When someone spouts off and says “welcome sequence,” they’re talking about a series of onboarding emails that get sent to a subscriber on your list. When you subscribed to my Ok, What Next marketing newsletter, you received a series of emails from me, explaining my Why and a couple others with some marketing nuggets. Then you also started to get my actual Ok What Next? emails every week.
That first series is my welcome sequence, which operates separately (but on a parallel track) from my Ok What Next? emails. Depending on the business, a welcome sequence could be 3 emails or it could be 10! (or more!)
Here’s how you could use a welcome sequence:
- The story of the business/brand and what a subscriber should expect in these emails from you
- A common problem your business solves – what’s a solid tip that everyone should know? (Mine is the customized LinkedIn URL.)
- How something works. If you’re a software provider, maybe it’s a quick tutorial or checklist to make sure they’ve completed it to be a superuser. You could provide use cases.
- If you have a complicated welcome sequence, you could also add a survey asking how customers they like your product or service.
This is what one of my automation flows looks like in ConvertKit. (Note: You may have received emails from me via FGMail, which is a new email provider I’m trialing.)
Anyone who signs up for a lead magnet or signs up for my OK, What Next email (thanks!) gets tagged and then they go into a workflow. I have three emails that go out every few days in sequence (ahem), in addition to the Weekly Email or lead magnet confirmation email. Once the three emails are sent, you (my subscribers) are tagged again with a Welcome tag, letting me know that you’ve received them. Whether you open them, that’s another case. 🤷🏻♀️
Some companies every long sequences, like 8 emails in a row; others may only have one. It really is dependent on what your goals are and how you want to “prep” your audience. I originally had 5 emails going out but cut it because it was too long for what I wanted it to do. If you know me IRL, you know I love to talk and talk and talk. And here, even through email, I need to be efficient with my words.
Whether you are on Convertkit, Active Campaign, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, SendGrid, Mailerlite, or other ESPs, they all have a way to create a welcome sequence for your new subscribers.
Tell me if you have a welcome sequence or if you’re thinking of adding one! I’d love to know!
