Is Your Welcome Email Series Performing?
Ever wondered if your welcome email series or welcome sequence is performing? Especially if you’ve written your welcome sequence yourself, you might wonder if things are panning out. I want to share some data points to focus on when determining how well your welcome email sequence is doing and share a resource that can help you improve your welcome sequence (if you find that it’s lacking).
What Stats are “Normal”?
Before I jump into the data points, I want to start with a little disclaimer. Welcome sequence performance is going to vary by person, and so is what it means to perform well. For example, I've worked with clients before who easily pull in hundreds of subscribers a day and who see 90% open rates and 20% click rates on their welcome sequences.
But I've also seen the opposite, where people build subscribers at a much lower pace. They don't see as high of an open rate or click rate. However, they are seeing lots of conversions, so the people who are opening are really committed to purchasing. Despite lower stats, their welcome sequence is still performing well.
All that is to say, while there is a lot of data supporting the importance of a welcome email series, there isn’t a specific number that will tell you if your welcome sequence is doing well because it can change a lot depending on your industry and your business.
Email Welcome Sequence Stats
With that in mind, I want to give you some parameters to look at so you can determine if your welcome email series is performing well.
#1 Open and Click Rates
Start by looking at the consistent weekly emails that you're sending to subscribers. What are those stats looking like? If a normal weekly email gets a 50% open rate and a 5% click rate, then your welcome sequence should not be below that. If anything, it should be 4 to 5 times that number.
If my client was seeing a 3% click rate on weekly emails, then four to five times that would be 12 to 15%. I would be pretty happy with that! Especially as we move closer to 20%. On the initial welcome email, you’re likely to see the most clicks because people are grabbing the freebie. But as you start sending blogs or promoting offers, those clicks should level to that 4-5x range.
#2 UTM Codes Data
UTM codes are a way to track your links and get more data about customers' actions. You can see who clicked on your emails inside your email service provider, but without UTM codes, you can’t tell their actions after they clicked. AKA did you make a sale?
I highly recommend using UTM codes inside your email welcome series, especially in your offer emails. This will give you a great indication of your email sequence conversion and whether or not people are making purchases.
My Email Welcome Sequence Isn't Performing…
Alright, you’ve looked at your data, and things aren’t looking great. Maybe your stats are below where they should be, or you’re not seeing a conversion. I want to walk you through three common scenarios and how to troubleshoot them.
#1 My Stats are Dwindling
First, let’s set some expectations. On your first email, you’re likely to see your highest open and click rates. Then, as the email welcome sequence moves along, things will naturally dwindle.
However, if you see a substantial drop from one email to the next, it’s time to do some investigation. For example, one email might have a 20% click rate, and then suddenly, you’re seeing a 5% click rate. You might need to adjust your messaging, your call to action, or the formatting of your email.
Unfortunately, there is not exact science when it comes to email. You simply have to play around and then see how things improve.
#2 People are Unsubscribing
When it comes to email, unsubscribes are going to happen, and it's not always a red flag. However, if you are noticing a big drop in subscribers in the middle of your sequence, especially from a particular email, it’s worth looking into.
Again, check to see if your messaging is off or if there is something wrong with the email (like links not working or the email not loading). Make adjustments until you see the number of unsubscribes improve.
#3 No One is Buying My Offer
This is the most common concern I hear about email welcome series, and I want to talk about some reasons this could be happening (because it’s not always cause for concern). First, a welcome sequence is often the first interaction you have with a new customer. How many times do you run to buy something after the first interaction with a business??
There are a lot of stats about welcome sequences increasing revenue and conversion, but that conversion doesn’t always happen right away. It can happen down the line - which, unfortunately, is hard to track. However, the foundation (AKA your welcome series) is still essential to the conversion because it builds trust, establishes the foundation, and introduces your offer. Without that - conversion is even slower or just nonexistent altogether.
However, if you are worried that conversion isn’t happening, I would start by looking at click rates. Are people clicking on your call to action? Are they expressing interest in the offer? If they aren’t clicking at all, that could mean there is a disconnect between the offer and your audience (or maybe the messaging is off or the CTA is unclear).
Learn More About Welcome Sequences
While an email welcome series might seem small or insignificant, I hope this data and troubleshooting showed you just how in-depth it really can be! Luckily, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
On free The Welcome Sequence Toolkit private podcast, I'll walk you through the essentials you need to know, from the emails to include to the data and stats around welcome sequences. As a copywriter for female entrepreneurs, I've seen it ALL when it comes to welcome sequences, and I'll help you avoid the common pitfalls (like making one general welcome sequence) and the common concerns (like worrying they are giving too much away).
Hey, I’m Branda! I’m a copywriter and content strategist for female entrepreneurs who want personality-packed, nurture focused copy. Let’s make your copy something people want to read.
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