Improve activation rates with product onboarding emails that engage and educate.
What is a Product Onboarding Email?
A product onboarding email is sent to users who have just signed up for an online product or service. Product onboarding emails are designed to help users learn about the product, understand the jobs to be done with the product, and to understand product features and functionality.
Who uses Product Onboarding Emails?
Product onboarding emails are frequently used by Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) marketing teams to help increase user activation rates. Marketers often adopt a product-led approach to these emails, coordinating content and email CTAs with product and user experience teams.
What to include in a Product Onboarding Email?
There are a lot of factors to consider when building a product onboarding email.
Here are some of the email elements to consider.
Email Design Element
Best Practices
Send Time
Send the initial email immediately, and then time subsequent emails according to the user journey.
Sender
Use a recognizable and trustworthy sender name and email address.
Subject Line
Make the subject line clear and informative, highlighting the product's value and what the user can expect to learn or achieve from the onboarding process.
Preview Text
Add intrigue to the email by highlighting or teasing a key product benefit.
Body Content
Use a clear and concise format that guides the user through the onboarding process, with clear instructions on how to get started and use the product's key features. Include visuals, such as screenshots or videos, to make it easier for users to understand.
Call-to-action (CTA)
Include a clear and prominent CTA that encourages users to take action, such as signing in to their account or completing specific tasks.
Personalization
Use the recipient's name.
Branding
Use the brand logo in recommended resolution; use brand fonts and colour scheme.
Footer
Standard branded footer with email, telephone, and full address. Provide clear contact information in case the user needs assistance with their interaction.
Anatomy of a Product Onboarding email
Let’s look at an example from Monday.com.
Product Onboarding Email Examples
Real-world examples from some of the world’s top brands. Each example has been built in Knak, which means you can use it to get inspired for your emails.
Asana - Getting started with the product
Asana’s product onboarding is sleek, elegant, and effectively reinforces the product position.
What works well:
Apple Music - Product membership renewal
Apple Music encourages users to enable auto-renewal for their subscription.
What works well:
Mural - Product Welcome Email
Mural’s welcome email for its product onboarding sequence.
What works well:
Adobe Creative Cloud - Product Emails
Adobe Creative Cloud focuses on the art of the possible with their product onboarding emails.
What works well:
Monday.com - Onboarding emails for marketing and creatives
Monday.com uses its product onboarding emails to help users utilize features and complete jobs to be done.
What works well: