What should my welcome emails say, and when should they go out?
Last updated
It changes the nouns and the doubt the bestsellers email answers.
The offer your popup promises. The first and last emails are built around it.
Four emails and a direct voice unless you choose otherwise.
Pick what you sell and what the signup gets, and the outline appears here: one row per email, with its send day, job and subject idea.
- What you sellNeeded
- What the signup getsNeeded
- Length and voiceOptional
What each email in the outline is for
A welcome email sequence is the short run of emails a new subscriber receives after signing up, so a clothing store that promised 15 percent off in its popup sends the code right away, its story on day 2, its most reordered pieces on day 4 and one plain reminder of the code on day 7.
Outlines are written from fixed templates, not by a language model. The send days are our own suggested spacing, not a measured optimum.
Every outline is built from the same five kinds of email. A three-email series keeps the essentials; four and five add the emails that answer doubts before a first order.
- The first email
- Sent the moment someone signs up. It delivers exactly what the popup promised, the code or the free shipping, before anything else. With no offer, it confirms the signup and says how often you will write.
- The story email
- Why your store exists and what it does differently. A new subscriber knows your offer but not you, and this is the email that gives them a reason to buy here rather than from a lookalike.
- The bestsellers email
- What other customers keep ordering, each with a line from a real review, plus an answer to the doubt that most often stops a first order in your category, such as fit for clothing or shade for makeup.
- The guide email
- Only in the five-email version. Help choosing: a size guide, a routine, tasting notes. It suits stores where the first purchase needs a decision the shopper is unsure about.
- The closing email
- The last one. With an offer, it reminds the reader once and plainly, and mentions an end date only if one is real. With no offer, it asks what they would like to hear about next.
- Send days
- Our own suggested spacing, starting straight away and ending within about a week. Close enough together that the signup is still fresh, far enough apart that it does not read as a flood.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
Five stores, five welcome outlines
Illustrative store types, not real brands. Every row is produced by the same function the generator above runs, so the send days and subject ideas are exactly what the tool would give for those choices.
| Store | Emails | Send days | First subject | Last subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apparel store, 15 percent welcome code | 4 | 0, 2, 4, 7 | Your 15% off code is inside | Your 15% off code is still waiting |
| Skincare brand, free shipping, premium voice | 5 | 0, 1, 3, 5, 8 | Welcome. Complimentary shipping on your first order | A reminder: complimentary shipping on your first order |
| Pet treats, fixed amount off | 3 | 0, 2, 5 | You are in. £5 off code unlocked | Psst. That £5 off code is still yours |
| Coffee roaster that never discounts | 4 | 0, 2, 4, 7 | Welcome in, we are glad you are here | Tell us what you would like to hear about |
| Jewellery, code with no figure yet | 5 | 0, 1, 3, 5, 8 | Welcome in. Your welcome code is here | Still thinking? Your welcome code is here |
What an outline leaves to you
Subject ideas are starting points
They are written from fixed frames so the outline is readable at a glance. Rewrite them in your own words and check each one before it goes out; a line that suits one store can sound wrong for another.
The code has to exist before the email does
An outline cannot create a discount. Set the code up in Shopify first, with the same value the popup promised, and paste that exact code into the first and last emails.
Buyers should leave the sequence
Someone who orders after email one does not need three more reminders about a first-order discount. Set your email platform to take buyers out of the sequence and into your post-purchase emails.
Consent comes first
Only people who agreed to marketing email should receive this sequence. How consent is collected and recorded depends on where you and your customers are, and this page cannot judge that for you.
It does not know your numbers
Whether three emails or five suits your list depends on your products and your readers. The outline carries no forecast of opens or sales, because nothing on this page could know them.
Welcome series questions
How many emails should a welcome series have?
Three is a sound minimum: the offer, the story and a reminder. Four or five make sense when a first purchase needs reassurance or a choice, such as sizing or skin type. More than five tends to drift into ordinary marketing email, which is where the series should hand over.
When should the first welcome email be sent?
Straight after signup. The subscriber has just asked for it, and a code that arrives an hour later arrives after they have left the store. Every outline here sends email one right away.
Should the welcome email include a discount?
Only if the popup promised one. The first email must deliver exactly what the signup form offered. If you do not discount, choose No offer and the outline leads with your story and a question about what the reader wants instead.
Which email platform does this work with?
Any of them. The outline is plain text you copy into whichever platform sends your email. Klaviyo and Google Analytics 4 are the integrations Nudgesmart lists.
Does this write the whole email for me?
No. It gives each email a send day, a purpose, a subject idea, the three or four things it should say and a button label. The words, the images and the offer details are yours to write.
The sequence starts the moment someone signs up.
Nudgesmart starts the signup popup from ready-made templates, grouped by industry and campaign type, and reports the emails each campaign captures.
