Onboarding emails are the “Welcome to our family” group hug. They are designed to help new users get familiar with a product or service and guide them through the process of becoming a paying customer. Continue reading to explore what onboarding emails are, why they are essential, the different types of onboarding emails, and best practices for creating onboarding emails that drive results.
What are Onboarding Emails?
Onboarding emails are a series of automated emails that are sent to new users to welcome them to a product or service and guide them through the onboarding process. These emails are typically sent over the course of a few days or weeks and provide users with information about how to use the product or service, what features are available, and how to get the most out of it.
Sometimes these emails are sent not necessarily for paying customers, but users who showed interest in your website assets like ‘Contact us’ forms, document download, blog subscriptions or other inquiries involving a user's email address.
Why are Onboarding Emails Important?
Due to the fact that converting users to paying customers is not an easy nor quick process, you need to provide users with engaging content. This takes time. Some of the content will be downloadable and you could have the chance to acquire their emails. After all these efforts you wouldn’t want to lose this opportunity to convert, and onboarding emails is one way to ensure that.
Onboarding emails receive some of the highest levels of engagement from customers. In fact, according to WordStream, onboarding emails have four times the open rate and five times the click-through rate than standard email marketing campaigns. The increased engagement presents a unique opportunity to open up communication channels and start building trust right from the start.
Onboarding emails were not written to create a positive first impression for your customers. They serve a higher purpose. Below are the benefits you’ll enjoy by onboarding customers over email.
Benefits of Email Onboarding
Businesses are constantly working to convert leads into customers, and an engaging email sequence can be one secret weapon to long-term success.
Not convinced? Below are two important reasons why email onboarding can be significantly valuable to your business.
It engages new subscribers
Email is an extremely popular communication channel as research shows that 4.3 billion people will use it by 2023 — that's more than half of the world's total population.
Customers love email because it gives them promotional content from their favorite brands, a channel to reach out for support, and notifications that keep them up-to-date on product- and service-related news.
One study found that the average email open rate is 21.33%, and email marketing ROI currently stands at $36 for every $1 spent.
An onboarding sequence will boost email engagement and help you get to know your subscribers. Email can act as a noninvasive, proactive conversation starter that can lead to valuable interactions and foster customer success.
It increases lifetime customers
If you want your business to succeed, then you need to have loyal customers who stay with you throughout their customer journey. Loyal customers minimize your churn rate and customer retention is less expensive than acquisition.
Greeting subscribers is one of the first steps to turning them into loyal customers. And, a well-designed email onboarding sequence can make a great first impression on every new lead.
If you don't greet subscribers after they sign up, you give the impression that you only wanted them to fill out your form. Greeting them after their submission shows that you're dedicated to building a long-term relationship that isn't solely transactional.
Types of Onboarding Emails
There are several types of onboarding emails that businesses can use to guide new users through the onboarding process. These include:
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Welcome Email: This email is sent to new users immediately after they sign up and is designed to welcome them to the product or service. This might as well be the most important onboarding email as it will set the tone for your onboarding process. Failure to create a good welcome email will result in low open and click rates.
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Educational Email: These emails are designed to educate new users about the product or service and how to use it.
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Feature Highlight Email: These emails focus on specific features of the product or service and how they can benefit the user.
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Support Email: These emails provide users with support and guidance, helping them overcome any issues they may have with the product or service.
Best Practices for Creating Onboarding Emails
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Personalize the Email: Use the user's name and personalize the content based on their interests and behavior.
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Create different sequences for engaged and disengaged users: One challenge you may encounter is having subscribers with different levels of engagement. Some will rush to your content, others will sign up, but remain inactive. To account for this, you'll need different sequences for active and inactive users. For example:
3. Keep it Short and Simple: Make sure the email is easy to read and understand, and keep the content brief and to the point.
4. Leverage personalization: Personalization will result in higher open/click rates, ultimately enhancing your customer experience. The more data you have on the customer the more personal the email will be.
5. Use Visuals: Use images and videos to help users understand how to use the product or service.
6. Include a Call-to-Action: Encourage users to take action by including a clear call-to-action in each email.
7. Test and Iterate: Test different email sequences and iterate based on what works best for your audience.
8. Optimize for mobile users: Use simple images that load fast and be careful with your subject line as most mobile devices will display a limited number of characters. Mobile-optimized campaigns aren't rocket science. But, you need to keep in mind some of the most important mobile-optimization practices.
Onboarding emails are an essential part of any company's marketing strategy. They provide new users with guidance and support, helping them get started with a product or service, and they help businesses increase conversions by educating users about the value.