Send welcome emails to new subscribers with an autoresponder

Nina De la Cruz Nina De la Cruz 5 min read

When you create an email subscription popup, it’s a good practice to add an autoresponder message to it. What does this mean, exactly? This means a custom message will be automatically emailed to those who have signed up for an email newsletter on your website.

Autoresponder sends a welcome email you can use to introduce your company, offer something special to new subscribers, or encourage further actions.

You can also use the autoresponder to send a message to those who have filled out a contact form or a survey, as long as they’ve shared their email addresses through those forms. Below, we’ll show you how to use the autoresponder in Getsitecontrol and provide a few message examples you can use to welcome new email subscribers.


Why should you use a signup autoresponder anyway?

You can think of an autoresponder as an instant follow-up sent to every new subscriber. Imagine, you create an email opt-in form for your website, and it looks somewhat like this 👇

Once your website visitors fill out the form, you can display a submission success message right on that sticky bar. However, space is obviously limited.

The autoresponder comes in handy whenever you need to deliver any additional information that can’t be displayed upon closing the subscription form.

Here are the four most common examples of what you can do with an autoresponder:

1. Deliver a lead magnet

If you use lead magnets to incentivize visitors to subscribe, signup autoresponders are perfect for you. Whether it’s a link to download an eBook or a discount coupon code, just add it to the message copy – and voila!

2. Provide estimated response time

Do you display contact forms on your website? If so, you may want to use an autoresponder to deliver a submission success notification. This way, you let your customers know you’ve received their message and will respond promptly.

3. Direct new subscribers to another channel

Have a blog post you’d like to recommend to your new subscribers? Want to invite them to follow you on social media? Use signup autoresponders to direct traffic to the relevant channel.

The best part about the Getsitecontrol autoresponder – you don’t need any email marketing software to send that email to your new subscribers. All you need is to set up an autoresponder in the Getsitecontrol dashboard once, and change its content when it becomes irrelevant.

How to set up an email autoresponder in Getsitecontrol

To set up an email autoresponder in Getsitecontrol, you need to select an email subscription form first.

If you haven’t added an email signup form to your website yet, find a template to your taste in this gallery and follow the instructions on the right-hand side to add it to your Getsitecontrol dashboard.

Step 1. Customize your email signup form

Before you move one to set up the autoresponder, make sure your messages are aligned throughout the entire signup process. For example, the subscription form featured above invites visitors to sign up for product updates.

How to edit the copy on the email signup form in Getsitecontrol

Once in the dashboard, click on the copy or image to change them to your taste. Next, open Page 2 and customize the default submission success message – an immediate message displayed to new subscribers.

Submission success message example

When crafting your autoresponder message, you want to keep in mind that message along with your original call to action in order to make sure you use the same wording and meet your subscribers’ expectations.

Step 2. Set up the email signup autoresponder

To get started with the autoresponder, open the Notifications tab and check the ‘Enable autoresponder’ box. Next, fill in the following fields with your own text:

From

Type the name of an email sender (you or your company) the way you want it to appear in your subscribers’ inboxes.

Subject

Create an attention-grabbing subject line. Feel free to add emojis to make your it stand out.

Message

Craft the body of the email. You can include basic formatting, links, and dynamic text variables. Once you finish, your autoresponder fields should be looking somewhat like this 👇

How to set up an autoresponder for an email signup form

From there, hit Save & close in the top right corner and activate the popup on your website. Don’t forget to test it and see how the auto response will look in your inbox.

What should I write in an autoresponder email?

The wording of autoresponder emails depends on your email subscription form and your email marketing strategy. Naturally, an email signup autoresponder will be different from the autoresponder set up for a technical support request form.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled three examples of email autoresponders below. Feel free to borrow any of these templates and use them as a draft.

Welcome message

When someone subscribes to your mailing list, use a signup autoresponder to send them a welcome message. It’s a great chance to create a positive first impression and deepen the engagement. And if you’re offering a lead magnet in exchange for an email, this is where you can actually deliver the promised incentive.

Here is an example of a welcome email autoresponder:

Welcome and thanks for signing up!

Blue Ocean Team [blue.ocean.team@mail.com]

Hi there,

Thank you for signing up for our newsletter, we’re really excited to welcome you on board! Now that you’re on the list, you’ll be the first to hear about our updates.

As promised, here’s your free copy of our Ultimate Guide on Call-to-Action Words to Boost Email Signups. In this guide, we’ve collected 12 examples of high-converting call-to-action words you can use as inspiration when crafting your own email signup forms.

If you have any questions, just reply to this email. We’ll be happy to help!

Best Regards,
Support Team

Delivery confirmation message

Confirmation emails are sent as soon as someone submits your contact form. They are meant to acknowledge that a visitor’s message has been delivered successfully. You can also include additional information about the estimated response time or links to useful resources, such as your F.A.Q. page. If you have customer support or feedback forms on a website, confirmation autoresponders are quite handy.

Here is a generic text sample you can use:

Dear Blue Ocean Team customer, thanks for reaching out!

Blue Ocean Team [blue.ocean.team@mail.com]

Hello,

Thank you for getting in touch with us!

Help is on the way: we have received your request and will get back to you as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, you might want to check our Help and FAQ sections.

Best Regards,
Support Team

Survey submission success message

Running a survey on a website? Use autoresponders to thank respondents for completing them. If you promised a survey incentive upon completion, this is a convenient way to deliver it.

Thank you for taking the time to complete our poll!

Blue Ocean Team [blue.ocean.team@mail.com]

Hey,

Thanks for taking our poll! Your feedback really means a lot to our team! As a thank-you gift, we’d like to offer you a personal 30% discount: please use the code COUPON at checkout.

The coupon is valid for any purchase made through August 31. It cannot be combined with other promotional offers.

If you have any questions, just reply to this email. Happy shopping!

Nina De la Cruz is a content strategist at Getsitecontrol. She is passionate about helping small and medium ecommerce brands achieve sustainable growth through email marketing.

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