January 20, 2026
For Product-Led Development (PLG) corporations, the product is the first engine for buyer acquisition, conversion, and growth. Your person’s journey – from their first click on to changing into an influence person – is probably the most vital advertising channel you’ve. However how do you information them by means of that journey at scale?
The reply lies in strategic, behavior-driven electronic mail automation.
Too usually, electronic mail is siloed. Advertising runs its campaigns, and builders hard-code primary transactional notifications. This leaves an enormous hole the place you would be educating customers, driving characteristic adoption, and changing trialists into product champions. An efficient PLG electronic mail technique unifies this expertise, turning your electronic mail platform right into a core a part of your product’s development loop.
This playbook gives seven important electronic mail automation workflows each PLG firm wants, damaged down by every stage of the person journey.
Stage 1: Activation and onboarding
Activation is the place your PLG movement both takes off or quietly stalls. The second somebody indicators up, they’re making a promise to themselves that your product will clear up an issue, and your job is to assist them validate that call as rapidly as doable. E mail performs a vital function right here, appearing as a information that nudges customers towards their first significant success contained in the product.
And at this stage, much less is extra. Efficient activation emails aren’t characteristic excursions or lengthy explanations; they’re about momentum. Every message ought to take away friction, spotlight a single subsequent step, and lead customers nearer to their “Aha!” second – the purpose the place worth turns into apparent. When onboarding emails are well timed, behavior-driven, and tightly aligned with the in-product expertise, they dramatically enhance the probability {that a} new signup turns into an engaged person somewhat than a forgotten trial.
So, with that mentioned, let’s have a look at a number of examples for our fictitious PLG SaaS model, Vivaelbeti – a venture administration instrument.
| E mail kind | Functions and greatest practices | Instance |
| Welcome electronic mail | Goal: To verify signup, reinforce your worth proposition, and supply a single, clear call-to-action (CTA).
Greatest apply: Don’t overwhelm them. Make the very subsequent step apparent and straightforward. The aim is momentum. |
Topic: Welcome to Vivaelbeti! Right here’s your first step.
Hello Lucia, Welcome to Vivaelbeti! We’re excited that will help you and your workforce conquer venture administration. Your first step is straightforward: Create your first venture board. It solely takes a minute and it’s one of the simplest ways to see Vivaelbeti in motion. Cheers, The Vivaelbeti Workforce |
| First motion nudge | Goal: To information customers to carry out the first key motion that results in worth. That is completely different from the welcome electronic mail’s CTA, which could simply be logging in. Greatest apply: Set off this primarily based on conduct. Ship it 24 hours after signup provided that they haven’t carried out that key motion but. |
Topic: Tip #1: Assign your first job in Vivaelbeti
Hello Lucia, Prepared to get organized? The magic of Vivaelbeti occurs whenever you begin assigning duties. [Go to My Project Board] |
Stage 2: Engagement and adoption
An activated person understands the fundamentals. Now, the aim is to deepen their engagement, make your product a behavior, and introduce them to secondary options that ship much more worth.
| E mail kind | Functions and greatest practices | Instance |
| Milestone electronic mail | Goal: To have a good time person achievements, reinforce the worth they’re getting, and encourage deeper use. Greatest apply: Use knowledge out of your product to set off these. Celebrating “tenth job accomplished” or “fifth workforce member invited” feels private and rewarding. |
Topic: Congrats! You’ve simply accomplished 20 duties in Vivaelbeti Technique to go, Lucia! You and your workforce are on a roll, having simply accomplished 20 duties in your ‘Q1 Product Launch’ venture. Hold that momentum going! To take it to the subsequent degree, strive making a customized report to trace your workforce’s progress. [See My Team’s Progress] |
| Characteristic adoption marketing campaign | Goal: To introduce worthwhile options that customers might not have found on their very own.
Greatest apply: Body the characteristic round a profit, not simply what it does. Clarify the way it solves an issue or saves time. Goal customers who haven’t used the characteristic however match the profile of somebody who would profit. |
Topic: Do you know you may automate studies in Vivaelbeti?
Hello Lucia, Uninterested in manually compiling weekly progress studies? Let Vivaelbeti do the work for you. Our automated reporting characteristic enables you to create a dashboard that updates in real-time and schedules a PDF abstract to be despatched to stakeholders each Friday. Set it up as soon as, and by no means construct a guide report once more. [Set Up Automated Reporting (2 mins)] |
| Utilization abstract emails | Goal: To offer an everyday, tangible reminder of the worth the person is getting from the product. Greatest Apply: Ship these weekly or month-to-month. Use knowledge visualizations and key stats to make the worth apparent at a look. Consider it as a mini-report on their very own success. |
Topic: Your Weekly Vivaelbeti Digest
Hello Lucia, Right here’s a have a look at what your workforce achieved with Vivaelbeti this week: – 15 Duties Accomplished You’re making nice progress on the ‘Q1 Product Launch’ venture, which is now 75% full. Sustain the superb work! [Jump Back into Your Dashboard] |
You may construct smarter electronic mail journeys with drag & drop workflows
Stage 3: Conversion and growth
By the point customers attain this stage, your product has already confirmed its worth. Individuals are lively, engaged, and relying in your instrument to get actual work carried out. So, the aim right here isn’t aggressive promoting, however continuity. You need to assist customers preserve and increase the worth they’re already experiencing.
Conversion and growth emails work greatest when they’re contextual and well timed. As a substitute of generic improve prompts, profitable PLG emails reply to moments of intent, reminiscent of hitting a restrict, discovering a premium characteristic, or reaching a milestone that alerts readiness to scale. On the identical time, inviting teammates and inspiring referrals unlocks the multi-user dynamics that gas sustainable development. When electronic mail aligns with person success, monetization turns into a pure subsequent step, not an interruption.
| E mail kind | Functions and greatest practices | Instance |
| Improve and trial expiration nudges | Goal: To create urgency and clearly articulate the worth of upgrading earlier than a trial ends or when a person hits a plan restrict.
Greatest apply: Don’t simply warn them – remind them what they’ll lose. Body the improve round persevering with the worth they’ve already skilled. Set off this contextually once they hit a paywall. |
Topic: Unlock extra energy with Vivaelbeti Professional
Hello Lucia, You simply tried to create a brand new Undertaking Timeline, which is a characteristic of our Professional plan. You’ve already accomplished 20 duties and arranged your Q1 launch with Vivaelbeti. By upgrading, you may unlock superior options to maintain the momentum going, together with: – Undertaking Timelines [Upgrade to Vivaelbeti Pro] |
| Invite and referral emails | Goal: To show your customers into advocates and drive the “multi-player” mode that’s essential for PLG. Greatest apply: Make it extremely straightforward to ask colleagues. Set off this electronic mail after a person has proven indicators of being profitable and engaged (e.g., after they full their tenth job). |
Topic: Vivaelbeti is healthier together with your workforce
Hello Lucia, You’ve been making nice progress in Vivaelbeti! Initiatives get carried out sooner when everyone seems to be on the identical web page. Click on the button under to ask your colleagues in seconds. [Invite My Teammates] |
Study completely different automation workflows reminiscent of welcome emails, abandonment workflows, and re-engagement campaigns, in addition to the best way to set them up utilizing the brand new Mailjet journey builder.
Why electronic mail is a PLG’ “Superpower”
A versatile electronic mail platform with a sturdy API is the engine that runs this whole playbook. It lets you:
- Automate at scale: Set off customized emails primarily based on real-time person conduct with out guide intervention.
- Scale back developer dependency: Empower your Product and Development groups to construct and iterate on these campaigns rapidly utilizing versatile templates and visible builders.
- Create a unified expertise: Bridge the hole between advertising messages and in-product transactional emails for a seamless, constant person journey.
By implementing these seven automations, you may create a robust, self-service engine that guides customers from signup to super-fan, driving the sustainable development that defines a profitable PLG enterprise.
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