The three onboarding emails your first users need
George · 4 min read
The short answer: send three emails: a welcome right after signup that points to the one action that makes your product useful, a helpful note after a day or two for people who got stuck, and a reminder of the value after about a week. Write them like a person, and make sure they arrive.
A launch can bring a wave of signups. Many of those people will look around for a minute, get distracted, and never return. That is not always because the product is bad. Often they simply did not reach the point where it became useful before something else took their attention.
A few well-timed emails can bring a meaningful share of them back. You do not need a complex automation. Three emails cover most of what matters.
First, know your useful moment
Before writing anything, decide what "activated" means for your product: the first action after which a user understands the value. For an invoicing tool it might be sending the first invoice. For an analytics tool, seeing the first real data. For a writing tool, finishing the first draft.
Every onboarding email should move people one step closer to that moment.
Email 1: the welcome, right away
Send it immediately after signup, while the person is still thinking about your product.
- Thank them briefly.
- Name the single next step that gets them to the useful moment.
- Link straight to that step, not to your homepage.
- Sign it with your name, and invite a reply.
Example:
Thanks for signing up. The fastest way to see what this does is to connect your invoices; it takes about two minutes. Here is the link. If anything is confusing, just reply. I read every email. — Sam
Short and personal beats long and polished.
Email 2: help if they are stuck, after a day or two
Send this only to people who have not reached the useful moment yet. Acknowledge that getting started can take a moment, and remove the most common obstacle.
- Point out the one step where most people get stuck.
- Offer a shortcut: a template, sample data, or a short video.
- Ask a single question: "What were you hoping to use this for?"
Replies to that question are some of the most valuable feedback you will get as a small team.
Email 3: show the value, after about a week
For people who did get started, show them something they have not discovered yet: a feature that makes the product more useful, or a result they have already achieved. For people who never started, a short, honest note works: "Looks like this was not the right time. If you want to try again, here is where to start."
Make it easy to stop receiving emails. A clear unsubscribe link is not only polite; it keeps your emails from being marked as spam, and in many places it is required by law.
Write like a person
Small products have one big advantage over large companies: a real founder on the other end. Use it.
- Write in plain text or very simple formatting.
- Use your name, not "The Team".
- Keep each email to a few short paragraphs.
- Ask questions and actually reply to the answers.
Make sure the emails arrive
The best onboarding sequence does nothing if it lands in spam or never sends. Set up your sending domain properly with SPF and DKIM records through your email provider, and check that your domain stays verified. If an email provider stops sending, you may not notice for days unless something tells you, so watch your sending logs or add an alert.
Send a test to yourself on several email services before you launch, and click every link.
Measure what matters
Track three numbers for each week of signups:
- How many people signed up.
- How many reached the useful moment.
- How many came back a week later.
If many people sign up but few activate, improve the first steps of your product and email 1 and 2. If people activate but do not return, the value or the habit is the problem, and email 3 and your product are where to look.
The short version
- Define the useful moment for your product.
- Email 1, immediately: one next step and a direct link.
- Email 2, day one or two, only for those who are stuck: remove the obstacle and ask a question.
- Email 3, about a week later: show more value, or a friendly invitation to try again.
- Write as yourself, keep it short, and make sure the emails actually arrive.
The people who sign up during your launch already showed interest. Helping them reach the useful part of your product is often worth more than finding new visitors.