SMS welcome series: what to text new subscribers

What is an SMS welcome series?

It's an automated flow that starts the moment someone consents to receive marketing texts from you. In Klaviyo, the SMS welcome flow uses a metric trigger, "Subscribed to Text Messaging Marketing," so it starts after someone consents to SMS.

That trigger matters. It means the series only reaches people who actually said yes to texts, not everyone who landed on an email list. It also means the timing is tied to the moment of consent, which is when people are paying the most attention to you.

How many texts should an SMS welcome series have?

Two or three. Klaviyo's Help Center says to keep the series between 1 and 3 messages so you don't overload subscribers. Klaviyo's Academy goes a little further, suggesting 3 or 4 texts sent a few days apart. I'd start at the lower end and only add a fourth if the third one is clearly making money.

Here's why I keep it short. SMS is a more acute form of marketing than email. It's timely and urgent, it buzzes in someone's pocket, and it builds very little brand awareness on its own. Your welcome emails can tell the founder story, explain the product and answer objections across five or more sends. Your texts can't, and they shouldn't try.

One more thing about flow length: I almost never build a one-step flow, except for SMS. A one-text welcome is a legitimate choice if your list is small or your credits are tight. Just make that one text count.

What should each text in the welcome series say?

Here's the plan I'd start with for a typical Shopify brand.

Text 1: deliver the offer. If your signup form promised a discount or a reward, this is where it shows up. Klaviyo's SMS guide says to deliver that reward in the first message of your welcome flow, and that the first message should go out immediately after signup. Start with your brand name so they know who's texting, then the code, then one link.

Text 2: give them a reason. This is where texts and emails should work together. Texts are reminders. Emails are branding and awareness. One of the best second texts is simply a nudge to open the welcome email you already sent: "Your welcome email has our top 3 picks for first-timers. Take a look, or shop here." Klaviyo also suggests the second message can carry your virtual contact card, so your texts show up with your name instead of a random number.

Text 3: the last nudge. If they still haven't bought, remind them the offer is waiting. If it expires, say when. Then stop. People who don't buy from the welcome series move into your regular SMS campaigns, and that's fine.

For how the text and email welcome series fit together, see my email and SMS flow strategy and the welcome email series post.

Should the welcome text include a discount?

If you promised one at signup, yes, and it goes in text 1. That's the deal you made. Klaviyo calls it a best practice to reward anyone who subscribes to SMS, and its pre-built welcome templates include a placeholder for a coupon.

Klaviyo's guide also shows a layered approach: for example, 10% off for an email signup and an extra 5% off for SMS consent. That gives people a reason to hand over their phone number on top of their email.

If you didn't promise an offer, you don't need to invent one for the welcome series. A clear reason to buy and a link can do the job. For other SMS automations, my rule is different: the first text can be a simple reminder, and any automation after that first text should include a discount.

Do I need double opt-in for SMS?

For SMS, I say yes. I'm a single opt-in person for email, because a cold visitor heading into your welcome series shouldn't hit extra steps that might stop a first order. SMS is different. It's a more acute channel, so commitment to the list matters more.

Klaviyo agrees. Its help center says you should always use double opt-in for SMS lists, and lists created for SMS use double opt-in by default. Klaviyo's compliance guide also says US brands must use double opt-in if they send cart abandonment texts. If you want those texts later, set it up now.

With double opt-in on, the subscriber replies to confirm, and Klaviyo sends a confirmation that by default includes your organization name, how to get help, how to opt out with STOP, and that message and data rates may apply and frequency may vary. More on the email side of this choice in my Klaviyo double opt-in post.

What has to be in the opt-in confirmation text?

The CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices say the opt-in confirmation should go out before any other messages and should include:

1. The program name or a product description
2. Customer care contact information, such as HELP instructions
3. How to opt out
4. That the messages are recurring, and how often you'll send them
5. Clear language about any fees or charges

Klaviyo's default confirmation covers these for you, so the main job is to not break it. Check that your organization name in Klaviyo matches how customers know your brand. For how to collect consent in the first place, see SMS consent on Shopify.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you're unsure what applies to your list, ask whoever handles compliance for you.

When should the welcome texts go out?

The first one goes out right away. The rest go out a day or more apart, inside daytime hours.

Klaviyo's guidance is to avoid sending marketing texts before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time, and some states are stricter. In flows, a text that would land during quiet hours waits and goes out at the next allowed time.

Klaviyo's Help Center gives two settings tips for the welcome flow specifically:

• Turn Smart Sending off for the first text, so it isn't skipped just because the person got another text recently.
• Keep quiet hours on for any text that includes marketing content, like a coupon. Klaviyo only suggests turning them off for the first message if that message does nothing but confirm the subscription.

That second point matters at night. If someone signs up at 11 p.m., a text with a discount code should wait until morning.

What if I just turned on SMS?

Don't overthink the welcome series. Send your highest-leverage marketing and see what works. For a brand new SMS program, a two-text welcome (offer now, reminder in a day or two) is plenty to start learning from.

Then watch two things. First, how many people buy from text 1 versus text 2. Second, how many people unsubscribe from the series. If text 2 makes money and few people opt out, test a third. If people are leaving after text 2, keep it at two.

For context on what good looks like across all SMS flows, Klaviyo's 2026 SMS benchmarks put a good click rate at 9.65% for flows versus 5.6% for campaigns. Those aren't welcome-series numbers specifically, but they give you a rough bar. My SMS marketing benchmarks post has more.

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WRITTEN BY Jack White

Founder of Bardown Digital, a Chicago-based Klaviyo email and retention agency for Shopify brands. He's worked with brands doing $500K to $100M a year, with $100M+ in email-attributed revenue across them.

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