Email Marketing: First Impressions Matter

In the world of email marketing, first impressions matter. Each and every day our inboxes are overflowing with email and we're quickly sizing up which messages to scan, read, and interact with and which ones to delete, mark as spam, or unsubscribe from. You've got to make sure your email marketing program consistently delivers value and treats your subscribers as VIPs–right from the outset.

When was the last time you evaluated the effectiveness of your email opt-in process? Analyzing the effectiveness of your email opt-in process is one of the best ways to improve the ROI of your email marketing program. As every site visitor is a potential new subscriber showing interest and engagement in your organization, it's imperative that you create a great first impression before you even send a single email.

Anatomy of the Opt-in Process

Step 1: Ask for permission. Make it easy to subscribe to your email list. Be sure that a "quick subscribe" form or opt-in link is easy to find and accessible from every page of your website.

Step 2: Keep it simple. On your opt-in form, only ask for information that you must have. You can always ask for more information later. Don't lose out on new subscribers because you're asking for too much information. Remember, it's early in the relationship.

Step 3: Reassure your newfound friend. Create a unique subscription confirmation landing page. Say thank-you. Ask your new subscriber to add the reply-to email address to be used in your email campaigns to their address book or safe senders list. This can be the difference between landing directly in the inbox with all images loaded versus landing in the junk folder. You may also want to use this page to ask for additional optional demographic/interest/segmentation/frequency preferences information. It's also a good time to remind your new subscriber of your privacy policy.

Step 4: Make a good first impression with your welcome message.

The Welcome Message

An auto-triggered welcome message is the most important email to send a new subscriber. It's a great way to instantly greet them when they are most engaged. It's about building trust, improving email delivery rates, and establishing your email reputation. Studies show that recipients engaged through a welcome program have a 40% higher open rate than those who haven’t received a welcome email. In addition, a welcome email can significantly increase customer satisfaction, decrease unsubscribes, and increase ROI.

A personalized welcome message thanks your new subscriber for joining and provides any additional relevant information about your email program. The best welome messages offer a clear call-to-action with an incentive that's relevant to the subscriber's reason for joining the mailing list. For example, if you're a vacation rental company, offer a limited-time new subscriber special for 10% off of any new reservation.

Don't Foget About Analytics

As the saying goes, "if you're not measuring, you're not marketing." A key component to any professional opt-in process and welcome message is analytics. Be sure to tag all links within your welcome message with the proper Google Analytics campaign tracking code. And keep an eye on the conversion rate on your opt-in page as well as the number of new subscribers versus unsubscribes each month. Since "list churn" is an inevitable part of any email marketing program, it's important to keep your list of subscribers active, engaged and growing.