The Welcome Series Myth That's Costing You Sales

They're lying to you

Author

Brenden Tartaglia
June 20, 2025

What's good,

Today I'm busting the biggest myth about welcome series (this one costs brands $50k+ annually), sharing the AIBDA framework every major brand uses, and explaining why your campaign strategy might be backwards.

Plus, I'm giving away a campaign guide that’s made my clients millions.

Let's jump in.

💡 Actionable Tip of the Day

Your welcome series isn't "auto revenue."

I hear this all the time: "Oh people were going to buy anyways... this revenue was already going to be there."

Wrong.

Sure, some customers would buy regardless. But not a LARGE portion of your customers.

Here's what actually happens:

Without a welcome series:

  • Customer lands on your site

  • Looks at product for 30 seconds

  • Either bounces or buys impulsively

With a strategic welcome series:

  • Customer joins your list

  • Gets educated about your brand over 7-14 days

  • Learns WHY your product is different

  • Makes an informed purchase decision

The welcome series is your brand educator. No one's realistically reading your whole website in one go.

But the welcome series splits up all the important info about your brand and makes it easily digestible over time.

That's why welcome series typically convert 3-5x higher than single emails.

🎯 Deep Dive: The Copy Framework That Built Billion-Dollar Brands

Let me share something that cost me $50k and 2 years to figure out.

Every major brand you can think of uses the same copy framework in their emails.

Apple. Nike. Glossier. Athletic Greens.

ALL of them.

It's called AIBDA, and today I'm breaking it down for you.

What is AIBDA?

A - Attention (Hook them immediately)

I - Interest (Make them care)

B - Belief (Prove it works)

D - Desire (Make them want it)

A - Action (Tell them what to do)

Sounds simple? It is. But most brands screw up the execution.

Here's How to Actually Use It:

Attention: Your subject line and first sentence

  • "The mistake that's costing you $10k/month"

  • "I almost got fired for this email"

  • "Your competitor is doing this (and you're not)"

Interest: Why should they care?

  • Connect to their pain point immediately

  • Use "you" language, not "we" language

  • Make it personal and relevant

Belief: Social proof and credibility

  • Customer results

  • Data points

  • Testimonials

  • Your credentials (but keep it brief)

Desire: Paint the picture of their life after

  • What changes when they have your product?

  • How do they feel?

  • What becomes possible?

Action: One clear next step

  • Single CTA

  • No confusion

  • Tell them exactly what to do

The AI Tool That Changed Everything:

I got tired of manually checking if our emails followed AIBDA structure.

So I built an AI tool that:

  • Analyzes any email copy

  • Grades it out of 5 on AIBDA structure

  • Gives specific recommendations

  • Suggests improvements for each section

This tool has saved me 20+ hours per week and improved our email performance by 40%.

The Campaign Strategy Most Brands Get Wrong:

Here's another thing - email campaigns should have THREE purposes:

  1. Keep your list engaged (value-first content)

  2. Convert first-time buyers (segmented messaging)

  3. Become your retention system (lifecycle-based campaigns)

Yet most brands focus on 1-2 of these at most.

Common Mistake #1: Too many promotions, not enough value Your list gets email fatigue and unsubscribes.

Common Mistake #2: Same message for everyone New subscribers get the same emails as 3-year customers.

Common Mistake #3: Only focus on new customers Existing customers get ignored, LTV suffers.

The Right Way:

Week 1: Value email (educational content) 

Week 2: Segmented promotional email (different offers for different customer stages) 

Week 3: Value email (customer success stories) 

Week 4: Retention-focused email (cross-sell to existing customers)

This keeps engagement high while maximizing revenue from all customer segments.

🚀 How I Can Help You

Get My AIBDA AI Checker For Free

The same tool that's improved our email performance by 40%. Just plug in your email copy and get instant feedback + recommendations.

Get Your Campaign Strategy Audited

I'll review your current campaign calendar and identify which of the 3 purposes you're missing.

Most brands I audit are only hitting 1-2 purposes, leaving 60%+ of their potential revenue on the table.

Campaign Guide

Yep. The top 7 campaign types that have generated the most revenue for our clients are all in one big guide. You’re going to need this!

Talk soon, Brenden

P.S. - Remember: pretty emails don't pay the bills. Strategic emails do.