---
aliases: ["Welcome Email Sequence Review"]
Is A: Procedure
Belongs to: "[[responsibility-grow-newsletter]]"
Cadence: Monthly
Owner: "[[person-luca-rossi]]"
---
# Welcome Email Sequence Review

The welcome email sequence is the first sustained interaction a new subscriber has with the newsletter, and it disproportionately determines whether they become a long-term reader or quietly disengage. This monthly review ensures the onboarding sequence stays effective, current, and aligned with what the newsletter has become — because the content evolves faster than the automation, and stale welcome emails silently erode first impressions and [[measure-open-rate]] for new cohorts.

## Steps

- [ ] Review the current welcome email sequence end-to-end: read each email as if you were a brand new subscriber encountering it for the first time
- [ ] Check that the content in each email is still accurate: are the "best of" article links still relevant? Are the descriptions of what the newsletter covers still true?
- [ ] Review performance metrics for each email in the sequence: open rate, click rate, and unsubscribe rate at each step
- [ ] Identify the drop-off points: where in the sequence do new subscribers stop opening? This is the weakest email and the highest priority for improvement
- [ ] Update or rewrite any emails that are underperforming or contain outdated content
- [ ] Test subject lines for the weakest-performing email — set up an A/B test for the coming month
- [ ] Verify that the sequence timing is appropriate: are emails spaced well (typically 1-3 days apart), or is the sequence too compressed or too spread out?
- [ ] Ensure the sequence transitions smoothly into regular newsletter delivery — the last welcome email should set expectations for what comes next
- [ ] Check that the sequence includes a clear value proposition early (email 1-2) and a soft referral or engagement ask later (email 4-5)

## Notes

- The first welcome email is the highest-opened email you will ever send. Treat it like the most important piece of content you write, because for many readers, it is the one that decides whether they stay. See [[the-real-job-of-a-newsletter]] for why this matters.
- Do not over-automate. A 12-email welcome sequence is almost certainly too long. 4-6 emails over 2 weeks is the sweet spot for most newsletters — enough to build the relationship without overwhelming the inbox.
- Personalization matters but does not need to be complex. Even using the subscriber's first name and referencing how they found the newsletter (if tracked) significantly improves engagement.
- Review unsubscribe reasons for new subscribers specifically. If people are leaving during the welcome sequence, the problem is expectation mismatch — what they signed up for is not what they are receiving.
- This review should be coordinated with [[person-sara-ricci]] since the welcome emails set the editorial tone. Any changes to the sequence should be consistent with the newsletter's evolving voice and the insights from [[procedure-newsletter-ab-testing]].
