# Creating an Automated Welcome Email
## Description

A confirmation or welcome email is a message sent to a person after they perform a specific action, such as subscribing to a mailing list. Our application allows you to automate this action and customize it according to your brand image.

## Why this is important

Your welcome emails will form the first impression your subscribers have of your newsletter. It's also a good place to greet customers and ask them to add your email address to their safe sender list. Additionally, personalizing your confirmation email will help your communication appear more human.

## Step-by-step instructions

You can automate your confirmation email, which will enable immediate and seamless contact with your subscribers. Here's how to proceed:

<Stepper>

1. In the left menu, select Automations.

1. Click on the + sign at the top right of the page.
   - You can also create it from the Create button

1. Select an existing list and click **Continue** to connect the new automation

1. In the **Predefined automations** tab, select the **Welcome new contacts** panel. You'll then be directed to the automation editing page

1. Specify the delay for the action in the edit condition

1. Select the **Send an email** action in the workflow view

1. Click **Edit** to customize the email

1. Use the email designer to customize your confirmation email. Find a description of this tool here.

1. When you're done editing the email, click **Save and exit**

1. Activate the automation by selecting the button at the top right

1. Select **Save and exit**
An email with your personalized welcome message will be automatically sent to your new recipient each time they subscribe to your content after the determined delay.
</Stepper>

## Troubleshooting

**Welcome email doesn't send**

- Confirm that the automation is activated (the toggle button should be ON)
- Check that the trigger is set to "Contact subscribes to list"
- Ensure new contacts are being added to the correct list

**Email goes to spam**

- Include authentication instructions in your welcome email
- Ask subscribers to add your sender address to their contacts
- Avoid spam trigger words in subject lines and content

**Timing issues**

- Check the delay settings in the automation workflow
- Set delay to "immediately" for instant welcome emails
- Consider time zones if using scheduled delays

**Personalization not working**

- Ensure merge tags are properly formatted (e.g., `[firstname]`)
- Check that subscriber data includes the fields you're trying to personalize
- Test with a sample contact that has all required fields filled

## Related articles

- [Understanding email automation](/en/docs/automations/understanding-email-automation) - Automation basics
- [Setting up subscription confirmation email](/en/docs/audience-building/subscription-confirmation-email) - Pre-welcome confirmation
- [Creating a looping automation](/en/docs/automations/creating-a-looping-automation) - Advanced automation
- [First steps](/en/docs/first-steps) - Getting started guide