A welcome email sequence for a new online store
Short answer: Send three to five emails over the first week or two after someone subscribes: an instant welcome that delivers whatever you promised, a story email about who you are, a helpful email that shows your best products in use, and a reminder before any sign-up offer expires. Stop the sequence for anyone who buys. Both Shopify's built-in automations and tools like Klaviyo can do this with templates in under an hour.
The moment someone signs up is when they're most interested in your shop. A single "Thanks for subscribing" email wastes that. A short, planned series turns a curious visitor into a first-time customer, and, just as importantly, teaches them what kind of emails to expect from you.
Before you write anything
Decide three things first:
- What you promised at sign-up. A discount, free shipping, early access, a guide. Email 1 must deliver it immediately.
- Who gets the sequence. Usually new subscribers who haven't bought yet. Existing customers who join the list may need a different message.
- What stops it. A purchase should end the selling emails. Klaviyo's guide shows how: add a split that checks whether the person has placed an order, so buyers go down a different path.
One line on consent: only add people who've actually opted in, and use your email platform's standard consent wording.
The email-by-email plan
Email 1: The welcome (immediately)
Purpose: confirm the sign-up, deliver the offer, set expectations.
Content:
- A warm one-line welcome in your shop's voice.
- The discount code or link to what they signed up for, clearly visible near the top, with the expiry date if there is one.
- One sentence on what they'll get from you and how often ("a short email every couple of weeks with new arrivals and restocks").
- Three to four links to your main collections, with images.
Klaviyo's welcome-series guide says that to send immediately, you place the email directly after the flow's trigger with no time delay before it.
Email 2: Your story (2–3 days later)
Purpose: give people a reason to buy from you rather than a big retailer.
Content:
- Who's behind the shop, with a real photo.
- Why you started, where products are made or sourced, what you care about (materials, local makers, small batches), only what's true.
- One or two signature products, linked.
- A soft reminder of the offer at the bottom, not the top.
Klaviyo's example series sends its second email three days after sign-up; Shopify's brand-story template is built around sharing your story in the early emails. For a small New Zealand brand, "made in Ōtautahi" or "roasted weekly in Nelson" can do a lot of work, if it's accurate.
Email 3: Help them choose (3–4 days after email 2)
Purpose: remove the uncertainty that stops first purchases.
Content options, pick one:
- A "start here" guide: bestsellers or the three products most first-time customers buy.
- A how-to: sizing help, care instructions, how to use the product, a recipe.
- Real reviews or photos from customers, with permission.
- Delivery and returns in plain terms: how long to the main centres and rural addresses, and how returns work.
This is often the email that actually converts, because it answers the question the shopper hadn't asked yet.
Email 4: The reminder (shortly before the offer expires)
Purpose: a final nudge for people who haven't bought.
Content:
- A short, friendly reminder that the code expires on a specific date.
- The code again, a button to the shop, and nothing else.
Send this only to people who haven't purchased. Shopify's "discount series" template works this way: its help page describes a welcome email with a discount, followed by two brand-building emails, and a discount reminder sent only if no purchase is made.
Optional email 5: Preferences (a week or so later)
Ask what they're interested in (categories, occasions, frequency) with one-click links that tag their profile. It makes later campaigns more relevant and reduces unsubscribes.
Building it in your platform
Shopify's built-in automations
Shopify's help centre lists two welcome automations under "Welcome new subscribers": one sends a single discount email when someone subscribes through a form on your store; the other sends a discount email followed by two brand-building emails, then a reminder if no purchase is made. Shopify's changelog from when these launched also describes a "brand story with discount" version that leads with your story and sends the discount later. Pick the template closest to your plan, then edit the wording, images and timing.
Klaviyo (and similar tools)
Klaviyo's help guide describes building a welcome flow triggered when someone joins a list, then adding emails and time delays. Its sample timing is the first email immediately, the second three days later and the third about a week after sign-up. Add a conditional split on "has placed order" so customers who buy stop receiving the discount emails.
Other email platforms use similar building blocks: a trigger, delays, emails and a condition that checks for purchases.
Writing tips that matter
- Subject lines: clear beats clever. "Your 10% code is inside" is fine for email 1.
- One main button per email. Several equal links dilute the message.
- Mobile first. Most people will read on a phone; keep paragraphs short and buttons large.
- Plain sender name. Your shop name, or "Name from Shop name", from an address customers can reply to.
- Check the links in every email before switching the flow on, and send yourself a test of each.
After launch
Give it a month, then check open rate, click rate and how many subscribers made a first purchase during the series. Change one thing at a time: usually the subject of email 1, or what email 3 focuses on.
FAQ
Should the first email include a discount?
Only if you promised one at sign-up. If you didn't, a helpful first email (a guide or bestsellers) works fine and protects your margins.
How long should the sequence run?
Most welcome series finish within one to two weeks. After that, subscribers move onto your regular newsletter.
What if someone signs up but already bought from me?
Use a condition to skip the discount emails for existing customers, or send them a separate thank-you sequence.
Can I send the welcome series by text message too?
Shopify's automations list some message types as available for SMS and WhatsApp, but its welcome-subscriber templates are listed for email. Check your platform's current options.
If you want a welcome series that sounds like your shop and is wired up correctly from the first sign-up, we're happy to help you build it.