Someone who has just signed up is as interested in your business as they’ll ever be. A welcome series uses that moment: a short run of automated emails that introduces you and gets them to a first purchase or enquiry.
Klaviyo lists the welcome series as the first flow to set live, ahead of abandoned cart and post-purchase. It’s also the simplest to build, which is why it belongs at the start of your first lifecycle flows.
The four-email structure
| # | When | Job | For a store | For a service business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Immediately | Deliver what you promised, set expectations | The discount code or guide; what emails they’ll get and how often | The guide, checklist or price list; what happens next |
| 2 | Day 2 | Who you are and why you’re different | Founder story, how products are made or sourced | Who does the work, areas covered, how you work |
| 3 | Day 4–5 | Proof | Best-selling products with reviews | Before/after, case example, Google reviews |
| 4 | Day 7–10 | Answer the main objection and make one clear offer | Delivery times, returns, cash on delivery; reminder of the welcome code before it expires | Pricing approach, what a first visit costs; “book a call” or “get a quote” |
Four emails is a starting point. Add one only when there’s a real question left to answer. Leave gaps of at least a day between emails so people have time to read the previous one.
Email 1 matters most
Most people who’ll ever read a welcome email read the first one. Make it:
- Fast: triggered the moment they subscribe.
- About what they asked for: the code or download, visible without scrolling.
- Clear about what’s next: “We send one email a week with new arrivals. You can unsubscribe any time.”
- Short: one main link.
If you promised a discount, show the code in the email, not only behind a button. Some readers have images or links blocked.
The offer question
You don’t have to discount. Options that work:
| Offer | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage or amount off the first order | Stores with healthy margins | Training people to wait for codes; set an expiry |
| Free delivery on the first order | Stores where delivery cost is the main objection | Easy to calculate the cost per order |
| Useful content (guide, checklist, price list) | Service businesses, considered purchases | Must be genuinely useful to earn trust |
| Free consultation or site visit | High-value services | Capacity to deliver it quickly |
See lead magnets that convert for choosing and building the sign-up offer itself.
Exit rules: stop selling to customers
Set the series so anyone who buys or books leaves it immediately. In most email platforms this is a flow filter such as “has placed order zero times since starting this flow”. Klaviyo, for example, re-checks profile filters before each message and skips people who no longer qualify.
Nothing undermines trust faster than a “here’s 10% off your first order” email the day after someone paid full price.
Arabic and English
If your audience is mixed:
- Ask for language preference at sign-up, or infer it from the page language they signed up on.
- Build two versions of the series rather than bilingual emails. Bilingual emails are long and hard to read on a phone.
- Check the right-to-left layout of the Arabic version on a real phone before going live.
Deliverability basics
A welcome series is often the first email a new subscriber gets from you, so it must land in the inbox:
- Authenticate your sending domain (SPF, DKIM and DMARC). Google’s sender guidelines require authentication for all senders. See SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained.
- Send from a real address people recognise, and reply to replies.
- Include a visible unsubscribe link.
What to measure
Opens are unreliable, because privacy features in some email apps can register opens automatically. Watch:
- Click rate per email: which email gets people to act?
- Conversion from the series: first orders or enquiries from people in the series, within your platform’s attribution window.
- Unsubscribe and spam complaint rates: a spike after one email means it’s off-target.
- Time to first purchase: does the series shorten it?
Review after a month or two of sign-ups, change one email at a time, and keep notes of what you changed.
Frequently asked questions
Should the welcome series include a discount?
Only if the numbers work. A welcome discount costs you on every first order that would have happened anyway. Test a version without one if your margins are thin.
What if someone signs up through a pop-up and at checkout?
They should get the series once. Check your platform’s re-entry settings so people don’t receive it twice.
Can we send the welcome on WhatsApp instead?
You can send a welcome on WhatsApp to people who opted in to WhatsApp messages from your business, but keep it to one or two messages. See WhatsApp marketing that doesn’t get you blocked.
If you’d like help planning and building your welcome series, that’s part of our growth funnel service.
Free download · Excel template
Welcome series planner
Plan each email of your welcome series: timing, job, subject line, main message, call to action and exit rule, with a version for stores and one for service businesses.
Download itNo sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
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