E-commerce and subscription · Klaviyo · Welcome

What should the first email in a Klaviyo welcome flow say for a small Australian brand?

By BREME · Updated 19 October 2026

Who this is for: Founders and marketers of small Australian online brands using Klaviyo, with a signup form already on the site, who want a first welcome email that sounds like the brand rather than a coupon receipt.

The one job of the first email

The first welcome email is the only marketing email the person has actually asked for. They have just typed their address into your form, so they are paying attention, and they will judge the next fortnight of your emails by this one.

Its job is not to sell everything you make. It is to confirm they are in the right place, keep any promise your form made, and make the second email feel welcome rather than intrusive.

• Deliver what the form promised, in the first few lines.
• Introduce the brand in two or three plain sentences: who makes it, and why.
• Say what they will get from your emails and roughly how often.
• Give one next step, not five. A best seller, a starter range or a short story page.
• Invite a reply, and make sure a real person reads the replies.

How Klaviyo sends it

In Klaviyo, a welcome series is a list-triggered flow. A contact enters when they are added to a chosen list, whether that happens through a signup form, a subscribe page, a manual addition or the API. Klaviyo's recommended series is three emails over about a week: the first straight away, the second three days later, and the third four days after that.

Two Klaviyo behaviours catch small brands out. Lists are double opt-in by default, so the welcome series only starts once the person confirms their subscription. And someone can only receive a list-triggered flow once, so a person who unsubscribes and signs up again will not get the welcome emails a second time.

1. In Klaviyo, open Flows and start from the pre-built welcome series, or create a flow from scratch and choose the Added to list trigger.
2. Select your main subscriber list, and check that every live signup form and integration adds people to that same list.
3. Leave the first email with no delay, so it arrives while the person is still on your site.
4. Add the second and third emails at three days and seven days, or adjust after you have tested.
5. If you plan to import an existing list, set the flow to Manual first. Otherwise imported contacts can be scheduled for the first email regardless of when they actually subscribed.
6. Build a separate SMS welcome flow if you collect mobile numbers. Klaviyo recommends keeping email and SMS welcome flows apart, because people often sign up to each at different times.

Discount or no discount?

Klaviyo's own guidance allows both approaches, and we think that is honest, because there is no single right answer for every brand.

If your signup form promised a code, put it in the first email, near the top, with the expiry date and any conditions. Klaviyo's guidance is to include any sign-up incentive in the first email of the series. Making someone hunt for a discount they were promised is a poor first impression.

If you would rather not discount up front, Klaviyo describes the alternative: give subscribers a chance to buy at full price first, then send a coupon only to people who have not purchased, using a conditional split on Has Placed Order since starting the flow. That way you do not give a discount to people who were going to buy anyway.

Our view: a discount is worth it when your margins can carry it and the product is a one-off purchase that people compare on price. For a brand people choose for its story, its quality or its maker, a no-discount welcome often fits better. Something useful, such as a sizing guide, a care guide or early access to a new range, can do the same job without training people to wait for a code. Whichever you choose, test it in Klaviyo rather than guessing.

Writing it in your own voice

Write it like a note from the person behind the brand. Use their name in the sign-off, keep paragraphs to two or three lines, and say things only your brand could say: where you make things, what you will not compromise on, who the product is for.

Keep the subject line plain and specific. Welcome to [Brand], here's your code works because it tells the reader exactly what is inside. Put your prices in AUD, say where you ship from and how long delivery usually takes, because Australian shoppers notice when a brand sounds like it is overseas.

Before you switch it to live

• Sign up through your own form on your phone and confirm the double opt-in email arrives.
• Check that the code works at checkout and that the expiry date in the email matches the one in Shopify or your store platform.
• Read the email on a phone screen. Most of it should make sense without scrolling.
• Check that the footer shows your business name, contact details and a working unsubscribe link.
• Reply to the email yourself and make sure the reply reaches an inbox someone checks.

Hi [first name],

Welcome, and thank you for joining us. As promised, here's your [offer]: [code]. It works on [what it applies to] until [expiry date].

A little about us: we're [Brand], a small team in [state or region] making [what you make] because [the honest reason you started].

From us you'll get [what your emails contain], about [how often]. No daily inbox clutter.

If you're not sure where to start, most people begin with [best seller or starter product]: [link].

And if you have a question about sizing, delivery or anything else, just reply. It comes straight to me.

[First name], [Brand]

Hi [first name],

Thanks for joining us. We'll keep this short.

We're [Brand]. We make [what you make] in [place], and we care about [the one thing you won't compromise on].

Here's what you can expect from us: [what your emails contain], about [how often], and first look at new ranges before anyone else.

If you'd like a place to start, here's [a genuinely useful guide, such as a sizing or care guide]: [link].

Anything you want to know, just hit reply. A real person reads every one.

[First name], [Brand]