Your Welcome Series Is Slacking: Here’s How to Fix It with Automation

A welcome series is your brand’s digital handshake; the friendly “hello” that kicks off what you hope will be a long and valuable relationship. But too often, it’s treated like a one-and-done intro email rather than the high-performing, relationship-building journey it should be.

Welcome emails are read 42% more than standard promotional emails and can generate up to 320% more revenue per message. With stakes that high, the question isn’t if you should optimize this flow, it’s how.

Keep reading for tips to build a welcome journey that works behind the scenes, driving results while you focus on strategy.

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What Is a Welcome Series, Really?

A welcome journey begins the moment someone signs up for your communications. While the concept sounds straightforward, the best series do more than offer a simple greeting and discount code. They educate, listen, and start laying the groundwork for a longer-term relationship. Yes, it's your chance to introduce your brand, but it’s also the time to gather early signals about your customers’ interests, behaviors, and needs.

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Four Key Goals for a High-Impact Welcome Series

Whether you’re starting from scratch or ready to optimize, here are the four objectives to keep front and center.

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1. Educate Customers About What You Offer

Welcome emails are the perfect moment to show customers what you’re all about, especially if your brand offers services beyond the products on your shelves.

Superdrug used this campaign to do just that. The top of their message breaks down the services offered through Pharmacy First, while the bottom highlights each customer’s nearest participating location—complete with a dynamic map and address.

They also added a loyalty banner to educate new customers on the perks of joining, making it easy to turn first-time buyers into long-term members. Best of all, these modules are reusable and ready to drop into future sends.

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2. Understand Your Customers’ Preferences

From the very first interaction, you should be learning about what customers want so that your future messages stay relevant. Whether through interactive elements or behavioral tracking, this is your chance to collect zero-party data and start personalizing.

My Jewellery nailed this with a poll on Mother’s Day, asking customers to choose between four product styles. Based on their answers, the brand tailored follow-up communications to match the selected style, making product recommendations feel personal and intentional right from the start.

3. Reward Sign-Up and Incentivize Conversion

New subscribers have just welcomed you into their inbox. Now, it’s time to return the favor. Whether it’s a discount, a free gift, or exclusive content, your welcome email should offer something of value to get that first purchase.

Take Bath & Body Works, for example. Their welcome email includes a dynamic status bar that updates in real-time as customers engage. It automatically recommends the next best action—like using a welcome offer, joining a rewards program, or exploring new arrivals—all with zero manual effort. 

This type of dynamic status bar isn’t just for welcoming new subscribers. It can also be used in daily campaigns to highlight loyalty status, keeping customers engaged and informed long after their first purchase.

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‍4. Create Customer Connections Beyond Email

One of the best ways to connect with new customers is by tapping into social media and trends. People love knowing what's popular and what others are excited about.

Bookshop’s campaign does this flawlessly by showcasing trending TikTok books and highlighting their view counts, creating a sense of community and urgency.

By inviting customers to join the conversation—through SMS alerts, downloading your app, or sharing their experiences—you foster engagement and build long-term loyalty.

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Why Automation Makes It All Possible

The beauty of the welcome series is that it’s one of the easiest journeys to automate. Once you set the right triggers and dynamic content, your welcome emails can run on autopilot while delivering hyper-relevant messages to your customers.

Here’s how to make it work:

• Send immediately: The faster the welcome, the better. Customers expect instant confirmation.
  
  
• Pace your messages: Space out the sequence over a few days, and avoid overwhelming them with other marketing sends during this time.
  
  
• Personalize early: Use polls, preferences, and behaviors to customize the experience from the get-go.
  
  
• Test and evolve: Your welcome series shouldn’t be static. Test different formats, incentives, and recommendations to see what resonates best.
  
  

By automating these key steps, you can ensure that your welcome series is not only effective, but sustainable too. Check out the related resources below for more inspiration for your upcoming campaigns.

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