The days after a client signs are when most of the confidence is won or lost. They paid, or promised to, and now they wonder what happens next. A welcome email answers that in one message: who does what, by when, and what you need from them. It also saves you a string of small emails later.
Send it within a day
Send it the same day or the next. Do not wait for the invoice. If you already have a checklist, attach it, and if not, the client onboarding checklist gives you one to start from.
The five parts
- A real thank you. One sentence, with a detail from your conversations.
- What happens in the next seven days. Three or four steps, with dates.
- What you need from them. A short list: logins, files, one decision maker's name.
- How to reach you. One channel, and when you reply.
- The date of the first meeting or deliverable.
A full template
Subject: Welcome, and what happens this week
Hi Rosa, thank you for choosing me for the new site. I enjoyed our call about the clinic's booking problem, and I am looking forward to fixing it.
Here is how the first week works:
1. Today: I send the invoice for the deposit and a link to a shared folder.
2. By Wednesday: you upload your logo, photos and the booking form you use now.
3. Thursday at 10:00: a 30 minute kickoff call to confirm the pages and the goals.
4. Next Tuesday: you see the first draft of the home page.
What I need from you: access to your domain account, the name of the person who approves the pages, and any examples of sites you like.
The best way to reach me is email. I reply within one business day. Talk Thursday, Tom
A short version
Subject: Welcome
Hi Rosa, thank you, and welcome. Two things to start: please send your logo and photos by Wednesday, and pick a time for our kickoff call here: [calendar link]. First draft next Tuesday. Tom
Add a plain timeline
A three line timeline ("draft, feedback, final") lowers questions more than any other addition. Say how many rounds of feedback are included, and where the details live. If your scope is not written down, a scope of work template will fix that before you start.
Match the size of the email to the job
A one week project does not need a five step plan, and a six month engagement needs more than a short note. As a rule, give more detail in the welcome email when more money or more people are involved, and less when the job is small and the client is used to you. For repeat clients, a shorter note that restates the dates and asks for any new files is enough. The aim is the same every time: the client should never have to wonder what happens next.
Finally, read the email once as the client would. Does it tell them what to do today? Is every date a real date and not "soon"? Would they know whom to call if the link did not work? Fixing those three things before you hit send removes most of the small questions that fill an inbox in week one, and it shows the client you run the job like a professional from the first message.
Things to leave out
- A long company history.
- Upsells in the first email.
- Five links they must click before they can answer.
Then run the kickoff well
The welcome email sets up the first call; a kickoff meeting agenda shows how to use it. If a client then goes quiet on your requests, see the email for a client who is not responding.
Every welcome email starts with a new client. Rocketship finds them: describe who you want, and it emails them from your own Gmail and follows up. Try it for 7 days, card required to begin.