Hey, hey Reader,

Let’s talk welcome sequences. Specifically, the role they play in edtech marketing.

If you've ever googled "best welcome email tips" and found yourself drowning in B2C advice ("Add urgency!" "Offer a discount!" "Convert them ASAP!"), you're in good company.

When you're marketing to schools and districts, a welcome sequence isn’t the same conversion engine you'll find in B2C. It’s a first hello in a very s l o w dance.

Your reader likely can’t buy right away. They may not even be the decision-maker. So your welcome sequence orients the subscriber and builds clarity, human-ness, momentum, and trust.

That said, it still matters a lot because it's the foundation for every future touchpoint.

Here’s a quick, 60,000 foot view of what I like to include in a B2B welcome sequence:

Email 1 – Welcome + context. KISS: Keep it Short and Sweet. Reintroduce your brand and your mission. Tell them what kind of emails they’ll be getting. If they downloaded a lead magnet from your website, include it in this email.

Email 1.5 – Did you get this? I recently audited an email sequence that did this hack where they resent an email 3 hours later asking if they received the lead magnet they wanted. I liked this tactic and it had solid open & click-thru rates. Might not be for you, though.

Email 2 – Resource drop. Give them something helpful and useful. No strings attached. A toolkit, guide, or relevant blog post.

Email 3 – Social proof. Highlight a quick win, a case study, or a quote from a teacher/admin.

Email 4 – Handle objections. Do market research and listen in on your sales calls for the faq's from leads along with their objections. Then, reframe them (most district objections include interoperability, adoption, implementation, cost, and efficacy).

Email 5 – Nurture nudge. Invite them to take a soft next step: book a demo/call, join a webinar, or reply with a question. Note of caution: demo bookings aren't likely to happen in email 5 but much later on. After your welcome sequence, I suggest making a nurture sequence. If they don't complete your CTA it means they need more time to get to know your brand.

The goal of your welcome sequence is to build connection and readiness for the long sales cycle ahead.

Looking for inspiration?

• ​YNAB’s welcome sequence is friendly and human (even though it’s B2C).
• ​These SaaS examples are great for structure and tone.
• ​Email Love also has a stellar roundup.

And quick note for the automation nerds (hi, yes, I see you 👋):

And a quick word on automation:

If your welcome sequence includes a CTA like “Book a call”, you’ll want to make sure people don’t keep getting emails after they’ve already taken that step. A few ways to handle this:

• Use tags or custom fields. When someone books a call, tag them (e.g., “Booked Call – April”) and set up your automation to remove or skip anyone with that tag.
• If/then branches. Most email platforms let you build logic like: If contact has booked → exit the sequence. Otherwise, continue.
• Trigger a new journey. You can also move them to a different nurture or post-call sequence based on their action.

I'm curious, what’s your welcome sequence look like right now? Hit reply and tell me! Or just say hi. That’s always welcome, too.

See you next Wednesday.

And as always , I'm rooting for you 👏. Kelly