We cut our onboarding emails from nine to three

When we started, new Tally users received nine emails in their first two weeks. We thought each one was helpful. Our users thought otherwise: the open rate fell with every message, and the unsubscribe rate after email five was higher than the click rate. We cut the series to three. This is how we chose which three.

What we measured

For each of the nine emails, we looked at three numbers: how many people opened it, how many clicked, and, most important, whether people who received it were more likely to finish setting up Tally than people who did not. We tested this by holding back each email from a small random group.

Only three emails made a real difference to setup. The other six were nice to read and changed nothing.

The three that stayed

1. The welcome, sent straight away. One link: install the tracking snippet. No feature tour, no founder story.
2. The nudge, sent on day two only if setup is not finished. It names the exact step where they stopped and links straight to it.
3. The first insight, sent when the first chart has data. It shows them their own chart, with one sentence about what it means.

The third email is the one people reply to. It is the first moment Tally tells them something about their own product.

Every email should answer one question the person already has. If they do not have the question yet, wait.

Priya Nair

What we stopped doing

We stopped sending emails on a fixed schedule. Each email is now triggered by what the person did, or did not do. Someone who sets up in ten minutes never receives the nudge. Someone who never installs the snippet never receives the insight.

We also stopped writing like marketers. The emails are plain text, signed by a real person, and the reply address goes to our support inbox.

The results

Setup went up, unsubscribes went down and, for the first time, people wrote back.