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Sep 27, 2021
We will begin with the technical setup and then go through the strategy we recommend to maximise sales through the Welcome Series. Email Experts is an agency that provides Email Marketing and Ecommerce advice. We may receive compensation from companies we work with or recommend. We test each product and service thoroughly and only recommend those we feel are best suited to your needs with the information we have.
The video below also explains how to create the Welcome Series and describes what to include in each email in the series. We hope you will check it out as well! If you find it useful, please click the ‘Like’ and ‘Subscribe’ buttons.
When visitors come to your website, they are presented with a pop-up prompting them to join the mailing list. Once they sign up, the Welcome Series is triggered, and if it all goes to plan, they will make a purchase. We went through setting up a pop-up in a previous video How to Create lists and Segments in Klaviyo Tutorial
Let’s first break down the technical component. In Klaviyo, you need to find the list you will use to trigger your Welcome Series. In this example, we’ll use the “Newsletter” list.
Click on “Flows” in the left side menu and then click “Create Flow” in the top right corner.
Next, search for “Welcome” in the search bar and then choose the basic “Welcome series”.
Once you have opened the template, select the list you want to trigger the Welcome Series under the “Trigger” drop-down menu. We chose the list, “Newsletter”, in this example. Select “Create Flow” in the bottom right corner.
STEP 2: Configure the flow
Now you will choose how many emails you want to include in the Welcome Series and the timing for each email. The easiest way to add additional emails to the flow is to select the three dots on an existing email in the flow and select “Clone”.
You can also clone the Time Delay between emails in the same way you did for Emails. You can then drag and drop the emails and time delays to suit your desired format. To edit any specific element, click on the element in the flow, and the editing tools will appear on the left side.
The Perfect Welcome Email Series
We suggest having six emails in your Welcome Series, each spaced one day apart.
Here is an example of how this flow may look in Klaviyo.
STEP 3: Setting up the rules
Now we will go through each of the rules in this example.
First, it’s triggered by “When someone subscribes to” the Newsletter.
Then, each customer continues through each email. Since the purpose of the Welcome Series is to encourage people to make their first purchase, we recommend adding a rule to the entire flow, so they stop receiving the Welcome Series as soon as they buy.
To do this,
1. Click on the trigger section at the top.
2. Click on “Flow Filters” in the left panel, and click “Add a Flow Filter”.
3. Click “What someone has done (or not done)”.
4. Enter “Placed Order” (this will use whichever e-commerce platform you are using), select “zero times”, and select “since starting this flow”.
Flow filters set on the trigger will be tested before each email in the flow is sent. For example, if someone received email 1 and then email 2 and then makes an order before email 3 is sent, Klaviyo will check the filter, see that they placed an order, and will end the flow for that customer.
Sometimes we see people adding a conditional split to separate the buyers, but this isn’t necessary if you use the flow filter.
Finally, on the first email and the last email, make sure “Smart sending” is turned off. To do this, click on the first email, then click “Smart Sending” under “Settings” on the left menu.
Toggle “Smart Sending” to “Off” at the top of the left-hand menu.
Smart Sending is a feature that ensures customers don’t receive too many emails at once. By turning this off, we will make sure customers receive these particular emails even if they’ve received other emails recently.
The Welcome Series is triggered after someone signs up from one of the forms on your website.
We have written a blog about how to create a pop-up here.
This is the main way people will sign up. As we mentioned in that video, providing a simple offer – such as 10% off or $10 off with a minimum order, is the most effective way to convert window shoppers to subscribers.
Subscribers will receive each message in the flow, and hopefully, one of these emails will convert them into customers. To configure each message, click on the box, click “Edit”, and you will be taken to the email editor.
We have also made a blog post outlining how to use a proven email template to help design your emails.
Next, we will go through the content of each of these 6 emails in detail.
Remember, the goal of the Welcome Series is to convert would-be window shoppers into buying customers. To do this, you need to overcome the barriers a customer has in making a purchase. There are 2 common barriers all eCommerce businesses face, Shipping Cost and Trust.
There may also be other barriers that might be specific to your product or brand. For example, you may be required to educate your customers about the product, how to use it, or its benefits. If you have an expensive product, you may have to overcome price concerns.
Every email needs to have a single focused message and a call-to-action. If you do add an additional message and make your email longer, make sure that the call-to-action at the top of the email is very clear.
Here is the outline for the six emails.
The first, second and last email should be focused on the offer; they signed up because they were initially interested in this offer. Emails 3, 4, and 5 should be about overcoming the shipping costs, trust, price, and other barriers using the social proof of best sellers and reviews and directly addressing the most common concerns in an FAQ-style email.
Examples of the 6 Emails in your Welcome Email Flow
Welcome Email 1: Discount Offer
This email is for delivering the offer, nothing else. This email is about fulfilling the offer you made in the pop-up. Keep the message simple and use a very simple email design like this.
If you want to use a dynamic discount code with Shopify, check out our blog post with instructions on how to use them here.
Here is an example of Frank Body using a basic template for the discount code.
Welcome Email 2: Discount Reminder
This email is a reminder of the discount offer. You don’t want to vary the message between this email and the first email too much. Like the first email, it should follow the basic template and include the discount code.
Welcome Email 3: Best Seller
In this email, you want to show the subscriber your best sellers in an email. We recommend using the term best sellers because it appeals to social proof.
Here is an example from Kester Black of an email design showing off their most popular products. You can populate this email within Klaviyo using a product recommendation grid, which will ensure customers are only shown products that are still in stock.
Welcome Email 4: FAQ
The main purpose of this email is to address common frequently asked questions and overcome the barriers your customers may have. Choose your FAQs around common questions specific to your brand, and address any common concerns.
Here is an example of a FAQ email from The Swag. From the perspective of the consumer, we recommend keeping the FAQ section of the email short and then including a call to action link at the bottom of the email that links back to the FAQ section on your website. Getting customers to navigate from your email to your website is the key to getting them browsing your store.
Welcome Email 5: Reviews
Once again, you are aiming to overcome your customer’s common concerns using social proof. When including reviews in this email, do not just show any reviews. We don’t recommend filling them in from a feed. Instead, choose reviews that specifically address and overcome barriers such as shipping and trust. Choose reviews that state the product arriving safely and is of good quality. Focus strategically on choosing reviews that address the concerns customers have.
Here is an example of a reviews email by QALO. A simple layout has been used to show multiple reviews.
Welcome Email 6: Final Offer Reminder
Deliver the offer the customer signed up for again, using urgency this time. A greater sense of urgency can be created using a countdown timer.
Learn more Email Marketing Automation tips from Email Experts
This blog is part of a series on setting up your core Klaviyo automated flows. Please have a look at our other blogs in this series and the videos that go with them.
Check out our YouTube channel, where we have tutorials on how to build up your email marketing. Please subscribe to be notified when future content is released.
Author: Shaun is the Founder of Email Experts. Combining his love of data analysis and his passion for marketing, Shaun enjoys working with marketing professionals to deliver excellent results for ecommerce businesses.
