By: Michael Keenan
Retention
December 1, 2022
16-minute read
What is a welcome message?
A welcome message, typically sent as part of a series of onboarding emails, is the first email you receive from a new or existing customer. This message can be a subscription confirmation or, in some cases, a post-purchase message. Unlike standard business email formats, this email is sent to individuals who have opted to engage with your brand.
12 Best Welcome Message Examples
We have gathered 12 examples of great welcome messages from both large and small companies. Pay attention to what you like and dislike to draw inspiration for your own welcome messages. Here’s a quick list of the companies we’re looking at: reMarkable, Cozy Earth, Chipotle, Persona, Ten Tree, Under Armour, Beardbrand, Good Meat, Steven Alan, Future Noodles, Alder, Snack TBH.
1. reMarkable
reMarkable offers background about the company in its welcome message, then smoothly transitions into information about its new product (reMarkable 2). The email contains a clear piece to help the reader discover more about the company and its products through various links.
2. Cozy Earth
Cozy Earth offers a discount on the first direct purchase in its welcome message, featuring a “Shop Now” button as a call to action. Cozy Earth also showcases its best-selling shopping categories to make it easier for customers to quickly find what they want.
3. Chipotle
Chipotle welcomes you to the Chipotle Rewards program. The email immediately showcases what it offers and the perks you receive as a loyal customer. It also includes the same CTA buttons throughout the email (Order Food). Finally, the email makes it personal by addressing customers by name and informing them of Christmas rewards.
4. Persona
Persona also offers a significant discount on the first month in its welcome message, driving you to a very clear CTA (Activate 50% Off). After the headline, the content guides you through some of Persona’s core values and how it aligns with them.
5. Ten Tree
Ten Tree welcomes you with a warm greeting and introduces its mission. It provides a discount code within the text and a “Shop Now” button. It shows that they care about conveying their purpose before asking you to shop. Similar to Chipotle, it also features a rewards system.
6. Under Armour
If you’re a sports enthusiast, you’ve likely heard of Under Armour, the sportswear and equipment brand. The design of the welcome message you’ll see below reflects the potential customers the brand seeks to attract. It captures you first in the subject line, which says, “It’s official: You’re on the team.” Then, the first thing you see are famous athletes and the phrase “Welcome to the team.” All of this helps customers feel like they are part of a community that understands them. Additionally, the rest of the email includes a discount code for the store, a link to download one of its apps, and a link to watch workout videos for inspiration.
7. Beardbrand
In the middle of this list, we come to Beardbrand, a men’s grooming company selling products like beard oils, combs, and fragrances (and also excelling in social media content marketing). In this welcome message, Beardbrand offers a special product bundle to make subscribers feel like they’re joining an exclusive club. While the email includes small links to the homepage, blog, and product page, the email has a clear goal of getting the customer to purchase the starter bundle.
8. GOOD Meat
The next company is GOOD Meat, a pioneering company in producing lab-grown meat. With a simple and consistent visual design, GOOD Meat aims to produce meat without deforestation and slaughtering. In this welcome message, you are greeted with an image of a chicken on a fork with the bold phrase “You’re making history.” This email largely focuses on telling the story of GOOD Meat and ensuring you stay updated on future emails.
9.
Steven Alan
Steven Alan comes to the list with a short and direct welcome message, where Steven Alan asks you in one sentence to shop for men or women, learn about life, or go to the “About” page. The best part of this email (and future email chains) is that the brand carries a person’s name, so it always feels like you’re receiving a personal email.
10. Future Noodles
From simple to vibrant, next on the list is Future Noodles. This noodle-focused company aims to create healthy, plant-based, and environmentally friendly noodles. In this welcome message, you are greeted with a bowl of noodles, with the phrase “Making our planet healthier, one noodle at a time.” Similar to GOOD Meat, Future Noodles uses a storytelling approach to welcome you to the club, along with a recommendation for the best sellers.
11. Alder
Alder, an e-commerce athletic apparel company, also comes with a great welcome message. Alder opens with a special offer for a discount code for customers to use on their first order. However, it also emphasizes Alder’s goal of sustainability, transparency, and diversity in the outdoor athletic apparel industry.
12. Snack TBH
The last example of our welcome message comes from Snack TBH. This company has only one product, and they highlight this product in their email campaigns. The simple email above tells you that your toast deserves the best. The great thing about having only one product is that you can have a very clear CTA, which happens with the “Visit Our Store” button under the welcome text.
How to Write a Welcome Message
According to data from Omnisend, welcome emails have an average conversion rate of 52.9%, compared to 14.26% for post-purchase emails. Additionally, in the first half of 2021, email automation helped achieve nearly double the average open rates compared to promotional campaigns.
When writing a welcome message, or the first message in a welcome series, there are several key goals to keep in mind. Let’s take a look at them below.
Present Your Value Proposition
You don’t want to drown customers in promotional messages during the only timeframe you have to create a strong first impression. Remember, you should give before you expect to receive. Ravi Davda, CEO of Rockstar Marketing, illustrates, “It’s the first impression the customer has of your business, and of course, they’ve given you their email address, so they want to know what you have to say. It’s a great opportunity for your business to impress the user. And it can help build loyalty.” Discounts, tips, tricks, and tailored broadcasts can provide value while also encouraging users to purchase in the future.
Personalize Your Message
Modern email marketing services enable targeting in ways never seen before. This is good: according to McKinsey & Company, 71% of consumers expect personalization, and moreover, 76% feel frustrated when they don’t find it.
When it comes to personalization, Mandy Mushay, an email marketing expert with over a decade of experience, states, “The best marketing – regardless of the channel – should not feel like marketing. Welcome messages should be personal and customer-centric: connect the dots between the customer’s needs and your brand, and make it easy to find the perfect product match through effective commerce. Sales will follow.”
Send the Welcome Message Immediately
Suppose you incentivize joining your newsletter with a promotional code for a 10% discount on the customer’s next purchase. If someone is ready to buy now and hasn’t received that promotional code, you risk losing the sale altogether. Not only that, but with an average click rate of 5.63% in welcome emails, you need all the help you can get to motivate potential customers.
The best
You have the opportunity to achieve those conversions by sending the email when the customer expects it (i.e., after they have provided you with their email address). Remind subscribers to remove your address from filters
Sometimes, email programs automatically send promotional messages to the spam folder. Encourage subscribers to add your email address to their whitelist so they don’t miss any emails.
Under Armour does this, but only in the small print at the bottom of the email. This strategy seems to be common (check your inbox to see how many promotional emails contain this type of text in the fine print). If you are really concerned about landing in the spam folder, you can make this message larger.
Setting Expectations
Allow subscribers to easily change their preferences or unsubscribe, and inform them about what new content you will send and how often they can expect it in your list at first. This step is crucial for building trust with new subscribers and is essential for email best practices. If you have European or British customers, you are required to make your email marketing legally transparent, from the sign-up form to the email series at the bottom.
Make the Call to Action Clear
What do you want users to do with your welcome message? Do you want them to use a discount code to make a purchase, or do you want them to go to the “About” page to learn more? Whatever the answer, make it easy to understand what the next step is, and avoid creating confusion with multiple CTAs.
Use High-Quality Images
Whether product images or custom illustrations, the images in your welcome message need to be stunning. Remember to use images that resonate with your target audience – animated images and emojis may work well for some, but not for others.
Images are also a great way to build social proof, if done correctly. Do you remember the opening image in Under Armour? With the text “Welcome to the Team” among images of famous athletes, it tells the customer “Hey, these world-class athletes trust us. You should, too.” You can create something compelling without a huge investment in email design, at least initially. First, check out some DIY photo editing tools. Use image editing software like GIMP or Canva to write a large “Hello” over one of your standout images and use it as a banner in your email. Or use a collage editing tool in PicMonkey to put all your products together in a collage.
Make it Mobile-Friendly
While creating a beautifully designed welcome message is important, it also needs to be actionable across devices. This not only makes life easier for your customers (and don’t forget, it makes it more accessible), but it also helps improve engagement rates for your email.
According to research from Mailchimp, responsive designs get higher click rates across all devices, but see a 15% increase on mobile devices.
Before you go ahead and broadcast a new email (or create an email marketing automation series), check how it looks on multiple devices.
Craft an Engaging Subject Line
Often the subject line “Your Subscription is Confirmed” or “Welcome to Our Email List!” is not enough. You’ll need to be more creative if you want to stand out in the crowded inbox.
Not sure which subject line would be best? Try some A/B testing (with proper segmentation) to find out which generates higher open and click rates.
Remember,
The subject line of your welcome message (and preview text) is the first part of the communication that the potential customer will see. Make them feel something – curiosity, urgency, or belonging were common topics in our examples.
Welcome Message Templates
In this section, we will review some templates to help spark your creativity and kickstart your email marketing strategy for your welcome messages.
Subject Line Templates
Depending on the type of welcome message you’re sending, you’ll need to take a different approach to your subject line. At the very least, if you’re aiming for an urgent sale, “Hi! Check us out on Twitter!” won’t help you.
Whatever approach you take, here’s an idea: 10% off just for you! A 10% discount is waiting for you at [brand], [name]! Shop now [Emoji] Hi [name]. Glad to have you with us Hi [name]. Here’s a [%] discount on our account! Did I mention… a discount? [Emoji] A glimpse of what’s to come [Emoji] Treat yourself [Emoji] Hi [name]. Here’s your [lead magnet]! Your journey with [brand/product/purpose] starts here
If none of these templates appeal to you, you can always use a tool like email subject line tester to help you determine your ideal subject line.
Email Content Templates
When it comes to the main email text, treat it like a landing page: simple, with one clear goal in mind. With that, let’s take a look at three basic templates that reflect the core themes observed in the examples above: brand storytelling, building curiosity, or urgent sales.
Brand Storytelling
Hello [name]. Hi! I’m [founder of the company]. Our journey began in [year] to [state purpose/mission]. Since then, [statement of social proof, e.g., hundreds of thousands of customers use our products for…]. We’re so excited to have you join us! As a token of appreciation, I’d like to offer you [discount] on your first order. Let’s start [brand purpose] together!
Building Curiosity
Hello [name], welcome to [brand/community]! You’ve joined an exclusive group of amazing people all working towards [brand purpose or addressing customer pain]. In case you’re wondering, our product [ingredients/unique design] was created by [talk a bit about your design process]. If you’re interested in learning more, check out [link to About Us/blog article/product landing page]. Now that you’re part of our community, look out for exclusive offers and new release updates. (Don’t forget to add us to your contacts list so we don’t end up in spam!)
Urgent Sales
Hello [name]! [Discount offer] Welcome to [brand]! Thanks for signing up. We want you to have the best [product purpose] experience ever. Treat yourself to [brand product] with [discount] off your first purchase. Use code [discount code] at checkout. See you there! [name]
Four Apps to Build a Welcome Email Series
The Shopify app store has all the apps you need to optimize your store, especially for email marketing.
Here are four apps that will help you create automated emails to welcome someone when they sign up for your email list. Click on the apps to understand how they work and how they can be integrated into your store.
Shopify Email, Klaviyo, Constant Contact, GetResponse
Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for Customers
Since your welcome message is often the first time your brand enters the customer’s fiercely guarded inbox, you need to earn your place there and make the message mean something. While the welcome message carries a lot of weight, it is ultimately just the first interaction in a long and fruitful relationship we hope to have. Set the tone, say something compelling, and give customers and subscribers a reason to come back. Then start sending out great newsletters regularly so subscribers know that giving you a chance to reach their inbox was a good decision after all.
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