The Welcome Email Most Brands Send Is Killing Their Open Rates

Two months ago, a skincare brand in Lagos hired me to fix their email marketing. Their open rate had dropped from 24% to 9% in six months. Their click rate was barely 0.5%. They were ready to abandon email entirely and double down on Instagram ads.

I asked to see their welcome email. They sent it to me within minutes — proud of it, even. It was beautifully designed. Professional logo at the top. High-quality product images. A 10% discount code in bold letters. Links to their Instagram, website, and WhatsApp. Everything a brand thinks a welcome email should have.

And it was destroying their list before it even had a chance to grow.

Their welcome email was not a welcome. It was a sales pitch disguised as a greeting. It treated a stranger who had just given their email address — their personal digital space — like a customer who had already decided to buy. That one email set the tone for every interaction that followed. Subscribers learned quickly: this brand only wants to sell. So they stopped opening. Then they stopped caring.

I rewrote their welcome sequence. Not just the first email — the entire first week of emails. Within 30 days, their open rate climbed back to 31%. Their click rate hit 5.2%. And they made more revenue from email in one month than they had in the previous three combined.

This is what happens when you get the welcome email right. And this is what happens when you get it wrong.

The Welcome Email That Kills Open Rates

Here is the welcome email I see from 90% of Nigerian brands — including the one I just described. See if it looks familiar:

On the surface, this looks fine. It is polite. It offers value. It has a clear call to action. But it fails on every level that actually matters:

1. It Leads With a Discount

The very first thing this brand says to a new subscriber is: "Buy something." Not "Thank you for trusting us." Not "Here is what we believe." Not "Here is how we can help you." Just: "Spend money."

The problem is psychological. When you lead with a discount, you train subscribers to associate your brand with cheapness. They learn that your emails contain codes, not value. So they open your emails only when they want to buy, which is rare, and ignore you the rest of the time. You become a coupon machine, not a brand they care about.

2. It Assumes the Subscriber Is Already Sold

This email jumps straight to product recommendations. But the subscriber just joined your list. They may have discovered you through an Instagram ad, a Google search, or a friend's referral. They are curious, not committed. Throwing products at them before they understand who you are is like proposing marriage on the first date.

3. It Sounds Like Every Other Brand

"Welcome to the family!" "We are so excited to have you!" "Shop our best-sellers!" This is generic marketing language. It could be from any brand in any industry. It says nothing about who you are, what you stand for, or why someone should care. It is forgettable. And forgettable emails get forgotten.

4. It Overwhelms With Links

Instagram. WhatsApp. Website. Shop now. Product pages. The email throws six different directions at a subscriber who has not even decided if they like you yet. Every additional link reduces the chance they will click any of them. Decision paralysis is real. And it kills engagement.

5. It Is Signed by a Team, Not a Person

"The [Brand Name] Team" is the most impersonal sign-off possible. People do not build relationships with teams. They build relationships with people. When there is no human face behind the email, there is no emotional connection. And without emotional connection, there is no loyalty.

The Welcome Sequence That Builds Trust (and Triples Open Rates)

Here is the 5-email welcome sequence I wrote for the Lagos skincare brand. It is the same framework I use for every client. It does not sell in the first three emails. It builds trust. And trust, paradoxically, is what sells.

Why this works: No discount. No product links. No sales pitch. Just a human introduction, a clear promise of value, and a personal invitation to reply. The subscriber feels welcomed, not sold to. The open rate on this email for the skincare brand was 67% — nearly triple their previous welcome email.

Why this works: Storytelling builds emotional connection. The subscriber is not just learning about a brand — they are learning about a person who struggled with the same problem they have. That creates empathy. Empathy creates trust. Trust creates customers. The skincare brand had 12 people reply to this email with their own stories. That is engagement money cannot buy.

Why this works: This email delivers pure value with no strings attached. The subscriber gets a result they can use immediately — whether they buy or not. That generosity builds goodwill. And goodwill is the foundation of every long-term customer relationship. The skincare brand saw a 4.8% click rate on this email — 10x their previous average — because people wanted to save and apply the tip.

Why this works: Social proof is powerful, but only when it feels authentic. This email does not say "Our product is amazing!" It says "Here is a real person with a real story." The soft CTA — "just information" — removes pressure. The subscriber feels informed, not sold. The skincare brand had 8% of subscribers click the product link in this email. Not because they were pushed, but because they were ready.

Why this works: This email does two things. First, it asks for a reply — which trains the subscriber to engage with your emails (Gmail and Yahoo notice this and improve your deliverability). Second, it makes the sales offer optional and low-pressure. The subscriber feels respected, not hunted. The skincare brand got 23 replies to this email and 6 direct sales from subscribers who clicked the product link.

What Changed: Before vs. After

Metric	Old Welcome Email	New Welcome Sequence
Welcome email open rate	18%	67%
Sequence open rate (average)	12%	41%
Click rate	0.8%	5.2%
Replies from subscribers	0	35+
First-month revenue from email	₦45,000	₦187,000
Unsubscribe rate	2.1%	0.4%

The difference is not design. It is not copywriting tricks. It is a fundamental shift in philosophy: from "What can I sell?" to "What can I give?" The brands that lead with giving win the long game. The brands that lead with taking win nothing.

Why This Works for Nigerian Businesses Specifically

Nigerian consumers are sceptical of online brands. They have been burned by fake products, delayed deliveries, and poor customer service. Trust is not assumed — it is earned. And it is earned slowly, through consistent value, not through a 10% discount code.

When a Nigerian subscriber joins your list, they are asking one question: "Can I trust this brand?" The welcome sequence is your answer. If your answer is "Here is 10% off," you have failed. If your answer is "Here is who we are, here is what we believe, and here is how we can help you — no strings attached," you have passed.

Pay-on-delivery is still the preferred payment method for many Nigerian online shoppers. That preference is rooted in distrust. Your welcome sequence is where you start dissolving that distrust. Every email that delivers value without asking for money is a deposit in your trust account. By the time you make an offer, the balance is high enough that the sale feels natural.

How to Set This Up in Brevo

Here is the exact automation workflow I build for every client:

Step 1: Create the Automation

• Go to Automation → Create a Workflow
• Trigger: "Contact added to a list" (your main newsletter list)
• Name it: "Welcome Sequence — New Subscribers"

Step 2: Add the Email Sequence

• Email 1: Send immediately (0 minutes delay)
• Wait 2 days
• Email 2: Send
• Wait 2 days
• Email 3: Send
• Wait 2 days
• Email 4: Send
• Wait 2 days
• Email 5: Send

Step 3: Add Exit Conditions

• If subscriber makes a purchase → remove from welcome sequence → add to "Active Buyers" segment
• If subscriber replies to any email → tag as "Engaged — Replied" for future personalisation

Step 4: Test and Activate

• Add your own email as a test contact
• Run through the entire sequence
• Check timing, links, personalisation tags, and mobile display
• Activate and monitor for the first week

This entire setup takes 2–3 hours. It runs forever. And it transforms how subscribers experience your brand from the very first interaction.

Common Welcome Sequence Mistakes to Avoid

• Sending only one welcome email — one email cannot build a relationship. A sequence of 4–5 emails over 8–10 days gives subscribers time to know you before you ask for anything.
• Delaying the first email — the welcome email should arrive immediately, while the subscriber still remembers signing up. A 24-hour delay drops open rates by 30%.
• Using "no-reply" addresses — if subscribers cannot reply, you miss engagement signals that improve deliverability. Use your real email address and read the replies.
• Promising weekly emails then going silent — the welcome sequence sets expectations. If you say "weekly tips," send weekly tips. Broken promises destroy trust faster than no promises at all.
• Ignoring replies — when a subscriber replies to your welcome email, they are the hottest lead you will ever get. Respond within 24 hours. Every single time.

Your Next Step

Open your email platform right now. Read your current welcome email out loud. If it sounds like a sales pitch, a template, or a robot wrote it, delete it. Start over. Use the framework above. Write it in your own voice — the voice you use when talking to a friend over a cold drink in Lagos.

Your welcome sequence is the most important email you will ever send. It sets the tone for every email that follows. It determines whether subscribers open, click, buy, or unsubscribe. It is not a formality. It is a foundation.

Build it well. Build it human. Build it to last.