Is your onboarding email series costing you? Not seeing enough trials turn into paying customers? Onboarding is tough to get right: what do you send? To who? And when? What do you need to do to get leads coming back and taking action?
In this webinar, Joel Klettke, conversion copywriter to SaaS and B2B businesses at Business Casual Copywriting, will show you how smart companies are using email to turn more trials into paying customers and reduce churn.
You'll learn:
How to plan an onboarding series, including what to send and when
Practical tips anyone can apply to improve open rates and clicks
4+ different types of emails to incorporate into your onboarding series
How to leverage behavioral insights to make your emails more effective (and convert more leads!)
3. Thue is the Kissmetrics Webinar Wizard and Marketing
Ops Manager. Before joining forces with Kissmetrics, he
was a Lyft driver in SF, which is also how he ended up as
a Kissmetrics marketer. Whenever Thue is not trying to
automate everything around him, you can find him hiking
in the Sierras.
THUE MADSEN
Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics
@ThueLMadsen
Joel believes that being able to write persuasively is a
bonafide superpower. Over the past five years, he’s
helped dozens of B2B and SaaS businesses multiply
their conversion rates with smarter copy.
His next adventure? Fatherhood—coming this July.
JOEL KLETTKE
Conversion Copywriter, Business Casual Copywriting
@JoelKlettke
7. #Kisswebinar
“Welcome!
Can we help?” “Can we help?” “How’s it going?
Can we help?”
“Last chance!
Can we help?”
“Your trial is
over.”
THE OVER-EAGER BEAVER
8. #Kisswebinar
“Welcome!
Do the thing.”
“Do the
thing!”
“I noticed you didn’t
do the thing.”
“Do the thing
before time’s up.”
“Trial’s up. Why didn’t
you do the thing?”
THE INSUFFERABLE NAG
9. Smart onboarding series do not…
#Kisswebinar
• Treat all customers the same way
• Ignore customer behavior
• Revolve around your goals
• Nag customers into action
10. 1 Do Your Homework
Days 1 - 4
Days 5 - 10
Beyond the “Aha!”
Winbacks & Rescues
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
#Kisswebinar
Plan Your Series
3 Write for Opens, Clicks, and Conversions
Aha Moments
Segments
12. The “AHA” Moment:
The moment your user realizes your
product’s value in their life.
Once achieved, it’s hard to stop.
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13. How do you find your “AHA”?
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• Find your most successful users
(Most retained, few churned)
• Understand who they are/what they want
• Find the patterns that separate those who find value
from those who don’t
(e.g. Finished your in-app onboarding, interacted with a feature,
added their team, integrated their platform)
• Help EVERYONE to do those things
14. METHOD 1: COHORT ANALYSIS
Cohort users based on actions they have completed
relative to retention/conversion
#Kisswebinarhttps://apptimize.com/blog/2016/02/this-is-how-you-find-your-apps-aha-moment/!
15. METHOD 2: ASK THEM
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Ask (quickly)…
1. “Why did you sign up?”
2. “What does success look like for you?”
3. “What are the specifics for that success?”
4. “What steps did you take to achieve that success?”
18. Example: if “AHA” is sending 1st invoice…
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1. Log in
2. Add business details
3. Connect payment platform
4. Add client details
5. Create new invoice
6. Send new invoice
MAP OUT MILESTONES
22. Goals for each phase:
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• Day 0: Welcome to adventure
• Days 1 – 4: Activate
• Days 5 – 10: Value to AHA
• Near Trial End: Move to close
• Beyond Trial: Re-engage
24. #Kisswebinar
MOVE FROM SEGMENT TO SEGMENT BASED ON BEHAVIOR
Add business
details
Connect payment
platform
Add client details
Educate re:
payment platform
Educate re:
Business Details
Add Business
Details
Engage w/email
from sales
Y!
N!
Y!
Y!
N!
N!
25. THE RULE OF ONE
Joanna Wiebe
Copy Hackers, 10x Emails
Every email should have
one goal, one job per element,
and one-to-one tone and style.
“
26. #Kisswebinar
Day 0: Welcome to Adventure
Set the tone for the upcoming experience
and drive that first critical action.
27. DAY 0: WELCOME TO ADVENTURE
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• Make a great 1st impression
• Personalize to segment
• Remind of value to come
• Show them what to do next
29. #Kisswebinar
Days 1 – 4: Activate & Engage
Attention is highest.
Get them into the app and taking action.
30. DAYS 1 – 4: ACTIVATE
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What’s Next Email
• Get ‘em in the app
• Look for quick wins
• Don’t make it complicated
• Make sure it’s crucial
31. DAYS 1 – 4: ACTIVATE
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Finish Up Email
• Get ‘em in the app
• Prove proximity to value
• Keep it simple
32. DAYS 1 – 4: ACTIVATE
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“Side-Kick” Email
• Get ‘em in the app
• Make it personal (real reply)
• Offer sincere help
• Appeal from authority
33. DAYS 1 – 4: ACTIVATE
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Lincoln Murphy’s
“Success Bot”
• Sent during your business hours
• Looks like a reply to a ping
• Subject line psychology
• Short n’ sweet
https://sixteenventures.com/personal-emails!
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Days 5 – 10: Value to AHA
Leads won’t move until they realize value.
Your job is to deliver it at their pace.
35. Don’t assume that trial members…
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• Are conversions waiting to happen
• Know (and are sold on) your benefits
• Aren’t comparing with other products
Move them from “product aware” to “most aware”
DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
37. DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
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Instead of nagging…
• Address common questions or objections
• Show the benefit to be gained
• Educate on the impact of use/action
• Sell the future with a “Nearly there”
• Congratulate on progress
38. DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
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Benefit-in-Reach Email
• Get ‘em in the app
• Point to desired outcome
• Tie back to feature
• Add social proof
https://copyhackers.com/2017/08/saas-onboarding-email/!
39. DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
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The “Use-Case” Email
• Applicable to AHA
• Tie to their scenario
• Add social proof
40. DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
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Educational Email
• Assist with current milestone
• Relevant, fast, free
• Bring in differentiators
• Send back to app
41. DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
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Milestone Email
• Trigger from in-app data
• Tie to “AHA”
• Call them to the next action
42. DAYS 5 – 10: VALUE TO AHA
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Summary Email
• Pull from real data
• Show them value tied to goals
• Tie in next steps
45. NEAR TRIAL END: MOVE TO CLOSE
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Don’t just count down. PITCH!
• Leverage FOMO
• Offer incentives
• Drive smaller steps
• Keep emphasizing value
• Offer to help