There are different email types to accomplish different goals whether for your project or company. The main goal is gain more customers. What is the strategy for acquiring customers? How do brands get people interested enough to take action? How do brands turn a potential customer into an existing customer?

Types of email marketing: Acquisition emails

The answer to all the questions above in email marketing is acquisition emails. Acquisition emails are emails sent to acquire new customers. They’re integral to the growth of a company.

To relate this to our coveted marketing funnel, think of acquisition emails as part of the awareness section. This is the portion of the funnel where you are trying to create buzz around your company, do your market research, and grow your brand by acquiring new customers. One secret to a good acquisition email is giving your potential customer something before they even know they want it.

Some of the items like the following:

• Downloadable guides, product catalogs, PDFs, or free trials
• Something that makes them feel good
• Some new or educational information
• A glimpse into what your product will give them

Another aspect of acquisition based email marketing that can make all the difference between a successful campaign and an unsuccessful campaign is copy. Sometimes in acquisition emails, a company is speaking to someone who is already interested but hasn’t fully committed to the product yet. But more often than not, the emails are being sent to brand new recipients who have never come in contact with your brand before.

Using witty, unique, and inclusive copy can be a huge difference maker. Email copy refers to the text in your email and subject line. Taking these factors into consideration, what does an effective acquisition email look like?

Let’s go over some great examples. The photo below is from a social media- based photo and video editing company that is offering a tutorial on how to make attention-grabbing social media videos.

This is a great example because right away you can see that they’re offering something new to their potential customers. They’ve included specific details on how the audience might use topics like seasonality and mood to create more engaging posts. It’s short and straight to the offer. Their email copy is light and vibrant, and the use of the line “Spring into action with video” at the top is a play on words. They are urging customers to take advantage of a new season and take quick action with their video posts.

This is a great tactic for getting people to open your emails, which bring them one step closer to being a customer.

Types of email marketing: Welcome emails

Welcome emails are emails that are sent out to brand-new customers or subscribers. Think of a welcome email as a virtual first impression you make with someone. If you were to welcome someone into your home for the first time, how would you do that? You might offer them water or a snack. If you’re hosting your first-ever meeting at your workplace, you’d choose the conference room most suited for your colleagues. You’d make sure it was big enough, comfortable enough, and you may prepare some kind of presentation, right?

In the same way, you would be very thoughtful about welcoming someone into your home; you’ll want to be thoughtful about sending your welcome emails. Welcome emails fall into the consideration bucket of our marketing funnel. Remember this is the section of the funnel where users have already elected to subscribe to your marketing emails. So they are looking for more information.

By clicking subscribe, these customers have decided they want to receive additional information on your business. This is a great time to nurture your leads by sending goods or services that your potential customers would be interested in purchasing.

So when creating your welcome emails, ask yourself, what do you want people to know about you? Which aspects of your business’s identity feel like they absolutely must be included?

A good welcome email includes:

• A conversational and inviting tone.
• A brief summary that tells customers what makes your brand unique or tells your brand’s story.
• A call-to-action. In case you’re not familiar, a call-to-action is a concise instruction that tells the customer what to do next. These can be anything from statements telling customers to buy a product or even just a subtle button in an email that says get started and sends users to a landing page where they can create an account on your website.

Companies will send welcome emails to thank first-time subscribers or customers who have purchased a product. They also may send a welcome email when you download their app, encouraging you to use the app for the first time. Sometimes companies will send a welcome email to encourage people to buy a product by including a discount code.

Let’s explore an effective welcome email to give you a better idea of what they include.

This example email from a kitchenware company is exactly what a welcome email should be like. For starters, it offers incentives like a free shipping code right at the top. They know you’re more likely to click the shop tableware button now that they have presented you, their customer, with a free shipping code. This is a great tactic. Then, the email includes a letter about the company’s background straight from the founder.

Not only does this add a personal touch, but it makes the email copy feel conversational and inviting, especially when in the note from the founder, where the founder mentions their company’s goal to make all meals feel special. The email is concluded with a few calls to action as you are prompted to follow them on social media and shop in their online store. There you have it.

Happy learning and good luck!