Setting up Email Onboarding for SaaS
Step by step explanations, examples and templates to help you onboard new users
What is onboarding?
If we go by the book, onboarding means getting new users through the first stages of using your product or service.
But I like to thing of onboarding, especially email onboarding, as a sort of puzzle. There are different elements there that you need to fit together to get the desired results: fewer support tickets, higher engagement and brand loyalty, honest feedback, more users converted from trial to paid
(to name but a few!).
Your desired result/s determine what puzzle pieces will be used and how they will be linked, so….
1) Let’s start with the pieces.
There are several onboarding emails you can use, each with its own form and function. Descriptions, real-life examples and templates are in
☞ Section1, so if that’s what you looking for, you know where to go!
2) But stick to the rules.
Once you have the pieces, there’s a question of how to combine them. If you want to know all the “hows” and “whys”… In ☞ Section 2, you’ll find a checklist of 11 golden rules that will help you create a successful onboarding campaign.
3) To build your own flow.
Building the flow with just rules and examples is the trickiest step, and so… We’ve taken it for you. You’ll find 3 common onboarding goals and flows in ☞ Section 3.
4) With these takeaways.
There’s a package of free templates waiting to be downloaded at the end of the article! Go to ☞ Section 4 to download and use to set up your onboarding campaign.
>> YES, This article is not meant to be read from A to Z <<
… just remember to have a look at the final word ☞ What should onboarding become, right below the free templates!
OK, enough of the roadmapping!
Here’s the real thing. ⬇️
1. The onboarding puzzle pieces
#1: The welcome email
The first onboarding email you want to send. Your first and only opportunity to make a good first impression, so tread carefully! Present yourself, express good feelings, build rapport, but remember about timing and the sender — an email sent from a CEO 2 seconds after a user subscribes will look suspicious at best!
When: Day 1
Topic: Welcome to {App}
Text:Welcome {Name},Your {App} account has just been created!
Login: {login}
Password: {password}
It’s time to {perform a particular key action in the App, e.g. “upload content and share with others in the cloud”}.[Get started with App]
Have fun,
{Sender}
#2: The first steps email(s)
Sent at the beginning of a campaign, this email helps new users get their bearings. Often used to explain how to perform key actions by outlining the steps (usually three, apparently there’s some magic in the number!), followed by a CTA.
These emails can also invite for a tour / free demonstration or can be sent as a series of emails with every subsequent step described in a separate mail. The option you want to choose depends on whether your app is simple enough for your users (you might want to do some user interviews to find this out).
When: Day 2
Topic: Getting started with {App}
Text:Hi there,
Check out our simple trips below or get started with {App} today.Step 1: {Step 1}Step 2: {Step 2}
Step 3: {Step 3}
Ready to {get benefit}?[Get started with App]
Best,
{Sender}PS. If you have any questions, just reply to this email. Our customer service is available {availability times} and always ready to help!
#3: The activation email
Not every campaign will include this email, but if your users can’t get into your app without an additional action, gently pushing to activate or download is crucial. This can be done by hinting at the value to be gained or at what a user will miss if he or she doesn’t take this one step forward.
When: Day 1-2
Topic: {App} account activation
Text:
Hi there,Thanks for signing in to {App}!
{App} is a {kind of software} that enables you to quickly and easily {achieve a certain general goal} – no {particular skills, effort, or other requirements} required. Now you can {achieve a specific goal} by {performing a specific action in the App}.
All you need to do is activate your account![Activate now]
And have fun using {App},
{Sender}
#4: The gift email
The psychological principle of reciprocity states that if you give something to someone, you create an imbalance that makes the other person want to reciprocate. For email onboarding this works just as well! If you send takeaway that your users will want to accept and then prompt them for action in the next email, they will be up to 50% more likely to say “Yes!”. Gifts may vary from free e-Books, through webinars to frameworks helping to organize one’s work better (you can read more about how to motivate users to action with reciprocity here).
When: Day 24
Topic: A gift from {App}
Text:
Hello!
You've got some time left on your trial, but since it's almost {an occasion} and to say thanks for being with us, we want to send you a little token of appreciation – {e.g. a free eBook or a webinar on...}.
We hope you like it as much as we do!
[I want this {gift}]
Enjoy,
{Sender}#5: The motivation email
Some users are so excited to start using your product that they don’t need any additional enticement. Others are simply considering options, a bit undecided, waiting for this little boost of motivation. This is just the right moment to make them aware of how much they can do with your app! This is also a nice confirmation for the engaged users that they’ve made a good choice.
When: Day 6-7
Topic: Take the next step
Text: Hi there,
You’ve just {completed the first key action}. Way to go!
Now it’s time to {focus on the second key action}.Just go to {destination in App} and {perform an action in the app} to get started. Thanks to this, you'll be able to {achieve a particular result}.Cheers,
{Sender}PS. If you have any trouble {performing the second key action}, simply reply to this email. Our customer service is available {availability times} and always ready to help!
#6: The assistance email
Learning how to use a soft, people will encounter problems on the way. These can be fixed with an onboarding email addressing the issues that you suspect your users might be having. You can provide a step-by-step guide on how to go around the issues or hint to resources that can be helpful. Think FAQs, knowledge bases, video tutorials — or just a reminder that your customer service team is always and willing to help. By doing so, you’re also showing that you understand your users’ problems and know how to solve them.
When: Day 6-7
Topic: Need help?
Text:Hello,
Need help {performing a key action in App}?
This quick {video, tutorial, summary} will show you how to {do this} in just {time} minutes.
Or, if you want to learn a bit more about other are using {App}, check our our {Blog or Resources}. Cheers!
{Sender}PS. Any questions? Simply reply to this email. Our customer service is available {availability times} and always ready to help.
#7: The feedback email
Onboarding is thought of as tool to educate users rather than learn from them. But actually, this can be a great opportunity to learn more about users, their expectations and needs. Trialers today can turn into clients tomorrow, so even if you won’t change your product or pricing completely based on feedback, you can fine-tune your onboarding. And truth be told—if setting up an onboarding campaign was the first step, then fine-tuning it would be the remaining nine.
When: Day 37
Topic: So, what do you think?
Text: Hi there,
We’ve noticed you haven’t updated {App} yet. We’d love to hear about your trial experience in this quick survey. It will only take 3 minutes to complete – set your watch by it!
Your responses will help us improve your experience and better meet your needs.
Thanks,
{Sender}
#8: The halfway through trial email
Some trials last just a week, some more than a month, so the number of emails you send and the interval between them should also take these differences into account. The halfway through email probably won’t be needed if the trial just lasts for two weeks… But, if there are more than four — well, just make sure users won’t forget you!
When: Day 16
Topic: Halfway through {App} trial
Text:Hi there,
You’re halfway through trial, so we wanted to check in how {App} is working for you.It looks like you’ve already {performed some key action(s) in the App} – good for you!Just a reminder that your trial includes a lot of premium features, like {feature} and (feature 2}.Once your free trial ends, you’ll still have {some features}, but you’ll lose access to these premium ones.Check our plans here and choose the one for yourself!Best,
{Sender}PS. If you have any questions, just reply to this email and we’ll be happy to help!
#9: The profile completion email
Lots have been written on low entry threshold for free trials. You’ve probably heard more than once that if you don’t ask for CC details or even only require an email, more visitors will sign up. But you’ve probably heard about personalization, too?
An onboarding email prompting to fill in user profile information is a reasonable compromise between making the sign up faster and easier and collecting user data to make your onboarding more individualized.
When: Day 1-2 (if the activation email is not sent)
Topic: Your {App} profile
Text:Hi there,
Your {App} profile is looking so empty... :(
Go to "My profile" and tell us more about yourself to help us provide you with a more personalized experience.
{You will get a particular benefit, e.g. "your trial will be prolonged by 7 days"}, if you do!
[Fill in your profile]
Best,
{Sender}
#10: The trial-about-to-end email
When the ice has been broken, the user motivated, the obstacles to frictionless experience with your soft removed and real value offered, it’s time to talk about…. Time!
First, you need to make users aware of the very fact that the trial is about to end — some of them might have simply forgotten they need to update! To enforce the message you may hint to what they’ll lose if they don’t convert to paid. Adding a time limit also helps to create a sense of urgency in those undecided.
When: Day 29
Topic: {App} trial ending soon
Text:Hi {Name},
Your trial for {App} ends in 2 days.When it ends, you won’t be able to {access certain functionalities or perform certain actions}.Our plans start with only {amount} per {time}.
Choose one and {keep benefiting from using the app}.
[Upgrade now]
PS. If you need assistance, reply to this email or check our customer service availability here.
#11: The win-back email
But the truth is, sometimes even the best trial ending emails don’t work.
Don’t stop there! Some users were interested enough to go through the trial, learn about features and about you. If they don’t convert, perhaps you’re not what they want. Or, perhaps they are simply not ready or the timing isn’t great.
If you simply check back later, there’s a chance of getting a different reaction. A study by Groove shows that emails sent 7, 21 and 90 days after their users haven’t converted from trial to paid actually helped to drive some conversions (well, the conversion rate was 2% tbh, but this is 2% more converted users, after all).
When: Day 52
Topic: Did we do something wrong?
Text: Hi {Name},
Hope you are doing well!
It's been some time since you tried {App} so I thought I'd check how things were going at {Company}.Maybe you didn't have enough have time to get a complete picture of {App} before, so... We want to offer you another, 14-day free trial. Click below to activate it now
[Activate now]
Cheers,
{Sender}PS. Your settings are saved so you can get started right away!
2. The onboarding creation checklist
✔️ 1. Identify goals. What do you want to achieve with onboarding? Is this education, motivation, bonding, feedback, data collection… Or something else entirely?
✔️ 2. Turn goals into actions. Think how to translate your goals into specific onboarding actions (or check out ☞ Section 4 for some ready-to-use examples). Do you need a getting started emails, or maybe even a few? Is download required to make use of your app? Would you like to build a personal bond with users?
✔️ 3. Set the timing. Consider when to reach out in order to be helpful, but not overwhelming. You can send more emails in the honeymoon phase, but keep things reasonable. 15 emails for a 31-day trial may be a bit too much.
✔️ 4. Solve problems. Blind-guessing won’t serve too well here.
If you don’t know what issues may be problematic — try asking users for feedback or talk to your CS team.
✔️ 5. Call to action. Even the best email, if not concluded with a CTA will be of no use to you and often of little help to your clients.
✔️ 6. Choose secondary goals. While onboarding users, set expectations
(as to your availability or response times) and fulfill them to increase your credibility. Or use entertaining content to build rapport with your trialers.
You can also send case studies, white papers, links to webinars and other useful resources to educate clients and inspire trust.
✔️ 7. Stay personal. This Marketing Land’s study, for example, reports that personalized messages perform even 6 times better than generic ones. Go with personalized header text and/or a personalized message (build on a history you have with that user and the information he or she provides about themselves) to strenghten the connection and increase brand loyalty.
✔️ 8. Keep things positive. Each business uses a different voice, but if you go for a upbeat tone and focus on positives, you probably can’t go wrong.
✔️ 9. Use reciprocity. If you want users to perform an action, try offering savings, extra deals and promotions in exchange.
✔️ 10. Focus on users. Monitor the performance and adjust your campain to better match your users’ needs and expectations.
3. Three common onboarding flows (or the A-B-C of onboarding)
A. Educating users:
Welcome — Activation — Getting started (series) — Assistance — Motivational — Trial about to end
B. Building rapport:
Welcome (personal) — Motivational — Assistance — Feedback —Trial about to end
C. Converting more users:
Welcome— Motivational — Getting started — Assistance — Gift —Trial about the end — Win back
4. Free templates
An easy-to-use package of ready made .txt templates that you can use to create your own onboarding campaign:
Click to download: Email Onboarding Templates
Enjoy! 🎁
What should onboarding become?
You’ll notice that the template and the exmple are sometimes very different from each other. The examples also differ in tone of voice, degree of formality, type of content and formats that they prefer.
▶️ The templates are just a starting point.
▶️ The examples are what your onboarding campaign becomes after a few rounds of optimization and tailoring to the specific needs of your users.
Even if you think you know your users very well, you may be surprised with how much optimization is actually required to make the onboarding experience seamless!
So, if you‘re not sure how to set up your onboardng campaign right, or you don’t have enough time or tools to thoroughly analyze its performance and go through several iterations… If you’d like to gauge users’ expectations and reactions and adjust your campaign accordingly—at The Rectangles we can do this and more for your business and users!
