How to make your email welcome sequence work even better

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Lots of people online say they’ll get you amazing results, but they don’t always back it up. It’s hard to know who you can trust and who’s just trying to close the sale. If you’ve been in the online marketing space for longer than a hot minute, you’ve probably been burned by someone who made big promises but couldn’t deliver - or at least you’ve heard the horror stories from a friend who’s been through this.

I can tell you all day long how great copy can improve your email marketing - after all, it’s a topic I’m crazy about! But instead of just telling you, I’m going to show you. I’m pulling back the curtain and showing the kind of transformation you can get with great copy.  


Today I’m sharing Sue’s story. When I first met Sue, she was already running a successful business teaching new bloggers how to make their first $1000 online. (Check her out here!)

Sue had a large list that was growing at a steady rate, but she felt like her emails lacked personality. She had followed another coach’s advice while writing her sequence and the emails didn’t show off her voice.

She wanted to incorporate more of her story into her nurture sequence so she could start connecting with new subscribers right away. Sue works with students in a group coaching program, so helping new subscribers get to know, like, and trust her was key for future launches. Even though Sue’s open rates were within industry standards, there was definitely room for improvement there, too. Her welcome email was especially low at only 25.5%. Typically the welcome email has the highest open rate of any email, but Sue’s was on par with her average open rate.   

I knew some changes could help Sue with her goals and improve her open rates at the same time. Here’s what we did:

After evaluating her original emails, I put together a new strategy for Sue’s welcome sequence. Using Sue’s story and the transformation she’s seen for herself and her clients, I wrote a new welcome sequence focused on immediately building a connection between Sue and her subscribers. We talked about the problems they’re facing now and how Sue’s approach is different from the advice they see all over the place.

We also had some fun with the sequence and included stories from Sue’s life she hadn’t shared with her followers before. For example, Sue has a great story about a connection to Bruce Springsteen - as soon as I heard it, I knew we HAD to add the sequence and tie it back to her subscribers’ pain points.

The emails were longer than what she was sending before, but they were lighter, more conversational, and they represented Sue and the work she does with her clients. The sequence was structured to take new subscribers on a journey, with P.S. notes and cliffhangers throughout to keep them opening emails along the way.

Sue loved the new emails and started running them in March of this year. After a few weeks, Sue saw an 11% increase in her welcome email open rates.

As she continued to run the sequence, her open rates continue to go up. Now her welcome email open rates are over 40%! Just look at these gorgeous stats:

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Her welcome email isn’t the only email that’s improved. Open rates are up across the entire sequence:

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As you can imagine, Sue’s thrilled with the transformation:

My welcome email open rates are up 15%! I couldn’t be happier with the work Sarah did on my emails. I’ve worked with her multiple times and she always hits it out of the ballpark!
— Sue - Blogging Coach, Successful Blogging

If you want results just like Sue, I’m here for you! I can help you transform your email marketing and get your stats lookin’ pretty in no time, too. Contact me here to hire me to write your emails!

Case Study, Email Marketing