糖心Vlog

Businesses looking to boost customer retention and engagement turn to onboarding email examples to see how leading brands welcome new users and drive early value. The right onboarding email sequence can be the difference between a customer who stays engaged for years and one who drifts away shortly after signing up.

Onboarding emails are a series of messages sent to new customers or employees to guide them through initial steps, set expectations, and deliver value fast. A strong onboarding flow starts with a warm welcome and continues with helpful resources, clear next steps, and personalized touchpoints that support each stage of the experience.

When executed well, onboarding email sequences can achieve open rates of and drive engagement 3x higher than that of standard marketing emails. The result of effective onboarding email sequences is stronger activation, higher retention, and greater lifetime value.

This guide walks through customer and employee onboarding email examples, proven templates, best practices, personalization strategies, common mistakes to avoid, and how to build automated sequences that scale.

Table of Contents

• Why are onboarding emails important?
• Benefits of Email Onboarding
• Onboarding Email Templates You Can Use Today
• How to Write an Onboarding Email for Your Customers
• 13 Onboarding Email Examples for Inspo
• Creating an Email Onboarding Sequence
• 8 Best Practices for the Perfect Email Onboarding Sequence
• Common Onboarding Email Mistakes to Avoid
• FAQ: Onboarding Email Questions Answered

Why are onboarding emails important?

Onboarding emails are important because they shape the first meaningful moments of a customer relationship. These early messages set the tone and lay the groundwork for future success. Effective onboarding emails include a warm welcome, clear next steps, helpful resources, and personalized content. They show customers what to do, where to go, and set them up for their first “aha” moment with a product or service.

A strong onboarding email flow is a strategic advantage for businesses. The faster customers understand the product, feel understood, and reach value, the deeper their engagement and loyalty are likely to be. An effective onboarding email sequence makes that a reality, resulting in stronger customer relationships, less churn, and higher customer lifetime value.

Pro tip: HubSpot provides and an to make the process of creating and automating an email onboarding sequence seamless for teams.

Free Customer Onboarding Templates

Eight templates to lead your new customers through their first several months with your product or service

• Customer Intake Form Template
• Customizable Welcome Packet
• Onboarding Timeline Template
• And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Benefits of Email Onboarding

Businesses are always working to convert leads into customers. Engaging email sequences can be a secret weapon to long-term success.

Here are eight benefits that prove email onboarding is a key area for businesses to focus on in 2026.

1. Email onboarding engages new subscribers.

Email onboarding sequences let businesses reach customers at the exact moment their interest is highest. For customers, these emails create value early and give them the nudge they need to capitalize on new subscriber momentum, which translates into meaningful engagement over time.

Studies show that welcome and onboarding email flows consistently outperform standard email campaigns, with , making them an effective way to deepen customer engagement from day one.

2. Email onboarding increases customer lifetime value (CLTV).

Customers who experience real value within the first few days are . This milestone, called Time to First Value (TTFV), measures the time between user sign-up and the user’s first meaningful experience with the product.

A strong onboarding email flow is one of the most effective ways to shorten TTFV. Onboarding emails guide new users through setup, create wins early, and show them how to get value fast. By generating early momentum, onboarding sequences lay the foundation for long-term loyalty and higher CLTV.

3. Email onboarding improves customer retention.

Customer retention is won or lost in the first few days after sign-up, and companies with effective onboarding programs retain within the first 90 days. If customers don’t experience value early, they’re unlikely to stay engaged for the long haul. Needless to say, the stakes are high.

In addition, retaining existing customers is significantly cheaper than acquiring new customers, so it’s worth getting onboarding right. Existing customers also spend, on average, . Even a 5% increase in customer retention can result in up to .

Email onboarding is one of the strongest opportunities for businesses to create long-term customer success. Poor onboarding accounts for , while well-timed onboarding emails can . Thoughtful onboarding flows reduce friction, guide users toward early wins, and reinforce value.

4. Email onboarding reduces support volume and strengthens customer self-service.

New customers naturally have questions when they start exploring a product or service. A strategic email onboarding sequence anticipates these questions and equips users with the resources they need to help themselves. This reduces friction, improves customer satisfaction, and prevents simple onboarding questions from turning into support tickets.

A strong email onboarding flow can , freeing support teams to focus on high-value interactions that actually deepen loyalty and customer success. When customers can solve small issues independently, their confidence grows, along with brand loyalty.

5. Email onboarding improves product adoption and feature discovery.

New customers often explore only a small portion of a product on their own. Without a guided onboarding experience, they may overlook essential features and miss opportunities to get deeper value. A thoughtful email onboarding sequence surfaces these features at the right time, helping customers understand the product more fully and adopt it with confidence.

Research shows that will stop using a product if they don’t understand it. Onboarding emails close that gap by helping customers get up to speed quickly, encouraging them to try key features, and reinforcing habits that lead to stronger satisfaction, better outcomes, and higher lifetime value.

6. Email onboarding strengthens brand trust and customer relationships.

A reported say they will remain loyal if onboarding and ongoing education are provided. Thoughtful email onboarding sets the tone for long-term, loyal customer relationships. When customers are properly guided with clear, helpful messaging that brings them to success with a product, their trust in a brand will grow. Over time, this trust creates deeper customer relationships, higher satisfaction, and customers who spread the word about a brand to their family and friends.

7. Email onboarding uncovers upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

Email onboarding can guide customers into purchasing upgraded features, additional tools, or higher-tier plans. Instead of pushing for upgrades randomly, businesses can use automated onboarding email flows to introduce helpful new features and tools in response to behavioral milestones. For example, if a customer reaches usage limits or adopts a core feature quickly, businesses can use that opportunity to offer new products or upgraded tiers to meet customer needs.

If a customer has a good onboarding experience and realizes product value quickly, they will be much more likely to purchase upgrades and additional products, especially if they have trust in the brand and confidence that onboarding will be a breeze.

8. Email onboarding reveals valuable customer insights.

Email onboarding flows offer a treasure trove of behavioral customer data. Marketers can dive into open rates, click throughs, activation rates, drop-off points, gauge interest in specific features, and analyze the effectiveness of messaging with A/B testing.

Insights from email onboarding go beyond just the initial customer journey. The data can inform product improvements, guide the creation of self-service documentation, and reveal key details for sales teams to hone in on. Over time, email onboarding becomes a self-improvement feedback loop for the product and the customer experience overall.

Onboarding Email Templates You Can Use Today

Every business has unique onboarding needs, but effective onboarding emails all share a few core elements:

• A warm welcome that sets expectations.
• A clear explanation of how the product helps the customer.
• Guidance on what to do next.
• Resources to support a smooth first experience.

Below are refreshed, ready-to-use to guide the creation of effective onboarding email flows.

1. Formal Onboarding Email Template

Subject: Welcome to [Company Name]

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for creating an account with [Company Name]. Our mission is to [Company Mission / Product Value Proposition], and we’re excited for you to get started.

With your new account, you now have access to:

• [Tool / Feature 1]
• [Tool / Feature 2]
• [Benefit / Outcome]
• Dedicated support whenever you need it

To personalize your experience, complete your profile and set your preferences here:

[CTA Button: Complete Your Profile]

And here are some helpful resources for getting started:

• [Blog Post]
• [Ebook]
• [Video Tutorial]

If you need support, reach out to us at [Phone Number], [Email Address], or via live chat.

Welcome aboard,

The [Company Name] Team

Follow us on [SOCIAL LINKS] to get the latest updates!

2. Friendly Onboarding Email Template

Subject: Welcome, [First Name] — We’re glad you’re here

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for purchasing [Product]! We built it to help people [Value Proposition], and we’re excited for you to start exploring.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll share resources, tips, and recommended steps to help you get the most out of your purchase. If questions come up, feel free to reach out at any time. We’re here to help.

We’re so happy you’re part of this community.

Thanks,

[Your Name]

3. Warm Welcome Onboarding Email Template

Subject: Welcome to [Product Name], [First Name]! Here’s your quick start guide.

Preview: Your setup guide is inside (plus a small bonus).

Hi [First Name],

Welcome to [Product Name]. We are so happy to have you here.

Here’s your first step to getting the most out of our product:

[Clear, specific action]

[CTA Button: Get Started]

What to expect next:

• Tomorrow: Learn how to use [Key Feature].
• Day 3: Get time-saving tips from power users.
• Day 5: Receive personalized recommendations based on your setup.

If you want help right away:

• Explore the Getting Started Guide.
• Watch the 2-minute quickstart video.
• Reply to this email directly; we read every message.

Talk soon,

[Your Name][Your Title]

P.S. Here’s a welcome gift: [Incentive/Resource]

4. Personable Onboarding Email Template

Subject: Getting Started With [Product]

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for signing up for [Product]. I’m [Your Name], and I’ll be your point of contact for getting you up and running using the tool.

Have you had a chance to log in and poke around yet? If not, here are a few helpful resources:

• [Setup Guide]
• [How-To Videos]
• [Onboarding Blog Posts]

If you’d like a guided walkthrough, you can book time with me here: [Meetings Link]

For customer support, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via phone at [Number], email at [Address], live chat, or connect with me directly using the contact information below.

Looking forward to helping you get started,

[Your Name]

[Your contact info]

Free Customer Onboarding Templates

Eight templates to lead your new customers through their first several months with your product or service

• Customer Intake Form Template
• Customizable Welcome Packet
• Onboarding Timeline Template
• And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

5. Product Activation Email Template

Subject: [First Name], you’re two clicks away from [Desired Outcome]

Preview: 67% of users see results within 24 hours

Hi [First Name],

I noticed you signed up for [Product Name], but haven’t completed [Key Activation Step] yet.

It only takes a moment. Here’s how:

1. [Step One]
2. [Step Two]

Once you do this, you’ll unlock [Success State / Benefit].

[CTA Button: Complete Setup Now]

Why it matters: Users who complete this step are 3x more likely to achieve [Meaningful Outcome] in their first week.

If you get stuck, here’s a 30-second video that walks through it.

I’m here if you need anything,

[Your Name]

6. Subscription-Upgrade Onboarding Email Template

For subscription-based businesses, some users will upgrade from free to paid tiers. They aren’t entirely new customers, but they still require a warm welcome and an introduction to new features.

Subject: Welcome to Premium, [First Name]!

Hi [First Name],

Congratulations on upgrading your account! We’re so excited to help you get more from [Product] through [Company Mission/Value Proposition].

Your upgraded plan includes:

• [Premium Feature 1]
• [Premium Benefit 1]
• Priority Support

Even if you’re already familiar with the basics, these resources will help you get the most from your new plan:

• [Upgrade Guide]
• [Video Walkthrough]
• [Feature Comparison]

As always, if you have any questions about your shiny new account, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone at [Number], email at [Address], or live chat. We’re here to help.

Cheers,

[Your Name]

7. Employee Onboarding Email Template

Email onboarding sequences aren’t just for customers. Here’s an onboarding template for making new hires feel welcome and getting them up to speed.

Subject: Welcome to the Team, [First Name]! Your First Steps Inside

Hi [First Name],

We’re excited to welcome you to [Company Name]! Here are your first steps to get started.

Your first day details:

• Start time: [Time]
• Location / Login instructions: [Details]
• What to bring: [Items]

Meet your team:

• Manager: [Name]
• Buddy/Trainer: [Name]
• Department contacts: [List]

Before your first day:

• Complete your onboarding forms.
• Review the New Hire Guide.
• Log in to your employee portal: [Link].

We’re thrilled to have you join us. Please reach out, we’re here for anything you need.

Welcome aboard,

[HR Contact Name]

How to Write an Onboarding Email for Your Customers

1. Write a catchy subject line and preview text.
2. Restate the value proposition.
3. Show the next onboarding steps.
4. Generate the 'A-ha' moment.
5. Add helpful resources.
6. Provide customer service contact information.
7. Conclude with a call-to-action.

1. Write a catchy subject line and preview text.

The subject line determines whether an email gets opened. 糖心Vlog teams should make subject lines clear, catchy, and focused on the value customers will get by opening the email and following the next steps. The preview text that comes after the subject line is also valuable for adding context that doesn’t fit in a punchy subject line. Both should be short enough to display cleanly on mobile.

2. Restate the value proposition.

Best practice is to remind customers early about what they signed up for, what sets the product apart, and what they stand to gain by using it. A clear value proposition sets expectations and gets customers excited about using the product.

3. Show the next onboarding steps.

Once the product’s value is clear, a well-crafted onboarding email flow outlines the next steps. Common next steps include:

• Completing account or profile information.
• Setting preferences.
• Importing data or uploading assets.
• Installing integrations.
• Logging in for the first time.
• Completing a key activation step.

Clear expectations and next steps reduce friction and uncertainty, and shorten Time to First Value.

Here’s how , marketing manager and senior copywriter at International Academy of Sleep, approaches next-step onboarding emails:

“础迟 , we offer learning programs for dentists pivoting to dental sleep medicine, and in their ‘next steps’ email, we include where to find their lessons, how to create a login, and additional resources. This email makes it easy for them to know what to do after they join a program.”

4. Generate the “A-ha” moment.

An ideal email onboarding flow helps customers quickly reach their first moment of value. That “aha” moment often determines whether a customer stays loyal over the long term. If customers don’t find value fast enough, they are likely to fade away.

Businesses should highlight one critical action that reliably unlocks value, such as:

• Publishing a first asset.
• Completing a setup checklist.
• Connecting an integration.
• Using a core feature for the first time.

The earlier customers experience their first “aha” moment, the more likely they are to return.

Pro tip: 贬耻产厂辫辞迟’蝉 helps marketers create effective onboarding emails in seconds.

5. Add helpful resources.

Customer self-service is critical to customer success in onboarding. During onboarding, offering helpful resources early gives customers the confidence and clarity they need to move forward and solve problems independently. This helps customers get value from products early, resulting in customer satisfaction and long-term success.

Common resources include:

• Quickstart guides.
• Tutorial videos.
• FAQs.
• Help center articles.
• Blog posts covering advanced or related use cases.

6. Provide customer service contact information.

Make it simple for customers to get help if they need it. Accessible and helpful customer support reduces frustration and builds trust. If customers are assured that help is available the moment they need it, it’s sure to unlock customer loyalty.

Customers today expect support teams to meet them where they are, which is everywhere. Today’s customers expect across:

• Phone
• Email
• Live chat
• Social channels
• In-app messaging
• SMS

7. Conclude with a call-to-action.

If done right, the end of an email onboarding flow is the beginning of a long customer relationship. To wrap up onboarding, provide a clear call-to-action (CTA) that visually stands out and guides customers to the next step toward meaningful success with the product.

Examples include:

• Add a contact record.
• Publish your first blog post.
• Import data.
• Complete setup.

13 Onboarding Email Examples for Inspo

Below are 14 strong onboarding email examples that illustrate how leading companies welcome new users, encourage early action, and deepen long-term engagement.

1. The Welcome Email

Customers expect a welcome email when they sign up for a new product or service. That’s why this type of email has the highest open rate at 50%. The purpose is simple: Deliver a warm welcome, set expectations, and reinforce value.

Example: Grammarly

welcome email introduces users to key features, explains what to expect from the product, and provides two clear CTAs to encourage immediate exploration.

What Works

• Clear explanation of standard features and benefits of the premium tier.

• It sets the expectation for future emails and product updates.
• Two powerful CTAs guide user action.

Key takeaway: Highlighting value on day one creates confidence and reduces doubt. When new customers understand what they signed up for, engagement rises and churn risk drops.

Free Customer Onboarding Templates

Eight templates to lead your new customers through their first several months with your product or service

• Customer Intake Form Template
• Customizable Welcome Packet
• Onboarding Timeline Template
• And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

2. Account Setup

Account setup emails encourage users to complete essential onboarding tasks independently, which promotes self-service and can reduce support volume.

Example: LastPass

provides a concise setup email guiding users with three achievable actions for setting up their account.

What Works

• Streamlined setup instructions.
• Links for customer support, app download, and helpful knowledge content.
• Straightforward CTA drives engagement.

Key takeaway: A simple, structured setup email lowers friction and increases the likelihood of early product activation.

3. Re-Engagement Email

Roughly abandon an app after first use. Re-engagement emails help get users back on track with onboarding or encourage previous users to re-engage.

Example: Skillshare

’s re-engagement email targets formerly premium users with a friendly tone, stating the value of new features and additional content, offering a limited-time discount.

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What Works

• Casual, approachable voice.
• Visual icons showing what’s new.
• Prominent discount incentive.
• Clear unsubscribe option (list hygiene + compliance).

Key takeaway: Re-engagement works best when it focuses on value, offers incentives, and uses an inviting tone.

4. Community Building

Community engagement can increase customer loyalty by fostering peer support and shared learning.

Example: Adalo

Check out how , a no-code app builder, invites new subscribers to its community and encourages user adoption in this email.

What Works

• Clean, readable layout.
• Clear explanation of community benefits.
• Simple CTA leading to next steps.

Key takeaway: Product-based communities give customers a place to grow, learn how others use the product, and get support. Onboarding customers into such communities can significantly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty.

5. Offers

Businesses can thoughtfully time offers and incentives in an onboarding sequence to encourage product exploration, early activation, or upgrades.

Example: Udacity

offers new subscribers and trial users the opportunity to explore popular Nanodegree courses with free access for 30 days.

What Works

• Urgency created by a short deadline.
• Two high-clarity CTAs.
• Personalized messaging.

Key takeaway: Offers help customers move from intention to action. Even small incentives can unlock early habits that lead to long-term retention.

6. Social Proof

Studies show 91% of consumers will trust a recommendation from someone they know. Businesses can take advantage of this psychological phenomenon and demonstrate value by showing how other users have benefited from it.

Example: Adobe

features a recognizable influencer in an onboarding email that encourages users to explore a new feature.

What Works

• Influencer-driven social validation.
• Bold, attention-grabbing headline.
• Clear expectation-setting.

Key takeaway: Testimonials, reviews, case studies, and influencer insights reassure new customers, demonstrate value, and encourage them to explore new features.

7. How-To Emails

Tutorials and how-to guides are a staple of email onboarding sequences. These resources help new customers gain value from products early, reduce friction, and proactively deflect common support inquiries.

Example: Airtable

shares a welcome email with a how-to video and links to support content to help customers get started.

What Works

• Digestible and attractive layout.
• Video thumbnail with a clear play button, as well as a CTA.
• Resource links for deeper exploration.

Key takeaway: 83% of people prefer watching instructional videos to reading text or listening to audio, so include them in educational onboarding to reduce confusion and speed up product adoption.

8. Competitor Comparison

Comparison emails can ease hesitation and buyer’s remorse by reinforcing value and assuring customers they made the right choice.

Example: Horween Leather

, a leather tannery, sends an onboarding email that reassures customers that they made the right decision by emphasizing product quality and craftsmanship.

What Works

• Strong visuals and typography.
• Specific differentiation from competitors, focusing on quality.
• Website-like layout for intuitive navigation.

Key takeaway: Competitor comparisons can be a great way to convince on-the-fence customers to remain loyal.

9. Invitation Emails

Early-access invitation emails use exclusivity and urgency to motivate customers to act quickly.

Example: Aero

Let's see how , a private jet company, invites a select group of customers to book flights 48 hours before the general public.

What Works

• Short, digestible copy.
• Effective use of urgency and scarcity.
• Clear CTA.
• Effective use of testimonials.

Key takeaway: Giving customers first-time access to a product/service creates hype and helps businesses gauge the reaction to new features and products before a broader launch.

10. Thank You Emails

Thank you emails build goodwill and make customers feel appreciated and valued. As part of an onboarding email flow, businesses can automatically send thank-yous in response to purchases or product milestones, around the holidays, or at any time to delight customers.

Example: reMarkable

is the first company to make a real digital paper tablet, and they write a nice thank-you email.

What Works

• Friendly, human tone.
• Strong use of images of people for authenticity.
• Handwritten sign off.

Key takeaway: Gratitude goes a long way. Thank you emails make customers feel valued, which translates to customer loyalty and advocacy.

11. Rewards

Rewards and incentives encourage customer engagement. Including them in onboarding and engagement emails can increase conversion among new or hesitant customers.

Example: Stash

Online investing app encourages user adoption with an attractive cash bonus.

What Works

• Clearly defined cash incentive.
• Easy-to-understand steps for redemption.
• CTA with cash value placed above the fold.

Key takeaway: Rewards spark motivation and create momentum that can convert new customers and turn early customers into advocates.

Free Customer Onboarding Templates

Eight templates to lead your new customers through their first several months with your product or service

• Customer Intake Form Template
• Customizable Welcome Packet
• Onboarding Timeline Template
• And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

12. Product Demo

Up to returned a product because they didn’t know how to use it. Onboarding emails that include a clear product demonstration can showcase features and reduce friction among new customers who have yet to reach product mastery.

Example: June Oven

makes intelligent ovens that may not be intuitive for all customers. Their product demo email invites customers to an in-person demonstration of their product.

What Works

• Clean, simple layout.
• Attractive image and bright CTA.
• In-person event creates a sense of exclusivity and community.

Key takeaway: Product demos reduce onboarding friction and give businesses an opportunity to demonstrate value, and help customers reach success faster.

13. Customer Support Email

Proactive customer support emails can address common sticking points before they result in churn. During onboarding, customers sometimes get stuck, and businesses can use automation to identify them and offer support to get them back on track.

Example: Zapier

identifies new users who have stalled in their onboarding and sends them a personalized message offering helpful documentation and suggested actions.

What Works

• Visual icons displaying product use cases.
• Personalization.
• CEO sign-off enhances trust.

Key takeaway: Anticipating customer problems and guiding them toward solutions strengthens trust and reduces early abandonment.

Now that we’ve covered the top email onboarding examples, let’s look into how you can create your own onboarding email sequence.

Creating an Email Onboarding Sequence

Creating an email onboarding sequence involves understanding the customer journey and tailoring messaging for each step. A successful sequence welcomes new users, shows them what to expect, guides them through key milestones, and keeps them engaged as they become loyal customers. Automated onboarding email sequences improve customer activation and retention rates.

Here’s a simple framework for creating an email onboarding sequence that gets customers to “aha” quickly and confidently.

Step 1: Send an immediate welcome email.

When to send: Immediately upon sign-up or account creation.

Automation: Trigger this email automatically when a customer completes a sign-up form or creates an account.

A new customer sign-up should automatically trigger a welcome email. This initial message should include a warm welcome, a restatement of the value proposition, and clear next steps outlining what the customer can expect.

Personalization is essential at this step (and throughout). Greeting customers by name and tailoring content based on product tier, plan, or use case helps set the tone for a relevant and supportive onboarding experience.

In , automating sequences like this is simple using workflows that trigger upon form submission or account creation.

Step 2: Follow up with a “getting started” email.

When to send: 1–2 hours after the welcome email, or 24 hours if the welcome email includes getting-started content.

Automation: Set a time delay in the workflow after the first welcome email is sent.

After the welcome message, the following email should guide customers through early setup steps such as creating their first asset, filling out profile details, configuring preferences, or connecting integrations.

In some onboarding flows, the welcome email and getting-started email can be combined. Either way, the key is to ensure new users are first welcomed, then clearly guided through the essential steps needed to begin using the product effectively.

Step 3: Deliver helpful resources.

When to send: 2-3 days after sign-up.

Automation: Use a time-based delay in the workflow to send this email on Day 2 or 3.

It’s common for customers to get a little confused during the setup phase and the first steps of using a new product. Reduce that friction early by delivering an email with helpful knowledge base resources that anticipate common questions and issues that new users experience. That can include:

• Quickstart guides.
• Help center articles.
• Product walkthrough videos.
• FAQs.
• Tutorials personalized to the customer’s plan or tier.

Businesses should use automation to send this email at a predetermined time after sign-up, and personalize the resources to the customer’s specific product or feature tier.

Step 4: Guide them to their first “aha” moment.

When to send: 3-5 days after sign-up, or triggered by incomplete activation steps.

Automation: Use behavioral triggers to send this email if customers haven’t completed a key activation action within a specified timeframe.

The “aha” moment is when the value of a product first clicks for a customer, validating their investment, cementing it as a helpful part of their life or workflow. Businesses should identify which actions correlate with that moment and deliver an automated onboarding email that encourages them to take those actions. For some companies, that might be:

• Connecting an integration.
• Publishing a first asset.
• Using a core feature that encapsulates the product’s value proposition.

Getting customers to the “aha” moment early is crucial. The faster customers realize a product’s value, the more likely they are to stay engaged and remain loyal over the long term. However, it’s important not to overwhelm the customer too early before they’ve completed setup and had a chance to poke around.

Step 5: Send activation emails to stalled users.

When to send: 3-7 days after sign-up if key activation steps remain incomplete.

Automation: Use conditional logic in workflows to identify users who haven’t completed critical onboarding actions within a set timeframe, then trigger re-engagement emails.

Use automation to re-engage customers who have stalled in the onboarding process. If a customer hasn’t set up their profile or used the key “aha” feature after a specified period, send a quick check-in to get them back in the flow of the onboarding sequence.

This message should:

• Highlight which onboarding items remain incomplete.
• Explain the value tied to those steps.
• Offer guidance or resources to remove friction.

Step 6: Reinforce progress with check-in or milestone emails.

When to send: 7 days, 14 days, or 30 days after sign-up.

Automation: Set up milestone-based triggers that fire when customers reach specific usage thresholds or time intervals.

Once customers have made it through the early onboarding stages, it’s still important to encourage continued usage through check-ins and milestone emails.

Similar to the “aha” moment, identify other key product milestones and plan automated emails to congratulate customers on hitting a milestone or encourage them to keep up the good work.

An idea is a “Week 1 Roundup” email that highlights usage after their first week. For example, I use Grammarly for writing and editing, and they send me monthly automated round-up emails detailing the number of unique words I use, my accuracy, and my ranking among other power users.

These messages encourage continued usage by clearly quantifying and visualizing the product’s value over time.

Step 7: Continuously engage.

When to send: Ongoing, based on product updates, feature releases, or usage patterns.

Automation: Create separate workflows for ongoing engagement that trigger based on product updates, low activity, or upsell opportunities.

Onboarding doesn’t have to end after a set amount of time or a pre-determined number of emails.

Businesses can continually re-engage customers by sharing timely messages about new features, helpful resources, community invitations, and opportunities to test new features and upgrade subscriptions.

Ongoing engagement helps to transition regular customers into loyal brand advocates.

Pro tip: HubSpot's provides automation, personalization, and analytics for onboarding email sequences.

8 Best Practices for the Perfect Email Onboarding Sequence

To craft a strong onboarding email sequence that helps customers and delivers results, apply these onboarding email best practices.

1. Start with a confirmation email.

A confirmation email verifies that new subscribers are real and ensures that onboarding emails will reliably reach the inbox. This step maintains email list quality and reduces the chances of poor engagement.

Confirmation emails don’t need to be fancy, but they do need to have a clear call-to-action.

Here’s a real-life example from HubSpot:

HubSpot also adds a touch of personalization to greet its new subscribers. The message then provides a clear explanation of what the new user needs to do next.

2. Send an impressive welcome email.

The welcome email should be warm, conveying excitement and gratitude for having a new customer on board. It sets expectations and creates the foundation for a long-term customer relationship based on mutual trust and respect. The welcome email should introduce the brand and restate the value proposition, and clearly outline what customers should expect next.

Here’s an example of a classic welcome email from :

Stuck on crafting that first onboarding email? takes the guesswork out of crafting high-performing onboarding emails. Marketers simply describe the goal and audience, and the tool generates personalized, on-brand copy in seconds, complete with subject lines and CTA suggestions.

3. Create different sequences for engaged and disengaged users.

Some users engage immediately, while others stall early and don’t complete sign-up or fully utilize the product. Treating these users identically would be a mistake, resulting in irrelevant and disconnected communications.

Segment users based on behavioral indicators for engagement. Engaged users can receive onboarding email flows that deliver advanced tips and helpful nudges towards niche features. Stalled users benefit from reminders, simplified instructions, or support-focused messages that include personalized resources to help them get back on track.

Pro tip: 贬耻产厂辫辞迟’蝉 integrates with HubSpot to provide a full picture of each customer so customer success teams know when and how to engage with users.

4. Leverage personalization.

In 2025, personalized onboarding emails saw a . Personalization signals that the business understands the customer’s individual needs, and results in more engagement and customer loyalty down the road.

Use personalization tokens, product tier information, and other CRM data to segment customers and deliver personalized onboarding email flows that are relevant to their usage history and individual needs. Personalization at scale is enabled by AI-driven tools and unified customer data.

Here is an example from Bonjoro, a company that personalizes its onboarding sequence with a unique video message.

5. Optimize emails for mobile-first users.

Roughly occur on mobile devices. As a best practice, all onboarding emails should be mobile-friendly. Customers are likely to abandon immediately if they open an impossible-to-read, hot-mess email on their phone.

Pro tip: Onboarding emails created with a tool like are always mobile-ready.

For instance, Zapier has a simple and responsive email template that shows mobile users information about the app.

6. Center content around your call-to-action.

Every onboarding email should encourage a single objective. For example: completing sign-up, verifying an email, uploading a contact record, or connecting an integration. Use the copy of an onboarding email to drive customers to a clear CTA for completing that next step. Use design elements like attractive buttons, contrast, and intentional spacing to make the CTA unmistakable and enticingly clickable.

7. Test your messages.

Email onboarding sequences require ongoing testing and refinement. As onboarding flows run, it’s crucial to track open rates, click-throughs, click maps, and more to identify friction points that drag down the onboarding experience.

Pro tip: Use A/B testing to test various subject lines, send times, visuals, and CTAs to determine what drives more engagement, activation, and product usage.

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8. Show subscribers how to use your product or service.

Most new users need some guidance before they can fully understand a product's value. Especially for products with a steeper learning curve, using the onboarding email flow to educate customers on how to get the most out of a product or service is essential.

Provide customers with helpful self-service resources and personalize those messages for specific touchpoints in the customer journey where issues are most likely to arise. For some businesses, it makes sense to offer live product walkthroughs with a customer success representative as a part of the onboarding experience.

Example: uses its onboarding sequences to deliver short video lessons that help new users become familiar with the platform and the basics of website building.

Common Onboarding Email Mistakes to Avoid

Common onboarding email mistakes include generic content, poor timing, and a lack of measurement. Below are common pitfalls when creating onboarding email flows and ways to avoid them.

Overwhelming New Users With Too Much Information

Bombarding customers with a single dense email containing all onboarding information is a mistake. Multiple CTAs, overly detailed explanations, and unnecessary jargon will cause eyes to glaze over and increase churn.

Why It Fails

When customers receive too much information at once, they experience decision paralysis and cognitive overload. Instead of taking action, they feel overwhelmed and delay key onboarding steps (or abandon completely).

How to Fix It

It’s called an onboarding email flow for a reason. Break the entire onboarding process into multiple steps and deliver them in a logical, time-based, milestone-driven flow using automation. 贬耻产厂辫辞迟’蝉 enable marketers to send personalized onboarding emails at a logical, practical cadence.

Sending Messages at the Wrong Time

Poor sequencing can frustrate and confuse new customers. When customers sign up, they expect a welcome email, not an email detailing extensive feature highlights and testimonials. Mistimed emails make customers feel confused and undervalued, which increases the likelihood of abandonment.

Why It Fails

Timing matters because customer attention and motivation peak at specific moments in the journey. Sending advanced feature content before customers complete basic setup creates confusion, and poor timing signals that the business doesn’t understand the customer’s needs, which erodes trust.

How to Fix It

Map the onboarding journey deliberately and identify key behavioral milestones. Match individual onboarding emails to key steps like activation, setup, and use of a key feature, and at appropriate moments, not at random intervals.

Not Using Personalization

Generic emails make customers feel like an afterthought. Without personalization, onboarding email flows feel generic and directionless, increasing the likelihood that customers will ditch for a competitor.

Why It Fails

Customers expect personalized experiences in this day and age, and generic emails signal that a business views them as just another number. When onboarding content doesn’t reflect a customer’s specific plan, use case, or behavior, it feels irrelevant. This disconnect reduces engagement and prevents customers from realizing a product’s value to meet their individual needs.

How to Fix It

Customers expect more than just a personalization token that displays their name, although that’s important. Use personalization to surface relevant customer data about specific product plans, actions taken, and specific needs. The resources and copy shared in each onboarding email should be specific to each customer profile and their journey.

is natively integrated with HubSpot CRM, making it easy to surface relevant customer data in onboarding emails and personalize accordingly.

Skipping the Value Proposition

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking customers already know about a product’s value. Why else would they buy, right? Wrong. Customers forget details quickly, and they appreciate the reassurance that the purchase they made was a wise one.

Why It Fails

Sign-up momentum fades quickly. If customers aren’t immediately reminded why they chose the product, they may start to doubt their purchase. This hesitation can lead to disengagement before customers ever experience real value.

How to Fix It

Restate the value proposition early and often. Make it clear how the product solves a problem, how it makes customers’ lives easier, and what makes it different from the competition.

Not Guiding Users to a Clear Next Step

Leaving an onboarding email open-ended is a big mistake. Without clear next steps and a goal, customers will feel confused and are less likely to reach that “aha” moment where the product’s value clicks.

Why It Fails

If customers don’t know what to do next, they’ll probably do nothing. Without clear direction, even motivated customers lose momentum and drift away.

How to Fix It

Each email in an onboarding email flow should guide the customer to a primary action. Use clear language, bulleted/numbered lists, and CTAs to explicitly guide them through each step of a process towards a stated goal.

Ignoring Stalled Users

Some customers stall during onboarding. Maybe they were confused by a feature, or perhaps they just got distracted and started scrolling instead of verifying their email. Not targeting and re-engaging these inactive users is a mistake that results in missing out on new, potentially loyal customers who just needed a little nudge.

Why It Fails

Without intervention, stalled users will forget about the product entirely or assume it’s too complicated, which is lost revenue. Ignoring stalled users leaves money on the table.

How to Fix It

Identify the behaviors of users who are stuck in the onboarding funnel and use automated triggers to send re-engagement emails that attempt to get them back on track. In the re-engagement emails, clearly summarize outstanding onboarding items, reinforce product value and why it matters to complete those steps, and offer personalized resources and support to help get them back on track.

Sending Resources With No Context

Self-service resources like how-to guides, product demos, instructional videos, and help articles are crucial onboarding assets that help customers reach value with a product. However, dumping resources with no context or just offering a single link to a customer portal is a mistake.

Why It Fails

Resources without context overwhelm customers instead of helping them. When businesses send a wall of links or point to a general knowledge base, customers don’t know where to start or which resources apply to their situation. It creates cognitive overload and makes customers feel lost instead of supported.

How to Fix It

Only introduce resources that align with the current onboarding step. Explain why resources are helpful and which problems they help to solve, and use automation to send relevant resources in response to behavioral triggers that indicate a customer needs some help. 贬耻产厂辫辞迟’蝉 can assist teams with triggering sends of relevant content.

Not Measuring Onboarding Email Flow Performance

Onboarding email sequences aren’t a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Without analytics and insights into open rates, click-through rates, and drop-off points, it’s nearly impossible to know where customers are falling off in onboarding and why.

Why It Fails

Businesses that don’t measure onboarding performance miss critical signals about what’s working and what’s broken. When marketing teams lack visibility into engagement metrics, they can’t identify friction points, optimize timing, or improve messaging. This leads to stagnant onboarding flows that underperform and miss out on converting customers when they are most ready to engage.

How to Fix It

糖心Vlog teams should monitor both engagement metrics and business outcomes to measure onboarding success. Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates for each email in the sequence to identify where customers engage most and where they drop off. Top-performing onboarding emails typically achieve , significantly higher than standard marketing emails.

Beyond engagement metrics, businesses should also track activation rates (the percentage of users who complete key onboarding actions like profile setup, logging in, or using a core feature).

To reveal the long-term impact of onboarding, businesses track retention rates to see how many customers remain active after onboarding concludes. Key benchmarks include 7, 30, and 90-day retention rates. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) is another key metric that measures the success of onboarding in terms of long-term revenue per customer.

Use a marketing tool like that can automate onboarding emails and provide rich insights and analytics at every step of the way. Use A/B testing to refine messaging, adjust timing, and improve the flow of onboarding email sequences over time.

FAQ: Onboarding Email Questions Answered

What is an onboarding email?

An onboarding email is a message (or series of messages) sent to new customers or employees to welcome them, explain what to do next, and guide them toward their first successful experience with a product, service, or role.

How do I send an onboarding email?

Onboarding emails are typically sent using that automates email sending via workflows and sequences. Marketers to trigger when a new user signs up, creates an account, completes a step, or otherwise becomes eligible for onboarding. The automated trigger starts a flow of onboarding emails that arrive at predetermined times throughout the customer’s journey as a new user.

How do you introduce yourself in an onboarding email?

It’s best to keep introductions short and warm. Usually, a sentence or two is enough to identify the sender, their role, and how they’ll be assisting the customer throughout their onboarding journey. The introduction should reinforce trust and take advantage of personalization to address the customer by name and mention their specific needs and context.

How to write a welcome new employee email?

Welcome emails for new employees follow the same basic principles as customer onboarding emails. It should start with a warm welcome and expression of gratitude for joining the team. After that, it’s important to clearly set expectations and first-week priorities so new hires know exactly what to expect.

Employee onboarding email templates address job acceptance, pre-boarding, first day, team introductions, and training setup. New employee welcome emails should also include access instructions for key systems and the necessary links, along with documentation and other helpful resources.

What’s the difference between customer and employee onboarding emails?

Customer emails guide new users through set-up and help them achieve value from a product or service. Meanwhile, employee emails help new hires integrate smoothly into a new team or company.

Both types of emails likely include helpful resources, set expectations, and provide clear next steps.

How long should an onboarding email sequence be?

Typically, onboarding email sequences include 3–7 emails sent over 1–2 weeks. The time frame and number of emails sent are dependent on product complexity. Some products only require a welcome email and brief setup guide, while more advanced tools may require longer sequences to cover multiple features, integrations, and milestones.

When should I send my first onboarding email?

The first email of an onboarding sequence is sent immediately after sign-up. Sending the first email immediately capitalizes on new customer momentum, and is used to welcome the user, verify information, and provide clear next steps.

How do I personalize onboarding emails for different users?

Personalizing onboarding emails for different users requires access to customer data. Tools like enable personalization through native integration with , which can intelligently surface customer data like name, persona, and specific product tiers or plans. Using customer data and marketing automation software, businesses can feed customers into specific onboarding email flows based on their particular needs, behaviors, and subscription type.

Create the perfect email onboarding letter.

Onboarding email sequences set customers up for long-term success with a business or product. They set the groundwork for that “aha” moment when a customer realizes the value of a product and happily integrates it into their stack. Getting to that moment as soon as possible is the key to creating long-term customer relationships.

Great email onboarding flows remove friction, provide clear next steps, anticipate customer concerns, and use personalization to make a clear path to value. Find inspiration from the onboarding email examples while applying the onboarding email best practices outlined above.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Free Customer Onboarding Templates

Eight templates to lead your new customers through their first several months with your product or service

• Customer Intake Form Template
• Customizable Welcome Packet
• Onboarding Timeline Template
• And More!

Get Your Free Templates

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.