{"id":10423,"date":"2020-12-04T07:25:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T07:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/?p=10423"},"modified":"2025-01-21T10:16:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T09:16:26","slug":"grow-saas-with-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/grow-saas-with-email\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn How to Grow SaaS with Email – Ebook Teaser"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post is a chapter of an ebook I wrote, called \u201cHow to Grow SaaS with Email\u201d. It includes lots of useful advice from top SaaS experts and email templates for each job to be done. Go grab a copy<\/a>!<\/p>\n

This chapter is about increasing free trial conversion.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Free trial is a sample of what your product can do for the users. They take it for a test drive to see if that\u2019s the vehicle that will get them where they want to go.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re building a user onboarding process, the single most important thing is — as product-led growth expert Wes Bush puts it — to help people get better at what your product enables them to do.<\/p>\n

To do so, you need to take a look at the big picture and learn why they\u2019re using your product. What\u2019s the context?<\/p>\n\"increase\n

When Woodpecker users sign up for the free trial<\/a>, they use the tool to generate leads, increase their trial to paid conversion, drive traffic to their websites\u2026 and all the other stuff I\u2019m talking about in this ebook (wink-wink).<\/p>\n

With the context in mind, you\u2019ll be able to onboard users by showing them only the necessary steps that\u2019ll move them towards their desired outcome.<\/p>\n

What determines when users are going to convert?<\/h2>\n

According to product growth expert Micha\u0142 Fiech, it depends on a couple of factors.<\/p>\n

Creating an account-wide notification system when the trial is about to expire is one way to boost the conversion.<\/p>\n

If you put trial users at a full-featured plan, most of them will pay right before the trial ends (or even after).<\/p>\n

If you design your trial to offer limited features, you might be able to speed up the process as well — you need to make sure that users who reached the \u201caha\u201d moment have to convert to keep using the tool in a more efficient way.<\/p>\n

Another factor is how and when you nudge the users to pay.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019d like to give them a lil\u2019 nudge, which channel would be the most effective?<\/p>\n\"increase\n

So what emails can you put in your user onboarding sequence to boost your trial engagement?<\/h2>\n

The types and number of emails you send depends entirely on your strategy — you might do more, you might do less, you might send different kinds of messages. But if you don\u2019t know where to start, try these 5 emails that Wes singles out as the main ones when onboarding users:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Welcome email<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Usage tips<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Sales touches<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Usage reviews<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Expiry warning<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    # Pro tip:<\/strong> don\u2019t use html in your onboarding sequence. Plain and simple is the way to go. Pictures and elaborate graphic templates might confuse users or divert your messages from the main inbox.<\/p>\n

    Now…<\/p>\n

    Welcome email<\/h3>\n

    The first email in the sequence has two main functions: to build a habit in your audience to open your emails and set the users\u2019 expectations on what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

    What you put between the \u201cthank you\u201d and your CTA will vary. Do you want your welcome email to be more of an introductory one? To ask what job the user wants to get done with your product? To build a connection with them? Or pull them into the product?<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Hi {{First_Name}},<\/p>\n

    Thanks for signing up to (your tool)! It\u2019s awesome to see you here.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019ve built our app to help professionals like you (what your product helps with).<\/p>\n

    I want you to get the most out of it, so I\u2019ll be sending some resources your way in the next few days.<\/p>\n

    First up: 15 tips to help you (what they want to achieve).<\/p>\n

    In the meantime, feel free to drop me any questions that may arise.<\/p>\n

    Best,
    \nDave<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/article><\/span><\/p>\n

    Usage tips<\/h3>\n

    This one focuses more on your product\u2019s features and what they can do for the user.<\/p>\n

    So, you might want to direct the user to a specific place in the app, offer best practices tips, try to bring abandoned users back, or link to specific blog posts or help articles.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Hey {{First_Name}},<\/p>\n

    Your first (element) is up and running!<\/p>\n

    Why not set up (another element) next?<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s a short video to help you with the setup>><\/p>\n

    See for yourself how it can (help them to get closer to their desired outcome)!<\/p>\n

    Talk soon,
    \nDave<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/article><\/span><\/p>\n

    Sales touches<\/h3>\n

    While all the emails should be personal, this should be super personal. You can e.g. celebrate the user\u2019s success in your app (aka, them achieving the \u201caha\u201d moment) and offer how they can use it to get more out of the product, ask if they have any questions, or offer them a demo.<\/p>\n

    Your goal with this email is to make sure the user achieves more with your product.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Hey {{First_Name}},<\/p>\n

    Wow, time sure flies! You\u2019re already halfway through your trial.<\/p>\n

    Did any questions come up? I\u2019d be happy to walk you through the app and show what else you can get done — and how.<\/p>\n

    Feel free to pick a slot for a demo from my calendly>><\/p>\n

    Talk soon,
    \nDave<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/article><\/span><\/p>\n

    Usage reviews<\/h3>\n

    Show the user how much they\u2019ve achieved with your product so far and offer a suggestion for what they can do next. Use metrics (pick the key metric for your product).<\/p>\n

    Thanks to this, the users will see the value quicker.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Hi {First_Name},<\/p>\n

    Congrats! You\u2019ve reached (whatever it is users can reach in your product).<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s quite impressive. What would you say about (increasing the results by using another feature)? Click here to smooth your process>><\/p>\n

    Best,
    \nDave<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/article><\/span><\/p>\n

    Expiry warnings<\/h3>\n

    Reminders that the trial will expire in a week\/few days.<\/p>\n

    With this email, it\u2019s easy to slip into a salesy tone — but don\u2019t be pushy. Be helpful.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
    \n

    Hi {{First_Name}},<\/p>\n

    Thanks for using (your product)! Hope you\u2019ve enjoyed it so far.<\/p>\n

    Just wanted to remind you that your trial is about to expire in a few days (June 29).<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll still have access to your data after it ends, but won\u2019t be able to perform any actions.<\/p>\n

    If you have any questions, just hit reply!<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019d like to keep using (your product), you can subscribe here>><\/p>\n

    Best,
    \nDave<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/article><\/span><\/p>\n

    What to avoid in your user onboarding emails?<\/p>\n