10 SaaS Email Templates
Every SaaS product has a funnel.
The funnel attracts users interested in free trial/demo and then turns them into recurring, gospel-spreading customers. There is leakage after each stage and a team of professionals scrambling to fix it.
Because SaaS products target millions of users, optimizing the funnel requires automation. Almost every SaaS product relies on a few automated lifecycle emails.
I worked on automated lifecycle emails at Taskworld and consulted a few early-stage startups on it. Although each company has a unique approach, a lot of the automated emails are fairly similar.
That’s why I decided to create templates for popular automated emails. If engineers can share their code and best practices, why can’t we writers do the same? None of these templates will work 100% for your product. However, I hope they will be useful and at least give you something better than a blank sheet of paper.
I have taken an example of a fictional B2B SaaS product called Wacko to illustrate all the templates. What Wacko does is up to your imagination :-)
The content tone is conversational, free of jargon but not outright crazy.
A few comments before you dig in:
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You will find notes at the end of each message.
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Replace the text inside (parentheses) to fit your product.
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All template CTAs are dummies. Each one directs you to a bizarre place on the internet. 🙃
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Oh, and if you are feeling creative, feel free to break every rule that I’ll mention. You are a writer after all.
Let’s go! 🚀
1. Welcome Email
Subject - Welcome to (Wacko) 🙏🏼
Hey (First Name),
Welcome to (Wacko)! We’re thrilled to have you on board.
Over the next (X) days of your free trial, we’ll share a few helpful emails to get you up and running on (Wacko). (Let’s start by adding personality to your profile. Customize your background and upload your company logo.)
Check out our user guide for interesting tips and templates. Reply to this email if you have any questions.
Thanks again for kicking off your (Wacko) journey. You made our day :-)
Notes
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Keep the subject simple. Your users are expecting this email.
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If you plan to send more emails then it helps to set expectations in your welcome email.
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Always include a CTA that takes users to your app.
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Share links to important resources such as user guides, tutorials, and templates.
2. After Day One
Subject - Daily Report - (Wacko) 🙏🏼
Hey (First Name),
Here is a report of your daily activity on (Wacko)
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(You were X% more productive than other users.)
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(You created X new tasks.)
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(You get the idea...)
That was quite a start! Go to Wacko to beat yesterday's record.
Notes
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The biggest drop in the funnel occurs after Day One. After this email, your chances of re-engagement take a nosedive.
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Think of ways to offer users value rather than sending a typical "How was your first day?" message. A daily report is a good idea because it gives insights to users and encourages them to use the app.
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It's better to not send this email than to send one simply promoting your product.
3. Sharing Testimonial
Subject - (Epic Company) Saved ($$$$) With (Wacko)
Hey (First Name),
When (Mark) from (Epic Company) got promoted to become a manager, he introduced Wacko to (mention business problem). Learn how the team used (Wacko) to save ($$$$) in a single quarter.
Notes
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After the first couple of days, the chances of re-engaging disinterested users are slim. Focus on sealing the deal with trial users who are already interested.
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An email sharing a kickass testimonial is really effective, especially if you can personalize it based on the users’ industry (using a marketing automation tool).
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Adding your customer's image to the email brings a lot of credibility to your message. People love seeing faces.
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If possible, add numbers/stats to your testimonial. People relate to concrete results.
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The CTA should direct people to your blog post. There, you have an opportunity to turn them into subscribers.
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Fun Fact - The image that I have used in this template is of a person who doesn't exist. It's completely generated by AI on thispersondoesnotexist.com. Creepy...right?
Subject - Your (Wacko) Trial Has Ended
Hey (First Name),
Your (Wacko) free trial has ended. We hope you enjoyed the experience. Please subscribe to any of (Wacko's) plans to continue using the app.
As much as we'd love to have you on board, we understand if (Wacko) is not the right fit for your team. In that case, you don't need to do anything. We'll erase your data in two weeks.
Thanks,
Team (Wacko)
Notes
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The most important part of this email is to inform the users that they need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the app. A clear CTA that takes them to your pricing page is critical.
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Not everyone agrees with the second part of this message. However, acknowledging that your app might not be the right fit for everyone is a sign of confidence and maturity. Moreover, it also gives you the opportunity to mention that the user data will be deleted after some time. This might influence the users into reconsidering their decision.
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You might have noticed that in some messages I use Thanks, Team (Wacko) in the end while in others I don't. There is no rule. I prefer to not mention it just after the CTA.
5. Thanking Customers For Purchase
Subject - Thanks for Your Purchase
Hey (First Name),
Thanks for subscribing to (Wacko). You are now a premium customer and (can use all of Wacko's features. The premium plan also gives you the priority access to all our future releases.)
You can view your billing status, past invoices and adjust auto renewal settings from your (Profile Settings).
(Gif showing how to access Profile Settings)
Being a premium subscriber calls for premium support. If you need help at any time please reach out to us at (support@wacko.com) and we'll answer back in less than (10 minutes).
Notes
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You can state the benefits of the paid subscription again in this email. This makes users feel that they have made the right choice.
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For subscription-based services, users are curious about things like auto-renewal and invoices after purchase. This email is a great place to provide clarity on such topics.
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Similar to previous emails, a CTA directing users to the app does no harm.
6. Re-engaging Dormant Users
Subject - Are You in the Maldives?
Hey (First Name),
It's been two weeks since you used (Wacko). Are you in the Maldives?
If YES - don't read any more emails. Enjoy!
If NO - Maybe you forgot that you signed up on (Wacko). That's okay. We know you are busy...but isn't that why you need (Wacko) to help out.
(Wacko) helps save time = money = Maldives trip.
Notes
7. Asking for Review
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This is inspired by an actual email that we created for Taskworld. It worked well. Not only it helped improve our engagement rate, but our users also shared it on social media.
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The point is not to copy this email but do something out of the ordinary. Too many re-engagement emails have a pushy, "we miss you" vibe.
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Be careful about when to send this email. This varies from app to app. For example if users generally use your app every day, then one week of inactivity might be enough to trigger it. However, if it's an app that users use once or twice a week then you might want to widen that window.
Subject - Would You Review Us on (Site Name)?
Hey (First Name),
We hope you are having fun using Wacko. Would you review us on (Site name)?
Reviews help people discover (Wacko). They also help us identify areas of improvement. It would make our day if you can spare a few minutes to write one.
Notes
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What makes this email different from others is that it offers no value at all to the users. This is a favor, so approach it like one. Be succinct, direct, and polite.
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Some companies offer incentives to write reviews for them in the form of Amazon/Startbucks vouchers.
8. Price Increase
Subject - An Update on Our Price
Hey (First Name),
We are updating the price of Wacko’s monthly and annual plans. The following changes will take effect from (DD/MM/YY).
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New monthly price - ($X)
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New annual price - ($Y)
We understand that this price increase isn’t good news for our customers. However, this adjustment is essential for us to support Wacko’s continuous improvement. We are scaling our team to create unparalleled features in the coming months. The new pricing will support our vision to make the best (specify app type) for you. You can check out the upcoming releases on our public roadmap.
Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
Regards,
(Ann Cho)
CEO, (Wacko)
Notes
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This is perhaps the toughest email of the lot. This is also one email where everyone else in your company will suddenly take an interest. Poorly communicated price increase can damage your MRR.
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Don't sugarcoat your message and try to ease it in. Your users aren't stupid and will see through the insincerity. Instead, be forthright and address the price increase right at the beginning of your email.
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Be clear. The focus should be on communicating the change accurately.
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Don't force any silver linings. Acknowledge that the price increase isn't good news for your users.
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Always give a reason behind the increase in prices.
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It's better if the price increase email comes directly from your CEO.
9. Unexpected Downtime
Subject - We Apologize for the Downtime on (Date)
Hey (First Name),
We experienced an unprecedented surge in the traffic to our application on (Date) that caused an unplanned downtime at (Time) for (Duration) minutes.
We are really sorry. As a rapidly growing application, we have to get better at handling an exponential increase in traffic. Our team has learned from this experience and will take all the necessary precautions to avoid a similar incident in the future.
Thank you for your patience. We are grateful for your support.
(Lars Erikson)
(VP of Engineering)
Notes
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Any kind of apology email needs to get to the point at the start. Avoid dillydallying around the core issue.
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Clarify how, when, and why the downtime took place.
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State the measures your team has taken to avoid a similar situation.
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Ideally, the email should come from the seniormost leader in your engineering team.
10. Requesting Testimonial
Subject - Would You Like to Feature on the (Wacko) Blog?
Hey (First Name),
Every month, we run a story about one of our customers on the (Wacko) blog. We share their business and experience with (Wacko) with over (10,000) subscribers. This not only helps us understand how teams use (Wacko) but also learn what they expect more from us.
Here are a few previous examples. You are one of our power users and we'd love to do a story on your team. If you are interested, simply reply to this email. I'll send you a brief questionnaire or schedule a 15-minute call (whichever is more convenient to you).
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
(Sanjay Dutt)
(Head of Customer Experience)
Notes
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Send this email only to the power users of your application.
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Share details of your network. Most SMEs would be happy to give their time in return for being featured on a blog with sizeable reach.
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Share examples of previous testimonials.
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Learn whether the user is interested or not before sharing the testimonial questions.
Liked What You Read?
I don't write much because there is already so much content on the web. But when I do, I try to make it spicy yet helpful. If you liked what you read, let's connect over email. I'll share my new posts with you.