Welcome new subscribers using the Automation Path Builder

Create a welcome path to automatically reach out to your newest contacts through an email or SMS message after they join your list through one of our list growth tools

Missing this feature? If you're interested in using our Automation Path Builder, but don't have access to it in your account, you may need to upgrade your plan.

When a contact subscribes to your mailing list through one of our list growth tools, sending a "welcome" message is a great way to kick off your relationship! The Automation Path Builder lets you send an email or an SMS message based on your contacts' preferred communication preferences. Send a single message or customize a path by adding multiple messages to meet your needs.

• Create an automation path to welcome new contacts
• Customize the welcome trigger details
• Create your email or SMS message content
• (Optional) Build out your welcome path
• Activate your welcome automation path
• Why didn't my contact receive the Welcome Email?

Design tip: If you have contacts that you're manually moving onto a different list, and you want to trigger a communication to send to them, use the "Added to specific list" template instead of creating a welcome path.

Create an automation path to welcome new contacts

Review your plan: All email plans allow for a single automated welcome email, but upgrading your email plan and adding SMS marketing gives you full access to the Automation Path Builder. For more information, please see the Plans & Pricing page in your account.

Follow the steps to create an automation path using a pre-built template and select one of the following templates:

• Welcome: SMS - Select this option to include both email and SMS marketing messages in your welcome path.
• Welcome: Basic - Select this option to nurture new subscribers through email-only communications.
• Welcome Nurture Series - Select this option to send a series of emails to build a relationship with your contacts after they opt-in through a Sign-up Landing Page.
• Welcome series - Select this option to send a series of emails to new customers that are imported from your Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, or WooCommerce store, or to contacts that haven't purchased yet.

Note: Contacts acquired through accounts, through Integrations, will not receive welcome emails from the Welcome Email automation. Use the A contact joins a list automaton instead. Read this section to learn more. 

Once your welcome automation path is created and saved, you can find it again by selecting Marketing > Automations.

Customize the welcome trigger details

Important: Depending on your email plan, you can create multiple welcome paths. To prevent a single contact from receiving duplicate welcome content, make sure that a list isn't selected for more than one welcome path.

You have control over which lists receive your welcome email. You can choose a single list or select multiple lists to receive the same message. If you're building out a Welcome Nurture Series template, you have to select a Sign-up Landing Page instead because it's triggered by a form submission and not a list-join.

1. From the Trigger details overlay, choose:

• Any list - This option makes all of the contacts in your account eligible to receive your welcome message when they sign-up for your email and SMS messages, no matter which list they first join.
• One or more specific lists - This option lets you restrict your welcome message to only those contacts who are on your chosen lists. You can select a list from the drop-down menu or start typing the list name to select it.

3. Click Save to continue editing your welcome path.
   
   
    

Create your email or SMS message content

Your message content is fully customizable! It can be a simple greeting, or use it to share rewards or exclusive content, or to drive your readers to a webpage or social platform. Emails provide enough space for the most content flexibility, and SMS messages have a higher likelihood to be read and engaged with.

1. Click the three dots on the Send an email or Send an SMS step in your path, and select "Edit."
   Note: If you're working on a Welcome Nurture Series, the emails are generated for you and you just have update them with your branding and content. You can also create additional emails for the series too. 
   
   
    
2. Give your new email or new SMS message a unique name. If you're editing an email step, you can choose to start from scratch or copy an existing email to give you a jumpstart.
3. Click Continue.
   
   
    
4. Use the email or SMS message editor to customize your welcome message content:

• Email - First select a template, then use the email editor to customize your content. If you need help getting started, try using the AI Content Generator while you're editing your text. You also have the option to copy an existing email draft or sent email. Your message can include multiple images, links, and larger blocks of text. Learn more.
  
  
   
• SMS - Enter the content of your text message or use the AI Content Generator to help get you started. Your message can include a single URL, but doesn't allow for images. Longer messages are broken into individual text messages that impact your billing. Learn more.
  
  
   

5. Click Save and Close in the upper right-hand corner of the editor to return to the Path builder.

Repeat the steps for each email or SMS message in your path.

Be a better marketer: Not sure what to write? Check out our tips for How to Write a Winning Welcome Email. Make sure to try out our AI Content Generator within the email and SMS message editors too!

 (Optional) Build out your welcome path

The welcome templates provide you with a basic path that just needs the message content, but you also have the flexibility to make your path more complex with additional messages.

Use the Path builder to:

• Add email steps to a path.
• Add SMS message steps to a path.
• Add time delays between steps.
• Add conditional splits to a step in a path.
• Add update contact field steps to a path.
• Add tag steps to a path.
• Add date of first purchase steps to a path.
  
  

Activate your welcome automation path

When you're ready, all that's left to do is activate your welcome path.

1. Click the Activate button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
   
   
    

Once your path is activated, you’re brought to the Details page where you can review your performance and reporting information.

Why didn't my contact receive the Welcome Email?

Contacts added to Constant Contact through an integration, like Spotify,  Squarespace, or any other integration, typically have two sources: the contacts themselves or an account. If your contact source was an integration account, those contacts will not receive the welcome email. 

Use the Joins A List automation instead of the Welcome Email automation to reach these contacts. 

Questions?