Hey, it's Geb from Email Rev Lab!
At 9:16 PM last night, I signed up for Laird Superfood's discount.
I scratched their pop-up, clicked Claim, entered my email, entered my phone number, picked my interests, and clicked "Send Me Everything."
Six screens. Two minutes of my life.
The email landed at 9:18 PM. Two minutes is decent. But the discount code in that email? WELLNESS15. A flat 15% off. Not a "special discount" I scratched to reveal. And no SMS ever came.
That's three problems in one signup flow.
The Brand Bridge:
Laird Hamilton shared his plant-based coffee recipe with friend Paul Hodge, and in 2015, Laird Superfood was born. The company still operates as if products are made for friends and family. Laird Superfood
That's a strong story. That's a brand people trust.
But "made for friends and family" doesn't hold up when your welcome flow delivers a vague discount across 6 screens, and then ghosts the subscriber on SMS. They gave you their number. You collected their interests. You sent them nothing on that channel.
Pop-up Test:
The scratch card mechanic is clever. It creates genuine curiosity before the ask.
But here's the problem: after scratching, all they see is "You've Got A Special Discount." No percentage. No code. No expiry date. That's a broken promise dressed in good design. The subscriber just went through 6 screens without knowing what they actually won.
Tech Test:
Email arrived in 2 minutes. Primary inbox. Both solid wins.
But the SMS never fired. The subscriber gave their number, agreed to recurring marketing texts, and got silence. That's a channel collecting data and doing zero work.
Inbox Test:
Subject line: "Welcome to Better Energy." Clean, on-brand.
But no discount amount, no code, no urgency. After a 6-screen signup, the one thing a new subscriber wants to see immediately is their payoff. Instead, they hit a beautiful product grid first.
Email Creative Test:
The email is well-designed. Strong Laird branding, clear product categories, solid Shop buttons throughout.
But it's built for browsing, not converting. The discount code (WELLNESS15) sits in a small banner at the top of the email. On mobile, it's easy to scroll past before the product sections take over.
The Fix (Klaviyo, 3 Steps):
In your Welcome Flow email, give the discount code its own bold, centered hero block above the fold. Treat it like the main event, not a header detail. Add a countdown timer set to 48 hours to create urgency.
In Klaviyo's flow builder, add an SMS message as Step 2 (trigger: 1 minute after email send). Text: "Your Laird Superfood discount code is WELLNESS15. Use it here: [link]. Expires in 48 hrs." This activates the number they gave you.
On the pop-up confirmation screen, show the actual code and percentage. "You've Got 15% Off. Code: WELLNESS15." The subscriber earned that reveal. Give it to them.
Impact Statement:
Real-time welcome emails convert at 4.01%, but standard welcome emails convert at just 0.94%, a 4x gap. A buried discount code and a silent SMS channel both push Laird toward the lower end of that range. Invesp
Curiosity Hook:
Here's what I'm curious about: what's the actual click-to-purchase rate on that WELLNESS15 code right now, and how many of those clicks came from the SMS channel that should have fired?
Laird Superfood's mission is to fuel the best version of yourself with real food from real ingredients. That mission deserves a welcome flow that actually delivers on the promise the pop-up made. Laird Superfood
I send these audits daily because bottlenecks like this can be fixed in one day with the right information.
Want me to audit your Klaviyo account the same way?
Reply to this email and I'll send you a free breakdown of where your welcome series is leaking revenue.
Geb Vence
P.S. I run Email Rev Lab. We've generated $334k+ for brands by building systems that feel like conversations, not ads. I only work with 3 brands per month. Schedule your call here.