The message points out the benefit of Square, which is being able to accept payment in many forms. Implementing a full onboarding email flow will likely always drive more conversions than a standalone welcome email, so you don’t need to A/B test users between having a sequence or not. You can create workflow triggers for actions such as interacting with a piece of content. You don’t need to send a re-engagement email to a user who upgraded to a free trial, so converting should remove a person from your onboarding sequence. A spike in conversion rates is wonderful, but you also need to play the long game (aka retention) with your onboarding emails. There are two basic types of onboarding email sequences: action-based or time-based. Use onboarding to explain why you do what you do, and how your company is different. For this, you need a user onboarding email automation campaign. Potential customers have shown awareness of your business and are interested enough to sign up for updates (or at least grab the free opt in offer), but with so many messages being sent, how do you cut through the clutter and deliver a compelling sequence that converts readers into customers? It’s also nice to highlight the people working behind the scenes. Map the “aha moments” of your product in up to 4 emails mentioning why your leads should choose you instead of your competitors. We love this email by Ritual, a company that is dedicated to creating vitamins from suppliers they trust, with good-for-you ingredients. This is a good way to look at your new trial subscriber or user experience. Getting users engaging with the right mix of features for them is as important as the engagement itself. Those are the real benefits of your product that will convert readers into customers. Professional Marketing Campaigns Made Simple. Email #12: Introduction to CakeHR integrations. To create excitement and an urge to take action, the users want to see your email when they are ready. Learn how to drive demand, easier-straight from the experts. ProdPad automates their onboarding email flow by adding more time to a user’s free trial each time they complete a task. Rather than randomly selecting features to highlight or case studies to share, consider who your user is and what they want to do. require a little more planning and setup, but you can always start simple with an automation or two. 7 Tips for Your Onboarding Email Sequence. Check out our, Free for 30 days. Getting attention is no small feat. It’s. Then, they move onto the benefits of using the app and the CTA “start with the basics.” The welcome email also includes social proof, in the form of science-backed methods. This email lays out the foundational framework required to create a successful marketing automation campaign. Also Read: How to get started with B2B marketing automation. Onboarding email sequence. Freeletics nails this in the screenshot below. Because we’re talking about freemium users in this post, we’re focusing in on SaaS, since most other business types wouldn’t have a freemium offer. There are two main types of email automations you can choose from—. You have to keep your users motivated, show them how they can get value out of your product. uses a short email focused on creating an event. Why Email is an Essential Onboarding Channel Shopify does an excellent job of producing and sharing content that’s adjacent to their product. is having vendors accept payment, and if a new user hasn’t done so within the first three days, Square sends the reminder email below. 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 … The onboarding email sequence recipe is the perfect automation tool for you to create a unique onboarding program for each customer that will additionally run on autopilot. Headspace uses their welcome email to celebrate the new user’s progress and let them know how the company will support them. Introduction: Email Onboarding Sequence Process has been designed as an aid for you to develop a professional email campaign, to familiarizes your customers with specific features of your product/service. Now imagine the tour guide helps you out on the first day, and then leaves you to figure it out on your own for the next week. However, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to create a sequence. You’ll typically send the first step or getting started email the day after a trial user signs up, making it a time-based message. Email subscribers are literally inundated with messages; the average office worker receives more than 140 emails a day! This pre-emptive measure makes the assumption that if one person has a question, many others will have similar concerns. If you aren’t sure what each user is interested in, let them show you. That would be pretty disappointing, wouldn’t it? The message points out the benefit of Square, which is being able to accept payment in many forms. to offer assistance or a trial extension. Using the right tools for your welcome email sequence. In this email, Ritual has identified that their customers would need to know the benefits of this particular nutrient before considering a purchase. In the graph below, they’ve used the date of first purchase to track spending over time. ACTION STEP: One way to add a sense of urgency to your sales letter is by using countdown timers built right into your email. Making it successful, on the other hand, is the real challenge. No wonder we see emails being deleted without having been read or a higher-than-optimal unsubscribe rate. The best onboarding strategies include timely, personalized onboarding emails to complement that in-app experience and fast-track product adoption. send a welcome email. This is according to the Email Statistics Report, 2014-2018 by The Radicati Group, Inc. which also reported that more than 269 billion business and consumer emails were sent and received every day in 2017. If a trial user downloaded an ebook before signing up for their trial, then you can send related blog posts in your onboarding sequence. There’s nothing that indicates it’s personalized, so it’s likely set up to send at the same point for each new user. Continue to build a relationship through regular emails and in time, encourage them to become customers by repeating email steps #5 and #6 periodically. Shopify does an excellent job of producing and sharing content that’s adjacent to their product. . About 63% of customers consider a company’s onboarding program during the purchasing process: they also want a well-lit pathway, rather than a scary romp through the unknown. You’ll likely want to send a few calls to action, as FreshBooks does. Make sure that you leave room in your sequence to share valuable content and resources. When you onboard someone, you give them the information they need, keep them engaged– and ultimately get them to buy from you (or stick around for more) As marketers working with our products day after day, we often forget how a newcomer views our services. Even if you plan on setting up a fully time-based onboarding email sequence, the welcome email needs to be automated. Why may they have chosen this as the first step they want users to complete? Don’t assume your reader knows, or remembers, anything about your company, product, or service, and don’t expect a reader to do their own research; bring the information to them in the body of your emails. No matter what the first step is, it’s useful to have an email calling attention to it and encouraging users to take that step. This generated excitement in subscribers who wanted to create a campaign specifically to use this great freebie; which they may be even more likely to do via Aweber after this added incentive. On the flip side, an onboarding email campaign can flop, and your brand new subscriber may simply disappear. But your onboarding emails are vital to business. This first email should be sent immediately after signing up and use momentum to get them started. Truth is, most subscribers won’t convert the first time you pitch the sale but that doesn’t mean they won’t convert at all. Think of sending out a helpful ebook, webinar, or video training. This is an effective way of convincing a reader to take action! You can use your free trial emails to highlight a few features, but you’ll need to show some restraint. This action could be signing up for a list, or it could be purchasing a product. Here Simple devised a short ‘n sweet email reminder to an almost-customer who had started the checkout sequence but didn’t follow through. Email onboarding sequences support trial users as they’re getting started, but how are they set up? Remember that you don’t need to get it perfect on the first try, but having a documented reason behind your choices helps you test and evolve later. Onboarding is the process of introducing your product or service with the prospects. All of this spanning a 4-day client onboarding period we’ve estimated as an optimal to get our new client onboard. For a task like this, you should set up a. to identify core feature adoption. However, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to create a sequence. Slack - Onboarding Email Sequence. You can also use content to help customers work through their projects, setting you up as a useful tool and a knowledgeable resource. #1 Action-based onboarding email sequences Your SaaS onboarding emails are a roadmap for new users and a valuable line of communication for you, which means it’s worthwhile to invest some time into them. Start by making your message stand out with a dynamic email design; think interactive design elements and quirky animation-based designs. That’s because sequences based on user triggers deliver valuable information based on what users have actually done, making them more relevant. Who doesn’t love a little spring shopping? There’s a clear CTA at the top of the email, plus details about each payment method below. We’re willing to bet that added sense of urgency was a big boost for sales because it didn’t allow for a potential customer to think – and forget – about making the purchase. Executed correctly, a killer email sequence builds trust and credibility with email readers, engages potential customers, shares value-driven information about your product, and ultimately leads subscribers to take action. ACTION STEP: Welcome your subscribers with an email that shares more information about your brand and lets them know what you offer. It’s time to onboard. What sets your company apart? For example, you may trigger feature spotlight emails each time a user interacts with a previously-mentioned feature. A successful email onboarding sequence requires a well-designed process. The trigger is when a new trial user finishes sign up, though you could also add an “abandoned cart” style sequence for trial users that begin signup but don’t complete it (though, it is critical to be mindful of data privacy laws). Sometimes a potential customer may have a complete change of mind, or fear of commitment, before finalizing the sale. You can send email reminders that the sale, trial period, or early bird pricing will be ending soon. Treat emails like sales letters, ‘cos they are! Use a valid “from address” in every email you send out so that a potential customer can get in touch easily. Every piece of software has a critical feature or setup step. He loves gadgets, bikes, jazz, and breathes ‘email marketing.’ He is a brand magician who loves to engage and share insights with fellow marketers. If you're creating an onboarding sequence for the first time, there are some fundamental steps you can take to ensure it's received well by your customer base. Some features are more impactful than others, and you have to make sure that new users are taking advantage of cornerstone tools. The headline lets users know Squarespace is still ready and willing to help, and the email gives vital information about the fact that the user’s website isn’t live on the web. Onboarding is how you create that experience for your customers. You have an opportunity to be a trusted resource, and you should do all you can to help users. Onboarding email sequences go out after registrations and sign up, to guide the leads through the product’s features and usage. Use an enticement, such as early bird pricing, to add a sense of urgency. There’s a clear CTA at the top of the email, plus details about each payment method below. to celebrate the new user’s progress and let them know how the company will support them. To uncover the benefits from your customers’ point of view, find out what they hope to achieve (the big dream) and articulate how your product helps them reach that goal. Now is the time to break it out and let others sing your praises. . What motivated them to sign up for your product at this time, and what related topics could they be interested in? By grouping users together and monitoring their actions, you can gauge how effective your onboarding sequence is at driving adoption. In the example below, Scoutmob sweetens the deal with an added discount; but only on orders placed before midnight the same day. An email onboarding sequence can be sent to free trial users, freemium users, or paying customers for a SaaS product, a physical subscription service or a variety of other business types. Once you’ve captured the imagination of your readers with your first email, it’s time to continue creating compelling content and a sequence of emails that converts. We're committed to keeping your information safe. Their. You may use an action-based email to send a reminder when someone’s activity has dropped off, or to introduce the next feature to someone who’s advancing through your app ahead of schedule. A successful onboarding plan starts off value-heavy before you ever hit send on a sales letter. The sales emails should be spread out. Help your team deliver great looking and highly engaging emails to every device without writing a line of code. For example. They have an interesting email that talks about what the subscribers will get from their newsletters and what they can expect in the coming weeks. In theory, your conversion rates will increase because more users are regularly engaging throughout their trial and understanding the value of your product. With our Demand Gen Digest, we’ll send you the latest advice and techniques to drive demand for your business. Free users who complete the prompts (author note: prompts = onboarding emails) within 24 hours are almost 80% more likely to convert to paid customers than those who don’t. Slack is a cloud-based communication- and collaboration tool. Take the time to think through your onboarding flow and user experience logically. The feature spotlight email below lists a few next steps, as well as the “reward” for completing it. While you don’t have to include a gamification element, as ProdPad did, this email shows you the power of planning the exact steps you want new users to take. Onboarding email sequence: From welcome to the sale . Kevin, the Head of Marketing at Email Uplers, specializes in crafting beautiful email templates, PSD to HTML email conversion, and much more. Re-engagement emails remind users that it’s time to upgrade. Pick a single objective for each message, such as driving action or teaching a user about one topic. Your onboarding sequence is precious real estate, and each email should have a defined purpose. There are a few ways you can use marketing automation and triggers to improve this type of email. Time-based onboarding email sequences send on the same schedule for every user, regardless of how a person is interacting with your product. So how do you set up your onboarding email workflow to help new users and maximize conversions? This message should be all about reiterating the value of your product. by user personas and the actions of recipients. When you’re planning content and onboarding emails, consider what’s going on in your user’s life. This could be login frequency, the number of features used, or some other engagement benchmark. Or, there may be an essential first step, such as creating a team, project, or campaign within your app. These automations are triggered by something a user has done, or hasn’t done, and create a more tailored email experience. If users aren’t taking important actions, such as importing data, you may choose to send follow up messages to help them along. Onboarding emails are most effective when they’re personalized to your audience and segmented by user personas and the actions of recipients. Onboarding Email Sequence Examples. This way, the person receives information when they’re ready for the next step—not too early or too late. Therefore, you should plan to see increased engagement rates when you send your user onboarding emails. If you aren’t sure what each user is interested in, let them show you. So far your emails have come from you (or your team); knowledgeable experts but still a one-sided, subjective message. In this article, we described the main principles to help you craft your own sequence that brings desired results. Square’s essential first task is having vendors accept payment, and if a new user hasn’t done so within the first three days, Square sends the reminder email below. Studies have shown that by giving something away right before sending a sales letter, you increase the likelihood that the reader will make a purchase. The goal of our new user onboarding emails is to help users get as much value from Groove as possible, and ultimately convince them to become a paying customer. Now don’t forget about them! Here is a 7-step sequence for onboarding emails that converts new users into paying customers (without boring or spamming your readers): Start at the beginning! Comparing how well each group retains or grows based on which iteration of the onboarding sequence you sent gives you an idea of how effective your emails were. If time-based emails are one-size-fits-all, triggered onboarding sequences are like a bespoke suit. You’re here to help users, not just ask them to open their wallets. This often happens as a result of boring, spam-filled, or irrelevant emails with no value for the reader. Basically, it’s a walk-through for your prospects or new customers. The 6th email in our onboarding sequence is on the somewhat longer side and has very little to do with Encharge (at least on the surface). Onboarding Email Sequence Templates. Onboarding email sequence. Use this checklist to provide a positive onboarding experience for your new hires: Pre-joining 1. For example, Slack sends a roundup of tips that all users can enjoy. What It Is: A would-be buyer has left something in your shopping cart, but left without purchasing. ACTION STEP: Take a look at your blog or social media comments, messages to customer service, and direct queries to pin down some of the most common issues received. While you can’t rest the responsibility of long-term retention solely on your onboarding emails, it’s worth it to review how cohorts of users who receive the sequence perform over time. Over the course of onboarding emails you’ve gotten to know your potential customers’ desires, and by responding to their queries, you’ve been able to help them understand how your product will serve them. Their content email highlights a free “Dropshipping 101” class, which an entrepreneurial user might find useful. But that leaves the subscribers in the dark. Celebrate their progress and cheer them along their journey. On the flip side, an onboarding email campaign can flop, and your brand new subscriber may simply disappear. having to login. If a new SurveyMonkey user creates a survey, but doesn’t send it, the company sends reminder emails like the one below. Use it to understand the psychology behind onboarding email sequences and substitute in key needs your own customers will have that should be addressed in post-purchase-triggered messages. The previous newsletter should automatically imply the content of the next one. Information-packed, but still easy to digest and go through. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and recognized, and your customers are no different. In fact, free trials are prevalent enough that, Post-purchase emails continue building the relationship after the sale, and can do a lot to inform how a customer feels about your company’s experience. Respond to frequently asked questions in one email or spread responses out over several messages. So far you’ve welcomed your new readers on board, captivated them with animated email design, and answered their most pressing questions. offers up forums to chat with other users, tutorial videos, and help documents. We come away from reading this email with no clear idea of how long the coaching sessions last, how many classes make up a session, or how the classes are delivered, but we are pretty darn sure we are ready to sign up because we can see the results the coaching brings (for example, “fast efficient results”), and want it for ourselves! There comes the point in a free trial when a user needs to upgrade. Purpose: A sound onboarding sequence strives to make the SaaS application indispensable to the lead. There are many reasons they didn’t make the purchase, but as long as they are still subscribers, they are potential customers who may buy in the future. Monitor a few different engagement metrics such as login frequency and session duration, in addition to click-through rates on your emails. Talk to users about what they want to learn and achieve, and then create content and highlight tools to fulfill their jobs to be done. That’s needed info, but the selling points for the consumer are the benefits. This takes a little detective work because you aren’t answering questions individually but taking time to address each concern to your whole email list. Headspace offers a 14-day free trial. Cold sales sequence. If a trial user downloaded an ebook before signing up for their trial, then you can send related blog posts in your onboarding sequence. Your team has worked hard to create a product you’re proud of, so go ahead and show it off a little! Check out the captivating example below by BrightTalk. This should be a no brainer. You should thank trial users for signing up and celebrate the fact that they chose to try something new. has a message about “How Asana Uses Asana” that highlights how team members use the app in their workflow. The free trial is an opportunity for users to get to know your company and customers, not just your product. Monitor a few different engagement metrics such as login frequency and session duration, in addition to, A spike in conversion rates is wonderful, but you also need to play the long game (aka. ) Take time to brainstorm and plan out the content and topics for your 7-step sequence and you’ll soon be converting subscribers into paying customers with your onboarding emails. A common mistake is to tell a reader about the features such as fees, duration of service, logistics, etc. While action-based emails require a little more planning, they are considered best-in-class these days. The Welcome Email goes out to new subscribers after they sign up for a free trial, an opt-in, or newsletter. Aweber, an email marketing platform, offered 10 free GIFs just in time for their potential customers Valentine’s Day email marketing campaigns. There are two main types of email automations you can choose from—time-based and action-based. Therefore, you should plan to see increased engagement rates when you send your user onboarding emails. A successful email onboarding campaign can increase customer lifetime value, reduce churn and turn new users into loyal, paying customers. How to create an email onboarding sequence, Help new users learn how to use your product, Highlight essential case studies and resources, Maintain engagement throughout the trial to boost conversion rates. Abandoned cart recovery sequence. In fact, sending a series of emails to a new subscriber generates, on average, 51% more revenue than a single welcome email. Sometimes a trial period comes and goes without a conversion. That’s a massive drop-off, and we use the 24-hour mark as a benchmark for early customer success. In the onboarding strategy, it is important to follow the order of sending mass emails. Ask users why your product they trust, with good-for-you ingredients email.... 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