10 Tips for Better Welcome Emails

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Welcome to the Joy Joy Podcast where jewelry is joy and everyone is encouraged to add more polish and sparkle to the world with topics ranging from marketing tips to business development, best practices and beyond. This is the go-to podcast for ambitious jewelry industry dreamers like you. Hi, I’m your host Laryssa Wirstiuk. Through this podcast I aim to empower and inspire jewelry entrepreneurs and professionals so they can thrive while adding more beauty to the world. I’m passionate about digital marketing for jewelry brands, and I’m excited to share my passion with you. As we all know jewelry is joy, so I’ll gladly seize any opportunity to talk about it.

0:55
This is episode 166 and today I’m going to be sharing 10 tips for sending better welcome emails. What’s a welcome email and why does it play such a vital role in a comprehensive digital marketing strategy? You’ll find out when you listen to or watch this episode. Oh, and if you don’t already have a welcome email or series, then I highly recommend you make that a top priority. When you’re finished with this episode, it’s that important.

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But before we get to the solid gold of this episode, I’d like to take a moment to remind you that I love creating this content as my act of service to you my awesome listeners. And you can support the podcast for free by taking the time not only to subscribe, but also to leave a rating and review on iTunes which helps other jewelry dreamers find it too. If you listen to episode number 165 with my guest, Liz Kantner you know that we recently opened registration for our collaborative a six part webinar series called success with jewelry. Oh and if you didn’t listen or watch listened to her watch that episode, please go back because we got a lot of awesome feedback on it. People liked our energy. It was super fun to chat with her I think you’ll really enjoy that episode. The early bird registration has a discounted $299 enrollment fee and it will be open for only until March 27th, so act on that quickly if you want the special price. At that point the price will increase to $350. For all the details, visit successwithjewelry.com or follow us on Instagram at @successwithjewelry. Can’t wait to see you at this webinar series.

2:45
In this segment of the podcast I give out my sparkle award for the week. So in case you haven’t heard yet during this segment, I highlight a jewelry brand that’s impressing me with their marketing. The sparkle award is also interactive so you can visit sparkleaward.com to nominate a jewelry brand that’s inspiring you these days and I might feature your submission on a future podcast episode. This week I’m highlighting That Bling Babe, who I learned about through a recent JCK article titled that bling babes slings, knowledge and humor to help grow diamond brand. Try saying that 10 times fast. So that bling baby or Dani, which is her real name is a diamond stylist, and you can find her on Instagram at that bling babe. She’s the stylist and brand strategist for the New York based company ultimate diamond, which only just recently opened an online storefront even though they’ve been a family owned business for many years. So Dani has really been instrumental in bringing ultimate diamond into 2022. And she’s doing that specifically by empowering the women customers who want to be smarter self purchasers when it comes to shopping for diamond jewelry. In the article she says quote, when we started talking about what we wanted to do, one thing that stood out was a missing segment on social media of jewelers talking to women. A lot of the content focuses on aesthetics and style. We wanted to offer a technical point of view, allowing women from a business perspective to make good use of their resources and smart investments and quote, I love how this brand sought out a true need in the marketplace, and is now working hard to address that need offering value to consumers. As I mentioned, you can visit sparkleaward.com to nominate a jewelry brand that’s inspiring you these days. I might feature your submission on a future podcast episode.

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Let’s discuss some recent news related to jewelry or marketing. Each week I share my thoughts about three relevant articles and you can get those links yourself by visiting JoyJoya.com/sign up. Once you’re on that VIP list, you’ll receive our weekly digest filled with new episode announcements.

5:16
So the first article comes from business of apps, and it’s all about social media’s role in consumers shopping journey. So as we all know, ecommerce wasn’t always so dominant, but the pandemic really changed retailer and consumer behavior, leading to an increase in smartphone use, and the trend of online shopping only continues to grow. So Bazaarvoice surveyed 14,000 global consumers on their social shopping preferences, and the results showed that 65% of shoppers use social media for inspiration in their shopping journeys. And when shopping online, YouTube and Pinterest are mostly used for inspiration. While most are actually shopping on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok. That’s really good to know especially if you listen to my episode about using YouTube in your marketing strategy. I believe that was 164. Knowing the role that YouTube plays in someone shopping journey can really help you create the right content to meet the consumer where they are. So 61% said they make purchases from feeds or stories 60% said they made purchases from influencer recommendations. 42% are actively searching for product information. And about half of social media users. So 53% are interested in trying live stream shopping, which is a huge missed opportunity. If you’re not already trying out live stream shopping for your brand. Items in the beauty, fashion and interior design sector tend to be items that are shopped for on social media more than other things like food and beverages.

7:06
So the next article is from the official Pinterest blog. And it was about their recent event that they held the second annual Pinterest presents on March 10, which gives users an inside look at what’s next for Pinterest you’ve probably heard me talk about on this podcast before how Pinterest is really an underutilized social media tool. And this announcement from Pinterest I think underscores that and the opportunities that are available on Pinterest. So they announced first of all their new shopping destination which is called your shop and your shop is a completely tailored experience that allows you to browse shop and buy. Quote while shopping on Pinterest shoppers will see a customized shopping surface with brands and products based on their own activity and preferences and quote, so not only is Pinterest creating these amazing tools for brands, but they’re also working to improve the customer experience so that consumers are really getting these personalized product recommendations. Interest also developed a checkout feature so consumers and users of Pinterest will now be able to complete an entire purchase within the Pinterest app or website. It’s now available in beta for select Shopify merchants, and it will just continue to grow.

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And finally the CMO Andrea Mullard shared insights about the role of inspiration in online environments. She says the research indicates that quote, when people feel inspired, they’re also more likely to act, end quote. That’s such an important quote just for digital marketing and E commerce in general, you really need to be inspiring your customers like truly inspiring them if you’re hoping to get them to buy from you. And finally, the last article comes from click Z. And it asks the question is your brand marketing truly inclusive? So inclusive marketing recognizes that your audience is made up of different groups of people and that it really considers diversity in all forms. And that means age, appearance, ethnicity, gender, identity, language, religion, socioeconomic status, and physical and mental ability. And I think a lot of jewelry brands are forgetting that diversity does have all of these touch points and they should really be represented. When done correctly, inclusive marketing reflects real people in the real world including those who are marginalized and underrepresented. According to a survey by Google and the female quotient, people are more likely to consider or even purchase a product after seeing an ad they consider to be diverse or inclusive. So if this is a question for you, and it’s something you are exploring as your brand, you want to ask your team and yourself the following four questions. How well do I know my audience? Do I clearly understand all the nuances of my audience? Am I being authentic in my messaging, and is inclusivity an intrinsic part of my marketing process in my team, the overall thought and sentiment from this article is that inclusive marketing is not a trend. It’s a journey. And it’s here to stay.

10:47
As I mentioned, if you want to get the links to the articles I share in this segment of the podcast, you can become a Joy Joya VIP, by visiting joyjoya.com/sign up.

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Okay, let’s talk about welcome emails. So first of all the basics. What is a welcome email? Alright, a welcome email is an automated email that gets triggered to send when someone subscribes to your email list or you add them, of course, and always so important with that person’s permission. So basically, you don’t have to manually send this email yourself. Instead, your email service provider sends it automatically based on the conditions that you set up for it when you create this welcome email in your service provider. So most welcome, emails are sent to the new subscriber immediately upon sign up. But sometimes others are sent at different times. So there’s a delay between when the person subscribes and when the email is sent. In general, though, you really want that welcome email to be sent within the first day pretty much and definitely no longer than two days after the signup, or honestly, this might sound crazy, but your new subscriber may forget about you, you want to catch them, right? When they’re at them in the mindset of thinking about your brand, it happens that quickly, they’re gonna move on to something else, they’re gonna go, go on Slack and communicate with their coworker or maybe they have a screaming kid that they need to attend to. So you really want to be there when their attention is directed toward you.

12:38
So welcome, emails are sometimes just a one off email just a one time thing? Well, in other cases, they are part of a series. So one or more additional emails can be sent after that first one. And just like that, first one, the subsequent ones are automatically triggered at other times. So why is the welcome email the most essential email to have as part of your email marketing strategy? I’ll give you three very important reasons. So number one, first and foremost, it reinforces a positive customer experience. If someone is giving you their email address, because they like your products and are intrigued by your brand, that is no small thing. And you should never ever, ever take it for granted. You should really be acknowledging this micro commitment from your website visitors and expressed gratitude for this interest. The welcome email is such an easy way to do that. I honestly get really suspicious when I don’t receive a welcome email from a brand these days, because I’m like, wait, I just gave you my email. And I actually want to hear from you. Are you ever going to email me like where did my email address just go? So it’s a chance to establish trust as well.

14:08
Number two, the welcome email also presents a major opportunity to not only tell, but also to reinforce your brand story in a personal way. What I often find in my analysis of Google Analytics, website traffic of many different jewelry brands, is that from their traffic data, only a small percentage of those visitors actually ever make it to the websites about page where typically the brand story is housed. So I mean, I can’t assume anything about these visitors. Maybe they already know something about your brand. Maybe they don’t but what I can see from the data is that they’re not usually going to the about page. They are maybe looking at products. They are maybe looking at your shipping policies, they’re looking at your homepage to see what’s new. The welcome email, knowing this information is really a chance to tell your story in a condensed and engaging way. Because some people might not even know it. So this is just one opportunity for you to tell your story. It’s also a great place to show how other people are experiencing and engaging with your story by showing social proof, reviews, testimonials, screenshots of Instagram comments, pictures of user generated content of customers wearing your product, like quote, unquote, out in the wild.

15:42
And then number three, why is welcome email so important. It can provide your customer additional value, and or that incentive that they need to purchase some jewelry brands that discount their products, we’ll use the welcome email as a chance to share a discount code, which could be a deciding factor for a consumer who’s on the fence, maybe they just need that little, you know, they need to feel like they’re saving money in order to make the purchase. So the welcome email is one place where you could potentially share a discount code. I know some of you guys are listening or watching and like we don’t discount our products. That is fine. I’m just sharing an example. You can also use this email to offer product recommendations and to really support and help the customer start their shopping journey. So that’s another way to provide value or to provide an incentive to purchase. And other jewelry brands will often trade another item of value like a downloadable eBook or something else, like a free ring size, or like here’s our jewelry sizing guide or something like that, no matter what this welcome email is a chance for you to really give something to your customer.

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Okay, so now you’re convinced you’re like I get it, Laryssa, the welcome email is important. I need to have it in place. How can you start sending more effective welcome emails, welcome emails that are actually going to have an impact on the people who sign up for your list?

17:19
I have 10 tips. So listen up. Tip number one, in that welcome email, really set the expectation for your customer, tell the subscriber what he or she can expect from your communications, and how they can interact with you. So the same way, like if you were dating, or you’re trying to create a healthy friendship, you will kind of set expectations with that person. Like, if you’re a workaholic, you might be totally transparent about the fact that you can only like text, like in the evenings, or you can only really hang out on the weekends. Because you want to create trust. You want to have healthy boundaries healthy relationship with that person. The welcome email is also a chance for you to do that with your customers. So like, How often will you be sending emails? What kind of content can they expect to receive from you? Where else can they communicate with you? If if email is maybe not the best and most convenient place for them? Can they find you on social media? Can they chat with you on your website? Again, this is a place to really establish trust and clear expectations.

18:34
Tip number two, give a gift or a surprise, even if it wasn’t something that you promised upon signup. So maybe you didn’t promise a discount code or a free download. But here’s a chance to really surprise and delight your customer. I don’t mean you have to give them like a free piece of jewelry. Definitely not. But maybe there’s an unexpected discount. Or maybe there’s a link to a hidden behind the scenes video that only subscribers get to see. Or maybe there’s a link to a product that’s just exclusive to your email subscribers. This is a chance to really like roll out the red carpet for your VIP fans.

19:20
Number three, remind them that the people who are part of your email list are really part of a community of others who like minded have great sense of style, who like your brand, and this is a chance to create that sense of community. So you can do that by showing off product reviews, testimonials, kind of like I mentioned earlier screenshots of comments or DMs, other social proof photos of customers wearing jewelry, really make that subscriber feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves because I can promise you, like I said earlier, when I sign up for an email list, and I don’t get a welcome email, I don’t feel like I’m part of any community, I feel like I just fell into a black hole void. And I have no relationship or connection with this brand or suddenly don’t even believe that there are other customers or other people who are on this list.

20:26
Number four, spend a good amount of time crafting the perfect subject line. Yes, of course, you’ll want to keep it short and direct. But you’ll also in this case, want to think of your brand as a person walking into a party. If your brand walked into a party, and your brand had to introduce itself to other people in the room. How would you speak? What tone would you take? What words would you say? What even would you say, bring some of that personality into the subject line. And this goes back to creating the expectation of who you are being so transparent, like putting your whole self up front. And if you can’t do that yourself, a talented copywriter can definitely help you with that.

21:17
Number five, when it’s possible, really personalize the messaging in this welcome email. So if you’re able to get the person’s first name on signup, that would be a really great thing to include in the welcome email or in the body copy or even in the subject line, you can in the welcome email, also invite this person to create an account on your website, if that’s something that you offer. And from there, they can provide additional information. But remember, this is not for your benefit, though it is it is for the subscribers benefit and always talk about it in that way. It’s so they can get a more personalized shopping experience. So they can get the emails that are most relevant to them. So they can have access to the products that they personally will love. So this is a chance not only to personalize, but also to gather additional information.

22:13
Number six, if you already have one email in place, and it’s pretty well optimized, and you get good open and click rates on this email, maybe consider building out a whole series of two emails, three emails, however much makes sense for you to really tell your story. So thinking about that welcome as a digestible series of parts. Maybe in that first email, it’s truly an introduction, where you’re like setting the expectations for what the customer will get out of their communications with you. Maybe in that second email, it’s like some behind the scenes of the brand, or maybe the history of your brand. Maybe that third email is about the craftsmanship and the materials, you’d obviously have to figure out what makes sense for your brand. But this is a chance to really lead someone through the journey of your story in a way that you can’t really do on your about page, I think it’s a really great opportunity if you want to and you have the resources to add those additional emails.

23:23
Number seven, use the welcome email as a place to emphasize your customer service benefits policies, things like shipping your return policy. How easy is it to get in touch with customer service if need be, maybe there’s a link to a live chat or the phone number that you can call or whatever it is. If someone is on your website and thinking about making a purchase, one, they might be looking for some kind of discount code. I mean, I feel like almost every person shopping online these days before they buy something, they’re going to check if there’s a discount code. So they’re looking for possibly that first. But the next thing that they’re looking for before they finalize their purchase, is how annoying is my life going to be? If this doesn’t work out for me, and that welcome email is the place where you can really reassure the customer.

24:24
Number eight, look for ways to make the welcome email fun, like there’s a party starting. And so you probably hear that and you’re like, well, Larissa, my brand isn’t really about like partying. So that doesn’t make sense for me. But if you think about it, there are all kinds of parties. There are like raves. There are like elegant soirees, there are dinner parties, you know, there are all sorts of flavors of parties. So figure out what kind of party makes sense For your brand personality, and try to bring some of that party to your welcome email like you are a host. And you are opening the doors of this party space. And your subscriber is coming in. What would that feel like? And how can you conjure that in an email?

25:19
Number nine, if it’s appropriate for your brand, and maybe this is appropriate if you are a solopreneur, or a maker based brand, perhaps include like a heartfelt personal letter from the founder, designer, or maker that can be a really personal touch and create trust, create transparency, all of these things that I’ve already been talking about in this episode.

25:46
And finally, number 10. Maybe this is obvious, but you’d be surprised how often I see a mistake around this tip. Make sure the look of your welcome email, the layout, the design, all the design elements, matches the look of all other elements of your brand from your social media presence to your website, and especially to your other email campaigns that will be sent in the future.

26:15
What did you think of these tips? How are you doing with your welcome email or even email marketing in general? You can always email me Laryssa that’s laryssa@joyjoya.com. If you love this podcast, please share it with a friend who would also appreciate it. And don’t forget to subscribe as well as leave a review on iTunes to purchase a signed copy of my book jewelry marketing joy. Visit Joy Joya.com/book for more information. Thanks for listening. Remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information about working with Joy Joy, visit JoyJoya.com where you can sign up to download our free eBooks about various topics in jewelry marketing.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai