The 7 Emails in My Welcome Sequence | 146
Sometimes, we get trapped in the idea that marketing is one-and-done. But our business grows and evolves…and so do your customers! If you never update your website or copy for your Facebook Ads, your business won’t function well.
That’s why I recently updated the email welcome sequences for my case study and pricing and packages guide. We know that email welcome sequences have some of the highest open and click rates, so I wanted to take advantage of that and deliver even more inside my sequence.
My old sequence had 5 emails and lacked any real examples of work I do with clients. So my goal for this update sequence was to really highlight client success stories. I also recently created a tripwire, so I included a few emails with the goal of selling that mini-offer.
Here’s what I came up with for my email welcome sequence:
#1 Welcome + Freebie Delivery
This is a quick and simple email. The goal is to get the freebie into their hands and also to introduce myself so they know who I am and what I do. I also let them know that I have a podcast, Market Scale Grow, and include a link for them to listen.
#2 Soft Pitch
In the second welcome sequence email, I reminded them about the tripwire offer which I promoted when they grabbed the freebie. I know not everyone will buy it immediately, so I felt it was important to give details on what’s included in the tripwire and highlight how it will help my audience. The CTA is to check out the toolkit.
#3 Nurture with Content
The goal with content emails is to position myself as an expert. I also want to get them into the habit of consuming my content. For this email, I chose a piece of content that performs well organically. The CTA for this email is to listen to the podcast episode.
#4 Case Study
In this email, I am returning to the freebie, my Client Case Studies with the goal to get the reader thinking about the possibility of working together. I show them our process and the results we’ve achieved with clients. The CTA is to book a call with me.
#5 Best Marketing Tips
This email includes a marketing tip and a soft sell of the tripwire again. I pulled the tip for this email straight from the tripwire, and then I showed them how the resource can help them implement the strategy. This is a mix of positioning myself as an expert and promoting a product. The CTA is to check out the toolkit.
#6 Nurture with Content
This is another content email with the goal of having the new subscriber listen to another podcast episode. The CTA is to listen to the podcast episode on the importance of consistency in marketing.
#7 Client Deep Dive
In the second to last email, I showcase a specific client and our work together. I explained the type of ad we ran together, the results, and what her experience was working together. Again, I am planting the seed of working together, and the CTA is booking a discovery call.
#8 Final Pitch
Lastly, I end the email welcome series with a final pitch. I’m no longer soft-selling here or warming my audience. This is a full-on sales email promoting the toolkit, answering their FAQs, and showing how it will help them. The CTA is to check and purchase the toolkit.
Hopefully, getting a sneak peek inside this email welcome series example will inspire you to update your own sequences. Consider what your new subscriber needs to hear from you to take action and continue opening more emails. Be sure to make the sequence fit your needs and your business!
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @heyitsjenzaia and tune in next Saturday for more business tips and strategies!
xo, Jenzaia
Don’t Forget To SUBSCRIBE
&
REVIEW the podcast!
Thanks for listening to this week’s Saturday Strategy Session! If you found this podcast helpful for your teacherpreneur journey, then head over to iTunes, so you can subscribe and leave a review. Each and every review means the world to me and helps me continue to create valuable content while also reaching more fellow ambitious teacher business owners just like you!
Episode Transcript:
I just revamped my welcome sequence! Two separate welcome sequences - my prices and packages guide and also my case study. So if you opt into either one of those, there is a brand new welcome sequence that comes out. Previously, my case studies didn't even have a welcome sequence. Whoopsie. I didn't even realize that, to be honest.
I thought that they went into a similar welcome sequence as my prices and packaging guide. And by similar, I mean delivered the case studies and then all the rest of the emails were identical. But I was wrong. They don't go into any email sequence at all. Previously, you would opt into the case studies and the case studies would just open up on your screen. And that was it. Whoops, I wasn't taking my own advice there. So I'm really glad that I went in and I set these up.
When I was re-visioning my welcome sequences, I started to think a lot about all of the tips and advice and information I had got. My previous welcome sequence was written by Branda, who is an amazing copywriter. She has been doing the emails and the blog posts for this podcast for over a year.
Second is my coach, Melissa Lynn. She's a business coach, and I've taken some inspiration from her as well. And then Liz Wilcox, who has an email membership. I've watched so many video training sessions by her and really just love what she's putting out there about emails. And through her, I found Zach, whose last name is totally eluding me right now, but he also had a podcast episode about email sequences. And so that was really, really helpful. And actually his podcast about welcome sequences is what inspired me to do this one. And then Emily Hirsch, who's a Facebook ads specialist. Over 12 months ago, I heard her say something about how she sets up the PS’s in her emails where she has multiple calls to action. And so I drew a lot of inspiration from that structure for my emails as well.
So, I took little pieces that I've collected over, like, the last 6 12 months. The reason I'm telling you this is that cookie cutter strategies don't work. Inside of Liz's membership, she actually has a template for a welcome sequence and it's great, but it just didn't fit what I wanted. So I think at least one of the emails is really modeled after one of her emails in her welcome sequence but then the rest of them are Inspired from other emails and those people that I just listed out. I just want to encourage you to do the same thing. To really create a welcome sequence that represents your brand.
Currently, my welcome sequence has eight emails and my goal is actually to get it to 14. I just haven't really decided what the additional six emails are going to be at this point, and I'm really focusing on the done is better than perfect mentality right now. And it's better for me to have the welcome sequence up and running and I can add those additional emails in as I go and as I determine what pieces might be missing, what gaps there are and how I can fill them in.
But I have eight. If you listen to any previous podcast episode, my recommendation for a welcome sequence is like three to five. But with the changes that are happening and building relationships and connecting with people is just so much more important. And also the length of buying cycles and the need for touch points has become increasingly important.
I just finished recording next week’s episode, and I go into like a really big commentary about touch points and the difference between micro touch points and macro touch points and in it I talk about how the welcome sequence is a really great opportunity to have those macro touch points. Like the really big touch points where someone's actually reading your content right off the bat, because we know that welcome sequences have the highest open rates because you're fresh on someone's mind.
They're really excited to consume that freebie and your content. And so I really wanted with my email sequence to take advantage of that excitement and go beyond that three to five emails. So this is what I did…
My first email is the standard here's the freebie. Right at the top, you can immediately find the link and get the freebie and then an introduction. My second email is actually like a pitch kind of email. A very low key pitch email where I am talking about the tripwire offer. So the freebie for my case studies on the thank you page is the toolkit, my Ad Toolkit for List Building. So in that second email, I talk about the toolkit.
Email number three is a content email to really nurture. Email number four is case studies. And so this is the case study email sequence. I thought it was really important to actually talk about some of the case studies and this is more of like an overview case study point by point and not really a deep dive. Number five is one of my best marketing tips. Number six is another content email. Number seven is a deep dive case study where I really do a client focused spotlight. Then number eight is a final pitch.
Okay, so let's deep dive into each one of these emails!
Number one, like I said, is delivering the freebie and introduction. So at the very top, I want to make it really, really clear exactly how they can access the freebie. And then, underneath that, I introduce myself and then I link to the podcast. And so if you've ever heard any of my holistic marketing strategy episodes, I talk about content marketing, email marketing, and community building. So content marketing is my podcast.
I really want to bring people into the content. List building, obviously, they're on my email list already. And then community building is Instagram. And so I would recommend that you are delivering the freebie, introducing them to your long form content, and introducing them to your social platform of choice. And then at the bottom, I have a PS.
So then the second email is that pitch where I'm reminding them of the Facebook ad toolkit for list building, and I go into some of the details about what's included, why each of these things are great, and how they will, like, help the person. But the very first line before any of that pitch is, hey, have you had a chance to check out the case studies? And I link the case studies again because I want to make sure that they are able to quickly and easily access the case studies. And then in the PS for this one, I have PS looking for the case studies, grab them here, interested in learning more about the toolkit, go here.
And so it's linking to those two main things. And that's really what the PS is. I decided on three different calls to action. And so for the case studies, the three different calls to action that I use are in every single email after the first one and then I also linked to the toolkit. And then I also introduce working with Team JD. So if somebody's interested in working with me, either in a done for you capacity or strategy session, I have that linked as well.
Okay, moving on to email number three, which is a content piece. The goal with the content is to position myself as an expert and then also get them into the habit of consuming my podcast. And I chose a very organically well performing content. It's pillar content and I just really walk through what the podcast is about with the details and then I make sure that it's linked so they can easily find it.
Email number four is an overview of the case studies. In this one I give a bit of a picture, and my goal here is to introduce the idea of working with Team JD. I introduce what it looks like to work with us, some of the results that we've got and some of our philosophies for working together. The main call to action for this one is to book a call. And then in the PS there's book a call. Looking for the case studies, find them here. Want to learn more about the toolkit? Check it out. And just like re-bringing them back to the three things that they might be doing. And I want to train them like, if you're just looking for a link, it's in the bottom.
Email number five is another tip. And what I didn't mention at the beginning, this one also has a pitch involved in it. So I pulled out one of my resources that's included in the tripwire. A really great tip talking about the numbers and the data because I have a flowchart in there and how you can use that in your business and the importance of numbers and data.
And so that one is to give them valuable content and also remind them of the toolkit. So it's doing those two things, selling on a little bit more of a softer sell and also positioning myself as an expert. Giving a valuable tip that even if they don't buy the toolkit, they still walk away with some value.
Email number six is another content piece. This is another podcast episode. Again, a high performing content pillar that I pulled from the podcast, something that goes with the rest of the flow. This one was about consistency in your marketing. And so just pulling that in of how consistency creates results and how a little bit, there's a little bit in there about how the toolkit helps to create that consistency. And then again, at the bottom, looking for the case studies, grab them here. Want to learn more about the toolkit? Check it out here. If you're looking to work with Team JD, book a call.
Email number seven. I did a deep dive into one client. So I said, meet Sarah. It's not Sarah. I can't remember the name off the top of my head. But meet Sarah. She blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Explained the type of ad that she was running. Dove into the results. How do we get those results to really help further paint the picture of what working with Team JD is like? And of course, the main call to action for this one was booking a call. And then in the PS, those same three that we've heard again and again and again, looking for the case studies, want to learn more about the toolkit, book a call to work with us.
The final one that I have right now is like a quote unquote final pitch. And so Zach in his email training, made a comment about not wanting to create false urgency and that really, really spoke to me. I hate it when people say they're closing the cart and then they're like, there's so many of you who've asked and it’s now open for another 24 hours. Like, I call BS. Did anyone actually email you? And if they did email you, why was your response not, sucks to suck!
Okay, that's really harsh. But why was it not like I'm sorry the cart closed. Here's the next time we're opening it. It just feels so disingenuous. I agree with Zach that if you are going to be promoting some sort of urgency, it really needs to be genuine urgency. So I didn't put any urgency into this final email. I just said last time you're gonna hear about me chatting about this for a while, if you want to grab The toolkit, here's some of the questions we get about it all the time. Listed out some of the FAQs that we have and threw in testimonials that I have about one of the resources that's in the toolkit so that people knew like, okay, I'm not going to hear about this again.
Something I didn't mention…so the first email delivers immediately and then what I did is I put a 12 hour delay for the next email and also sent it at 9 a.m. And then every email after that, it sends 24 hours later. And my reasoning for this, I went back and forth about it because I kind of literally like the idea of somebody getting the emails consistently and where my dilemma lay was like what if they opt in at 2 a.m. and then 24 hours later it's 2 a.m. But if I hold them off until 9am they're gonna go 36 hours without an email.
I decided it didn't matter. Worst case scenario, someone opts in at 8:59 in the morning, they have to wait 12 hours and then they get it the following day, or I guess worst case scenario, they opt in at 9:01pm. They wait 12 hours till 9:01 a. m., they're one minute too late, and then they have to wait another 24 hours, so it really is just 36 hours. But I just decided that's what I want. I wanted the emails to be going out in the morning so that there was that consistent time that I could, if I wanted, put it in the email like every day and like for the next two weeks at 9 a.m you'll get an email from me in your inbox.
That's something that Liz suggests in her email sequences is that you really clearly set the expectation so that people know when the emails are coming and what to expect. So I might go back and add that in there. So the first email is delivered immediately and then there's a wait of 12 hours and then right after that it's wait till 9 a.m. And then it's either like 9 a. m. the next day or potentially two days later, but no more than 36 hours. And then after that, each of the emails delivers 24 hours after each other. I also have it set up so that they're tagged and won't receive my weekly emails until they're done with the welcome sequence.
This is a personal preference. And it's absolutely not necessary. Sometimes when I send out a second email in the week, I exclude people in my welcome sequence, and sometimes I don't. It kind of just depends on what I'm feeling, what I'm promoting, what type of email is going out for me to decide whether or not they get that second email or not. I would say I probably lean towards excluding them more often than not. But yeah.
So I think that that is everything for this episode. Chatted all about who were my inspiration for creating this welcome sequence and I again, can only recommend so, so, so, so, so much that you do the same thing. You find people who have emails that inspire you and use those inspirations to create your own.
And even if you're in something like Liz's membership, where she has templates that you can use. You can still pick and choose and personalize them. In fact, she highly, highly recommends that you personalize all of your emails and often gives multiple different examples of how you can take her structure and change it. Have the same basic idea but change it for different industries and different types of business. So thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. And I will be back in your ear with another episode next Saturday.