Email is one of the most effective tools for women’s health and wellness businesses. (And, trying to not be too subjective here, my favourite strategy tool).
It’s the only platform that you truly own that already has people who are interested in hearing from you again and welcome you in their day to day lives via their inboxes. How cool is that?
Besides, email builds a safe and intimate space with people directly interested in your work, builds trust, creates a steady relationship over time and it’s way more personal than social media for example.
So if you nail your emails, you’ll have a place where you can soft launch any new product or service to a bunch of cool women who already trust you and know you. Heck, you can even sell your offers without actually selling them (goodbye sleazy selling and icky marketing).
Now, in order to be successful with your email marketing, you need to look at it from a strategic point and make it part of your email funnel and evergreen marketing.
A great place to start doing that is welcoming women into your little corner of the internet through a series of emails called an email sequence.
What’s an email sequence?
Simply put, it’s a series of strategic planned emails that are sent automatically to your subscribers, based on a recent action or stage in their journey as your leads or clients.
An action can be signing up to your newsletter or downloading a free guide (or even clicking a certain link in your last email). A stage might be taking people from just subscribers to relationship building or from long-time subscribers to first-time buyers – plenty of possibilities here.
Types of email sequences
Some of the most common types of email sequences that you might want to add to your marketing are:
Welcome sequence: a series sent to your new subscribers to introduce your brand, set expectations, optional delivering some incentives and setting up your world. (this sequence is the focus of this blog post)
Onboarding sequence: if someone just joined your course, you can send a few emails to guide them through the new purchased offer
Lead nurturing sequence: where you can build trust with your subscribers over time by sharing valuable content, plus positioning you and your brand as a helpful guide
Sales sequence: used to spark the interest toward a sale using case studies, results, limited-time offers or just preparing your subscribers for your next/new launch
Why do you need a welcome email sequence?
If someone joins your list, they are ready to stay in touch and hear from you (again). This is a great opportunity to start the relationship right away more intimately.
You can set expectations, introduce your expertise, and even invite them to reply so you can start a conversation.
If you don't have a welcome email sequence, subscribers might forget they signed up to your newsletter. And when you’re ready to sell, you’ll find out you already lost their interest or they don’t know who you are anymore (true story!).
How many emails should you include in a welcome sequence
There’s no magic number, but usually 3 to 7 emails is a practical range that can be set based on your brand and your goal (like buying a small-priced offer, book a discovery call, sign up for the new membership waitlist etc.)
Focus on what you want to accomplish, then what you need to say to that. Divide one key message per email and you’ll find out how many emails you need to send in your welcome sequence.
How to structure your welcome sequence
As said, the number of emails should be set based on your business, but for the purpose of this example, I’ll walk you through a 7-email sequence.
You’re going to see the purpose of each email and what you should write inside each of them.
Email 1: Welcome the subscriber
Delivered immediately after signing up
Thank them for joining
Deliver what you promise them, if you did use something as an incentive
Set expectations for what they'll receive and when (even the fact that you’ll send 6 more emails in this case)
Don't make the first email all about you (although you can briefly introduce yourself in 1-2 sentences)
Add a relevant question right at the end or as a P.S. after your sign-off to encourage replies
Email 2: Educate them, give value and demonstrate your expertise
Teach something relevant to the main problem your subscriber is trying to solve
Explain why the problem needs to be addressed and/or introduce your approach
Connect the content to the incentive you used (if relevant)
Use storytelling or a compelling example to make the lesson memorable
Email 3: Give unexpected value
Offer another useful resource, tip, tool, secret blog post or mini-training only the new subscribers can access
Keep it focused on the problem you introduced in the previous email and make it easy to consume
Use one clear call to action – that might be to click the link if they want to download the resource or access a training)
Tip: Ask them to reply with one question or problem they face to get personalised help from you. That helps engagement for your email list AND establishing a 1:1 connection.
Email 4: Build credibility & show what's possible
Share a client story, result or a testimonial
Focus on the transformation they had while/after working with you, not just the service you provided
Address an objection through the story where possible (testimonials that include “I wasn’t sure if the investment would be worth it but…” go a long way)
Email 5: Remove what’s stopping them from taking the next step
Address the common FAQs before they even think about them (usually those around money, time, resources, your approach, mental space needed etc.)
Invite them to reply to find that out together if you are the right person for them (or another specific next step)
Email 6: Help subscribers understand the person landing in their inbox
Share why you are doing this, your mission & your purpose
Focus on the parts of your story that explain why you do what you do today
Weave in relevant credibility and experience
Make the story about the reader too: why does your story matter to them?
Invite for conversation with a simple question or reply
Email 7: “Goodbyes” + setting expectations
Tell subscribers the welcome sequence is ending
Recap what they've received or learned throughout the last emails
Explain what your regular emails will look like from now on
Invite feedback, or a reply (e.g. ask what they want to see next from you)
Give another clear next step if you want to
You don’t need to create all of these (all at once). Give yourself room to explore, especially if you don’t have some data to back-up your new strategy.
Whatever you do, make sure it suits your audience and your goal and that you avoid some of these mistakes along the way.
Common welcome sequence mistakes
Selling immediately: this doesn’t sound like you, but I wanted to be clear – asking for the sale before building enough context and trust might get you an instant "unsubscribe" (and they just got there)
Never selling: unfortunately you can’t provide endless value without giving subscribers a clear path to work with you (soft pitch counts 😉)
Asking too much, too soon: inviting people to click here and there, to reply and to follow you on social media – it’s too demanding from a brand-new subscriber, so try to focus on one action per email where possible
No clear goal for each email: sending emails simply because you're “supposed to” won’t work, unless you look at the bigger picture and set clear goals for the sequence
Wrapping Up
So you saw that a welcome email sequence is simply a deliberate, warm welcome in your little corner of the internet. Its main purpose is to introduce your brand and give your subscribers a reason to stay around.
If you want to create a strategic welcome email sequence for your new subscribers, check out the VIP Day for a fast track. But if you’re ready to create a more intentional system around your list, the Visitor-to-Client Funnel might be the one for you.
Hey, I’m Patri!
Welcome to the Sales Copy Corner.
I’m the #endogirl you call when you need warm & intentional sales copywriting to support your business and yourself.
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