Hey Reader,

If you got an email from one of your relatives, would you open it?

How about if they forgot to put a subject line in?

Yes and yes, right?

Why?

Because you see their name and you know you trust that person, right?

If our email subscriber doesn’t trust you, they’re not going to even open your emails.

Sad, but true.

That’s why when each new person joins your email list, they should go through a really good welcome sequence.

Picture this: Someone joins your email list, excited about what you have to offer. But within days, sometimes even hours, their enthusiasm wanes. Open rates plummet. Engagement disappears.

It's like shouting into a void.

So I've done the hard work and rabbit hole diving so you don't have to.

The past 3 weeks, I've been diving deep into this problem and discovered something fascinating...

The key to keeping attention (and driving sales) lies in those crucial first days after someone joins your list.

Here's why:

1. First impressions matter. You never have more of someone's attention than in those first few days.
2. Trust is built quickly... or not at all. If you don't establish trust fast, you might never get the chance.
3. Habits form early. The way subscribers interact with your first few emails often sets the pattern for your entire relationship.

So, how do you make the most of this critical window?

One powerful technique is what I call the "Invisible Handshake." It's all about personalizing your welcome sequence based on how someone found you. By tailoring your message to their specific entry point, you create an instant connection that keeps them engaged.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more to creating a welcome sequence that builds trust and drives sales.

The first is attention. As I watched my boys bouncing from toy to toy, I wondered what grabs their attention. I thought, how do they go from a puzzle, to sword fighting, to playing with stuffies all in a matter of 15 minutes.

Which got me thinking deeper about how attention works and why we, as humans, pay attention to some things and not others.

The second is trust.

What is trust? How does it occur in our minds? And is there any way to predict trust. I wondered if trust is this mysterious connection between 2 individuals or is there some science behind it.

So I dug in.

I've handpicked these from my 27 tabs to help you dig deeper into the art of keeping attention and building trust through email:

• The Psychology of Attention: Why We Focus on Some Things and Ignore Others​
🧠 My take: How attention works and if it is something that we can use in email marketing. SPOILER: Yes, it is.

• Trust equation: How to assess trust​
🧠 My take: Trust isn't just a fuzzy concept. There are concrete ways to measure and build it. Surprisingly the biggest factor is actually within our control.

• 10 Welcome Email Examples to Engage New Subscribers​
🧠 My take: These examples show how completely different successful online businesses have the same common themes among their welcome emails: Personalization, Value-based, and a Call-To-Action.

Here's to building trust and keeping attention,

- Jason "Trust Accelerator" Resnick

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P.S. Have you experienced the "attention flop" with your own list? How have you tried to combat it? Hit reply and let me know - I always love hearing about your experiences!
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