# The onboarding email sequence: six emails, when each one goes, and the number that tells you it works

Six emails for a new user's first two weeks, each with its trigger, its one job, a subject line pattern, what the body says, the single call to action, the metric that judges it and the condition that stops it. Every email after the first is triggered by what the user has or has not done, not only by the calendar. Copy it or download it as Markdown.

## How to use it

Define your activation event before you write a word: the action that marks a user who got the product's value. Every email in the sequence exists to move a user toward that event, and stops once they reach it.

Measure the sequence by activation rate of each weekly signup cohort with and without it, not by opens. Hold back a share of new users from the sequence for the first month so you have the comparison.

## The six emails

- **1. Welcome (at signup).** Job: get the first meaningful action done today. Subject pattern: "[Product]: start with [first action]". Body: one sentence on what the product will do for them, one link to the first action, nothing else. Metric: share who complete the first action within a day. Stop: never; it always sends.
- **2. First value (day 1, if the activation event has not happened).** Job: remove the most common blocker between signup and activation. Subject pattern: "The [number]-minute way to [outcome]". Body: the shortest path to the activation event, as numbered steps. Metric: activation within three days. Stop: the user activates.
- **3. The second use case (day 3).** Job: show a second reason to come back. Subject pattern: "[Outcome] without [chore]". Body: one feature tied to one job, with a link that opens it. Metric: second-session rate. Stop: the user has used the feature.
- **4. Proof (day 5).** Job: show someone like them getting the result. Subject pattern: "How [customer type] uses [product] for [job]". Body: a real customer example you have permission to tell, or a walkthrough of a common setup. Never invent a customer or a figure. Metric: clicks to the setup it describes, then activation. Stop: the user activates.
- **5. Help (day 7, if still not activated).** Job: find out what is in the way. Subject pattern: "Stuck on [step]?". Body: a plain question from a real person, with a reply address that a person reads. Metric: replies, and activation among those who reply. Stop: the user activates or replies.
- **6. Decision (two days before a trial ends, or day 14).** Job: make the next step clear. Subject pattern: "Your trial ends on [date]". Body: what they keep, what they lose, the plan that fits their use so far, and how to get more time if they need it. Metric: conversion to paid or to the next plan. Stop: the user converts.

## Rules for the whole sequence

- **One call to action per email.** Every extra link splits the click. If an email needs two actions, it is two emails.
- **Behavior beats the calendar.** Send on the event or the missing event, with the day as the fallback. A user who activated on day 1 should never get the day 2 nudge.
- **Plain text for the help email.** The help email should read like a note from a person, because it should come from one.
- **Measure against a holdout.** Keep a share of new users out of the sequence and compare activation between the two groups each month.

The sequence at a glance:

| Email | Trigger | Job | Metric | Stops when |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Welcome | Signup | First action today | First action within a day | Never |
| 2. First value | Day 1, not activated | Remove the main blocker | Activation within three days | Activated |
| 3. Second use case | Day 3 | A second reason to return | Second-session rate | Feature used |
| 4. Proof | Day 5 | Someone like them, with the result | Clicks, then activation | Activated |
| 5. Help | Day 7, not activated | Find what is in the way | Replies | Activated or replied |
| 6. Decision | Two days before the trial ends | Make the next step clear | Conversion | Converted |

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From Race to Scale: https://www.racetoscale.com/tools/onboarding-email-sequence-template