The welcome flow for Shopify stores
A four-email welcome flow for Shopify stores, with timing, conditions, full copy for each email, and setup notes for Klaviyo and Omnisend.
The flow at a glance
The welcome flow is the first thing a new subscriber hears from you, and it is usually the highest-earning flow a store has. Its job is simple: turn a curious signup into a first order by answering the questions that stop them buying.
Condition: exit anyone who places an order.
- 1Email 1: Deliver the promise
- 2Email 2: Answer the biggest worry
- 3Email 3: Proof from people like them
- 4Email 4: Reminder
Email 1: Deliver the promise
Subject: Your 10% is inside
Preview: Plus the one product most people start with
Welcome. Here is your code: WELCOME10, good on your first order. If you are not sure where to start, most people begin with our Barrier Cream. It is the gentlest thing we make, and the one our reviewers with sensitive skin mention most. Shop the Barrier Cream Over the next few days I will send a few short emails about how we make things and what customers say. No daily spam.
Why it works: it gives the code in the first line, removes the "where do I start" decision, and sets the cadence.
Email 2: Answer the biggest worry
Subject: Why we left the fragrance out
Preview: A short note from our founder
I started this brand because every "gentle" cream I bought made my skin sting. So we made a few rules. No fragrance. No essential oils. Every formula patch-tested before it ships. And if something does not suit your skin, you can send it back, even opened. Read our ingredient list
Why it works: it names the fear most first-time buyers have and removes the risk with a policy, not a promise.
Email 3: Proof from people like them
Subject: "Finally, no sting"
Preview: What people with sensitive skin say
Three reviews, chosen because they sound like the reader: specific, from people who had the same worry, with the product named. See all reviews
Why it works: proof works best when the reader recognises themselves in it.
Email 4: Reminder
Subject: Your code ends Sunday
Preview: WELCOME10 is still there if you want it
Short. The code, when it ends, the starter product, the returns line again, one button.
Why it works: a real deadline is a reason to act now. If your code does not expire, remind without inventing urgency.
Setup notes
Klaviyo: create a list-triggered flow on the list your signup form adds people to. Add the flow filter "Placed Order zero times since starting this flow". If you use a discount, create it in Shopify first and use a unique code block if you want codes that cannot be shared.
Omnisend: start from the welcome workflow template, triggered by a new email subscriber. Add an exit condition for placed order.
Both: make sure buyers who drop out move into your post-purchase flow.
Before you import a list
A live welcome flow treats every imported contact as a new subscriber. Import last year's customers into the flow's list while it is running and all of them get email 1, however long ago they signed up. Set the flow to manual first, import, then switch it back on. source, checked 25 September 2026
Klaviyo lists start as double opt-in, so email 1 cannot go until the subscriber has clicked the confirmation link. If your form promises a code instantly, say on the form that it arrives after they confirm, or the first thing they notice is a missing discount. source, checked 25 September 2026
Omnisend's two presets
Omnisend's Welcome Series preset comes as a single email or as three. Start from the three-email version and add the fourth, the reminder, yourself. source, checked 25 September 2026
What to measure
- Revenue per recipient for the whole flow and for each email
- Placed order rate by email, to find the one doing the work
- Unsubscribe rate on each email, to spot the one that pushes too hard
- Time to first order
Questions people ask
How many emails should a welcome flow have?
Three to five is typical. Four covers the offer, your story, proof, and a last reminder without wearing out a new subscriber.
Should the welcome flow include a discount?
If your signup form promises one, deliver it in the first email, straight away. If you do not want to lead with discounts, offer something else of value: a guide, free shipping, or early access.
What if someone buys during the flow?
Add a flow filter that removes anyone who has placed an order since starting the flow, then send buyers to your post-purchase flow instead.
Should SMS subscribers go through this flow too?
Keep email and SMS welcomes as separate flows. People often sign up for the two at different times, and someone can only enter a given welcome flow once, so one combined flow misses whichever sign-up came second. source, checked 25 September 2026
How Tilly builds it
The email agent writes the welcome flow for your main customer persona during the free audit, using your real products, reviews and offer. You preview it before you pay anything.
Tilly's defaults for this flow
Tilly's welcome flow has the same four jobs, spaced a little wider: the first email 30 minutes after signup, then 2 days, 3 days and 3 days after that. A discount is only allowed in email 1 and email 4, and only with a code that exists in your store, so no email carries a code your checkout does not know. Anyone who orders drops out before the next email.
See this on your own store
Paste your store URL. The first pass takes about a minute and needs no account. Save a card (nothing is charged) and Tilly reads the whole store and works out who buys from you.