Don’t sleep on welcome emails. They are one of the most effective forms of marketing automation you can set up. Here are a few reasons why…
- The average open rate for welcome emails is 60.3%, which makes them 114% more attention-grabbing than standard emails.
- Compared to regular email marketing, welcome emails make 320% more revenue on average.
When a customer signs up for service, they subconsciously seek acknowledgment. They want you to greet them upon their arrival. Remember the saying, “Great hosts greet their guests” and apply the mentality to your emails.
But alas, no one will open your message unless your subject line inspires them to. Here’s how to craft a compelling welcome email subject line that encourages opens.
3 Rules for Writing Great Welcome Series Subject Lines
Don’t overthink your welcome email subject lines. Straight-forward messages perform best. Follow these basic rules and you’re sure to catch attention.
- Use a simple hello, hi or howdy. Make it obvious what your message is all about. Your customers just signed up for utility services and are expecting to receive onboarding information. Make them feel welcomed.
- Offer a discount or immediate value. Give customers a specific reason to open your email. Include rebates, incentives or other benefits that customers can take advantage of right away. Make your value apparent.
- Suggest next steps. Include instructions, a CTA or action verbs to spell out what you want customers to do with the information you’re sending. Make it so they can’t miss the important stuff (like billing).
Best Performing Welcome Email Subject Lines
Check out the top-performing welcome series subject lines, pulled from Questline Digital’s industry-wide marketing performance data. Each example follows the tips outlined above and successfully compels customers to act.
| Subject Line | Open Rate |
| Explore your billing and payment options | 94.7% |
| The power is in your hands | 94.1% |
| Welcome to [Utility Name] | 94.0% |
| [Utility Name] is here to help you | 93.3% |
| Billing and payment options – made easy | 91.7% |
| Convenient billing options for your business | 90.1% |
| Welcome to the [Utility Name] family! | 87.9% |
| Let us help you manage your energy costs | 85.7% |
| Account and billing options you need to know | 85.3% |
| 3 outage resources you need to know about | 84.2% |
What to Include in Your Welcome Series
An effective welcome series includes three to five emails. That’s why you’ll need multiple welcome email subject lines within your onboarding series. Lucky for you, that means you can test which topics and words garner the most attention.
Whichever way you choose to organize your welcome information, common topics include:
- My Account set up
- Billing options
- Available discounts or rebates
- Outage resources
- Community involvement
- Energy efficiency resources
Don’t make it overly complicated! Provide your customers with what they need and make it obvious what you’re offering or asking them to do. Remember, new customers want to hear from you. An effective welcome series should be the start of long-lasting — and highly satisfied — digital relationship with customers.