Writing an Indoctrination
Series for Your Clients
By Heather Robson

Not too many days ago, I had the pleasure of listening to DigitalMarketer’s Ryan Deiss talk about ways to improve email marketing.

Now, you may have heard that the money is in the list. And, no doubt, knowing how to build a list is important. But, Ryan emphasized that knowing how you’ll earn money with a list is even more important.

Because, once you know how to do that, you can invest in building your list with a good idea of how much you’ll earn in return.

During his discussion, Ryan talked about using an indoctrination series and a conversion series to build a better connection with your new subscribers, so you can make a better return on your list-building investments.

And today, I want to specifically share some of his thoughts on putting together an indoctrination series.

If you’re unfamiliar with that term, this is a series of email messages that go out after someone signs up to your list.

The purpose of the indoctrination series is to help your new subscriber get to know you and your company, to excite them about what’s to come, and to generally create a feel-good sensation about their decision to sign up.

A few things you might include in your indoctrination series …

• A welcome and a thank you
• An introduction to you and your team
• A restatement of the benefits of signing up
• What they should expect going forward
• A link to some of your best stuff
• A statement about what you believe in and what sets you apart
• What steps they should take next
• An open loop

Welcome them to your list and say thank you.

This one is easy. You just let your new subscriber know you’re glad they’ve joined you and you’re grateful to have them.

Introduce yourself and your team.

An indoctrination series isn’t necessarily the best time to go into detail about your bio and who each member of your team is, but it is a good time to introduce yourself in a sentence or two. And, if there are key people on your team who will help to improve their experience, it’s a good time to introduce them, as well.

Restate the benefits of signing up.

If being part of your email list means they’ll receive timely tips to help them boost the results of their marketing, say so.

If signing up for your list means they’ll be the first to hear about screaming deals on outdoor gear, remind them of that benefit.

If subscribing means they’ll have the opportunity to download coupons to weekly specials at your restaurant, the indoctrination series should say that somewhere.

You get the idea …

Let them know what to expect going forward.

This is where you let your subscriber know how often they’ll be hearing from you.

Whether your schedule is once a week, with an extra promotion a couple times a month …

three times a week, and they’re all largely promotional in nature … or daily … let your subscriber know exactly what to expect.

Your transparency will build trust and convey you’re proud of the information and the offers you deliver.

Share some of your best stuff.

One of the ways to help your newest audience member benefit from being a subscriber — and also increase their confidence in their decision to join your list — is to link them to some of your very best stuff. You want to do this early in the relationship, so they know what they have to look forward to. And, so they can start to trust in your expertise.

Tell them what you stand for.

If your company has a particularly strong unique selling proposition, a mission statement people will want to be a part of, or a powerful story about how it came to be, share that in the indoctrination series.

You want people to feel good about being associated with you. So, help them see what a great company you are in an authentic, sincere, non-braggy sort of way.

Outline the steps they should take next.

Because ultimately you plan to market to your email list, you want your new subscriber to get used to your asking them to do things … like click on links, read more, share an article, or order now.

In the indoctrination series, you might do something as simple as ask them to add you to their contacts, so they can be sure none of your messages go into spam.

Or, you might ask them to watch a video …

Or, contact you about what their biggest struggles are that tie in with your industry …

Or, start following you on social media.

However you do it, including a call to action in your indoctrination emails will help your subscribers know good things happen when they act upon a suggestion you make.

Promise more to come.

Another good item to include in your series, or in each message of your series, is an open loop. You might promise to share an industry secret or reveal an entertaining story. Just make sure they know when the next message is going to arrive and give them a good reason for wanting to open it.

A few tips for a successful series …

Now, you don’t have to include all of these things in a single message — or limit each message to covering just one thing. You can mix things up, including a few in one message and a few more in the next.

You also don’t have to include all these things in order. Write naturally, like you would speak to a new acquaintance you’re looking forward to getting to know better.

Most indoctrination series work well when they include three to five messages.

The overall goal is to help your audience get to know you, like you, and trust you. That will make it easy for them to buy from you in the future. And, in the very best cases, they’ll become evangelists for your company and send new subscribers your way.

A lot of companies don’t realize the power of using an indoctrination series — how it can help to grow and nurture an audience and, ultimately, improve conversions.

This is a great foot-in-the-door service to begin offering clients. Once you complete an indoctrination series (billing between $500 and $2,000, depending on the length and your level of experience), you have the perfect springboard to offer to write additional emails for them.

This is a project that can deliver great results for your client and lead to more retainer work for you. Give it a try!

Oh, and if you want more insights from the recent Web Copy Intensive, give the Live Blog a look.

This article, Writing a Perfect Indoctrination Series for Your Clients was originally published by Wealthy Web Writer.