Why Your Welcome Series Is The Most Important Automated Email: And How To Set It Up In Mailchimp

Why Welcome Email Series Matter

Welcome emails consistently deliver some of the highest open and click-through rates in email marketing, significantly outperforming regular email campaigns. According to recent industry data, welcome email series exhibit strong performance metrics, with average open rates ranging from 55.61% to 83.6%, and Click-through rates (CTR) for welcome email series are also high, averaging between 14.4% and 26%, with one source indicating a 16.6% average CTR. These figures significantly outperform standard marketing emails, which typically see lower open and click-through rates. To put this in perspective, the overall average open rate across industries is 39.7%, with a 1.0% CTR for typical email campaigns. This means welcome emails perform roughly 2-3 times better than standard marketing emails demonstrating their exceptional engagement potential. Source

New subscribers are at their most engaged right after signing up – they’re expecting to hear from you and are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

A well-crafted welcome series allows you to:

• Make a strong first impression
• Set expectations for future communications
• Introduce your brand story and values
• Guide subscribers through your products or services
• Build trust and credibility
• Drive early conversions

 

Planning Your Welcome Series Structure

The key to an effective welcome series is breaking your introduction into digestible chunks rather than overwhelming new subscribers with a single lengthy email. Most successful welcome series include 3-6 emails sent over a period of 7-14 days.

The following is an example of a typical welcome sequence however, It’s important to keep in mind that your business, offer and customers are unique, therefore a thorough assessment should be made to determine what works for your business. It could be as simple as a one welcome email followed by your weekly or monthly newsletter or a longer more involved series of emails to develop relationships, trust and demonstrate your expertise.

Here’s a proven structure that works well for most businesses:

Email 1: The Immediate Welcome (Send immediately) This email should go out within minutes of someone subscribing. Thank them for joining, confirm what they signed up for, and set expectations for what’s coming next. If you promised a lead magnet or discount code, deliver it here.

Email 2: Your Brand Story (Send 1-2 days later) Share your company’s brand story, mission, and values in a way that shows you understand your subscriber’s challenges and positions you as the trusted help they need. In helping subscribers understand who you are and what drives your business and how you help gives a  personal touch that builds an emotional connection.

Email 3: Value Demonstration (Send 3-4 days later) Showcase your best content, products, or services. Share customer testimonials, case studies, or examples that demonstrate the value you provide. This is where you start building credibility.

Email 4: Social Proof & Community (Send 6-7 days later) Feature customer reviews, user-generated content, or invite subscribers to join your social media communities. Social proof is incredibly powerful for building trust with new subscribers.

Email 5: Special Offer (Send 10-14 days later) If appropriate for your business, include a special discount or exclusive offer. This gives subscribers a compelling reason to make their first purchase and can significantly boost conversion rates.

Setting Up Your Welcome Series in Mailchimp

Mailchimp’s automation features make it simple to create and manage your welcome series:

1. Navigate to the Automations section in your Mailchimp dashboard
2. Choose “Welcome new subscribers” from the available automation templates
3. Select your audience and define any specific segments if needed
4. Set your trigger to activate when someone subscribes to your list
5. Design your email sequence using Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop editor
6. Set timing intervals between each email in your series
7. Test your automation before going live

 

Best Practices for Welcome Email Content

Keep it personal and conversational Write as if you’re talking to a friend. Use a warm, welcoming tone that reflects your brand personality. Avoid overly formal or corporate language that creates distance.

Include clear calls-to-action Each email should have a primary goal and a clear next step for subscribers to take. Whether it’s visiting your website, following you on social media, or making a purchase, make it obvious what you want them to do.

Optimize for mobile With Mailchimp’s mobile-responsive templates, ensure your emails look great on all devices. Most people check email on their phones, so mobile optimization is crucial. Optimizing and testing for dark mode is also important as most mobile and many desktop use view their email in dark mode. You’ll want to text you how your emails display in dark mode for various email client like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and others, as each one renders dark mode differently.

Provide value in every email Don’t just sell – educate, entertain, or inspire your subscribers. Share helpful tips, industry insights, or behind-the-scenes content that adds genuine value to their inbox.

Use compelling subject lines Your subject lines should create curiosity and encourage opens. Keep them concise, personal, and relevant to the email content. However, be aware that some words and phrases can trigger spams filleter that will keep your emails from reaching your subscriber’s inbox. For example, using all uppercase letters, or catch words and phrases like, Free and Limited Time Offer, multiple exclamation points (!!!!), or phrases like “this is not spam” or “please open” are also considered deceptive and can trigger filters.

Welcome Emails Timing and Frequency Guidelines

The timing of your welcome series emails is crucial for maintaining engagement without overwhelming subscribers. Here’s what typically works best but ultimately it should be demined by your offer and type of business.

• Email 1: Immediately (within 5-10 minutes of signup)
• Email 2: 1-2 days later
• Email 3: 3-4 days after the previous email
• Email 4: 3-4 days after the previous email
• Email 5: 5-7 days after the previous email

Remember, these are guidelines – you should test different timing intervals to see what works best for your specific audience and industry.

Measuring and Optimizing Your Welcome Series

Mailchimp provides detailed analytics for your automated campaigns, allowing you to track:

• Open rates for each email in your series
• Click-through rates and engagement
• Conversion rates and revenue generated
• Unsubscribe rates
• Overall series performance

Use this data to continuously optimize your welcome series. Test different subject lines, email content, timing intervals, and calls-to-action to improve performance over time. Mailchimp makes all this possible with their A/B also known as multi-variant testing tool.

Common Welcome Series Mistakes to Avoid

Being too salesy too quickly

 While you want to drive conversions, focus first on building relationships and providing value. Save the hard sell for later in the series.

Sending emails too frequently

 Bombarding new subscribers with daily emails can lead to high unsubscribe rates. Space your emails appropriately to maintain engagement.

Forgetting to segment 

Not all subscribers are the same. Use Mailchimp’s segmentation features to tailor your welcome series based on how people joined your list, their interests or behavior. Segmenting your audience allows you to send highly relevant emails increasing subscriber satisfaction and interactions. As you build your automated customer journey you might include an If/Else scenario that directs subscribers to a particular path based on their actions.

Neglecting mobile optimization 

Failing to optimize for mobile devices can significantly hurt your engagement rates. Statistically across industries the majority of recipients will view your email on their phones. (Don’t forget to test for dark mode mentioned earlier).

Not testing and optimizing 

Set up your welcome series once and then forget about it. Regular testing and optimization are essential for long-term success. This where MailChimp’s Analytics and Reports come in handy.

Getting Started with Your Welcome Series

Ready to create your automated welcome series in Mailchimp? Start by mapping out your customer journey and identifying the key messages you want to communicate to new subscribers. Then use Mailchimp’s intuitive automation tools to bring your welcome series to life.

Remember, your welcome series is often a subscriber’s first real interaction with your brand after signing up. Make it count by being helpful, authentic, and valuable. With the right approach and Mailchimp’s powerful automation features, you’ll turn new subscribers into engaged customers and brand advocates.

Take the time to craft a welcome series that truly represents your brand and provides value to your audience. The investment in creating a thoughtful, well-executed welcome sequence will pay dividends in subscriber engagement, customer relationships, and ultimately, your bottom line.

If you want to save a ton of time and get your welcome series up and running quickly, schedule a call with me today.