5 Onboarding Emails Every SaaS Company Should Use to Reduce Churn
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TL;DR:
To reduce churn and keep users engaged, a strong onboarding process is key. This blog outlines five essential email tactics to guide new users and build long-term relationships:
Welcome Email: Make a great first impression and guide users to their next step.
Activation Email: Nudge users to take an important action quickly.
Progress Email: Celebrate user milestones and keep the momentum going.
Educational Email: Teach users how to unlock more value from your product.
Feedback Email: Ask for feedback and show users you’re listening.
Use these strategies to help your users see the value in your product and stick around for the long term.
If you’re running a SaaS company, you know the drill: getting users to sign up is one thing, but keeping them engaged is a whole different story.
You can pour tons of energy into getting those sign-ups, but if they don’t stick around, all that hard work goes to waste.
That’s where onboarding comes in.
A strong onboarding process can make all the difference. According to SMSCountry, “55% of customers would stop using a product or service they don’t understand.”
Onboarding is more than showing users how to use your product. It’s about helping them see value quickly and keeping them engaged.
One of the best ways to do this is through a series of carefully designed emails that build momentum, show progress and make sure your users feel supported.
Let’s dive into five essential onboarding emails that can help you reduce churn and turn new users into loyal customers.
1. The Welcome Email: Start Building Trust from the First Click
Your welcome email is the first touchpoint in your onboarding sequence, and it’s your chance to make a great first impression.
Think of it as the digital equivalent of a handshake—a friendly way to say, “Hey, we’re glad you’re here.”
But the welcome email is more than just a greeting. This email sets the tone for your relationship with the user, so you want to make sure it’s warm, personal and helpful.
Here are some tips to level up your Welcome Email:
Keep it simple. Acknowledge their sign-up, thank them for joining and give them one clear next step, like filling out their profile or checking out a tutorial.
Remember, they don’t need to know everything right now. Just enough to keep them moving forward.
Timing is everything here. You want this email to land in their inbox immediately after sign-up, while your product is still fresh in their mind.
According to GetResponse, welcome emails have an open rate of 83.63%.
That’s huge.
Don’t waste this opportunity. Use a personalized greeting, a short message and easy-to-follow instructions to help them take the next step.
And here’s another tip: make your users feel special by personalizing the content as much as possible.
If you can, include their first name and acknowledge the specific action they just took.
A little personalization goes a long way in making users feel seen and appreciated.
2. The Activation Email: Get Users to Take That Crucial First Step
After the welcome email, the next hurdle is getting users to actually engage with your product.
This is where the activation email comes in. Its job is to nudge your users toward taking that all-important first action. That could be setting up a project, uploading a file or exploring a core feature.
Why does this matter so much?
Because if users don’t take action quickly, they’re more likely to fall off the radar.
And if they don’t see the value fast, chances are they’ll never come back. Wyzowl found that “[more] than half (55%) of people say they’ve returned a product because they didn’t fully understand how to use it.”
So, how do you design an activation email that works?
Easy—here’s how:
Keep it laser-focused on one key action.
Don’t overwhelm users with too many options or instructions; guide them toward a simple, meaningful task.
Make sure the next step is clear and easy to complete.
For example, if you’re a project management tool, you might say, “Start your first project in less than five minutes.”
Offer a clear CTA, and if possible, include a short video or GIF to visually walk them through the process.
Here’s what I do: think about what success looks like for a new user in your product.
What’s the one thing they need to do to get a taste of your product’s value?
Build your activation email around that, and make it easy for them to get there.
3. The Progress Email: Keep the Momentum Going
People love seeing progress. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and motivates them to keep moving forward.
And that’s why progress emails are so effective. They help users feel like they’re achieving something, even if it’s just completing a small step.
A progress email could look something like this: “You’re halfway there! You’ve completed 50% of your setup.”
These emails not only give users a pat on the back but also encourage them to keep going. They’re like mini-celebrations along the way that keep the user engaged and excited about what’s next.
The best progress emails do a great job of sending progress updates when users reach key milestones, like importing contacts or sending their first campaign.
These emails give users a reason to feel good about their progress and gently push them to the next step.
When you’re designing your progress email, think about the milestones that matter for your product.
Have they completed a key setup step?
Did they just use an important feature?
And always recognize their progress and encourage them to keep moving forward.
Use visuals to show their progress, like a progress bar or a checklist, so they can see how far they’ve come.
Here’s what I’d recommend: keep these emails upbeat and motivational.
Use phrases like “You’re doing great!” or “Almost there!” Upbeat language helps boost morale and get users excited about finishing the onboarding process.
4. The Educational Email: Teach Users How to Get More Out of Your Product
Okay, so your users have started using your product. That’s great.
But chances are, they’re not taking full advantage of everything your product has to offer.
This is where educational emails come in.
These emails are all about helping users unlock more value by teaching them how to use advanced features or giving them tips to improve their experience.
And the numbers back it up. Userpilot found that 86% of customers stick around when they get proper onboarding and ongoing education.
That’s a huge number of potential churns that could be avoided with the right education.
But here’s the catch: you don’t want to overwhelm users with too much information at once.
Instead, break down the learning process into manageable chunks.
Send a series of short, focused emails that teach users how to master one feature at a time.
For example, you could send an email titled “3 Tips for Organizing Your Projects” or “How to Automate Your Reports in 5 Minutes.”
Each email should give users practical, actionable advice they can apply right away.
And don’t forget to include visual aids like screenshots or short video tutorials. A lot of people prefer learning by seeing rather than reading, so this can make a big difference in how much users actually absorb.
And here’s another tip: don’t assume your users will automatically know how to use your product’s advanced features.
Educate them, but do it in a way that feels like you’re offering help, not piling on more work.
Remember to keep things light, helpful and actionable.
5. The Feedback Email: Show You’re Listening and That You Care
Once your users have had some time to explore your product, it’s time to check in and see how they’re doing.
This is where a feedback email becomes powerful. According to Userpilot, “76% of companies use microsurveys in their welcome flow.”
These microsurveys are a popular choice because they help gather early insights and improve user experience.
Here’s why it matters: gathering feedback builds trust. It shows users that you’re listening and that you care about their experience.
Plus, the feedback you get will give you valuable insights into what’s working—and what’s not
When you ask for feedback, you're bringing your users into the process. It builds loyalty. When they see their ideas make a difference, it strengthens that bond and keeps them coming back.
But keep the feedback process simple. A one-click survey or a quick question like “How’s your experience going so far?” is often enough to get users to engage. For those who want to share more, include an option for open-ended feedback.
And here’s another tip: time your feedback request strategically. Sending it when users are most engaged—such as after they’ve completed a key action—can boost response rates and give you more meaningful insights.
When you ask for feedback, you're bringing your users into the process and building loyalty. When they see their ideas make a difference, it strengthens that bond and keeps them coming back.
And don’t stop there—if a user shares frustration, reach out and offer help. That extra step goes a long way in reducing churn and deepening loyalty.
Wrapping It Up
Onboarding isn’t just about getting users signed up. It’s about making sure they stick around.
By including these five emails—welcome emails, activation emails, progress updates, educational content, and feedback requests—you’ll be setting your users up for success from day one.
Remember, it’s not just about showing users how to use your product.
It’s about guiding them, step by step, helping them see the value, and building trust along the way.
When your users feel supported and can clearly see how your product solves their problems, they’re much more likely to stick around for the long haul.
These emails don’t just reduce churn—they build relationships.
And when you’ve got those relationships in place, you’re not just another SaaS tool; you’re a trusted partner in your customer’s success. And that’s where the magic happens.
Level-up Your Onboarding Flow Today
Start by reviewing your current onboarding emails.
Are they guiding users toward clear goals?
Can you introduce one or more of the email types mentioned to add more value?
Even small adjustments to your messaging or timing can have a big impact.
Optimize your onboarding one step at a time, and you’ll see better retention and stronger user relationships.
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