Welcome Email Series for a Clothing Store

Someone signs up for your list. Maybe they liked a post, saw a pop-up or read your lookbook. Then nothing happens for a week, and by the time your next newsletter arrives they have forgotten you. A welcome series closes that gap.

This guide is for a small Shopify clothing shop on Klaviyo. It covers what the first emails to a new subscriber should contain, when to send them and what to check before you switch the series on.

What a welcome series is for

A welcome series is a short run of emails that starts when someone joins your list. Its job is to turn a new subscriber into a first order.

Clothing has its own doubts. Will it fit? What if I have to send it back? Is the shop real? A good series answers those questions one at a time, instead of putting everything in a single long email.

The four emails

The examples use a made-up shop called Alder & Thread, selling tees, linen trousers and cardigans. The shop is fictional.

Email 1: welcome and first-order offer

Send it right away.

Job: say thank you, deliver the welcome offer if you have one, and show where to start.

• Thank them in a sentence or two, and add one line about your clothes that is true.
• Put the offer code and a button that applies it near the top, and say what it covers.
• Show two or three bestsellers with photos and prices.
• Add a few reasons to shop with you, such as exchange terms. Only list promises you keep.
• Invite replies. A real person should read them.

Subject line ideas:

• Welcome to Alder & Thread. Your first-order offer is inside
• Here is your welcome gift
• Thanks for joining us

Email 2: your story and what shoppers can count on

Send it about 2 days later.

Job: build trust, so a first order feels safe.

• Tell why you started the shop in two or three sentences.
• List what shoppers can count on: your real shipping and exchange terms.
• If you have a genuine customer review, add it. If not, leave the space out.
• Make no claims about fabric, origin or sustainability unless you can back them up.

Subject line ideas:

• Why we started Alder & Thread
• The story behind the shop
• What you can always count on from us

Email 3: help them choose a size and a first piece

Send it about 2 days after email 2.

Job: help an unsure shopper pick something and feel sure about the size.

• Give a few plain tips. For example: measure a piece you already love and compare it with your size guide, and build around neutrals so each new piece goes further.
• Add a tip that matches your own size guide.
• Show your most loved pieces, with one button to the shop.

Subject line ideas:

• Not sure where to start?
• Three easy ways to pick your first favourite
• A 30-second guide to our most loved pieces

Email 4: a reminder for subscribers who have not bought

Send it about 2 days after email 3.

Job: bring back subscribers who have not bought yet and answer the last questions.

• Remind them of the welcome code and what it covers.
• Answer three questions in a few lines each: what if it does not fit, how long does shipping take, where is it made. Answer only what is true for your shop, and delete the origin question if you cannot back it up.
• No fake urgency. Only mention an end date if the offer really ends.

Subject line ideas:

• Your welcome code is still waiting
• Did you forget your welcome code?
• A quick reminder from us

When to send them

These are suggestions, not figures from any study. Start here and adjust to your shop.

• Email 1: right away.
• Email 2: 2 days later.
• Email 3: 2 days after that.
• Email 4: 2 days after that.

Watch your own replies and orders. If it feels too pushy, widen the gaps.

Stop the series when someone buys

A subscriber who orders after email 1 should not get a reminder about a code they already used. In Klaviyo, add a conditional split before each later email that checks whether the person has placed an order since the flow started, and send buyers out of the flow. A list trigger has no flow filter of its own, so the split is how you do it. Klaviyo's help centre explains flows and conditional splits: https://help.klaviyo.com

What to test

Change one thing at a time and give each test enough sign-ups to mean something.

• A subject line that names the shop versus a plain one.
• The offer in the subject versus saved for the email body.
• A product photo on its own versus a grid of bestsellers.
• Longer or shorter gaps between emails.

Klaviyo's free plan has limits and may not include flow A/B tests, so check your plan first.

Checklist before you go live

1. Consent. Your signup form needs a consent line and a link to your privacy policy.
2. Test the offer. Use the welcome code yourself and confirm it applies at checkout.
3. Unsubscribe link. Every email needs a working one.
4. Business address footer. Your business name and postal address belong in every marketing email.
5. Policies match the copy. Shipping times and exchange terms in the emails must match your shop page.
6. Stop on purchase. Confirm buyers leave the flow.
7. Send yourself a test of each email and click every button.
8. Read it on a phone. Many people read email on a phone, so check it there.

A shortcut if you do not want to write them

If you would rather not write all this from scratch, the Starter Email Flow Kit for Klaviyo: Fashion Edition ($12) contains this 4 email welcome series already written, with a plain text version of each email and a flow plan with trigger, filters and waits. It has 13 emails in 4 flows: welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase and win-back. You swap in your logo, photos and products, complete the lines marked as shop fill-ins with things that are true for your shop, and build the flow in Klaviyo with the install guide. Klaviyo has no flow import, so you build each flow by hand. Results depend on your shop and list, and no result is promised.

See what is in the kit or go straight to the product page:

Starter Email Flow Kit for Klaviyo: Fashion Edition

Not affiliated with Klaviyo or Shopify.

The email designs and copy in the kit were made with AI help and curated by the seller.