Academy / Grow an email list from social
Lesson 4 of 5 · 6 min
The welcome email
People open the first email from you more than any email after it. They signed up a minute ago and they are waiting for the thing you promised. The welcome email decides whether they open the second one.
What it does
- Delivers the offer, first. The link or the attachment at the top, with one line saying what it is.
- Says who you are, in two or three sentences. Your name, what you do, who you do it for.
- Says what comes next. How often you write and what about.
- Asks one small thing. A reply is the best: "Hit reply and tell me the one thing that makes mornings hard for you." Replies teach you what to write about, and they tell email services that people want your email.
Leave out the full price list, five links and a discount on top of the free thing. One email, one job.
An example to copy
Subject: Your 10 minute morning routine
Hi Maya,
Here is the routine: [Open the routine]
Do it before coffee, on the floor next to your bed. Ten minutes, no mat needed.
I am Jen. I run Riverside Yoga in Denver, and most of the people in my classes sit at a desk all day, like I used to. This routine is the first thing I teach them.
Once a week, on Sunday, I will send you one stretch and one thing I learned from teaching it. Short, and you can unsubscribe any time.
One question before you go: what makes mornings hard for you? Hit reply and tell me. I read every answer.
Jen
That is the whole email. Change the names, the offer and the day, and it works for a salon, a shop or a coach.
A short series, if you want one
The welcome email can be the first of three, sent a few days apart:
- Day 0: the offer, as above.
- Day 2 or 3: the story behind your business, or the most common question with your answer.
- Day 5 to 7: a customer's story and an invitation to try what you sell, with one link.
Most email tools can send a series like this on their own after someone confirms. Write it once, and every new person gets it.
Use it on social too
The welcome email is some of your best material. Its first stretch, its story and its question are posts. A post that shares a part of it and says "the full routine is free" sends new people back to your signup. The button opens the composer with a brief for that post.
Quick check · 3 questions
Check what stuck
What goes at the top of the welcome email?
Show the answer
The offer they signed up for. They are waiting for the thing you promised. Deliver it first.
Which ask fits best in a welcome email?
Show the answer
Hit reply and tell me one thing. A reply teaches you what to write about. One email, one job.
How can the welcome email help your social posts?
Show the answer
Share a part of it in a post and say the full thing is free. It is some of your best material, and the post sends new people to your signup.
In this course
- 1An offer worth an email addressWhy "join our newsletter" gets few signups, what makes a free offer work, examples for studios, salons, shops and coaches, and how to test one before you make it. · 5 min
- 2Where to ask for the emailThe places on social and in real life where people say yes, and how to collect the address in an Instagram or Facebook DM with Postfjord. · 5 min
- 3A signup people trustWhat a signup form needs and what it can leave out, why people should confirm their address, and where the addresses you collect in Postfjord go next. · 5 min
- 4The welcome emailThe first email is the one most people open. What to put in it, a full example you can copy, and what to leave for later. · 6 min
- 5How often to send, and whatPick a rhythm you can keep, a simple shape for each email, what to do about unsubscribes, and the few numbers worth watching. · 5 min