Welcome Email

A welcome email is the first message a person receives after signing up for a product, newsletter, or account. It confirms that the signup worked, says what to expect next, and points to one first action.

What to include

Say what the person signed up for and how often they will hear from you. Then give one next step. For a SaaS product, that is usually the action that gets the user to a first result, such as creating a project or sending a first email. For a newsletter, it might be a link to the issue people share most. Keep the unsubscribe link easy to find so recipients can stop the messages they no longer want.

Timing

Send it immediately after signup. The person just took an action and is looking for confirmation that it worked. A welcome email that arrives hours later reads as a delay in the product itself, and by then the person may have moved on.

Common mistakes

Sending it hours after signup, giving no clear next step, and burying the unsubscribe link. Trying to cover every feature in one message is a fourth. Pick the one action that matters and leave the rest for the onboarding sequence. See our welcome email examples and onboarding email examples for how teams handle this.

Related: Autoresponder, Email automation, Preference center.