Onboarding Email Sequence

# Onboarding Email Sequence — [Product Name]

**Goal:** [Specific activation metric — e.g., "50% of signups complete first invoice within 7 days"]
**Send from:** [Name]@[domain] (a real person, not noreply@)
**Skip rule:** Skip any email whose nudge action has already been completed.

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## Email 1 — Welcome + the first thing to do (sent immediately)

**Subject:** Welcome to [Product] — your first 5 minutes

**Body:**
Hey [First name],

Thanks for signing up to [Product]. I'm [Name], one of the founders — I read every reply to this email, so reply if anything's confusing.

The single most useful thing to do in the next 5 minutes: **[specific first action with a deep link]**.

That's where most people see the first 'aha' moment. Takes about [N] minutes.

Once you've done that, the [next thing] makes a lot more sense.

— [Name]
[Job title] · [Product]

P.S. If you're stuck on [common stumbling block], [link to the doc that solves it].

---

## Email 2 — The 'aha' moment if not yet activated (sent +24 hours)

**Subject:** Saw you signed up — did you get to [the activation action]?

**Trigger:** Signup is older than 24 hours and user hasn't done the activation action.

**Body:**
Hey [First name] — quick check-in.

Most folks who get value from [Product] hit [the activation action] within the first day. If something's blocking you, hit reply with what you're stuck on — happy to help.

A few common questions:
- **[Common question 1]** → [One-line answer or doc link]
- **[Common question 2]** → [Answer / link]
- **[Common question 3]** → [Answer / link]

If you've decided [Product] isn't for you, would love a one-line reply on what was missing. No hard feelings; that feedback is gold.

— [Name]

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## Email 3 — The second action (sent +3 days, after first activation)

**Subject:** Now that you've done [first thing], here's what makes it 10x better

**Trigger:** User has done the first activation action.

**Body:**
[First name] — nicely done on [activation action]. Most folks stop there. The teams who get the most out of [Product] do one more thing:

**[The second action — usually invite a teammate, connect a data source, or upgrade a setting]**

Takes [N] minutes. Here's what it unlocks: [Specific benefit, ideally with a screenshot or short loom].

[Link to do the second action]

— [Name]

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## Email 4 — Educational / case study (sent +5 days)

**Subject:** How [Customer Name] got to [Specific outcome] in [Time]

**Body:**
A real customer's story:

[2-3 paragraph case study. Specific. Real names if you have permission. Numbers where possible.]

The pattern: [The 2-3 things this customer did that drove the outcome].

If you want to replicate this, [Link to the playbook / template / setting].

— [Name]

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## Email 5 — The upgrade nudge (sent +7 days, if on free tier)

**Subject:** Quick question on your [Product] plan

**Trigger:** User on free tier, has done activation actions, looks like a fit for paid.

**Body:**
[First name] — you've [completed N significant actions]. Most teams at this stage upgrade to [Paid tier name] because it adds [specific capability that matches what they've been doing].

Worth a 15-minute call? [Calendar link]

Or, if you'd rather just see the comparison: [link to pricing page].

— [Name]

---

## Email 6 — Habit / momentum nudge (sent +14 days)

**Subject:** Two weeks in — what's next on [Product]

**Body:**
[First name] — two weeks since signup. You've [N actions completed, key milestone reached]. Here's what's next based on what teams typically do at this stage:

- **[Action 1]** — [Why it matters now]
- **[Action 2]** — [Why]
- **[Action 3]** — [Why]

What's been the biggest unlock for you so far? Reply and let me know — I read every one.

— [Name]

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## Email 7 — Open feedback ask (sent +21 days)

**Subject:** Honest take on [Product]?

**Body:**
[First name] — three weeks in. If you've got 60 seconds, two questions:

1. **What's working** that we should keep doing?
2. **What's missing or broken** that we should fix?

Hit reply. Every answer goes into the product roadmap personally read by [Name and other founder].

If [Product] isn't working for you, also useful — would love to know why.

— [Name]

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**Iteration cadence:** Review open / activation / reply rates monthly. Rewrite any email with <20% open rate or <2% reply rate.