Set Up a Multi-Step Welcome Email Automation to Onboard New Subscribers

Welcoming new users to your store isn’t just a nice gesture; it’s a strategic move that builds trust, drives engagement, and sets the tone for a long-term relationship. While a single welcome email does the job, a well-paced series of emails gives you more room to tell your story, introduce your products, and guide users toward their first purchase.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create a multi-step welcome email automation series using the WebToffee Marketing Automation App. You’ll also get a brief overview of two additional welcome automation options available in the app: Instant Welcome Email and Delayed Welcome Email.

Before diving into the series setup, here’s a quick look at the three types of welcome automations available in the app:

• Send a one-time welcome email immediately after a user signs up. Great for fast engagement and instant offers.
• Use when you want to greet users immediately with a quick message or offer a discount.
• To know more about setting up an instant welcome email automation, check out this article: Create a Welcome Email Workflow.

• Send a sequence of welcome emails over several days with delays in between.
• Best for onboarding, storytelling, and maximizing first-order conversions.

• Send a single welcome email after a short delay (like 2 minutes or a few hours).
• Useful if you want to wait until the user settles in before reaching their inbox.

To enter this automation series, users must have provided their email address. The automation supports:

• New users who subscribe through a pop-up or campaign built with the marketing app. To learn how to set up pop-ups or sign-up campaigns, refer to “Creating a Web Campaign for Your WooCommerce Store.”

Here’s how to build a 3-email welcome automation that rolls out gradually to new subscribers.

• Go to the Automations menu from the left sidebar.
• Scroll to the Browse by goals section.
• Under Engage visitors, click Explore automations.
• From the available options, select ‘Welcome new users (email series)’ to begin setting up your multi-step workflow.

• The trigger is set to Customer Sign-Up.
• Select a specific campaign to restrict entry to users from that campaign.
• Enable “Skip contacts who have been in this workflow” to prevent repetitive emails.
• Optionally, use trigger filters, such as page URLs, to target users based on specific sign-up sources.

Spacing your emails is key to avoiding overwhelming new subscribers.

1. Click the Delay block.
2. Set the waiting time (e.g., 2 minutes) before the first email.
3. You can optionally choose to send only on specific days (e.g., weekdays) or at a specific time of day (e.g., 12:30 PM).

• Click on the First Email block.
• Set the title as something like: “Welcome to the Family!”
• Customize the subject and pre-header:
  • Subject: Welcome to the Family!
  • Pre-header: Thanks for joining us – here’s your exclusive discount!
• Design the content to greet the user and offer a sign-up discount.

• Insert a Delay block for 1 day.
• Click on the Second Email block and title it as: “Nice to Meet You!”
• Sample content:
  • Subject: Nice to Meet You!
  • Pre-header: Let’s make your experience awesome!
  • Message: Re-introduce your brand, highlight collections, or build curiosity.

• Add a 3-day delay.
• Insert the final Email block titled: “Ready to Shop?”
• Email content idea:
  • Subject: Ready to Shop?
  • Pre-header: Don’t miss out on your first purchase savings!
  • Message: Create urgency or include a time-limited coupon to nudge first orders.

1. Click the plus (+) icon between existing blocks to insert additional Delay or Email blocks. This allows you to space out messages, add follow-ups, or extend the sequence based on your engagement strategy.

• Review all the emails and delays you’ve added.
• Name the automation.
• Publish the automation to make it live.

You’ve now successfully set up a multi-step welcome email series. Monitor its performance, tweak your content as needed, and keep your audience engaged from the very first interaction.