A study on 30 companies over 30 days focused on uncovering their email marketing strategy - specifically how they welcome new subscribers into their email marketing funnel, including examples from Movember, Patagonia, and Warby Parker.

1. Welcome Emails -
and How to Do Them
By Stephanie Seputra
Part 2 of 5

2. The Project
I tracked and analyzed emails to understand the
strategy behind them. To make sure that the
data is accurate, I followed 30 companies
across various industries for 30 days.
This particular analysis will provide a good
foundation on how the onboarding process
should look like from an email marketer
standpoint.
THE RESEARCH QUESTION
What do you do after people subscribe to your
email marketing program?
THE GOAL
Finding out what makes a great welcome email
series or onboarding experience for new users
or customer.

3. Welcome Email
Follow Up Questions
How many companies actually engage with their
customer, after getting their email address?
What percentage of companies actually have a
welcome email series (more than 1 email)?
If they do have a series, how long did they wait before
sending the next email?
What’s their overall ask - or purpose - for the welcome
series?
What are the top 3 welcome email series and what
can we learn from them?
You spend so much them getting an email, now
that you’ve got them, what do you do?

4. 74.19%About ¾ of the companies that I followed have some ways of welcoming a new
subscriber or customer into their marketing funnel.
Welcome
Q: What percentage of companies actually have a welcome email series (more than 1 email)?

5. 34.78%But not a lot of companies implement a welcome email series. Personally I think this is
a window of missed opportunity, because when an individual first subscribed to your
brand, is typically when they are still very curious and excited about what you’ve got to
say.
Welcome, Welcome
Q: How many companies actually engage with their customer, after getting their email address?

6. 2 Days
The average marketer waits between 2 to 3 days before sending their follow up emails.
Following Up
Q: If they do have a series, how long did they wait before sending the next email?

9. #1Movember

10. What’s Good: Movember
● The Checklist - Having a clear step-by-step list of actions that people can
take immediately, especially if you are an organization that seek to spark a
movement like Movember.
● The Community - The second email that Movember sent, was to invite
more people to do this challenge together with you. There was an African
saying that once said “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go
far, go together.”
● The Call-to-Action - They put their most important CTA (to donate) at the
end of this welcome series, after the individuals becomes invested and
excited about the cause!

11. #2Patagonia

12. What’s Good: Patagonia
● The Story - On their first email, Patagonia was not concerned with selling
us anything. They want us to know about their mission, the steps they take
to achieve Corporate Social Responsibility, and the other things they do
besides outerwear. Their main priority was to tell us a story.
● The Sell - On the second email, Patagonia introduced us to what the Men’s
Shop and their Women’s Shop. But only after they tell us why they’re
different.
● The Email Preference Option - They know that in order to make their email
marketing stand out, they need to know more about you, your preferences
and your interests.

13. #3WarbyParker

14. What’s Good: Warby Parker
● The Highlights - A quick introduction and overview of Warby Parker, and
helpful links that we could go to if we wish to know more about the
company; what they do and the products they sell.
● The Fun Facts & The Playlist - Something that not a lot of people know
about Warby Parker, that personalizes and humanizes the brand. It also
adds value for customer who subscribe to their brand.
● The Buttons - It’s fun, but also functional. A play on word like “See For
Yourself”, and a unique twist like “Blog It Up”

15. Takeaways
● Play to Your Strengths - All of the brands that I highlighted have very
different approaches, and it’s because they all figured out what they’re
good at and they honed in on those strengths.
● Utilize Preference Centers - It never hurts to know more about your
audience, so as to better segment your list and provide them with
messages that are more targeted and valuable.
● Set Expectations First - Be upfront about the kind of messages that you
are going to send to your subscribers, and allow them to change their
preferences. Setting the relationship right in the beginning, will save you
from fights in the future.

16. Hope this was helpful!
Part 1 - Email Marketing Analysis
Part 2 - Welcome Email and How To Do Them
Part 3 - Email Design Repository
Part 4 - The Power of Preference Centers
Part 5 - Life After Email - onto the Landing Pages!
If you want to connect with me, feel free to contact me at
stephanie.seputra@gmail.com
I’m also on Medium @stephanie-seputra
And on Instagram @stephanieseputra