7 SMS welcome flows that are crushing it (and why they work)

I’ve seen enough “Hi 👋 thanks for subscribing” texts to last a lifetime. The brands featured here took a different route. Their SMS welcome flows actually do something. They educate, entertain, and guide people toward action—all in under 160 characters.

Whether you're aiming for a quick first purchase or building trust over time, your welcome flow sets the tone. It's not just about saying hello. It's your chance to deliver something useful, delightful, or just plain irresistible.

Here’s the cheat sheet:

• For fast conversions, keep it short and friction-free. Tabs nails this with their text-to-buy setup.
• For high-consideration products, go deeper. Use proof points, social validation, and a founder or expert voice like Bobbie and Four Sigmatic.
• To educate while you onboard, space out your messages and link to helpful reads. ŌURA and Bobbie do this well too.

SMS is still one of the most overlooked but high-impact channels in the game. When it works, it’s quick, clear, personal—and yeah, sometimes a little emoji goes a long way.

As a marketing professor at NYU and a marketing consultant for brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Blue Apron, and Outdoor Voices, I’ve helped teams turn strategy into storytelling. I also founded Tiny Texts, an archive of real brand SMS messages, because I believe this channel deserves more attention and a lot more creativity.

Let’s take a closer look at how these seven brands are making a great first impression—one message at a time.

1. Graza

Tactic: Brand building via a 3-part welcome series with jokes, recipes, and dogs

Graza doesn’t do bland. Their olive oil comes in a squeeze bottle, and their SMS onboarding comes with personality. When you subscribe, you’re instantly dropped into a 3-text series full of jokes, recipes, and cameos from their office dogs, Moose and Chloe.

This flow lands just minutes after the welcome email, and it does a few things well:

• It sets the brand tone immediately
• It offers value through entertainment and education
• And it builds a relationship with the subscriber before ever asking for a purchase

They’re investing, too. Marketers are charged by character count and file size, so this welcome sequence isn’t cheap to send—but it’s clear they see ROI in a strong first impression.

Graza’s welcome emails are also fun but a bit confusing in comparison to their straightforward texts. If you want to compare the flows, you can check out Graza’s emails.

👉 Want to see the full SMS thread? Explore Graza on TinyTexts

2. Tabs

Tactic: Text-to-buy onboarding that minimizes friction and maximizes speed

Tabs skips the small talk and gets straight to the cart. Their welcome flow is focused on one thing: driving conversion. Immediately after signing up, subscribers receive a product menu—options A, B, and C—along with a direct link to complete the purchase.

It’s fast, simple, and smart. Tabs uses OneText, a vendor that enables text-to-buy functionality, allowing customers to check out directly via SMS. No apps, no logins, no friction.

If your product is low-consideration or impulse-friendly, this is a model worth testing. 

👉 See Tabs’ SMS welcome flow on TinyTexts

3. Bobbie

Tactic: A 7-step educational flow to earn trust and support overwhelmed parents

Welcoming a new baby is chaotic. Choosing baby formula shouldn't be. Bobbie knows they’re marketing to cautious parents, so their SMS welcome flow does what any good pediatrician would—educate, reassure, and guide.

The 7-text series covers everything from combo feeding to how much formula a newborn actually needs. There’s a quiz to personalize your plan. There’s social proof (500,000+ babies fed). And there’s empathy woven into every message.

It’s one of the most comprehensive onboarding sequences we’ve seen, and it mirrors their equally thoughtful email welcome flow. If you want to compare the two, Bobbie’s email series is archived on Really Good Emails.

👉 Check out Bobbie’s SMS welcome flow on TinyTexts

4. Four Sigmatic 

Tactic: Personal messages for a personal channel

At Four Sigmatic, the welcome flow begins with a personal note from founder Tero, who shares how foraging for mushrooms in Finland led to the launch of a coffee brand built on focus and calm.

It’s unusually long for SMS but it takes full advantage of the personal nature of this channel. The first message blends origin story, product benefits, and social proof (200M+ cups served), followed by a 15% discount. The next three texts continue the narrative: addressing skepticism, introducing Lion’s Mane, and ending with a hard-sell final reminder. The tone stays approachable and slightly cheeky throughout. 

👉 Check out Four Sigmatic’s SMS welcome flow on TinyTexts

5. ŌURA

Tactic: Science-forward education across a 7-step onboarding sequence

ŌURA uses their SMS welcome flow to guide new users through the science of stress, sleep, and recovery. The result is a slow burn, but one that builds trust and unlocks value before the customer even puts the ring on.

This 7-text flow introduces the Oura Ring 4, then dives into topics like heart rate variability and energy optimization. Each message links to a relevant blog post so users can go deeper if they want.

Surprisingly, they don’t mention one of their biggest perks—HSA/FSA eligibility—in the SMS flow. That detail is buried at the bottom of their welcome email. Want to see for yourself? ŌURA’s email series is on Really Good Emails.

👉 Review ŌURA’s SMS welcome flow on TinyTexts

6. Glow Recipe

Tactic: 5-part interactive flow with personalized skincare guidance

Glow Recipe’s welcome series is like getting skincare advice from your fruit-obsessed best friend. It’s helpful, cute, and loaded with interactivity.

It starts with a message asking about your skin concern (breakouts, dryness, dark spots, etc.), then offers personalized recommendations, a link to a full skincare quiz, and curated routines based on your answers. Later messages follow up with bestsellers and an invitation to chat if you have questions.

This isn’t just smart segmentation—it’s a great example of using SMS to replicate the feel of a one-on-one beauty consultation.

👉 Explore Glow Recipe’s SMS welcome flow on TinyTexts

7. American Cancer Society

Tactic: Mission-first messaging that sets expectations with clarity and care

American Cancer Society is the only nonprofit on this list, and their SMS welcome flow reflects that. Instead of a promo code or product push, their first message thanks you for your support and outlines what you’ll receive next: cancer prevention tips, survivor stories, and research breakthroughs.

There’s no ask for donations (yet), just a purpose-driven welcome that clearly sets expectations. This is a great model for nonprofits, education orgs, or mission-driven brands that want to use SMS to deepen engagement rather than push sales.

👉 Explore the American Cancer Society’s SMS flow on TinyTexts

These seven brands prove that a welcome text isn’t just a formality. It’s your first impression, your brand handshake, your chance to spark curiosity or even close a sale.

Whether you're building your first SMS flow or giving yours a much-needed glow-up, take a cue from these standouts. Be clear. Be useful. Be human.

Want more real-life inspiration from real brands doing SMS right? Explore thousands of welcome messages, promos, and onboarding flows at TinyTexts.co.