Confirmation emails are vital in starting and building successful journeys for your email subscribers, users, and customers. They can help you explain your processes, set the right expectations, reduce the support load around critical operations, and even bring more sales.
Many people regard confirmation emails as a second thought and think a basic approach is good enough.
You’ve seen the generic emails before like “Here’s your purchase confirmation email”, “Account confirmation”, and so on. Yes, the boring, highly templated ones.
These emails are bland and only serve to get the confirmation message across.
Isn’t that idea? We hear you saying.
Well, yes, and no.
Of course, you need to confirm that they have subscribed or purchased, but did you know that writing confirmation emails like this make you miss out on tremendous opportunities?
You’re leaving money on the table by miswriting your confirmation emails.
That’s why the examples and advice in this article are likely to be more important than you realize. We are going to share everything you need to know about confirmation emails. If you thought writing a confirmation email was a simple case of using a template to confirm an action, you’re wrong.
Keep on reading because we’re about to educate you on the art of writing confirmation emails the right way. And, of course, we’ll provide several templates to help you get started.
Let’s get to it.
Contents
What is a confirmation email?
If you do any of the following:
- Purchase a product or service.
- Sign up for a free trial.
- Subscribe to a mailing list.
- Book a holiday or event.
- Book a call.
- Upgrade or downgrade a service.
- Cancel an event, product, or service.
- Make a payment.
You will very likely receive a confirmation email that confirms what you have done.
For example, the email below is a confirmation email I received from a furniture store online:
They confirm the purchase and provide some basic information for the customer.
Here’s another example, this time, it’s from a well-known marketer who is confirming a webinar sign-up:
These are basic confirmation emails, including general information like order number, contact information, shipping address, and other crucial details, telling the customer or subscriber that what they have done has been confirmed.
You’ve probably received emails like this yourself. Receiving confirmation emails after performing certain actions aligns with the “design principle of least astonishment” — the idea that users have expectations based on their customer experience with similar products or websites. Effective customer journeys will conform to common norms for email design, user interface, communication, and responsiveness.
This type of confirmation email is the bare minimum for what they need to tell you and is used by most companies.
The different types of confirmation emails
There are five main types of confirmation emails that you and other businesses will typically send out.
These are:
- Subscription confirmed. When someone signs up to your email list using list-building tools, you’ll send an email confirmation to confirm the subscription.
- Confirmation of order. When a customer purchases a product, you’ll send a transactional email confirming it.
- Booking Confirmation. When someone books a holiday, hotel, restaurant, or event, you’ll send a booking confirmation email to confirm the booking.
- Registration Confirmation c. If a user signs up to your website or membership site, for example, then you send out a registration email to confirm that they have signed up.
- Confirmation email for in-app actions. SaaS companies often send confirmation emails to notify the user that a certain action or thing has been performed or completed. For instance, if you export a contact list in Encharge, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the CSV file once the export is ready.
All of these instances should trigger a response in your email marketing software or marketing automation tool to send out a confirmation email.
We’re going to look at some examples for each of the different types, but first, let’s talk about how most people are miswriting them and missing out on a considerable opportunity to connect with the lead and potential customer.
The missed opportunity with confirmation emails
Let me ask you a few questions.
- When you purchase a product with actual money coming from your bank account, do you look and read the confirmation email?
- If you book a vacation, do you look and read the confirmation email to make sure the details are correct?
- When registering your details with a bank, are you waiting for the confirmation email to confirm it all went through smoothly?
We are guessing you answered “Yes” to all of these questions.
Now answer the following couple of questions:
- You get an email from an SEO company out of the blue; you must have signed up to their email list a few weeks ago and have noticed a few emails in your inbox over the past few days — do you always read the email?
- You have recently booked a concert ticket with Ticketmaster for your favorite band, and a few weeks later, you notice an email with a generic subject line announcing their latest offers — do you always open the email?
You probably don’t, or it depends on how busy you are, but overall, there’s a good chance that your interest has waned.
This reaction to the emails is normal behavior for all of us.
We’re eager for email confirmations when we book an event, holiday, or purchase a product because it’s essential information we need.
Anything else doesn’t matter to us, and unless the business has nurtured us with intelligent email marketing, we tend not to care about the other emails they send.
Sometimes they get our attention; mostly, they don’t.
Websites like Chamaileon back this up and state that confirmation emails have one of the best engagement rates with a 65% open rate, 17% click rate, and an order rate of 3.77%
| Confirmation Engagement Rates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | Click Rate | Order Rate |
| 65% | 17% | 3.77% |
It’s not just them either.
Omnisend also reports that email confirmation workflows receive 85% more clicks on average and 54% better open rates.
It’s there for everyone to see — confirmation emails are important emails, and we’re waiting for them.
Now for the big mistake.
Companies aren’t using this information to get their offers in front of the client or customer. They’re certainly not using this opportunity to have a direct chat with them.
And they most definitely, won’t be using this to start a behavioral email campaign to nurture them along the buying process.
You see.
The email examples we posted above are not doing it, and one of them is a top marketer making big money.
Your email confirmation will be opened, read, and clicked more than most of your other emails, so act on this by:
- Showcasing your products.
- Starting a lead nurturing campaign.
- Starting a conversation (ask them a question).
- Getting them to perform an action.
- Offering them a discount.
- Signing them up for a free trial.
This time is the perfect moment to get their attention, and 99% of the time, you won’t get a better chance.
We hope now that you understand how vital email confirmation emails are and why you need to write them carefully and correctly — seriously, don’t miss this opportunity.
Let’s move on to how to write them.
How do you write a confirmation email?
We’ll start with the subject lines and then move on to some examples and templates for each of the main confirmation email types.
The templates won’t be your usual tedious confirmation emails; they’ll include a call to action and triggers that utilize the fact that these emails have the best open and click rates.
Best confirmation subject lines
The subject lines for confirmation emails are essential but not quite as important as they usually are.
By essential, we mean they need to be written clearly and identified as confirmation emails from your company name because the customer will be waiting for them.
And by not being as important as they usually are, we mean that you don’t have to get clever with fancy copywriting because it’s an email that will be getting opened anyway.
So, for this reason, we can use a templated approach for the subject lines, but before we provide a few examples, there’s one crucial aspect needed in the subject line — personalization.
Personalization is a great way to start a relationship with your client, subscriber, or customer.
Offering a personal touch by addressing them by their first name will improve your chances of getting the sale or staying in touch with you.
An article in Forbes states that:
- 74% prefer emails to be personalized
- 91% would consider purchasing with brands that offer a personalized touch in emails
- 90% claim that companies that personalize their marketing have a positive effect on them.
When writing your subject line, it’s a good idea to add the {{person.firstName}} tag.
You have a new subscriber or someone who has just purchased a product or service from you. They’re now eagerly awaiting your confirmation email, and the subject line is the first thing they will see.
Here are a few examples of how to write them.
Email subject line examples from holiday companies
This example is from a holiday company confirming your booking. They use personalization and make it clear that this is your confirmation email.
Here are a few more examples:
- Welcome
{{person.firstName}}, here’s your holiday confirmation {{person.firstName}}you’re booked, here’s the confirmation- Confirmation of your holiday
{{person.firstName}} - Hey
{{person.firstName}}please check your confirmation details - It’s official
{{person.firstName}}and here’s the confirmation to prove it
Email subject line examples from an eCommerce store
The example below comes from an eCommerce store selling physical products — again, personalization is vital.
Here are a few more:
{{person.firstName}}please see your order confirmation- Confirmation of your products
{{person.firstName}} {{person.firstName}}here’s your order confirmation{{person.firstName}}confirmation email here- Important confirmation email
{{person.firstName}} - Your product purchase has been confirmed
Subject line email examples for subscription confirmation emails
When some signs up top your mailing list, you will want to send a confirmation email to confirm the subscription. This confirmation will create a healthier email list and, if written correctly (more on this later), will set off a lead nurturing process.
Here’s an example of a subject line.
Here are a few more:
- Great Decision
{{person.firstName}}, please confirm here {{person.firstName}}confirm now for success- Ready to start
{{person.firstName}}? please confirm first {{person.firstName}}confirm subscription, and then we party- Welcome to
{{product/email list}},{{person.firstName}}, please confirm your subscription
Examples for registration confirmation subject lines
The following subject line works well when someone registers with your website, software, app, etc., and you send them the confirmation email.
And again, a few more examples:
- Welcome onboard
{{person.firstName}}, confirmation awaits inside - You’re registered
{{person.firstName}}please read confirmation - Confirmation of registration for
{{person.firstName}} {{person.firstName}}you’re in, please read confirmation- Confirmation of registration
{{person.firstName}} - One more step left before you can start
As you can see, they all use personalization, and the wording makes it easy for the person to recognize the email as a confirmation email.
Let’s move on to the actual email body.
Confirmation email examples and templates
We will share a collection of the best confirmation emails and templates getting used online.
You can use the templates and examples to help you create some awesome confirmation emails.
Signup welcome email (and confirmation)
This template is used when someone signs up:
- as a subscriber to your email list and you have double opt-in activated
- or as a new user of your SaaS product and the user needs to confirm their email to unlock your tool and its awesome features.
It uses a personal approach and encourages them to reply.
The incentive they offer is another webpage that features tripwires that will trigger a behavioral email campaign with the lead.
This welcome email is an excellent opportunity to start a relationship with the lead because you already know that there’s a good chance it will be getting read more than other emails.
Email template:
Hey {{person.firstName}},
Welcome to [your company, product, website]
For me to send you the awesome [gift, ebook, free trial,] then I need you to hit the confirmation [button/link] below:
Confirmation button or link here
Remember: Once you confirm, you’ll redirect to a web page on my site where you can access the [enter incentive].
There are a few other goodies available on the page too.
However, you will only receive the [incentive] if you click the confirmation link above.
If you have any questions, then hit reply to this email, and I promise to reply to you personally.
You can also contact me through the following social media sites:
[Enter social sites]
Talk soon {{person.firstName}}
Warm regards
[your name]
SaaS signup confirmation email example 1: Slack
Slack is not using personalization in this email, but they provide links to the blog and their main website.
The confirmation link will likely start a behavioral email campaign with the user.
SaaS signup confirmation email example 2: Kajabi
Kajabi keeps their signup confirmation email simple. It’s a typical transactional email. The call to action is highlighted with a clear button that is hard to miss. More doesn’t always mean better — this email keeps things simple, ensuring that users don’t get distracted in such a critical part of the customer journey. Also, they inform the user that the confirmation link will expire in 24 hours, so they need to act quickly.
Pro tip: When it comes to SaaS apps, welcome confirmation emails are important and a crucial part of the onboarding process in your app. However, they can also create extreme friction and impair your otherwise good onboarding experience. By blocking people out of your app, you increase the number of people that will never glance at your app, let alone experience value in your product.
A way to prevent this is to delay the confirmation email only after people enter your app. For example, if you run a tool like Kajabi you can send the confirmation email only once a user wants to publish their course live. That way, adding friction to the process after a user has already invested time in the tool.
Community confirmation email example: Deviant Art
DeviantArt is the leading art and design community online. This email uses social proof (highlighting the number of “deviations” on the platform), brand language, and even showcases beautiful art from a featured artist. What a better way to entice people to join?
Premium plan confirmation email example: Glow
This email confirms when a user signs up to a premium plan. While it doesn’t include a confirmation link (as none is needed in this case), it’s useful that it informs the user that the Premium plan is already activated on their account. What’s missing here is a sneak peak of all the great features that are unlocked in the premium plan.
eCommerce store signup confirmation email example: Promix
You receive this email when you signup for an account at Promix Nutrition. This is a great registration confirmation email template designed in the colors and style of the brand. The photo of the founder and the signature add an authentic feel, and the quick link to their calculator adds additional value to an otherwise utility-driven confirmation email.
Newsletter double opt-in signup example: Recess
Double opt-in refers to the process of verifying a user’s email address by sending them a confirmation link that they must click on after signing up for an email list. This method is effective in preventing fake email addresses or typos from being entered by new subscribers. Moreover, it ensures that your email marketing efforts are in compliance with GDPR regulations and permission marketing.
This example from Recess is simple but visually attractive and on brand:
Pro tip: Learn how to create a double opt-in in Encharge.
Order confirmation email
Here’s a template for an order/payment confirmation email. The intelligent thing about this email confirmation is that it’s a double confirmation.
We now know that these emails get opened more than others, and the email template below gives you two bites at the cherry.
Order confirmation email template:
Hi {{person.firstName}},
Thank you for shopping at [your store/website].
Your order is being picked and packed as we speak.
We’ll send you another email with delivery date and tracking details as soon as it’s out for delivery.
In the meantime, you can look at our latest selection of [products/special offers] and claim a 10% discount by clicking here.
We also have an in-depth guide for you to read on our website that compliments your purchase perfectly — click here to read it.
If you have any questions, you can contact me on the below email:
[your email]
Warm regards
[Your name]
This email and the example below are powerful marketing tactics; utilize this to your advantage.
Order confirmation example 1: Patagonia
Here’s an example of how Patagonia uses this tactic in their confirmation emails:
Notice how they are encouraging you to sign up to get text updates (phone lead nurturing, it’s also a good idea to include your company phone number here in case you provide phone support), and they will also be sending another confirmation email to confirm shipping — yes, they will also add links to this email.
Order confirmation email example 2: Everlywell
Everlywell uses a lot of estate to help you get started with their home tests. The email leverages contrasting sections to share valuable information, social proof, and news. It’s an example that an order confirmation email can be used for much more than just confirming an order.
Order confirmation email example 3: Crocs
This order confirmation email from Crocs serves as a great example of how to show users what to expect next. The visual steps at the top of the email aim to alleviate any confusion on what will happen next with their order. The remainder of the email provides a concise explanation of the order details and the designated delivery location.
Shipping confirmation example
Now let’s take a look at a shipping confirmation email template.
Email example:
Hey {{person.firstName}},
Just a quick message to let you know that your order has shipped today.
It should arrive at your doorstep by [insert date], and you can track the process with the tracking link, which is available for you to view in the my-orders section of your account.
[link to website]
Once again, thank you for shopping with us.
If you want a 10% discount on your next order, then visit the link below for more details:
[Link here]
Kind regards
[Your name]
Shipping confirmation email example 1: Tradesy
The confirmation email below is from Tradesy, and it’s a perfect example of how to write a shipping email.
Shipping confirmation example 2: Recess
Cocktails brand Recess stays true to its “heavenly” brand style even in their transactional emails like this one. Who said that confirmation emails have to be boring?
Shipping confirmation email example 3: Postable
Using animated GIFs is a great way to bring some character to your emails and create a lasting impression on your new customers.
Registration confirmed example
The following email template is for the registration confirmed emails. You send these out when a client or customer registers with your website, app, or webinar.
Registration confirmed template:
Hey {{person.firstName}},
Congratulations, you’re officially a signed-up member of [insert membership/website]
First of all, thank you, we appreciate your support!
Secondly, you can access [your purchase / members area] through the link below:
[Link here]
You will receive another email with your login details in a couple of minutes.
For more information about the program, click here.
For support, Click here.
For a free (month subscription, report, product) for you and your friend, share the link below with them, and when they sign up as a member, you will both get the freebie.
Talk soon,
[Your name]
Further reading: 10 Of The Best Thank You Emails & Subject Lines (Examples, Tips & Templates)
Yes, this is another intelligent way to send two confirmation emails — the one above and the email with the login details.
Registration confirmed example 1: Binance
Below is an example of a registration confirmation email from Binance:
Webinar confirmed registration example: Holiday Hustle
Do not limit yourself. Registration confirmations can also be sent for webinars and events. In the example below, the confirmation email is used to confirm and reminder the user of the date and time of the webinar, ensuring higher attendance:
Pro tip: Learn how to send effective event reminder emails.
Booking confirmation example
You send a booking confirmation email when you book a flight, holiday, concert, or various other events.
These, like the other confirmation emails, are important and will get opened almost every time.
Booking confirmation template:
Hi {{person.firstName}},
Your booking is confirmed — you’re going to [enter the country/event, etc.]
The details of your booking are below:
[Enter details]
You can print or download your tickets by clicking here.
To change anything with your booking, or if you have any questions, then contact us here.
Below is a guide to [destination, airport, concert].
[Link here]
Thank you for booking with us, and enjoy your [stay, holiday, concert]
Warm regards
[Your name]
Booking confirmation example 1: Booking.com
Below is an example of a confirmed booking email from Booking.com. Make sure that your confirmation emails are responsive and mobile-friendly:
Booking confirmation email example 2: Netflix
Confirmation emails don’t have to be simple and utilitarian always. In some cases you can afford a bit more creativity in order to spike the interest and infuse your brand, like with this example from Netflix’s Stranger Things:
Booking confirmation email example 3: Airbnb
And sometimes you want to keep them as straightforward as possible and ensure the information is clearly displayed like the Airbnb reservations booking email:
Cancelation confirmation
A cancelation email is a bit trickier to add a link or lead nurturing process to them, mainly because you are typically canceling an event or your customer is canceling a service.
It’s not exactly a great time to target them.
However, it’s still a confirmation email with a high open rate, so it’s possible to try a few little tricks to get them back or learn why they have canceled.
Email template:
Hi {{person.firstName}}
We have received your request to cancel [event/service].
Please allow us 24 hours to process the cancelation.
If you don’t mind, can you click the link below to answer three short questions on our feedback page?
[Feedback page link]
It only takes 2 minutes and will help us serve you better in the future.
We will send another confirmation email as soon as we have processed the cancelation.
Warm regards
[Your name]
Can you see the cleverness behind this email?
You are asking them to fill out a quick feedback form — so your cancellation email is also a feedback email. If the customer fills out the form, you can start a lead nurturing process based on their answers.
For example:
When they visit the form, they have three questions, each with two possible answers.
Question one, for example, could be — What’s the reason for you canceling your membership?
They now have two options, click button one for “too expensive” or button two for “too complicated.”
Each button will have a link trigger.
If they select the too expensive option, your intelligent email software will immediately send them an email offering them a discount to stay with the service.
On the other hand, if they select the too complicated option, the email sent to them will be detailed instructions on how to use the software and a free walkthrough from a staff member.
Your email provider will do this with behavior-based emails, which is a way to send out emails specifically to a person after they click a link or button.
In the example above, you could win back your client who was going to cancel. So even if you only win back 2% of your clients, it’s still worth doing.
Cancellation confirmation email example 1: Fubo
This email by the American streaming service Fubo employs a smart strategy for reducing churn. They offer canceled accounts to pause their account for 3 months instead. When the pause period is over, the account is reactivated again. It shows that cancellation confirmation emails can also serve a genuine business purpose helping the bottom line of the company.
Cancellation confirmation email example 2: Open Table
In this example by Open Table, they offer the option to book another table — again using the cancellation email as a growth tool versus just a transactional email with information.
Cancellation confirmation email example 3: Youtube Premium
Youtube highlights the benefits you lose when you cancel, attempting to entice users back to the premium plan.
How to set up automated confirmation emails in Encharge
Encharge is a powerful marketing automation platform that provides the best support for behavior-based emails. One of the behavior emails that you can set up is the automated confirmation email. Below we’ll show you the step-by-step process to achieve this in Encharge. Once you are ready, Encharge will send confirmation emails automatically.
Step 1: Create a new flow
Setting up a confirmation email in Encharge is easy. First, you’d use the visual drag-and-drop flow builder to create an automated flow.
You simply drag and drop steps and connect them. Every flow in Encharge has a Trigger step — something that starts the flow and adds the contact to the flow, and an Action step.
Step 2: Select a trigger
All flows start with a trigger step. The trigger would depend on the type of confirmation email you want to set up.
Subscription confirmed
To trigger a confirmation email when someone subscribes to your newsletter you’d External Form Submitted or Tracked Form Submitted.
Encharge supports dozens of external forms from lead gen tools, webinar platforms, and website builders, but you can also track your embedded inline forms.
Registration Confirmation
If a user signs up to your website or membership site, you would need to use the Event Trigger. “Events” are custom actions that people perform on your website or platform. Note that you need a developer to send Events to Encharge, as they need to connect your app to Encharge using an API.
Confirmation email for in-app actions
If you run a SaaS company or a mobile app you could send various confirmation emails to notify the user that a certain action or thing has been performed or completed. For this you would also need to use the Event Trigger.
Confirmation of order
When a user purchases a product, you’ll send a transactional email confirming it. You can trigger this flow with Entered Segment step if the order is coming from Zapier or use Receive Webhook trigger.
Booking Confirmation
When someone books a holiday, hotel, restaurant, or event, you’ll send a booking confirmation email to confirm the booking. For this, you’d need to use either a Webhook trigger or an Event trigger.
Step 3: Connect your trigger step to a Send Email action step
Once you select and set up your trigger step, all you need to do is connect that trigger step to a Send Email step. Now every time that trigger fires, the person will automatically receive the email.
Click on the image below to copy this flow into your Encharge account:
Need help setting up your confirmation emails? Book a quick call with us now, and we’ll help you out.
Confirmation emails FAQ
When should you send a confirmation email?
A confirmation email is an automated email that should be sent out as soon as the user triggers the action. Sending out the confirmation email later than that could lead to confusion and friction for the user and overhead for your support team.
What should you include in a confirmation email?
- Warm personalized welcome.
- A clear CTA button (Call to Action) or link and instructions on what the user needs to do to confirm the action.
- A fall-back text link that the user can copy and paste in the browser if the button link doesn’t work for some reason.
- Explanation of why the user is actually receiving the email.
- Explanation of what to do if they are not the right recipient for this message — usually to ignore the email.
- Your contact details.
- Optionally, you can include marketing messages such as social proof numbers or case studies.
Do you have to include an unsubscribe link in a confirmation email?
If the confirmation email is of a clear transactional nature (such as to confirm the action of the user, for instance), then you don’t need to include an unsubscribe link. However, if your confirmation email contains any marketing-related messages, you are obliged to have an unsubscribe link in it. Check the next question for more details.
Is the confirmation email a transactional email?
It depends. By definition, a transactional email is an email sent by a business to a single recipient, usually after a transaction or a specific action is performed by that recipient. This sounds very similar to what a confirmation email is. If you send a basic confirmation email with a confirmation link, then the email is considered transactional. However, if you include any marketing messages such as social proof, promotional bullet points, or other CTAs that aim to convert or upsell the user, then this confirmation email will be considered a marketing email and you need to include an unsubscribe link in it.
How can you trigger a confirmation email?
This will depend on the email marketing or marketing automation tool that you use. In Encharge, for example, we support several triggers suitable for a confirmation email. If you want to trigger an email newsletter confirmation email you would use the External Form Submitted or Tracked Form Submitted trigger. If you want to trigger more advanced confirmation emails, such as when a user signs up for your product or application, then you need to use the Event Trigger. Note that your developer needs to connect your app with Encharge for you to use the Event Trigger.
Further Reading
- How to Write a Business Apology Email Correctly (+ Templates & Examples)
- How to Automate Your Webinar Follow-Up Emails for Higher Attendance & Conversion Rate
- 10 Reward Emails You Can Use to Get Your Users Hooked
- How Successful SaaS Companies Use Nudge Emails
- 35 Email Sequence Templates to Convert More Leads, Increase MRR & Reduce Churn
The final word on confirmation emails
The confirmation email examples and templates in this article should be enough to get you started with writing your own
We’ve highlighted why they are essential and how to write them to get a response from the reader.
This response could have a positive effect on your business, and if you’re not spending a bit of time on getting these emails right, then you’re making a mistake.
Take the templates and examples and craft out a few confirmation emails to use in your campaigns. Then, set aside a few hours and add them to your email flow with trigger responses.
The benefits are enormous.
We know that they have a high open rate, so use this knowledge to your advantage and craft emails to target their feelings and emotions.
Think about what they will be feeling, what keeps them awake at night, and target the emails appropriately.
Seriously, you won’t regret it.
