How-To Guides5 min read·May 10, 2026

How to Set Up a Welcome Offer on Blinko

Learn how to set up a Welcome Offer on Blinko — an automatic first-visit incentive that fires the moment a new customer follows your business, locking in their second visit before they leave.

Blinko Team

Blinko Local

The hardest visit to secure is the second one. A customer who just had a great experience is at peak enthusiasm — and if you can give them a concrete reason to return before they walk out the door, you've fundamentally changed the odds. Blinko's Welcome Offer fires automatically the moment a new follower scans your QR code for the first time, requiring nothing from you or your staff. This guide shows you how to set one up.

Campaign Setup Guides· 6 guides

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What is a Welcome Offer?

A Welcome Offer is an automatic campaign that triggers exactly once per customer — on their first check-in at your business. The moment someone scans your QR code and follows your business on Blinko, they receive the offer in the app. No staff action is needed. No follow-up required. It just fires.

The offer can take any form you choose: a discount on their next visit, a free item with their next purchase, a head start on their stamp card, or a simple "thank you" coupon to redeem any time within a set window.

What makes it powerful is the timing. A customer who just experienced your business for the first time is forming their impression of you right now. The Welcome Offer lands at exactly that moment — reinforcing the positive experience and giving them a specific, time-limited reason to come back.

When to use it

A Welcome Offer is always on — it should be a permanent part of your campaign stack, not a one-time promotion. Set it up once and leave it running. It will:

Fire automatically for every new follower going forward
Never double-fire for the same customer
Require no management after the initial setup

It is especially valuable when:

You're in a competitive area where customers have easy alternatives and need a nudge to return
Your business relies on a first-visit-to-regular conversion (salons, coffee shops, gyms, restaurants)
You've just placed your QR sticker and are actively growing your follower base
You want to differentiate your welcome experience from competitors who offer nothing to first-time visitors

What you'll get

Benefit	Detail
Automatic retention on every new follower	Every person who scans your code receives a reason to return — without any ongoing effort from you
Perfect timing	The offer arrives when the customer's experience of your business is freshest — higher redemption than any other campaign type
No double-dipping	Blinko tracks which customers have received the welcome offer and never sends it twice to the same person
Sets the tone for the relationship	Starting the customer relationship with generosity signals that loyalty is valued — this affects how customers think about your business long-term

How to set it up

Option 1: Mobile App

Time to complete: ~2 minutes

Step 1 — Open the Campaigns tab

Tap Campaigns in the bottom navigation bar.

Step 2 — Tap + and select Welcome Offer

Tap the + icon and select Welcome Offer from the campaign type picker.

Step 3 — Choose your offer type and configure

Select from the available offer types:

Discount (% off): e.g., "10% off your next visit"
Discount (fixed amount): e.g., "$3 off your next order"
Free item: e.g., "Free regular coffee with your next purchase"
Stamp card boost: e.g., "Start with 2 stamps already on your card" — pairs perfectly with a running stamp card campaign

Fill in:

Offer description: What the customer receives. Be specific and generous-sounding.
Expiry window: How many days the offer is valid after receipt. 7–14 days creates urgency without feeling stingy.

Step 4 — Publish

Tap Publish. Every new follower from this moment forward will receive the offer automatically.

Option 2: Web Portal

Time to complete: ~3 minutes

Step 1 — Go to Campaigns

Step 2 — Click New Campaign → Welcome Offer

Click New Campaign and select Welcome Offer from the list.

Step 3 — Configure the offer

Offer type: Percentage discount, fixed discount, free item, or stamp card boost
Offer value / description: What the customer receives
Validity window: Days from receipt until the offer expires (recommended: 7–14 days)
Redemption instructions (optional): A note for staff on how to honour the offer

Welcome Offer configuration in the Blinko web portal

Step 4 — Click Publish Campaign

Click Publish Campaign. The offer activates for all new followers immediately.

Option 3: AI Copilot

Tell the Copilot what kind of welcome experience you want:

"Create a welcome offer that gives new followers 10% off their second visit, valid for 14 days."

"Set up a welcome offer for new customers — free upgrade with their next appointment."

"Welcome new followers with 2 free stamps on their loyalty card."

The Copilot will draft the campaign with customer-facing copy ready to review. Tap Activate when you're satisfied.

What your staff need to do

The Welcome Offer is delivered automatically when a customer scans your QR code for the first time — staff do not trigger it and do not need to track which customers have received it. Their role begins only at redemption.

No action needed at delivery

When a new follower scans your QR sticker, the Welcome Offer fires and lands in their Blinko app automatically. Nothing for staff to do at this step.

At redemption — staff action required

The customer will show the Welcome Offer screen in their Blinko app on a subsequent visit. Here is what staff do:

Customer shows the active offer on their phone
Staff open the Blinko Business app → tap Redeem
Customer holds up their in-app QR code
Staff scan it — the offer is marked as redeemed in the app
Staff apply the discount or provide the free item at the register

The app confirms validity instantly. If the offer has already been redeemed or has expired, the app will say so — staff should not honour it in either case.

Brief your team: "If a customer shows a welcome offer in their Blinko app, scan their QR code to redeem it, then apply the discount at the register."

Tips for better results

Give them a taste of your best thing

The Welcome Offer isn't the moment to offer your least popular item or your smallest discount. It's the moment to make a strong first impression. Lead with what you're most proud of — a free upgrade, the item most customers rave about, or a discount on their favourite order category. Generosity here pays back in lifetime value.

Set an expiry — don't leave it open-ended

An offer with no expiry creates no urgency. A 7-day or 14-day window signals that this is a genuine, time-limited opportunity. Customers who would have eventually returned "someday" now have a reason to come back this week.

Connect it to your stamp card

If you're running a stamp card, the most effective Welcome Offer is a stamp card boost. Telling a new follower "You already have 2 out of 8 stamps — 6 more to go!" creates instant progress toward the reward. Progress that already exists feels like something to protect, not something to earn from scratch.

Frequently asked questions

What if a customer has already followed my business before I set up the Welcome Offer? Welcome Offers only trigger for followers acquired after the campaign is published. Existing followers won't receive it retroactively. To reach existing followers with a similar offer, use a Discount Coupon campaign targeted at all active followers.

Can I run a Welcome Offer and a Stamp Card at the same time? Yes — and you should. These two campaigns are designed to work together. The stamp card provides ongoing loyalty tracking; the Welcome Offer secures the all-important second visit. Running both simultaneously is the standard setup for most Blinko businesses.

Can I have more than one Welcome Offer at a time? No — one Welcome Offer can be active at a time. To update your welcome offer (for example, to change it seasonally), edit the existing campaign rather than creating a new one.

How does a customer redeem the Welcome Offer? The customer shows the offer notification in their Blinko app to your staff. Your staff taps Mark as Redeemed in the business app. The offer is marked as used and cannot be redeemed again.