It is often the case that once we have spent the time getting our automated emails, like our Welcome flow, ready to go we don’t touch them again.

They’re automated. They’re meant to look after themselves and keep churning out high open rates and good conversions. That is true, but very quickly these can become stale.

If this was a real-world shop, you would see the entrance to the shop decorated differently throughout the seasons right? Maybe pumpkins for October or a Santa Claus in December? They might even push the sunscreen to the front of the store during the summer months.

Just like a real shop, your welcome email needs to match the brand, tone, campaigns and the world around your consumer.

In this blog, we’re going to outline some of the reasons why you need to refresh your email NOW and why it is so important 👇

E-commerce moves fast, your emails have to keep up

It is usually the case that as the months change, so do your products and offers. Oftentimes, we keep our welcome emails so generic that they don’t need changing. 

But that is a big boo-boo.

You want your welcome emails to reflect your most up-to-date image. Whether that’s shouting about a promotional campaign or just including summery imagery during the months of May, June and July. 

The problem with generic welcome emails is that they do not cut through and resonate with your audience. The welcome email is usually the first touchpoint for consumers and you want to nail that relationship from day one. 

Struggling with ideas? You can include best-selling products, and new customer offers, link them to your social media and introduce them to your brand in some more detail! 

Personalisation only occurs with regular updates

In email marketing, personalisation is truly the name of the game. With automated emails like your welcome email, it could be even more critical.

Whilst users receive a barrage of email communication on a daily basis, your emails can cut through with clever copy and heaps of personality. Trust us, they’re more likely to open and engage with your emails. 

Now, you’re not going to be able to reach the benefits of personalisation if your welcome emails are changed once a year, right?

You have heaps of data on your existing customers and new customers. You need to harness the power of this data and start to make informed strategic decisions around your welcome email.

Maybe you’ve learnt that your customers enjoy reading and learning about your brand. If that is the case, then you need to make sure you’ve got that in your welcome email. 

Over time, as you obtain more and more data, you might see new trends emerge or tactics that once work become dead ducks. It is this process of optimisation and insights that will keep you ahead of the game. 

At the end of the day, you want your welcome email to read as if it was *just* made for that specific user. 

Variety is the spice of life

Email marketing is awesome.

Email marketing is awesome.

Email marketing is awesome. 

We bet you’re a bit bored after reading that right? Well, imagine how bored your users get with the same ol’ information every time you speak to them. 

Repetition is boring and it gets boring really quickly. 

One way you can avoid boring your consumers is by thoroughly testing and optimising your welcome email. 

There are so many elements to an email including images, copy, subject lines, layouts and more!

Each one of these elements can be the subject of a test based on a hypothesis. 

A/B testing will encourage you to try new things and think outside the box a little more than usual.

Plus, all of the learning you gain will help every single one of your email campaigns both automated and manual!

So, in conclusion, you need to change your welcome email like now!

You should aim to make changes to your welcome email every 8-12 weeks. This will at least mean you keep in line with the seasons and your quarterly campaigns. 

You also need to keep testing the elements that make up your welcome email. Never be satisfied, there is always more you can squeeze out of it.

Remember to focus on personalisation and for the love of god, please do not be boring. 

If you’d like to speak to one of our email marketing specialists, get in touch with us today for a bit of email magic 😉