The Welcome Flow Formula
STEP 03 — DELIVER
Build Email #1
Outcome: By the end of this step, you'll have built the first email in your Welcome Flow — delivering your subscriber's offer immediately, introducing them to your brand and giving them a clear path to make their first purchase.
Your subscriber has just handed over their email address and is actively waiting to hear from you. This is one of the highest-intent moments in your Welcome Flow, so we don't want to keep them waiting.
In this step, we'll build the email that delivers what you promised, welcomes them into your brand and makes it incredibly easy to take that next step.
Watch Me Build It
Follow along as I build AERA's first Welcome Flow email — from subject line and structure through to the offer, brand introduction, products and calls to action.
Build Email #1
1. Start With Your Subject Line + Preview Text
Make it clear that the email they've been waiting for has arrived, while giving them a reason to open.
2. Deliver Your Welcome Offer
Don't make them hunt for it. Put the offer they signed up for prominently towards the top of the email and make the next action clear.
3. Welcome Them to Your Brand
Introduce your brand and start building the relationship beyond the incentive that got them onto your list.
4. Give Them a Reason to Shop
Help your new subscriber understand where to start — whether that's your hero product, best sellers, key categories or another clear pathway into your store.
5. Create Clear Calls to Action
Make it easy for someone who's ready to buy to get back to your store without having to work out where to go next.
6. Build + Style Your Email in Klaviyo
Bring the content together using your brand fonts, colours, imagery and styling to create an email that feels like a natural extension of your website.
7. Test Your Email
Check the content, links, offer, personalisation, desktop/mobile display and customer journey before moving on.
The Details That Matter
Don't bury the thing they came for.
If someone subscribed because you promised them an offer, give it to them. Your welcome code shouldn't be hiding halfway down an essay about how the founder discovered skincare while travelling through Provence. 😂
Make it recognisably you.
Your subscriber has just come from your website. The email should feel like a continuation of that experience — not like they've suddenly entered an entirely different brand.
Remember why they're opening.
This isn't the email where you need to tell them absolutely everything about your business. Deliver what you promised, make a strong introduction and give them somewhere useful to go next.
Design for mobile first.
A beautiful desktop email isn't much use if your offer, imagery or CTA falls apart on a phone.
One email. One main job.
Email #1 has plenty it could say, but its primary purpose is simple:
Deliver → Welcome → Encourage that first purchase.
Email #1 Framework
SUBJECT LINE + PREVIEW TEXT
↓
WELCOME / HERO
↓
WELCOME OFFER + CODE
↓
PRIMARY CTA
↓
BRAND INTRODUCTION
↓
PRODUCT / SHOPPING PATHWAY
↓
SECONDARY CTA
↓
BRAND FOOTER
This is a framework, not a rigid template. Depending on your brand, product and customer journey, your email can be structured differently.
You’re done when…
✓ I've written my subject line and preview text
✓ My welcome offer is prominent and easy to find
✓ My unique Klaviyo coupon is displaying correctly
✓ I've introduced my brand without overwhelming the email
✓ I've given subscribers a clear reason/pathway to shop
✓ My calls to action are clear
✓ My email visually feels like my brand
✓ I've checked the email on desktop and mobile
✓ I've tested all links
✓ I've tested any personalisation/dynamic content
✓ I've received a test email in my own inbox
✓ I'm ready to build Email #2
WANT TO TAKE IT FURTHER? — OPTIONAL
Bonus: Grow Your List with Meta Lead Generation
Your Klaviyo sign-up form isn't the only way to bring new people into your Welcome Flow. If you're using Meta advertising, you can also use paid traffic to actively grow your list.
Using Meta To Grow Your List
Two ways this can work
1. Meta Ad → Website → Klaviyo Sign-Up Form
Your Meta ad sends someone directly to your website, where they can browse your products and encounter the Klaviyo sign-up form you've just created.
If they subscribe, they'll be added to your chosen Klaviyo list and enter your Welcome Flow in exactly the same way as any other website visitor.
Meta Ad → Website → Sign-Up Form → Klaviyo List → Welcome Flow
The benefit of this approach is that you're also bringing potential customers onto your website, where they can explore your brand and products — and potentially purchase without signing up at all.
2. Meta Lead Ad → Klaviyo → Welcome Flow
Meta Lead Ads allow someone to submit their details directly within Facebook or Instagram, without needing to visit your website first.
Through Klaviyo's Meta integration, you can connect a Meta lead form to a Klaviyo list so those new leads are automatically added to Klaviyo.
Meta Lead Ad → Klaviyo List → Welcome Flow
If you map your Meta lead form to the same list you're using for your website sign-up form, those subscribers can enter the same Welcome Flow you've built throughout this Formula.
Alternatively, if you're running a campaign with a different offer or purpose, you may want those leads to enter a separate list and receive a different flow.
The important thing is to be intentional about where those leads are going and what happens next.
Before You Send Traffic...
If you're collecting leads through Meta, test the complete journey before spending money sending people through it.
Check that:
• Your Meta and Klaviyo accounts are connected
• The correct Meta lead form is connected to Klaviyo
• Leads are being added to the correct Klaviyo list
• That list triggers the Welcome Flow you want them to receive
• You've submitted a test lead through the Meta form
• Your test profile appears correctly in Klaviyo
• The information you collected has populated correctly on the profile
• Your test profile enters the correct Welcome Flow
• Welcome Email #1 arrives as expected
Don't assume it's working just because everything looks connected. Submit a test lead and follow the same journey your customer will.
The Details That Matter
If you're using the same Welcome Flow for both your website sign-ups and Meta leads, make sure the offer and messaging still make sense for both audiences.
For example, if your website pop-up promises 15% off your first order, but your Meta Lead Ad promises something completely different, dropping both audiences into an email that immediately says “Here's your 15% off!” could create a confusing experience.
Sometimes one list and one Welcome Flow will work beautifully. Sometimes a different campaign needs its own journey.
Follow the customer experience from beginning to end and make sure what they receive feels like a natural continuation of what they signed up for.
A QUICK NOTE: This isn't a lesson in how to create, target or optimise Meta advertising — that's a whole other area of expertise! The focus here is on the Klaviyo side of the customer journey: making sure the leads you generate through Meta are reaching the right place in Klaviyo and receiving the right email experience once they get there.