How do you build a welcome journey?

Required tools

• Customer Insights – Journeys — With publishing permissions.
• Documented consent — Recipients must have asked to hear from you.

Plan before you build

1. 1.Decide what you want the recipient to take away

   A welcome series is not the place for selling. The goal is usually for recipients to know who you are, what they can expect, and where they can get help. Write down those three things before opening the tool.

2. 2.Define the input

   What causes someone to enter the flow? Usually, it’s a completed form or recorded consent. Be precise—a trigger that’s too broad will send a welcome message to people who have been customers for ten years.

3. 3.Decide what ends the journey

   If the recipient makes a purchase or contacts a salesperson, the automated flow should stop. Otherwise, the customer may receive a generic welcome message in the middle of a specific conversation.

Build and test

1. 4.Set up the steps with actual wait time

   Leave a few days between each email. Three emails in three days feels like pestering; the same three spread over two weeks feels like follow-up.

2. 5.Add a branch on opening

   Those who did not open the first email can receive a different subject line next time. This is the simplest branching strategy that actually delivers results, and a good way to learn how it works.

3. 6.Test on yourself and a colleague

   Sign up as actual recipients and go through the entire flow. Look for steps in the wrong order, missing personalization, and links that don't work. This reveals more than any on-screen review.

4. 7.Publish and monitor during the first week

   Monitor unsubscribes and replies during the first few days. If you receive replies from people wondering why they received the message, your targeting is too broad.