Your welcome autoresponder is your crucial chance to make a first impression on your reader. If you have a great welcome message, subscribers will read it, be impressed by the quality and continue to open your emails in the future. With a poor welcome message, they may very well never open your emails again.
Before we go over what makes a great welcome message, let’s go over some all-too-common mistakes that people make in their welcome messages.
=> What Not to Put in Your Welcome Message
First of all, never send a welcome message that basically just says “Thank you for joining.” When you do, you’re wasting valuable on-screen real estate by saying almost nothing. You’re also wasting your reader’s time.
You should also NOT sell in your first email. Selling in your first email immediately gives a poor impression and may very likely burn out your subscriber right then and there.
These two points really go without saying, but many email lists – as many as 50% in some markets – make one of these two mistakes. Do not send content-less first emails and do not send sales emails as a welcome message.
=> What Makes a Great Welcome Message
First of all, your welcome message needs to have stellar content in it. This content can be right in the email, or it can be a downloadable report, MP3 or hidden web page on your site.
The content should be some of your best. Remember, this is your chance to make a first impression. Whatever tips, advice or expertise you have to offer your readers, put as much of it up front as you can.
In addition to having great content, it’s important to let users know what to expect in the future. What kind of content can they expect in their mailbox? How often will you mail them? This first email is a great place to set expectations.
=> And finally…
Finally, set them up for the next email. Finish off with a bang by telling them what your next autoresponder message will be about. Make sure to use benefit-driven language so they know exactly what’s in it for them by opening your next email.
If you can get a subscriber to open a first email, read a report and open the next email, you’ll most likely have a reader for life as long as you provide great content and don’t oversell.
The basic formula is this. The first email sets up expectations for future emails, while providing valuable content right up front and demonstrating that you really know what you’re talking about. Set the impression that they’ll get something of value by opening your emails, by delivering high-value content the moment they get your first email.
