Playbook/Mobile app/Email
Waitlist and onboarding emails for mobile apps
Someone who joins your waitlist is curious right now; stay silent for six weeks and they won't remember you on launch day. Email keeps the audience warm before launch, then takes the person who installs to the app's first real value.
What to measure
Open and click rates
Shows whether subject lines and content get attention.
Waitlist-to-install conversion
The real measure of the launch email.
First-week activation
Does onboarding get users to first value?
Week one
- 1
Write the welcome email: why they joined, what happens when, how to move up the list.
- 2
Plan short behind-the-scenes emails every two weeks until launch.
- 3
Write the launch-day email now, with one clear button.
- 4
Define the app's first-value moment and order onboarding emails around it.
- 5
Add an invite-a-friend incentive to the welcome email.
Content ideas
- A "You're #412" email with a way to move up by inviting.
- A short, personal note from the founder.
- One screenshot and one sentence from a beta tester.
- A single tip for people who haven't opened the app three days after signing up.
Common mistakes
Going quiet until launch
A list that gets nothing for weeks goes cold; the launch email looks like spam.
Everything in every email
One email, one purpose, one button.
Ignoring behavior
People who opened the app and people who didn't shouldn't get the same email.
How GrowColony does it
Email agent
Maps your lifecycle, finds the missing emails and writes them: welcome, waitlist updates, launch, onboarding and win-back, with subject lines and timing. You approve them.
FAQ
How often should I email my waitlist?
Every two weeks until launch is enough: often enough to be remembered, rarely enough not to annoy.
How many onboarding emails?
Usually three to five in the first week, each taking the user to the next step.
Which email tool do you work with?
GrowColony writes and sequences the emails; you send them from the tool you already use.