How many welcome emails do you actually need?

If you've spent any time looking into email marketing, you've probably seen someone tell you that you need a five-email welcome sequence, maybe more

Or perhaps you’ve seen the people telling you to send emails at specific times - as soon as they sign up, one hour later and then 12 hours later.

Yikes. Won’t that put people off? If it’s me, yes. Yes it would!

Let’s talk about the “magic” number and perfectly elaborate funnel with multiple branches and clever automations.

If that’s not you, are you doing it wrong?

In all the email accounts I’ve worked in have I once thought … "The problem here is clear as day. They only have one welcome email." More often than not, the problem is that there’s no welcome email at all.

So before you worry about how many emails you need, let's talk about what a welcome sequence is actually trying to achieve.

What is a welcome sequence?

A welcome sequence is simply a series of automated emails that someone receives after joining your email list. The important word there is automated. Once you've written the emails and switched the automation on, your email platform sends them for you whenever somebody signs up.

If the word automation still feels a little intimidating, don't worry. I've explained it in my blog: What is an email automation?

A welcome sequence isn't there to bombard people with sales emails, although don’t let that you stop you from putting in your offer. However, it’s job is to welcome someone, deliver whatever you've promised and begin building a relationship while they're still excited to hear from you.

That is all.

Your first welcome email is doing the heavy lifting

I often say the most important email you'll ever send is the very first one after somebody signs up. Not because it has to be beautifully written and definitely not because it needs fancy graphics. It’s simply because they're expecting it.

They've just filled in your form to download your freebie or join your newsletter. They're actively looking out for your email. That first email confirms they're in the right place. It delivers what you promised, reassures them everything has worked and starts building trust from the very beginning.

Leave it two weeks before you email them and there's a good chance they'll have forgotten who you are. That's why I'd always prioritise getting one really good welcome email in place before worrying about building a longer sequence.

If you're wondering why this first email matters so much, you'll find a more detailed explanation in What happens after someone signs up?

So... how many welcome emails do you actually need?

The honest answer is...it depends.

I know that's probably not the clear-cut answer you were hoping for, but the right number has far more to do with your business than it does with any so-called best practice.

• Think about how often you normally email your list.
• Think about what you actually want new subscribers to know.
• Think about how much you genuinely have to say.

Those answers will tell you far more than any expert claiming everyone needs seven emails.

If you send a weekly newsletter...

Keep it simple, one welcome email is often all you need. Someone joins your list on Monday, they receive your welcome email straight away and then naturally roll into your regular newsletter later that week.

There's no awkward gap and no need to create extra emails simply for the sake of it.

If you send a monthly newsletter...

This is where adding another one or two emails can make a real difference.

Imagine someone signs up the day after you've sent your monthly newsletter, without a welcome sequence, they could wait almost four weeks before hearing from you again. That's a long silence.

Instead, you could create something like this:

Day 1: Welcome them, deliver your freebie and introduce yourself.

Day 4: Share one of your most helpful blog posts or resources.

Day 8: Answer a question you get asked all the time or explain how you work.

After that, they naturally join your monthly newsletter. It’s just enough contact to keep the conversation going.

Every email should have a job

One mistake I see quite often is people creating long welcome sequences because someone told them they needed one.

The first email is useful, the second one shares something helpful, but by email six they're desperately trying to think of something else to say.

Every email in your sequence should have a purpose.

Ask yourself:

"Why am I sending this email?"

If the answer is simply,

"Because someone said I should..."

I'd probably leave it out.

A shorter sequence with useful emails will always outperform a longer sequence filled with unnecessary padding.

Should every business have the same welcome sequence?

Absolutely not.

A photographer won't need the same welcome sequence as a business coach.

A local florist won't need the same emails as someone selling online courses.

Your welcome emails should reflect your business, your personality and the way you naturally communicate. Some businesses build trust through education, others through stories and some by sharing behind-the-scenes moments.

There's no perfect template because there isn't one perfect business set-up. The aim isn't to copy someone else's funnel, it's to help your new subscriber feel like they've made a good decision by joining your world.

One of the biggest mistakes I see

One of the biggest mistakes I see isn't people having too few welcome emails.

It's people never putting them into the automation. They spend weeks writing, tweaking, rewriting. Adding another email, deleting another, editing the design. Then nothing ever gets switched on because they're still waiting for it to be “perfect”.

STOP! Perfect does not exist. I'd much rather you wrote one warm, helpful welcome email this afternoon than spent another three months planning a seven-email sequence that never sees the light of day.

This is exactly what I mean in What a "good enough" email setup actually looks like.

Done really is better than perfect.

Your welcome sequence should match the rhythm of your business

This is something I don't hear many people talk about. If you normally email your list every week, sending one welcome email before your next newsletter makes complete sense. If you email once a month, adding another couple of emails helps bridge that gap.

What doesn't make sense is sending five emails over ten days and then disappearing for two months.

Imagine meeting someone at a networking event, you have a lovely conversation every couple of days for two weeks. Then... silence, until a random DM pops up asking if you want to sign up for their latest course / coaching programme / branding session.

It would feel a bit odd right?

Your welcome sequence should feel like the beginning of an ongoing conversation, not a completely different experience from the rest of your email marketing.

Start small and build from there

One of the lovely things about email automations is that they're never set in stone. You might begin with one welcome email and then six months later you decide to add another.

Perhaps you launch a new service or course and create a slightly different welcome journey for those subscribers. That's completely normal.

Your email marketing should grow alongside your business. There's no prize for building the biggest or most complicated welcome sequence. Or the one that never, ever needs to be updated. Evergreen content is rarely relevant forever.

The goal is to make your subscribers feel welcomed, informed and looked after from the very beginning.