The emails you send new subscribers in the first weeks after they subscribe are critical. Those first emails help your new subscriber decide whether to stay on your list or unsubscribe. If you send a new subscriber the same email you’re sending to your long-timers, your new subscriber may feel like they’ve been thrust into a conversation without any introductions. Imagine stepping into a conversation at a party without knowing the people who are talking. It’s awkward at a dinner party, and it leads to unsubscribes online. So how do you introduce yourself to new subscribers and make them feel comfortable with the conversation and eager to stick around? With an onboarding sequence. An onboarding drip sequence allows you to introduce yourself, get to know your readers, and grow your list. But what do you write in your emails that makes people want to stay? Caleb Breakey is a marketing consultant who has helped hundreds of authors create great onboarding drip sequences, write books, build platforms, win contracts, and transform the world through the written word. He’s also an award-winning author and the publisher at Renowned Publishing. What is a drip sequence?  Caleb: A typical email newsletter tells subscribers what has happened since the last newsletter. A drip sequence acts like a front door readers can walk through to meet you. It’s a series of strategically planned and written emails that allow readers to find out about you, your passion, and your mission. Your emails tell a story in a way that readers can see themselves in your story. If you’re planning a dinner party, you’ve thought about where your guests will park, where your dogs will be when the doorbell rings, and how you’ll introduce yourself and your other guests. A great email marketing sequence does the same thing. It feels incredibly personal, but it’s all automated. If you tried to do it all personally and manually, it would be impossibly overwhelming. Thomas: A drip sequence differs from a regular email in Outlook or Gmail because you use an email service provider that can automate your sequence. A drip sequence is a timed series of emails you’ve pre-written that “drip” out over time. Each email is delivered at intervals, just as water drips at intervals, based on when the person subscribes. If you get one new subscriber today, your drip sequence will automatically send one email to your new subscriber the next day. They’ll receive the second email in your sequence two days after they subscribe. Three or four days later, they’ll get the third email. You can determine how much time should pass between emails, but each one sends automatically at the predetermined interval to each new subscriber. There are different types of drip sequences, but almost everyone starts with an onboarding sequence. Why is an onboarding sequence important? A group of young children getting on the schoolbus Caleb: When bring people on board, I want them to see my passion. My onboarding sequence is very story driven because I want to connect with people as a human. Connecting with humans as a human works better than any tactic or strategy. In my first onboarding email, I send a GIF of myself waving (using