diff --git a/lib/Lacuna/Mailer.pm b/lib/Lacuna/Mailer.pm
index fe55c453..5f1b90db 100644
--- a/lib/Lacuna/Mailer.pm
+++ b/lib/Lacuna/Mailer.pm
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ has api_key => (
 sub send {
     my ($self, $to, $subject, $message) = @_;
 
+    return unless ($self->api_key);
+
     my %form = (
         from => $self->from,
         to => $to,
diff --git a/lib/Lacuna/RPC/Empire.pm b/lib/Lacuna/RPC/Empire.pm
index 9c8a038d..0adf57d9 100644
--- a/lib/Lacuna/RPC/Empire.pm
+++ b/lib/Lacuna/RPC/Empire.pm
@@ -367,6 +367,12 @@ sub create {
 
     # handle invitation
     $empire->attach_invite_code($account{invite_code});
+
+    # welcome email
+    $empire->send_email(
+        'Welcome',
+        "Greetings ".$empire->name."!\n\nWelcome to The Lacuna Expanse. You are a very important member in our community, and we appreciate your patronage, feedback, and involvement.\n\nTLE Community\n".'natalie@thecommunity.com'."\nhttps://tlecommunity.com",
+    );
     
     return $empire->id;
 }