🔖 Bookmark this: the best guide in the world for writing your email welcome sequence
If writing your email welcome sequence makes you want to set fire to your home with your laptop inside, give me 10 minutes to walk you through this thing before you need to file a fraudulent home insurance claim with Santander.
Over the next 3 billion words, I will teach you everything you need to write a welcome sequence for your small, service-based business.
Before you continue, please note there are a few provisos to this email marketing guide.
Rule number 1. I can’t kill anybody.
Rule number 2. I can’t make anybody fall in love with you.
Rule number 3. I won’t be addressing product-based businesses or people with lead magnets.
When you’ve got physical products like candles, keyrings, or flux capacitors, your welcome sequence will be very focused on your product range, and incentives to get potential customers to shop their first order ASAP (free shipping, discounts, limited-time offers), so there’s less ‘soft sell’ and more straight-up sell-sell.
This is not to say that some of the stuff I discuss below won’t apply, but this probably isn’t the best blog post for you. Sorry, Etsy friends.
As for my magnetic pals, when you start your subscriber journey via a lead magnet, you’ve already qualified someone’s interest with something very specific (your checklist, e-book, quiz, whatever), so your sequence will need to take this into account and link back to the magnet (getting people to download it and use it and then connecting all that back to your biz, what you do, etc.).
Honestly? Most lead magnets SUCK. So, maybe just don’t do a lead magnet and read on.
In all cases, this guide is best for coaches, therapists, copywriters, designers, strategists, consultants, and anyone else with a service-based business.
Back up, back up, what IS an email welcome sequence?
Excellent question.
When someone lands on your website, you probably have a newsletter form on your homepage, right?
And it’s probably some variation of this:
Um. I’ve noticed you around. Uh, I find you very attractive. Um. Would you go to bed inbox with me?
Your potential client flings their name and email address at you, hits ‘submit’ on the form, and then…
Well.
Nothing.
In many (very sad) cases, that’s where your customer journey ends.
(Except for that dry-ass confirmation email, which everyone leaves with the soulless template copy provided by their ESP.)
No onward relationship.
This is why I’m sitting here writing this. Many small business owners get as far as the sexy form bit on their website and forget to do anything with their subscribers afterwards.
The welcome sequence is the series of emails that should happen once your new subscriber submits their details. It’s the courtship phase of your relationship, where things start to get hot, heavy, and personal.
And the best part?
It’s automatic (supersonic, hypnotic, funky fresh).
So all you have to do is sit the f*ck down, write it once (very well), schedule it via your email service provider of choice, and it’s done forever (or at least until you review it in 3-6 months and figure out if it’s leading to paying clients overtime).
But why do I need a welcome sequence? Can’t I just keep DMing everyone forever?
Shortish answer: you need a welcome sequence if you want your potential client’s undivided attention, and the only place you can get that online is 1-1 in an inbox. Email marketing is like a never-ending trust fall. Every time you send out an email, you put a little more of yourself out there, and over time, this type of intimacy-building marketing tends to turn into sales.
Another shortish answer: look, yeah, I’m not going to do that pitch everyone does about how if you don’t have a mailing list, your dog will die, and Meta’s SWAT team will swing down from your living room ceiling, wearing hazmat suits, screaming at you to give up your Instagram credentials and spraying you down with pesticide.
I’m not writing this to convince you to do email marketing.
Your best marketing is going to happen on the channels you enjoy using.
With this in mind, please don’t read on if you’re going to cack yourself with anxiety thinking you need to set up your mailing list now.
There’s no point doing this unless you’re going to want to do it properly. (And I get enough shit emails to tell you not everyone should be doing email marketing) so genuinely, think this through.
And now, without further ado, here is my 5-email breakdown of what you can include in your email welcome sequence.
Email 1 | Welcome Email (send immediately)
Subject line idea: Did we just become best friends? / Let’s get started, Nadia/ Your new fave email is here / <drops bags> Hunny, I’m home!
Content: your welcome email gets a 4x higher open rate and 10x more clicks than any other email type you send. So you don’t want to f*ck this up, mmmkay?
I’ve done something RIDICULOUSLY generous for this first prompt, and I’ve written an example for you. I’m not doing this for the rest of the emails cos I’m not running an email-writing charity, and you do, unfortunately, need to pay me if you want emails this good.
Thank your subscriber for signing up for your emails: I’m super jazzed to be in your inbox right now. I know it’s a big deal handing over your email address, so I promise I’ll keep it safe, and I’ll try not to send you emails that make you go, OH MY GOD HERE WE GO AGAIN, ANOTHER FUCKING EMAIL, WHEN WILL THEY STOP?!
In fact, I keep a CSV file of my email list on a USB port I wear around my neck like a sexy little dog collar. So even if I fall into a large vat of chocolate at a chocolate factory (which, tbh, has only happened once), your details are safe with me.
Introduce them to who you are: I’m Nadia. I’m a copywriter and business strategist. In another life, I worked in Dubai with brands like Carrefour, Cartier, Priory, Dubai Design District, Meraas, and Privilee. I’ve been head of sales in a San Francisco-based SaaS startup, I’ve been a marketing and communications manager at a luxury membership company, and I’ve even run a co-working space in an art district.
Right. Now that I’ve done the LinkedIn bit, let’s never talk about that stuff again.
I just need you to know I’m kind of a big deal, and you can trust me with your digital marketing. In fact, I’m so clever I have to roll my huge brain around on a special little gold trolley cos it’s too big and heavy to keep inside my skull.
(For balance, a project manager once threw a whiteboard pen at me during a board meeting, and this other time, I lost a sale, and the head of sales lobbed his phone at my head.)
Brief intro to what you do/what you help them with: These days, I apply my big brand knowledge to small businesses and startups. My special skill is making website copy un-boring. My special-er skill is helping fix bad marketing and sales.
Let them know how often you plan to get in touch: you can expect me to land in your inbox once a week/once a month/whenever I muster an email’s worth of words.
And recap what you’ll talk about: I want you to have a gold trolley for your brain, too, so all my emails are designed to get you thinking smarter about your copy, marketing, and sales. If you take my advice, there’s no reason you can’t fix your small business without paying me oodles to do it for you. (But it’s cool if you want to pay me oodles one day too. I only need to make 76 more oodles to retire, so it’s all for a good cause.)
CTA time! Always give your sub summin’ to do even if you just want them to visit your website and check out your services: Now we’ve had fun in your inbox, let’s have fun on my website. Click here (link to your services page), and I’ll blow your mind with all the things you can make me do for you.
OR
Now you know all my secrets, the power imbalance is making me feel weird, so please hit reply and tell me what you do for a living.
Note that this is just a suggestion.
The idea is that your sub is MEGA digging you right now, so strike while the iron is hot and get them to engage with you ASAP. This could mean getting them to book a consultation call, offering an incentive to book a service, or even just asking them to follow you on social media!
Goal: first impressions are everything, daaaarling. You need to shine. Make sure your sub knows what they’re getting themselves into, and give them a little action to do cos you want to train them to ENGAGE from early on in the relationship.
Email 2 | Tell your origin story (2 days later)
Subject line: Why I do this/ Storytime!/ I bet you’re wondering how I got here/ Open for cringe pic of me
Content:
Think origin story. Think Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider. Think opening credits with a rousing Hans Zimmer soundtrack. It’s time to share the big story.
The thing that got you into doing what you do now.
And it doesn’t HAVE to be one of those tear-jerker LinkedIn stories about finding a dog on the street and feeding it half a burger, then going for an interview the next day and finding out the dog you helped is the CEO of the company you’re interviewing at, and he’s so impressed by your altruism he gives you the job.
The origin story I tell in my welcome sequence is a very modest tale about how I almost died of boredom fixing CVs for people in my local coffee shop. I decided to pivot because I’m terrified of boredom—doing boring work, reading boring words, and now I spend my days fighting boring marketing.
Hot tip: If you’re stuck with how to start your origin story, then find a picture of yourself from the time when you started your business, or just before.
Maybe you worked somewhere funny?
Maybe you were just miserable in a dead-end job.
Maybe it’s you on the front cover of TIMES magazine.
Whatever it is, a picture is a good way to kick things off when you’re stuck.
Remember, the origin story is not your life story. So please don’t trauma-dump on your subscriber. It’s weird. You’re only two emails into your relationship.
The origin story email is also the perfect time to explain your mission, your values, and why what you do is special (and so different from everything else out there). You can even weave in a testimonial if you’re feeling daring.
Goal: By sharing your brand story, you’re building on that budding connection you’ve got going on, and you’re embedding yourself in your subs' brains like one of those parasitic yeerks from Animorphs (if you get this niche reference, I want you to go back to my email and hit reply because you’re my best friend now).
CTA: Your subscriber is getting to know you, so why not ask a little about them too. Ask them to reply and tell you their weirdest job before they started doing what they do now.
Whatever you ask, do make sure it’s small.
A common mistake I see online is people asking their audience MASSIVE asks (and then being super surprised when no one takes them up on it).
You want to breadcrumb your requests and make them low effort.
Someone who doesn’t even know you isn’t going to sit and write you a 500-word response to your email (unless your mum is on your list). So try to make it easy for people to engage with you by keeping your questions easy to respond to.
Email 3 | Spotlight your top service (4 days later)
Subject line: worst coach ever/ bad designer ruined my life/are you still doing this?/Got website shame?
Content:
It’s finally time to sell your thing. You’ve warmed up your sub, so now they’re really digging you, it’s time to connect all the lovely brand stuff with what you actually sell.
This is your first ‘deep pitch,’ so describe your client’s problem in detail. Make it clear. You can use before-and-after photos, benefits, features, a testimonial, a case study, or a locket of your grandmother’s hair. Do whatever you need to do to make your services (or the service you’re most keen to sell) easy to understand and access through this email.
In my welcome sequence, my service-selling email is called ‘Nightmare on Homepage Street’. I use it to describe how terrifying it is to stare at a blank page and not know how to write or structure a homepage. This email consistently brings in fresh business because it clearly explains my ideal client’s problem. I also love doing Homepage Revamps (where I revamp homepage copy), so it’s a win-win.
My CTA is to book a consultation, because I want you to take a bigger step with me and think about talking to me about your business now. And that might happen if you feel like I GET your problem space and I speak to those frustrations with a clear solution.
The goal is to invite people to work with you, whether that’s getting them to take a first step and have a chat or, if it’s a low-cost service, straight-up asking them for the sale!
Most small business owners I talk to tell me they're scared to sell over email because they’re worried subs will be put off by the sales chat.
Newsflash: you’re running a business newsletter for your business. If people don’t like you selling business, respectfully, they need to GTFO and unsubscribe.
Email 4 | Teach ‘em something educational (6 days later)
Subject line: my best tip ever/ fix any email with this tip/ fix your website in 5 minutes/ my fave copy hack
Content:
Sending emails is a delicate balance of give and take. The privilege of being in someone’s inbox is always only 1 unsubscribe button away, so if you send a sales pitch one day, try to follow it up with a nice juicy carrot the next day.
Remember, this tip is going in your welcome sequence, so make this tip/trick/hack something timeless and special.
A good place to start is brainstorming the most frequent complaints/pain points clients share with you. Or let them in on the easiest, most effective fix you can make in the next 5 minutes.
Easy actions are super motivating, and you want your subscribers to feel successful, excited and a little bit giddy that they’ve been able to do something alone (with your helpful guidance).
This is more of that breadcrumbing stuff we were talking about.
If 1 tip is doable, they’ll be more likely to open the next email and the next email and keep trying your methods (and build a preference for the way you teach and do things).
Also, it makes you look hella smart, and we LOVE a thought leader.
Goal: show off your knowledge. Establish yourself as a bit of a smarty pants. Give them value. Keep your subscribers keen for more of your beans. You want to be known as the go-to for what you do. So showcase that knowledge proudly.
Email 5 | Wrap it up + keep ‘em keen (8 days later)
Subject line: That’s a wrap / you made it! / I’m sick of me, are you?/ No more emails for you (for now)
Content:
It’s the end of the road. Thank your sub for their time and attention, and let them know you’re done showering them with welcome emails.
Some people like to send gifts at this point in their journey (like a free download or WTV). I’m not this kind of person, but I’m also not against it. Especially if you’ve hinted that there’s a gift waiting at the end of the welcome sequence earlier in your other emails. Then, you’ve given the sub another incentive to open your emails. Win.
Now’s also a good time to remind them that moving forward, they can look forward to getting your daily/monthly/whatever-frequency emails.
At this point, I like to ask for feedback about my emails and I do this with a form, but you can simply ask them to reply to your email. Feedback is a great way to learn if your welcome sequence is hitting the mark with your subs.
Finally.
Chuck in one more CTA inviting them to stay inside your little world with you and connect on social media. If you want, ask them if they have any email topic suggestions for future mail!
Goal: the welcome sequence is all about bonding with your sub, so ensure you underscore how happy you are to have them along for this newsletter-sending ride.
4 bonus things ‘cos it’s already 12:15am and I might as well die writing this blog post.
1. Don’t use 5-10 CTAs at the bottom of each email. You’re giving me decision fatigue, and it makes me want to scream.
Focusing on just 1 problem, story, or idea can make emails easier to write. When you finish, neatly tie up your email with one call to action. Make it easy for people to make decisions.
2. Keep your formatting simple
Do not send people a solid wall of text. Let your sentences breathe. This is an email; it’s supposed to be quick, fun, and light.
3. Don’t copy people
What works for me won’t necessarily work for you. Similarly, my content goals are not necessarily your content goals. So before you try to emulate someone else’s style, just know that it probably won’t get you the same results because you don’t know the strategy behind that copy.
4. Have a strategy
Sometimes writing emails is difficult because you don’t know why the hell you’re even doing it. If that’s you, consider hiring someone like me to help you work through it with you.
Want my eyeballs on your welcome sequence?
I’m working on a 4-week email course where I’ll teach you everything you need to write the best sequence ever. You’ll get copywriting tips, email writing tips, and you can even share your emails with me for review.
Interested? Add your name to the waitlist below.