Flow chart of high converting welcome email series

Home ⌟ Email templates ⌟ Onboarding sequence –

The majority of companies are rolling out the same carpet for all new signups, sending a ‘how to use feature X’ email on day 2 of signup, ‘how to use feature Y’ email on day 3 and so on, regardless of what action the user took or did not take. Even conversion focused ones like Calendly and Zapier.

An one-size-fits-all-sequence means that you're missing out on a huge opportunity to help as many users as possible experience a meaningful aha or win with your product during trial. So when the clock strikes midnight and their carriage turns back into a pumpkin, they remember how good life was in the carriage and are eager to pay to upgrade.

So what does the alternative look like? A behavior triggered boarding sequence to show users how to get the most out of every feature they just tried and to recover them from any major drop off point they experienced. You can send the standard 'how to use feature X' onboarding emails to users who haven’t tried using any of the product yet. Let's say that your product was an email tracking and productivity tool, here's how all of this would look like:

New user sign ups15 mins later

Welcome emailReinforce the biggest problem that your product solvesAsk them to try your most important product feature: track their first email

Tracked their first email30 mins later

Congratulate them on tracking their first email Show them how to check its open and click stats

Set up their first reminder30 mins later

Congratulate them on setting up a follow up reminder Help them be successful: share a few effective follow ups they can use later to get a reply

Scheduled their first email to send later 30 mins after

Congratulate them on scheduling their first email Confirm what time and day it'll be sent Based on aggregate user data, recommend the best times and days to send emails to maximize opens

Saved an email template 30 mins after

Congratulate them on saving an email template Share with them 5 more proven ones they can 1-click save

11th day of trial

Used 1 or more features at least 5 timesShare some stats about their product use to show them what they've achieved with it so far How many emails were opened, scheduled for later, how many reminders were set up, etc.

Didn't take another action1 day later

Clicked on 'Remind me' but didn't finish setting up a reminder 2 hours after

Explain how reminders work, show 2-3 key benefits of using themAsk the user: what's a reply they're waiting for? Ask them to set a reminder for this

Didn't take another action2 days later

2 days before trial ends

Users who haven't upgraded Mention their trial ends in 2 days Remind them of 2-3 major pain points your product solves and encourage them to upgrade

1 day before trial ends

Users who haven't upgraded Mention their trial ends tomorrow Show what they would no longer be able to do or what limits they would face on the free plan Encourage them to upgrade

1 day after trial ends

Users who haven't upgraded Say they are now on the free plan Highlight what they can still do on the free plan, but specify the limitations Encourage them to upgrade to remove the limits and to regain access to pro features

Highlight 2-3 benefits of your product's most important featureShow them how to track an emailPaint one scenario where it would've helped tremendously to know if someone opened your email

Didn't take another action2 days later

Users who haven't tried this featureHighlight 2-3 benefits of your product's second most important featureShow them how to schedule emails to send later

Didn't take another action2 days later

Share one customer story: what inspired them to create their business, founder(s)' backgroundWork into the story how your product helped their businessAsk the user to try your most popular product feature

Didn't take another action1 day later

Users who have not taken any actions1-click survey to get a sense of where they're at. Link options:1. Haven't gotten around to trying [Product] yet
[Continue with onboarding sequence]2. Not sure about something
[Link to a page where they can schedule a chat with an account manager]3. Signed up out of curiosity - no need for it right now
[Link to a page where they can schedule another time (1 month later, etc.) to restart their trial]4. Don't like it:(
[Link to a page asking them for feedback]

Now you may be wondering, how should I track user actions in order to trigger these emails? Most email platforms like Sendgrid lets you integrate with analytics tools like Amplitude so you can send and schedule messages based on what your users did or did not do. You can also use all-in-one platforms like Mixpanel that have both analytic and messaging features.

Last updated: May 6th, 2020

"How do I get new clients?" No you don't have to create content, get active on social media or complete on job boards. Yes all of these help, but you're forced to play the waiting game. While your bills stack up... Instead you can proactively reach out to clients you want to work with. Here's how (and no, talking about your benefits is not enough). Yes, let's get proactive

More proven templates

Onboarding email sequence: are you making this mistake almost everyone else is?