# Welcome series: the first emails a new subscriber gets

A welcome series is the emails a new subscriber gets in their first days. What to send and when, and how to build one in Mimeo with a flow and a sequence.

**Definition:** A welcome series is the set of emails a new subscriber gets in their first days, starting the moment they join, that delivers what they signed up for and shows what to expect next.

## How it works

The signup starts it, and the first email goes straight away. A common shape:

1. **Right away:** deliver what they signed up for (the guide, the discount, the first issue) and say what's coming and how often.
2. **A day or two later:** your best piece of work, or the story of why you do this.
3. **A few days after that:** the next step, such as a product, a reply or a reading list.

Where someone signed up can change the series. A podcast listener and a buyer from your store may want different first emails.

## Why it matters

- **It's the moment people remember signing up.** A new subscriber knows who you are and why they joined.
- **It sets expectations.** Saying what's coming and how often makes later emails look familiar, not like spam.
- **It runs for everyone.** Each new subscriber gets the same good start, whenever they join.

## How Mimeo handles it

In Mimeo a welcome series is a flow and a sequence. Your site sends an `opted_in` event when someone joins ([opt-in intake](https://mimeohq.com/docs/api/events#opt-in-intake)). A [flow](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows) triggered on that event starts the welcome [sequence](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/sequences) and waits for it to finish. The first step, with no delay, sends the moment they start. The trigger can match on the event's details, so `details.entry_point` can route podcast signups to a different series. Set the run policy to single run ever, so someone who resubscribes doesn't start the series again.

Moving an existing list doesn't welcome everyone a second time. A CSV import is treated as history by default, and history triggers nothing ([historical imports](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/csv-import#an-import-never-sets-your-automations-off)). To keep a promotional broadcast from landing in the middle of the series, a guard can hold it for people still in the sequence. See [Mimeo terms](https://mimeohq.com/docs/glossary#working-in-mimeo) for flows and sequences in Mimeo's own words.

## Sources

1. [Flows](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows), checked 2026-11-10
2. [Sequences](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/sequences), checked 2026-11-10
3. [The event contract](https://mimeohq.com/docs/api/events), checked 2026-11-09
4. [CSV import](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/csv-import), checked 2026-11-04

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This is the Markdown copy of https://mimeohq.com/glossary/welcome-series.