On an episode of Honest Ecommerce, copywriter Lianna Patch detailed a welcome series she created for a London coffee retailer that completely rethinks the first interaction with a new subscriber. Instead of leading with an immediate coupon and a hard sell, she built a five-email sequence designed to “usher people into the fold... and generate real good feelings.” The goal was to build a relationship first and generate a sale second.
The series used humor and a strong personality to introduce the brand's worldview, starting a conversation rather than a sales pitch. This approach creates what Jimmy Kim and Chase Dimond of Send It! call “micro-wins”—small, positive experiences that build emotional buy-in during the critical first 45 days of the subscriber journey. By making new subscribers smile and feel like they were part of an inside joke, the brand established a genuine connection. Only after earning that rapport did the series gently nudge them toward making a purchase.
For a contrasting but equally effective strategy, Yong-Soo Chung of Urban EDC shared on the same podcast that his brand uses a much more intensive, 10 to 11 email welcome series. Here, the explicit goal is to secure that first purchase. But it doesn't just do this with discounts. The sequence is a masterclass in building trust at scale. It methodically introduces the brand, highlights their commitment to top-tier customer service, and showcases a stream of testimonials from happy customers. It’s a direct, multi-touch effort to prove the brand's value and de-risk the first purchase for a new subscriber.
These two examples seem completely different, but they share a core principle. They both reject the generic “here’s your coupon, please buy” template that many brands use. They understand that a welcome series is your single best opportunity to define your relationship with a customer. The coffee brand chose to define itself through personality and shared humor, while Urban EDC chose to define itself through overwhelming proof and trustworthiness.
The key lesson isn't about the specific number of emails or the size of the discount. It’s about the intention behind your communication. Are you trying to make a quick sale, or are you trying to build a loyal customer? Your welcome series is the first and most important answer to that question. It’s the very beginning of the customer journey, and a great flow can build rapport and trust that pays off long-term, setting the stage for everything from post-purchase engagement to higher lifetime value.
