5 Reasons You Need an Email Welcome Journey Right Now

If your first question is, “What’s an email welcome journey?” then you’re in the right place! This article is all about introducing you to this concept, and (hopefully) convincing you that you need these for your organization. 

An email welcome journey is a series of messages sent to a supporter immediately after they take an action with you. That action may be something like donating to your cause, buying your product, subscribing to your email newsletter, registering for your event, signing up to volunteer, etc. Research shows that the window of time immediately following one of these actions is the absolute best time to contact someone — this is a golden opportunity when your supporters are most receptive to hearing from you. 

Welcome journeys are one of my favorite things to set up for organizations, because they’re just so darn effective. Really. When done right, they work extremely well, and they can be completely automated, so they just chug along working their magic in the background without you having to think about them. 

So here’s why you need a welcome journey (or a few!) for your organization:

Reason #1: People who receive a welcome journey will be 33% more engaged with your brand.

A welcome journey, when done right, is a warm, authentic greeting for everyone in your community. It tells your supporters that you see them, you appreciate them, and you’re really glad they’re here. Picture walking into a restaurant and being greeted with a chorus of welcomes and smiles from the entire staff, thanking you for coming, offering to take your coat, asking if they can get you something to drink. That is how we want your supporters to feel in the virtual world. (Not the opposite — picture walking into a restaurant and being ignored! That’s what happens when you greet an online action with email silence.) This is your chance to draw people into your story, validate their decision to become involved with you, and turn them into loyal ambassadors for your brand. The data backs this up. If you welcome them, they will become your people. 

Reason #2: People actually read these (unlike a lot of other emails).

Do you know what your average open rate is for emails? It’s probably lower than you think — it varies by industry, but the average is around 25%. The average open rate for a welcome email, on the other hand, is 50%. That makes it twice as effective as standard newsletters. Think of all the hoops we jump through to get people to read our messages: trying different subject lines, send times, content choices, etc. How easy is it to know that all you have to do is send an email in this window of time, and it’s twice as likely to be read? So simple! 

Reason #3: Everyone expects to get them.

There’s something funny about human nature: we love to read about something we just did. When we buy a product, we love to read an email telling us that we just bought a product. When we sign up for an email newsletter, 74% of us expect to receive an email welcoming us to that list immediately after we join. Don’t leave your supporters hanging. Give the people what they want! 

Reason #4: This is your chance to “upsell.”

I use this word loosely, but this welcome series is your opportunity to move your supporters along the path that you want them to travel. If someone subscribed to your email list, the welcome series is your opportunity to ask them to make a donation or buy your product. If they donated or bought your product, this is your opportunity to turn them into a monthly donor or a repeat customer. This is also a great time to send them a survey to learn more about them, invite them to an event you’re hosting, ask for their feedback on your product — engage them in a meaningful way. 

Reason #5: Hardly anyone else is doing this.

You can test this out. Go subscribe to the email newsletter list of five random websites. How many of them send you anything beyond an initial confirmation? How many of their CEOs send you a personalized message to welcome you to their community? How many of them send you instructions on how to make the most of that product you just bought, tell you a story about how your impact is really meaningful, or invite you to join them at an event they think you’ll enjoy? Probably none of them. This is your opportunity to shine.

And remember the golden rule of all communication, but especially these welcome series: you always want to provide your supporters with something of value. The most important word you can use in any of these emails is the word “YOU.” This is about them, not you. What resources, helpful tips, or messages of gratitude can you send to them? Don’t use this series to talk too much about yourself, or you’ll lose people. Tell your supporters why they matter to you and how important their actions are. 

I hope this case for welcome journeys was compelling! Still have doubts about whether this will be effective for your organization? Don’t have any idea how to set one up? I want to hear from you!  

Are you ready to build your first email welcome journey? Download our free how-to guide and template to get started.