Welcome emails are exceptionally important and tragically underutilized.

For instance, if a client gets an average open rate of 45% on their newsletter, it’s not unusual to see 60-70% opens on their welcome emails.

Think about it—something you said on your website or elsewhere was compelling enough to give you their email address (roughly a $4 transaction, to the Western psyche). Their interest in what you have to say is the highest it will be at that moment.

So lean into that well-earned attention. Don’t be one of the many newsletters that still don’t have a welcome email with any thought behind it.

Done well, your welcome emails can be the most lucrative and beneficial emails you ever send.

Optimize for relationships and revenue will follow

Imagine you’re hosting a dinner party, and every recipient is a guest. Your welcome emails will orient everyone toward a delightful and comfortable time together. Every guest needs a drink in their hand, their coat laid on the bed, and comfortable in your home.

But those are technicalities—the minimum you can do.

The magic happens when you ask the perfect question that gets them to share a funny story—or their biggest hope; and when you’re able to connect them to someone else who makes them feel completely at ease and curious.

You have to be perceptive to the individual and conscientious of the context to make that magic happen.

Your welcome emails should clearly direct new recipients toward their next step—at minimum. How do I book time with you? How much is your course? What else do I need to know?

But to kick your welcome emails up a notch, recall my answer to your perfect question and tailor your message to it; and make sure I have access to everything you want me to explore about your business so I can get comfortable with the idea of working with you (podcasts, articles, videos).

In short, optimize for relationships and revenue will follow.

Ask the perfect question

Good welcome emails are designed to find good-fit clients, so you’ll need to know something about your new subscribers before you can make them feel comfortable.

Immediately after subscribing, redirect me to a secondary form to ask the Perfect Question. The Perfect Question varies from business to business, but my answer will help you speak to my biggest problem or hope (as it relates to your business).

For Nice Newsletter, I ask new subscribers three questions:

• How established is their newsletter?
• How many subscribers do they have?
• How often do they send their newsletter?

With those three data points, I can fine-tune my welcome email to each subscriber based on what they say. For instance, I have different messages for someone who hasn’t started a newsletter yet and has zero subscribers compared to someone who has 60,000 subscribers and has been sending weekly for a year.

Encourage exploration

Once your new recipient feels uniquely seen and heard, you can encourage them to explore your content so they get comfortable with your voice, approach, and general vibe.

A rule of thumb to aspire to is to have at least seven hours of content available online. Seems like a lot, I know, but it’ll help your best clients find you and like you.

Your welcome emails can direct recipients to your most popular stuff or your recent stuff or the most fitting stuff (based on their perfect answer).