if you mess up this email, you’re DONE
(here’s the 6-step formula to get it right)
Your newsletter can be amazing.
Great content
Awesome insights
Consistent delivery
But if you mess up this ONE email, none of that matters.
I’m talking about your Welcome Email.
Think about it:
This is the first email your readers get from you. The first impression. And it’s also the moment they decide whether they made a good decision (or a mistake) by subscribing.
So if you don’t nail it, the long-term implications can be brutal:
Lower open rates (because they never learned to expect your emails)
Worse deliverability (because they never replied or engaged)
Higher unsubscribe rates (because they forgot why they signed up)
Your welcome email sets the tone for your entire relationship with your readers.
So yeah… it’s kind of a big deal.
Luckily, after studying 50+ newsletters, I’ve come up with a simple 6-step formula to nail your welcome email every time.
And in this email, I’m going to walk you through with real examples from my own Funnel Breakdowns welcome email so you can see exactly how this works.
(I’ll also include a template & an AI prompt to make this whole process even easier for you - so make sure to read till the end so you can see those!)
Step 1: Reinforce their decision to subscribe
First things first - give your reader a warm welcome and make them feel like they made a smart choice.
I like to do this by combining a friendly greeting with some social proof:
“Hey, welcome to Funnel Breakdowns!
And congrats - you just joined a select group of 10,500+ savvy creators & solopreneurs learning the ins and outs of building money-making email funnels every week.”
See what’s happening here?
I’m not just saying “thanks for subscribing.” I’m reinforcing that they joined something valuable - a “select group” of people who’re also looking to improve their email funnels.
Step 2: Remind them what’s in it for them
Right after welcoming the reader, restate your value proposition.
Yes, even if they just read it on your landing page.
This is very subtle but you want to constantly remind people of what’s in it for them:
“Every Friday, you’ll get a new, hand-crafted Funnel Breakdowns edition right in your inbox.
Each of these is absolutely jam-packed with actionable, real-world tactics to help you:
Grow your email list faster
Turn new subscribers into loyal readers
And make more sales of your digital products & services on autopilot”
This removes any ambiguity about what they signed up for - and builds anticipation for what’s coming.
Step 3: Set clear expectations
Now, walk them through the logistics.
You want to clearly tell people when and how often you’ll be emailing them. This eliminates any uncertainty and builds anticipation for your next send.
Now, if you read the previous quote closely, you’ll notice I hit on both of these steps in the same blurb:
I tell them when they’ll get the emails (”every Friday, you’ll get a new…”)
I tell what what they’ll get out of each email (”real-world tactics to help you…”)
So there’s nothing wrong with tackling each of these steps in different “sections.” But if you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone, go for it.
Pro tip: If you can genuinely make a claim like this, share how much time you invest into each email you send. This builds perceived value & signals that you take your reader’s attention seriously.
For example:
“Just for context: I spend 15-20 hours each week researching, editing, & writing these Breakdowns so you can steal the best email funnel tactics from other successful creators in just a few minutes.”
Step 4: Ask for a reply
This is crucial for deliverability.
When someone replies to your email, email providers (think: Gmail, Outlook, etc.) learn that you’re a trusted sender.
This improves your “sender reputation” and increases the odds that your emails land in the primary inbox - for everyone on your email list.
So, here’s how I handle this part:
“If all of this sounds good, there’s just 2 quick things you need to do (to make sure you never, ever miss one of our Breakdowns):
1. Reply to this email with the word “sushi”
2. Make sure to move this email to your primary inbox (only if the email Gods tried to hide it from you by putting it in your spam or promotions folder).
Obviously, I don’t expect you to lift a finger without offering anything in return...
So as a thank you for doing this, I’ll send you a lil’ surprise welcome gift ;)”
Pro tip: Offering an incentive (like a surprise gift) dramatically increases reply rates.
Step 5: Make it easy for them to get instant value
This is a step a lot of people forget about.
Don’t make new readers wait until your next email to start getting value.
Otherwise, they might not open your next email.
So, here’s how I ensure new readers have a chance to immediately get some dopamine:
“P.S. If you’re eager to start leveling up your funnels (while we cook up your welcome gift), you can find a curation of some of our best Funnel Breakdowns here.”
You can link to a curation of your best content, a free bonus resource, or even an invite to a community.
The key is giving them something valuable right now.
(Bonus) Step 6: Present a special welcome offer
If you have a low-ticket product, you could consider offering a limited-time discount or bonus to new subscribers.
This is another way to provide quick value (while also increasing your lifetime value).
It’s a more advanced technique, though, but definitely worth testing if you have something to offer.
Make sense?
Cool!
Now, to make this even easier to implement…
I’ve put together two resources for you:
A plug-and-play template you can customize in minutes
And an AI prompt that generates a fully personalized welcome email based on your inputs AND my proven template
Let’s start with the template.
The Welcome Email Template
Here’s a plug-and-play template you can customize for your own newsletter:
Subject line: You’re in! What’s next...
Preview text: Ready to [unlock niche outcome]?
Hey, welcome to [Your Newsletter Name]!
And congrats - you just joined a select group of [number] [your audience description] learning [main topic/benefit] every [frequency].
Now, I want to be respectful of your time & attention so I’ll cut to the chase...
### Here’s why you’ll never want to go another [day/week/month] without reading [Your Newsletter Name]
Every [day of week/frequency], you’ll get a new, hand-crafted [Newsletter Name] edition right in your inbox.
Each of these is absolutely jam-packed with [what you share in your newsletter] to help you:
- [Key benefit #1]
- [Key benefit #2]
- [Key benefit #3]
Sweet, huh?
Just for context: I spend [time investment] each [timeframe] researching, editing, & writing these [Newsletter Name] so you can [core value proposition] in just a few minutes.
### What’s next...
If all of this sounds good, there’s just 2 quick things you need to do (to make sure you never, ever miss one of our [Newsletter Name]):
1. Reply to this email with the word “[whatever word you want to use]”
2. Make sure to move this email to your primary inbox if it landed in spam.
Obviously, I don’t expect you to lift a finger without offering anything in return...
So as a thank you for doing this, I’ll send you [incentive/reward for taking action] ;)
Deal?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
[Your Name]
[Your Title/Description]
P.S. If you’re eager to start [achieving main benefit] (while we [reference to incentive]), you can find [resource suggestion] here.
The AI Prompt
And if you want to generate a custom welcome email tailored to your specific newsletter, here’s a prompt that’ll do the heavy lifting for you:
