All playbooks
Onboarding
SaaS onboarding funnel: free → activated → paid
A PLG onboarding funnel that turns signups into activated, paying users. The 5-email sequence is event-driven - emails fire on product behavior, not on a fixed time delay.
Benchmarks
What good looks like.
38–52%
Signup → activated
12–22%
Activated → paid
< 5 min
TTV (time to value)
The funnel, step by step
Each stage. What it does. How it's built.
01
Signup
Frictionless: email + password, or SSO. No credit card.
02
Welcome screen
One-question setup ('What are you here to do?') that personalizes the next three pages.
03
Feature page 1
First magic moment. Pre-loaded sample data so the user sees value in < 60 seconds.
04
Feature page 2
Connect their data / invite a teammate. The first 'aha' tied to their workflow.
05
Feature page 3
Show a paid-tier feature. Soft prompt to upgrade - not a paywall.
06
Upgrade flow
Triggered when the user hits a usage milestone. In-app + email.
The email sequence
Where the conversion actually happens.
E1 - Signup
Welcome - start here
Single CTA: complete the welcome step.
E2 - Setup incomplete
You're 90 seconds from your first result
Fires only if welcome step incomplete after 24h.
E3 - First action
Nice - here's what to try next
Fires on first key action. Drives to feature page 2.
E4 - Stuck signal
Stuck? Here's the 2-min loom
Fires on inactivity 3+ days.
E5 - Activation
You're using [feature] - unlock the rest
Fires on usage milestone. CTA: upgrade.
When to use it
- You're a PLG SaaS with a free tier or trial.
- You can instrument product events and trigger emails on them.
- Your magic moment is achievable in under 5 minutes.
Common pitfalls
- ×Time-based emails when event-based would convert 2–3x better.
- ×Hiding the upgrade until trial-end - kills urgency and revenue.
- ×Generic welcome flow - the one personalization question is worth 10 emails.
Deploy this funnel
We've shipped this 14+ times.
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