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Guidedtc

Welcome is not a coupon with a logoBrand and proof before the discount — or you taught price first.

Most welcome series are a code and a hope. The job is to teach who you are, capture a preference if you can, and make the first order obvious — without fighting cart and browse. Interns write email one without a percentage. CEOs refuse 'welcome 15% off' as the whole strategy.

00

In plain words

Intern through CEO

Email one: who we are and what to do next. Not 15% off as the identity.

  1. 01

    Email one: who we are and what to do next. Not 15% off as the identity.

  2. 02

    Capture preference (category, scent, size) if it changes the next send. Otherwise skip the fake quiz.

  3. 03

    Welcome should not mail people who already bought. Exclusions are the craft.

Who

Same lesson. Three jobs.

Read your row

Intern

What you actually do

Run steps 01 and 02 this week. Do not add a feature. Story, use, social proof. Coupon later if at all.

Operator

What you protect

Protect the sequence. Capture preference (category, scent, size) if it changes the next send. Otherwise skip the fake quiz.

CEO

What you refuse to fund

Do not fund more traffic or more seats until the scoreboard in this lesson is a number you will defend. Welcome should not mail people who already bought. Exclusions are the craft.

Steps

Do this in order

Why, then done when
  1. 01

    Proof before price

    Story, use, social proof. Coupon later if at all.

    Why: Discount-first welcome trains the wrong buyer — especially on high consideration.

    Done when: Email one has no code.

  2. 02

    Make the first order obvious

    One path. Not a 12-product grid.

    Why: Choice is not a system.

    Done when: A tired person knows the next click.

  3. 03

    Exclude buyers

    They get post-purchase, not welcome.

    Why: A coupon after they paid is how you look automated in the worst way.

    Done when: A test purchase does not get welcome.

  4. 04

    Do not fight other flows

    Frequency cap. Exclusions.

    Why: Welcome + cart + browse on day one is how you earn a mute.

    Done when: You can draw who gets what on day one.

  5. 05

    Measure first-order rate from welcome

    Not opens.

    Why: Pretty welcome emails that do not sell are still a leak.

    Done when: A number you will defend.

Luxury and furniture

A 20% blast is a different brand. Exclusions and quiet frequency are the brand. The coupon is optional forever.

Why

Questions people actually ask

Pushback is normal

Our competitor leads with 20% off. Why shouldn't we?

Then you are the same company with a worse margin. Proof is the only durable difference in the inbox.

Apply

Use-case pages for this leak

Klaviyo

Working notes

DTC Retention Scorecard

Score your Klaviyo and lifecycle system the way an operator would. Request the file. It arrives by email — not a public dump, not a drip of slogans.

Request the notes ↗
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If the leak is expensive, talk.

Email and WhatsApp stay open. A call is for installing the system.