 2007 and 17 in 2006. Considering that over mailing is one of the top two reasons that people unsubscribe, this failure to set volume expectations is a real liability. 5. Your welcome email does not have any calls to action. Welcome emails are not subscription confirmation emails. They are your first opportunity to engage subscribers and demonstrate the value of your emails. The clearest indication that retailers are missing the point is that only 87 included a link to their homepage. Providing that link is the most elementary avenue of engagement. Retailers missed many other opportunities to engage new subscribers with promotional, multichannel, loyalty, and viral elements as well. If you have not examined your welcome email in a while, I encourage you to compare yours against the benchmarks in our study and look for ways to communicate your brand strengths and engage your subscribers.by: Pawan100 It's All In The Headline Recession Booster Ideas For Online Info Product Marketers And Small Businesses Considering An Online Money Making System? Read This First. Is Your Attitude Making You Poor? Basic Techniques for Getting Your Online Business Going Online Money Making Quiz Learn How To Make Quick $1000 Online From Now. Promoting Your Affiliate Products !......... Can Adsens Still be a Cash Cow for You? Free Online Businesses are Not Really Free Latest Information On Jenny Craig Diet..... Making Your Adsense Business Work Better Make Easy Money With Paid Surveys