How to Send a Welcome Email to New Users Automatically

A welcome email is the first thing most new users get from your SaaS. It confirms their account worked, reminds them what they signed up for, and points them to the one thing to do next. This guide shows you how to send a welcome email to new users automatically, every time someone signs up, without writing any code yourself.

You'll get what to put in the email, how it's triggered, the message to give Claude Code, a sample email and how to test it.

The welcome email is one of the transactional emails every SaaS needs. A transactional email is one your product sends because of something a person did, like signing up or resetting a password.

What should a good welcome email include?

A good welcome email is short: it greets the person, confirms their account is ready, and gives them one clear next step.

A few things to keep in mind:

• One main button. Pick the action that helps new users get value fastest.
• A reply address someone reads. Send from something like hello@yourcompany.com rather than a noreply address, so people can ask questions.
• Keep it about their account. Under the FTC's guidance on US email rules, an email that mainly confirms someone's account is transactional. One that's mainly a promotion is marketing and needs extra things, such as an unsubscribe link. Keep any offer brief and at the end, or send it separately. Our guide to transactional vs marketing emails explains the difference.

How does a welcome email get triggered on sign-up?

The welcome email goes out from your live project, straight after it saves a new account. No one needs to be in Claude Code at the time.

Clerk's docs note that the same "new user" message can occasionally arrive more than once, so ask Claude Code to check nobody gets two welcome emails.

If your sign-up asks people to confirm their email address first, decide when the welcome email should go: straight after sign-up, or once they've confirmed. Sending it after confirmation means it only goes to real addresses. Our guide to adding email verification to your sign-up flow covers that step.

How do you connect SimpleSends to Claude Code?

You connect SimpleSends once, and Claude Code uses it for every email from then on. The connection is an MCP server, a standard way for Claude Code to talk to outside services while you build (here's what MCP is). Claude Code calls these connectors.

1. Sign up on the SimpleSends website and follow the steps there to set up the email address you'll send from. To send from your own domain, this includes adding a few DNS records where your domain is registered. DNS records are settings that tell the internet which services can send email for your domain.
2. In Claude Code, open Customize, then Connectors, choose Add, then Add custom connector. Fill in these details:

3. When Claude prompts you to connect, log in to SimpleSends.
4. Back in the Claude Code chat, tell Claude Code that you've connected SimpleSends. It takes it from there, including adding what your project needs to send email.

I've connected SimpleSends for all transactional email.

If you'd like more detail on adding connectors, see how to connect an MCP server to Claude Code.

What to tell Claude Code to send a welcome email to new users

Describe the welcome email the way you'd brief a person: who it's for, when it should go out, what it should say and how it should feel. Claude Code writes the email, adds it to the right point in your sign-up, and sends you a test.

When someone signs up, send them a welcome email straight away. Use their first name, confirm their account is ready, and give them one button to create their first project. Include a link to sign in and say they can reply to this email if they get stuck. Keep it short and friendly, and match the look of our site. Make sure nobody gets it twice. Show me a preview and send a test to me before you switch it on.

What to expect: Claude Code shows you a preview, explains where in your project the email is sent from, and sends a test to your address. Once you're happy, it switches it on.

To change things later, send another message:

Make the welcome email warmer and a bit shorter, and change the button to say Get started.

For more ideas on tone and layout, see these welcome email examples for SaaS.

Sample welcome email

Here's a welcome email you can use as a starting point. Swap in your product name and the first step that matters most for your users.

SubjectWelcome to [Product name], Sam

Hi Sam,

Welcome to [Product name]. Your account is ready.

The best way to start is to create your first project. It takes about two minutes, and you'll see how everything fits together.

Create your first project

You can sign in any time at app.yourcompany.com.

Got a question? Reply to this email and a real person will get back to you.

Thanks for joining, The [Product name] team

How do you test your welcome email?

Test it twice: once from the chat while you build, and once by signing up the way a real user would. Then check the send log.

1. Send a test from the chat. Ask Claude Code to send the welcome email to you. Check the subject line, your name, the button and the sign-in link.
2. Check it on your phone. Many people read email on their phone first.
3. Sign up as a new user. Use a fresh email address on your live or preview site. The welcome email should arrive shortly after.
4. Sign up the other ways. If people can also sign up with Google or another login option, try that too. Each route should trigger the email.
5. Ask Claude Code to check the send log. Claude Code can read SimpleSends's send log and tell you whether each welcome email went out, and help work out why if one didn't.

I signed up with a new address a few minutes ago. Check whether the welcome email was sent and delivered.

For a fuller pre-launch checklist, see how to test your emails before your users see them. If a user ever says they didn't get it, our guide to checking whether your emails actually sent walks through what to look for.

What comes after the welcome email?

The welcome email is often the first of a few emails that help new users get started, such as a tip a few days later. Our guide to onboarding emails for your SaaS covers what to send and when.