Welcome emails have the highest open rates of anything you’ll ever send.
50–60% open rate. Compare that to 20–25% for a regular campaign.
The reason is simple: a new subscriber just gave you their email address. They’re interested. The welcome email arrives when that interest is at its absolute peak — and it never gets higher than this moment.
Most WooCommerce welcome email guides spend all their time on plugin configuration. Screenshots of automation builders. How to set the delay. Where to click.
What they almost never tell you is what to actually say.
That’s the part that determines whether your welcome series converts at 2% or 12%. And it’s what this guide is about.
The three jobs of a welcome series
A three-email welcome series has exactly three jobs — one per email.
Email 1: Make the introduction count. Who are you, and why should they care?
Email 2: Build trust. Answer the question they’re silently asking: can I trust this store?
Email 3: Close. Give them a reason to decide now.
Every element of every email should serve one of these three jobs. If it doesn’t, cut it.
The timing
| When | |
|---|---|
| Email 1 | Immediately after sign-up |
| Email 2 | Day 3 |
| Email 3 | Day 6 |
Six days total. That’s the window of initial interest for most store audiences. After that, open rates drop sharply and the moment has passed.
Email 1: The Introduction (send immediately)
Here’s what most store owners do in Email 1: they talk about themselves.
“Hi, I’m [name] and I started this company because I was frustrated with [problem]…” Three paragraphs of backstory. A photo of the founders. A mission statement.
This is a mistake. Not because your story doesn’t matter — it does, eventually. But in Email 1, the subscriber doesn’t know you yet. They gave you their email address because of something you offered or promised. They’re curious about themselves, not about you.
Start with them.
Open with what’s in it for them — specifically. What does shopping with your store give them that they can’t get elsewhere? What makes you different in a way that matters to a buyer?
Two or three sentences. Be direct. Be honest. Don’t reach for impressive language if simple language tells the truth more clearly.
Then: if you’re offering a welcome discount (common, and fine), frame it as a gift — not a tactic.
“As a thank-you for being here: here’s 10% off your first order. Use [CODE] at checkout — it’s good for the next 7 days.”
One CTA. “Browse our best sellers” or “Shop now.” Not three buttons competing for attention.
Subject lines:
- “Welcome — here’s what to know”
- “You’re in. Here’s what makes us different.”
- “Welcome to [store name] — a gift for you”
One rule for Email 1: Write like a person, not a brand. “We’re so excited to have you join our community!” is brand-speak. “You’re in — and I think you’ll love what you find here” is a person talking to a person. The second one converts.
Email 2: Social Proof (Day 3)
By Day 3, the subscriber is still engaged — but they’re no longer in the first flush of interest. They’ve been on your list for three days and haven’t bought. Something is in the way.
Usually it’s uncertainty. They’re not sure the product is as good as it looks. They’re not sure your store is trustworthy. They found it cheaper somewhere else and haven’t decided yet.
Email 2 doesn’t ask why. It just quietly answers those objections through evidence.
Two or three customer reviews for your most popular products. Short ones. “I was skeptical but this actually works” is more persuasive than a glowing five-paragraph testimonial. People trust brevity — it feels less coached.
Your return policy or guarantee, mentioned simply: “Not happy? We’ll make it right.” One line. Buried in the email. Doesn’t need to be prominent — it just needs to be there.
Your three or four best sellers with images and a clear CTA.
If you made a discount offer in Email 1, remind them: “Your welcome discount expires in 4 days.”
Subject lines:
- “What our customers say about us”
- “Our most popular products (and why people love them)”
- “Still deciding? Here’s what helped others.”
Email 3: The Close (Day 6)
This is the close. Not the introduction. Not the pitch.
Everything you need to say has already been said. Email 3 has one job: give them a reason to act today rather than later.
Real urgency converts. Fake urgency backfires.
If you offered a discount in Email 1: the expiry of that discount is real urgency. Use it plainly.
“Your 10% welcome discount expires tonight at midnight. It won’t be extended — but it’s yours if you want it.”
If you didn’t offer a discount: use a “this is your last email in the series” frame. It works because it’s true — and it creates a natural sense of finality without being pushy.
“This is the last email in your welcome series. After today, you’ll hear from us about new products and offers — but this is the last of these. I hope something caught your eye.”
That close respects the reader. It doesn’t beg or manufacture panic. It just acknowledges that the window is closing, which it is.
Subject lines:
- “Last chance: your welcome discount expires tonight”
- “One last thing before you go”
- “This is it — [discount / offer] ends at midnight”
The handoff after the series ends
Subscribers who go through all three emails without buying join your regular broadcast schedule.
Subscribers who buy at any point in the series immediately exit the welcome sequence and enter your post-purchase sequence instead.
This matters more than most people realize. A customer who bought after Email 1 should not receive Email 2’s “still deciding?” social proof email. And they absolutely should not receive Email 3’s “last chance on your discount” email the day after they paid full price.
Make sure your email tool handles this transition automatically. Verify it before you go live.
The principles underneath all of it
Short paragraphs. Welcome emails are read on phones. Three sentences maximum per block.
One primary CTA per email. Multiple equally prominent buttons reduce clicks. Decide what you want them to do and make that the obvious choice.
Consistent tone across all three. Your voice shouldn’t change between Email 1 and Email 3. If you’re warm and direct in Email 1, stay warm and direct. Inconsistency makes people feel like they’re being handed off to a different person.
Write like you’d talk. Read every email out loud before you send it. If you wouldn’t say it to a customer in person, take it out.
LiftRevHQ includes welcome series Journey templates for WooCommerce — pre-built sequence structure, timing logic, and customizable copy. See how it works →