Readwise is one of my favorite apps. I’m willing to downsize a lot, but Readwise is mission-critical for me. However, I noticed that there’s no structured welcome sequence to help potential customers understand why it’s such a game-changer.

This is a huge missed opportunity. Who knows how many potential life-long readers could become paying customers if they understood how Readwise would make their lives better?

So as a spec case study, I created an onboarding sequence designed to educate users and improve paid conversion during the 30-day free trial period.

Goals

My aim is to design a simple 5-part email sequence to help users understand why they should be Readwise customers. It’s not immediately obvious from the website or the current initial welcome e-mail. This new journey explains the product step-by-step, allowing users to experience it for themselves.

The goal is to be conversational and friendly, creating an emotional attachment to me as the voice of Readwise. The problems that Readwise solved for me are the ones that it can solve for you.

We add additional social proof by referencing Tiago Forte and Craig Mod, earned experts who genuinely love the product. Instead of the e-mail sequence just selling to the user, we’re showing them how we, and others, fell in love with this incredible app. We reassure them that we’re readers, just like them.

Armed with this new trust and understanding of how the service can improve their lives, we anticipate an increased conversion rate at the end of the 30-day trial.

Email Sequence

The heading above each e-mail is the proposed subject line. The italicized text directly beneath is the proposed pre-header text, followed by the e-mail, and finishing with an explanation of my thought process.

SL: Welcome to Readwise. Now What?

Let us be your guide on the journey to better reading

We start with a simple overview of what this sequence will do, as well as reminding people that they’re on a 30-day free trial. I chose the use of first-person to add a more human touch, as even business reading is a deeply personal experience.

SL: How Readwise Saved the Book I Almost Forgot

And made me happier, calmer, and less anxious

Serving up highlights is the initial killer feature of Readwise, and almost everyone is familiar with the experience of reading a book that touched them, but never remembering to reference it again. I chose The Miracle of Mindfulness both because it is a book that is near to me (which increases authenticity), but also because it’s one with obvious advice that a reader would want to remember.

SL: Conquer Your Notes with Readwise & Tiago Forte

Or, how to save articles in ways that help

Anyone who uses a notes app knows the immense amount of busywork that goes into managing them. Here, we show how our integrations reduce that busywork, freeing them up to use and understand them. Tiago Forte’s video helps give social proof – it isn’t one of Readwise’s official videos, so it must be honest.

SL: The Best Reading App Ever Made

If we do say so ourselves

The Reader App is Readwise’s newest feature and deserves its own e-mail, particularly to explain why it’s better than just using any of a number of other Read-it-Later apps. I decided an infographic would be better here, as otherwise we’d be dealing with a large wall of text.

SL: We Know You’ll Make The Best Decision

But you don’t have to take our word for it

Finally, you can’t beat good old-fashioned social proof to build trust, and Craig and Tiago are the men who led me to Readwise in the first place. These quotes don’t just sing our praises; they explain why Readwise is so good.

I wanted to phrase this in a way that empowers our potential customers. I don’t think Readwise benefits from the hard sell approach – we’ll have longer retention if our customers believe choosing us was, ultimately, their choice.

Hypothetical Results

The average CTR for Software is about 2.3%, but I estimate this sequence (which focuses on education) could push it up from .5 – 1%. If that increases trial-to-paid conversation by even a single percentage point, that can become a significant lifetime revenue lift at scale.

What Did I Learn From This?

I thought a lot about e-mail sequencing, designing this – it’s not enough to shove features and social proof in a potential customer’s face. You need to take them on a journey, and the journey needs to make sense for their needs, not ours.
I also stretched myself designing the e-mails with Canva – after all, how a thing is said and shown matters just as much as what is said and shown. Always fun to learn new software.

If this were a real campaign, I’d most likely observe the CTR on any of the emails, because those call out places that the customer is interested, whether it’s features (the Reader app) or social proof (Tiago and Craig’s testimonials).

Want to grow your business with customers that will stay loyal through the lifecycle? Let’s talk.