Your Default Substack Welcome Email Needs to Die.
Because first impressions decide if readers remember you.
Everyone tells you that getting subscribers is hard.
Growing your Substack is a slog. That you need to chase followers, post obsessively, and beg people to open your emails.
And yeah, that’s true to some extent.
After four years of building businesses from scratch,
I’ve realized something no one really tells you subscribers don’t matter as much as you think.
You can have a thousand, ten thousand, even fifty thousand people on your list, and it won’t mean a thing if they don’t remember you, if they don’t trust you, and if they don’t actually care what you send them.
They hit subscribe because something caught their eye, not because they owe you attention.
The hard part isn’t growing numbers. The hard part is becoming unforgettable in a sea of inbox noise and that’s exactly what your welcome email has the power to do.
If you’re still sending the default Substack welcome, or worse, something half-baked that’s all here’s who I am and no clue why they should care, you are squandering the single most precious moment in your newsletter’s life. That moment when someone puts up their hand and says, yes, I want to hear from you.
Why Your Welcome Email Matters More Than Subscribers
Subscribers are cheap. Recognition is expensive like chicken is cheap but kfc bucket is expensive
I can’t tell you how many newsletters I’ve subscribed to over the years that never made a mark. People click, sign up, scroll past, and forget.
Your welcome email is your chance to imprint your identity in their mind to make them care about you before they ever read another post.
When someone subscribes, they’re essentially saying:
I trust you enough to let you into my inbox. Convince me I didn’t make a mistake.
Most creators completely miss this.
They send a welcome email like it’s an afterthought a few sentences about themselves, a link or two, and that’s it.
They think good enough will stick.
Spoiler: it won’t.
Subscribers don’t owe you attention. They clicked subscribe for a reason, and if you don’t grab that moment and show them why they should care, they’ll vanish.
That’s why even newsletters with solid content die quietly after just a handful of posts.
The First Mistake Most People Make
They make it all about them. Hi, I’m X. I will write about Y. Check out my archive. Thanks.
Your new subscriber didn’t sign up for a biography. They signed up for a connection, a result, or a shortcut to something they care about. They want to know why it matters to them not how amazing you are.
The Second Mistake
They make it boring, long, or complicated. A welcome email should be short, human, and unmistakably you. It should feel like someone slid into their inbox personally, not like a corporate memo.
The Third Mistake
They never plant the business seed.
You need to prove that following you, reading your content, and paying attention has to feel worth their time. Your words, your insight, and your system should carry value they can’t get anywhere else.
If you don’t show that in your welcome email, you’re giving their attention away for free attention that could later turn into paying subscribers, clients, or fans who actually care.
📌Before we continue - If this post gave you any value, it would mean a lot if you restack it with your audience.
This is the default email 70% of Substackers send then wonder why no one’s reading, subscribing, or worse, why their new subscribers unsubscribe in the first week.
Stick with me, and I’ll show you exactly how I start plus a freebie you can use to kickstart your own emails.
What a Powerful Welcome Email Does
Connect immediately — Your first sentence should feel like a handshake, a nod, a spark of recognition. Make them think, Okay, I want more of this person.
Set expectations clearly — How often will they hear from you? What type of content will they get? Why should they care? When they see clarity you’ll get reads from them every time.
Delivers a micro-win — Give them something actionable, entertaining, or memorable. A small win proves you’re worth their attention.
Pre-positions your value — You don’t pitch, you hint. Show why your content, your insights, or your experience is valuable enough that paying attention to you has ROI — personal growth, better decisions, or access to your future paid products.
Invites a next step — Ask a question, suggest they check a popular post, or invite them to reply. You’re opening a door, not dropping a brochure.
This exact framework is what I use for my client the kind that turn a new subscriber into someone who actually remembers you, read your content and give you valuable feedback.
If you want me to write yours, I’m offering a done-for-you service that includes:
– Profile optimization
– Content & newsletter strategy
– Substack branding setup
– A 30-day growth plan for your publication
It’s built for writers, creators and solopreneur who are ready to look sharp, sound clear, and grow like they mean it.
If your Substack feels stuck, DM me — we’ll fix it together.
If you’re new here Let me give you some motivation.I made $240 in my first 48 days on Substack without a single paid subscriber.
I’ve shared the full breakdown what worked, what didn’t, and how I built systems that actually convert in one of my recent notes.
It’s been getting a lot of reach, and honestly, it proves something:
people say they don’t want growth content in notes, but they’ll still read it if it makes them curious. They’ll scroll, they’ll click, they just won’t admit they love it.
Some are even supportive sending wishes, feedback, and questions.
One of them asked for the exact breakdown of how I did it, That’s when I decided to turn it into a mini-ebook [How to Make Your First $240 from Substack: A Real Guide for Real People] something you can actually use, not just read and forget.
It walks you through my full process how I write, engage, and turn attention into income, step by step.
Now let’s talk about my own Substack welcome email. There’s one thing I should admit before we start.It might seem minor, but it matters for the examples ahead.
I didn’t edit a welcome email for my newsletter until last night, even though I already hit 260 subscribers. I did it on purpose.
No one actually told me I hadn’t written one.Maybe they didn’t need to remember me, maybe it wasn’t a big deal but it’s my responsibility to write a welcome letter for them.Funny thing? I built entire systems for clients before I ever fixed mine so yesterday i finlly update my first welcome email.
Funny thing? I built entire systems for clients before I ever fixed mine
If you’ve been part of my journey from 0 to 282 subs, you probably got that first email from me.
Do you remember which one it was? If not, search my name in your inbox you’ll find it. I haven’t sent many, so it won’t take long.
A Freebie You Can Actually Use
Because I don’t just want to tell you what works.
I want to show you.
I put together a mini freebie that gives you 17 welcome email examples I’ve written over time. Each one is different, some short, some longer, some bold, some more human all designed to get subscribers to remember you, engage with you, and actually read your emails.
You can read them, adopt the ones that make sense for your voice, or even write your own inspired by them. I’ve made it super practical, no fluff, no theory. It’s basically a copy & try starter pack.
And yes, it’s $7. Seven dollar. Why? Because it’s worth your time, and because it gives you a tiny investment in your own growth a little nudge to treat your newsletter like a business, not just a hobby.
If you grab it, you’ll immediately see:
What hooks attention in the first sentence
How to set expectations without boring anyone
How to subtly show value and position yourself
How to plant the first seed for future products or paid offers
Instead of just reading, take this as a chance to see how it’s done.
You’ll open the examples, think, I can do this, and you’ll actually start writing better welcome emails tonight.
At the end of the day, your welcome email is the first real moment someone experiences you, not your ideas, not your systems, you.
Most creators underestimate how powerful that first impression can be. They assume people will remember them for their content, but that’s not how attention works.
People remember how you made them feel, the tone you wrote in, and whether your words sounded like a real person or a brand trying too hard.
So take your time with it. Write the kind of welcome you’d want to receive personal, thoughtful, and honest.
Because when someone feels that level of care from the start, they’ll never forget who sent it.
What about you have you ever received a welcome email that actually made you remember the writer? I’d love to see how it made you feel.
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Quite informative and actionable. Thanks for sharing.
Informative! I loved it! But I kind of a disagree with it. I don’t think welcome email is at all that important. Most of the people don’t even open it or seldom click it but what matters is the consistency and the content. I have realised people here are very like original so rawness is always welcome. Any mistakes here and there are pardonable. Also what matters is the connection and of course every content is not going to resonate with everyone out here. I guess people will like u hate u remember u forget u again remember you again forget you and the cycle will continue. What you wrote is also very true at top notch in fact it holds more meaning! Stay blessed!