ENTER: Make a Great First Impression

Create a powerful Welcome Email with this simple process

Connect - Make Friends - Tell them what’s coming

Part 1: What do READERS say?

Part 2: So what should a great Welcome Email do?

Part 3: The Study.

Part 4: More Welcome Email Resources.

UPDATE 10/3/2023: ConvertKit is a Substack competitor/alternative that puts out some great information on newsletter production and marketing. This morning I received a great article on Welcome Emails with 10 actual examples that are already making me think about revising mine. Article quote: “Some data shows welcome email open rates can be as high as 91%, compared to the average email open rate of 43% for ConvertKit creators or a 21.5% open rate across industries.”

Here’s the article:

10 welcome email examples that instantly win over new subscribers

I recommend signing up for their information.

UPDATE 9/20/2023: A reader just notified me that when he activated his Stripe account, his Welcome Email switched from the FREE slot to the PAID slot, leaving his Welcome Email to Free subscribers with the Substack boiler-plate, place holder info.

Might be worth checking your Welcome Emails if you’ve recently started accepting payments.

Part 1: What do READERS say … when we asked Carol and Chris, they had WAY different answers

Put yourself in a reader’s shoes for a moment. Let’s call her Carol.

Carol has lost trust in the news media and has social media fatigue. Over the years she has subscribed to a few newsletters and now gets about seven per week. She reads them sometimes, usually on her phone, but often just deletes them when she’s busy. A friend told her about a book that was being serialized on something called Substack and it was free so she subscribed even though she didn’t recognize the author. 

Now, imagine, you’re that author and she’s your new subscriber. You don’t know Carol (or even her name because you’re on Substack); she doesn’t know you. You only know her email and that somehow she found her way to your Substack. How do you build that into a trusted relationship?

Carol is actually a step ahead of you … in addition to her friend’s recommendation, she’s had a glimpse of your newsletter … the title at least. But her life is busy and after subscribing to your newsletter, her sister had a baby and the brakes went out on her car. Life happened.

When your Welcome Email arrived, it was still the generic version that Substack offers all new Substackers, so she didn’t recognize who it was from or remember that she had subscribed to something. Delete. A few days later, your regular email arrives with the title, “Chapter 3, Edward returns home.” Carol’s on the way to the grocery store and has no idea who Edward is. Delete. This goes on for a few weeks until Carol is sitting in the doctor’s office and notices an email that says, “Chapter 7, “Edward wins the lottery and gives it all to his dog.”

“What’s that all about,” Carol wonders and starts reading. On page 3, it suddenly dawns on her that this is the book her friend told her about.

Moral of the story: 
    People are busy. 
    Readers forget stuff. 
    Even subscribers don’t know who you are. 
    Subscribers don’t care who you are until they make a connection.

Carol isn’t the only reader we need to think about … there’s Chris. A co-worker just told him about a newsletter that was talking about how AI is being used to streamline workflow in legal offices. Chris jumped on the opportunity to subscribe and looked forward to getting the information.

The Welcome Email came quickly enough and this is what it said: (names have been changed but this is an actual Welcome Email.)

***

From: Legal AI

You're receiving free posts from Legal AI.

To get every post and other paid subscriber benefits, upgrade to a paid subscription.

Upgrade Subscription here

You can unsubscribe in one click.

***

Think Chris might be disappointed? How could you recover from the disappointment he feels?

Moral of the story:

Sometimes readers are excited to find your newsletter.

They want to know more about you and the subject immediately.

They’re easily disappointed when they receive boilerplate, especially boilerplate that asks them to pay for something they haven’t seen yet by someone they haven’t really met yet.

---

Part 2: So what should a great Welcome Email do?

In one word: Connect.

In two words: Make friends.

In four words: Tell them what’s coming.

A great connection respects both “YOU” and “ME” because we are going to be friends. You both want to make sure they’ve landed in the right place. With those goals in mind, what are the actual pieces of a good Welcome Email?

Connect:

Say hi … since we don’t have first names in Substack, something like …

• “Hi, I’m glad you’re here …

• “Welcome to the “X” community … (newsletters are more than words on a screen, they are the basis of a community of interest)

• “Hi, It’s (your name) here and I’m so glad you’ve joined our community …

• “Welcome to (title community), I’m so glad you’re here …

• “Thank you for joining us … I’m (your name) and I look forward to our journey together.

Make friends:

Tell them a bit about yourself, what you’re passionate about and why you write about it … briefly. Tell them something memorable about you (not a resume) and help them understand what your newsletter is about so they know if there is a fit. Try to give them a bonus for subscribing … perhaps a just for fun web post filled with cartoons or funny pictures or flowers or interesting facts or anything you can think of that you can link to and serve as an introduction to who you are and what kind of community you are creating.

Tell them what’s coming:

Tell them what to expect … frequency, focus and flings. Send them to a “Start Here” post if you have one pinned to your home page and maybe one other post you think new readers might be interested in. Give a brief description about it rather than just a link. Encourage them to comment and ask questions. Ask them to introduce themselves if you have an introduction thread.

Part 3: The Study.

31 Welcome Email letters from Substackers whose subscriber counts varied from 154,000 to under 1,000, scored on a basis of 1 to 5

Results: Results: lots of room for improvement

Recent discussions in Notes and Office Hours have left this question in the air. There are some publication authors who claim that these emails don’t get opened … others who believe they are critical.

From my biased perspective, this is the first piece of email readers receive from us. Their act of subscribing is somewhat like holding out a hand in connection and friendship … to not receive a welcoming response and a warm smile just seems like a break in the connection.

Yes, they might not open that email … however, if they do open it,

shouldn’t it represent our best?

Here’s a link to some of the comments made in the last Office Hours about this subject … the majority agreeing that Welcome Emails are critically important.

Mike Sowden

, also a big proponent of Welcome Emails, suggested that perhaps one reason they may not be opened is that they are too often not done well. That comment set me off to study a random group of Welcome Emails. After that brief review of 31, I would tend to agree with Mike.

About the study … the only way to see these emails (as far as I know) is to receive them after subscribing and, since I didn’t keep the ones I received in the early days, this study was done only on the recent Welcome Letters I happened to have on hand. (Therefore, you can assume yours was not part of the study and just read this as a general overview.)

And, of course, this is not a scientific study by any means. I started by creating a 1 - 5 scoring ladder. 1 - 4 was fairly easy but I left 5 undefined thinking I’d know it when I saw it. I was about to give up on finding that standout version of a Welcome Letter when I finally came across one … only one that came really close, and I’ll only talk about it later in this post.

Here’s the scoring ladder and how many of the reviewed emails fell into each category in my subjective view:

1 - Little connection to reader, mainly Substack boiler plate … 6

2 - Friendly, little orientation to reader value … 11

3 - Reader value, but little spark or personality … 6

4 - Strong connection, invites a personal response, some spark and personality, perhaps even a gift, but lacked something that would make it sparkle … 7

4+ - Abundance of everything, personality shines through, lots of value for readers, generous … 1

Some of the not-so-great things I found along the way in various letters …

• No sample links to give readers a sense of what they might find.

• Missing title of the publication or name of author. Sometimes it takes a bit before the Welcome Letters arrive and if a reader subscribed and then went off to do something else, they might not know why they’re receiving your letter if it doesn’t clearly remind them who you are and what your newsletter is about.

• No interesting graphics or photos of the author.

• No spark of creativity or personality.

• Messy format.

• A lot of talking about what was free and what was going to be paid and actually soliciting an upgrade immediately after they’ve just subscribe.

• A lot of talk about what “I do” and who “I am” with little emphasis on value for the reader.

So, who was the star? Actually there’s a pair of them: Brent and Michael are Going Places. If you aren’t subscribed, it’s worth it just to get their Welcome Email, which is long, well-thought out, loaded with value, with a light-hearted tone.

That photo opening gives readers a sense of who they are and here are some snippets from what follows …

In the meantime, check out … (examples of posts, including their “origin story”)

(Half a point off for asking for a paid upgrade in the first email received by a new subscriber. There are differing opinions on this, but IMHO, this is not the time to solicit an upgrade.)

Here are some reasons we hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription, either now or at some point in the future:

You’ll have access to lots of additional, exclusive content. Recent paid posts include: (long list) …

This was an interesting strategic offer they made to a group that could be helpful in marketing their newsletter:

Incidentally, if you’re a journalist, blogger, influencer, or just can’t afford a paid subscription right now, please let us know the details, and we may be able to waive the subscription fee. We’re always looking for folks to help spread the word about our newsletter (though, of course, you’ll be under no obligation to actually write about us).

Goodbye until our next hello!

Brent & Michael

P.S. Keep scrolling for some of our unique travel hacks!

Some of Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks

P.S. is power territory and Brent and Michael use it well. Here are a couple of tips that caught my eye:

“Offer to take your Airbnb host out to dinner or invite them over for a meal! Not many guests do this, so you’ll almost certainly: (a) get all kinds of great local information and insider-y tips, and (b) make a personal connection, which is always nice, and will also probably result in an agreement that the next time you’re in town you can contact them directly.”

“Worried that a particular street or neighborhood is unsafe? Look for the presence of children playing. If parents are comfortable enough to let their kids play outside, that's an indication that the neighborhood isn't too rough.”Other Views:

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Part 4: More Welcome Email Resources.

*** One of the most valuable things you can do to upgrade your Welcome Email is pay for a subscription to

Writers at Work with Sarah Fay

. You get access to all of her workshops and her brilliant insight into Substack strategy. Sarah is definitely pro Welcome Letters and spends a whole workshop focused on them and reader engagement. Here are some highlights of her recommendations:

• Understand what your Readers want from you.

• Talk about your community rather than your newsletter.

• Don’t ask them to go paid (yet).

• Offer a bonus for subscribing.

• Point to specific types of posts, inc.

• Include a photo that gives them a sense of who you are.

*** 20 welcome emails that build trust for long-term engagement

Have you heard the saying "You never get a second chance at a first impression?" Well, that couldn't be more true than with welcome emails.

Welcome emails are the first step in building a long-lasting relationship with your subscribers. So roll out the red carpet and make your new subscribers feel at home on your email list! (Several paragraphs of info interesting to travelers).

*** 10+ Best Welcome Email Examples That Really Work (2023) (Shopify)

A welcome email is one of the more important types of emails you’ll send to new subscribers. Welcome emails are what you receive when you submit your email address to an online store—you’ve likely seen them in your inbox after creating an account or joining a newsletter.

*** Why You Need a Welcome Email Series (beehive)

If you're starting a new email newsletter, one of the most important things you can do is create a welcome series for your subscribers. This series should introduce your brand and what they can expect from your emails. Also, it is an easy way to give context and valuable content that will make them want to stick around.

*** 20 welcome email examples plus tips for writing your own

There’s no time like the present—or the time of first signing up to a newsletter or product. Whenever a new subscriber opts into your mailing list, it creates unique momentum for you as a business owner. At that very moment, the user is most excited by your product or service, and is looking forward to finding out more. Which makes it the ideal timing for you to extend a warm, friendly welcome email.

***Overall: A good Welcome Email boosts the relationship and can result in a boost to open rates of 30%. … there were several studies that touted this number but they were mainly related to commercial newsletters. While I’m all in on Welcome Emails, I’m taking this statistic with a grain of salt. jw

There’s more … much more! But, I’m off to rework mine. I didn’t get a 5 either.