You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

The first mails your reader receives after registration normally come in for the highest open rates. If you catch their attention in this first welcome mail, there is a better chance they will also open your mails that follow.

How can you make your welcome mail as attractive as possible? Do not regard your welcome mail as an ordinary confirmation email but rather as the start of a customer relationship. Ideally, you should start returning value for obtaining their email address as early as possible. We show you the ten elements that make your welcome message successful.

1. Timing

Most new contacts expect an email after they have registered and are curious about what you have to say. Do not let them wait too long. Automation is a good way to send your contacts a welcome mail after they have registered. Here you can read how to go about this in Flexmail. In this way, you make certain they receive your welcome mail in time, and you do not need to worry about forgetting anyone.

2. Subject line

The first thing a contact sees in his mailbox is the email subject. Make sure it stands out from all the other messages. A ‘welcome’ in the subject line indicates it is about a welcome mail and incites the contact to see what it is you want to tell. An emoji in the subject line also catches the eye.

In addition to the subject, the sender address is important. Use a recognisable name and use this name for your next campaigns, so that your contacts can recognise you immediately.

3. Personal addressing

At the first contact, you address the contacts personally of course, so that they feel the mail is addressed to them personally and they feel welcome. Never forget to ask the contact to provide his or her name at registration, so that you can use it. The more personal the mail, the more important the contact feels, which is exactly what you want to achieve with your welcome message.

4. Expectations

Your contacts have certain expectations when they register, so make sure you meet these expectations.

Make clear:

• who you are and what you do;
• what information they can expect;
• when you will send the campaigns (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.);
• whether they have to go through some specific onboarding steps.

Keep your promises, so that your contacts look forward to receiving your campaigns.

In the next example, Commonry explains what makes them unique very well:

5. Images

A picture is worth a thousand words

You can create a message with a lot of text, but your contacts will probably not read everything. Make the text a bit shorter and show the products you offer or add an image that clearly discloses what the message is about. Catch the eye with a suitable image in your message to add strength to your text. Make sure the balance between text and images is right.

6. Clear call to action

You want to use a welcome mail to welcome your contacts, but you also want them to be interested in your products. Your message should therefore include a clear call to action which tempts them to click further.

Add a button that is clearly visible with a text that indicates what your contacts can expect when they click it.

Look at the image below. The button clearly indicates what you can expect, and the image speaks for itself, even if you have not read the text:

7. Social media

Do you use social media? Do not forget to include these channels in your welcome mail, so that your contacts can also follow you on social media.

8. Unsubscribe link and interests

Also in a welcome mail, you have to take GDPR legislation into account and add a unsubscribe link. This does not need to be something negative, though. Eventually, you want to prevent your contacts from unsubscribing immediately after your first welcome mail. By adding interests to your unsubscribe link or update link, you give your contacts an opportunity to indicate what they are interested in instead of unsubscribing altogether, and you will get more information about your contacts, which enables you to customise your campaigns even better. A win-win situation.

9. Give a present

Everybody likes a present, right?

Give your contacts a white paper to thank them or give them a discount to show them you are happy they have joined your contact list.

10. Address book

Ask your contacts to add your address in their address book. If they do, your emails will not end up in their junk mail which would cause them to miss out on your interesting information. Additionally, your images will then be displayed by default.