Getting quiet signups back: fix the path, then send the email
Members of the Growth work group look past the reminder to where quiet signups got stuck, then design a test that shows whether the fix mattered.
Updated
Find out where quiet signups stall and fix that before scaling a message, then judge the campaign on whether people complete the core action and keep using the product, not on opens.
- Treat users who never got value apart from users who stopped. For signups who never finished setting up, Lauryn Motamedi would link into a guided setup with a relevant starting point already picked: Airtable's onboarding overhaul around guided setup raised activation by 20%. Hila Qu would reach users who did get value when their usage pattern changes, rather than after a fixed window, and remind them of the work they started.
- Send one thing tied to why they joined. Casey Winters recalls a Pinterest onboarding email flow with how-to content and an app download prompt that failed to improve activation; the app email drew more unsubscribes than downloads. Emails matching why people joined worked better, so for a dormant signup he would send one piece of value tied to their original interest, linked straight into it.
- Watch a few users before sending broadly. Adriel Frederick watched someone use Facebook and saw the product steering new users down a single path to find friends; a better reminder, he says, would only have sent more people into it. He would watch a handful of quiet signups try the action the message promises and fix where they stall. Hila would first check that signup, key action and return events join to the same user, so a missing event doesn't make an active user look dormant.
- Test the message and the fix together. Albert Cheng would randomize three groups: no message, a message linking to the current experience, and the same message linking to a guided next action. The third group shows whether the product work adds anything beyond the reminder.
- Count retained use, with unsubscribes as a guardrail. Lauryn would set the success metric before writing the email; at Airtable, team activation meant more than one person contributing in week four. Because that takes four weeks to read, she would track the steps in between, such as invites sent and teammates who contributed.
- Cap the reminders. Adriel would set a contact cap, stop messages once the user completes the promised action, and check whether higher frequency changes later returns and complaints. He would rather reach fewer people with a timely reason to return than train the whole cohort to tune out.
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Growth
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you choose a startup's first growth channel?
Pick a channel the product can feed, test it with one narrow segment on a set budget and date, and judge it by how many users reach value and come back.
What should a founder check first when growth stalls?
That the data is right, then cohort retention split by segment and channel. If curves trend toward zero in every slice, fix the product before spending more on acquisition.
How do you tell a growth problem from a product problem?
Bring in a small batch of users from one clean channel and read their cohorts. If they activate and return but there aren't many, it's distribution. If they leave within the first week, product owns the fix.
What moves activation in a new user's first few days?
Find where users drop, then match the lever: pre-answer setup for users who stall, make the first action an earned win for users who feel nothing, and bring back users who got value.
Who should own acquisition and retention, growth or marketing?
Most members would split near signup, with marketing on channels and the promise and growth on the path to first value. The line still has to follow the growth model, and both teams judge channels by the cohorts that stay.
Should a growth team report to product or marketing?
Wherever the biggest lever is. For most product-led companies that is product, next to core rather than inside it, and once paid spend matters too, one growth leader owns acquisition and activation.
Which lifecycle emails should a team build first?
The ones aimed at the steepest drop on the retention curve, usually the activation email. Depth and renewal emails come next, and win-back to fully churned users comes last.
When should a product-led company add sales?
A founder can start working accounts where usage is spreading and retaining. A sales team follows once deals need security reviews and procurement that self-serve can't handle.
Which self-serve accounts should a sales rep call?
Ones big enough to pay for a rep's time, with use spreading inside the company and a need self-serve can't meet. Hold some flagged accounts back to check that sales added value.
Which early action should count as activation?
Use two measures: an early action onboarding can move as the team's operating metric, and a later repeat action to check that those users came back. Randomize the onboarding change so motivated users don't skew the read.
What makes a good north star metric for an early product?
A retention measure built from how often the problem occurs, the action that solves it and the user it describes, with activation as an input. Drop it if the team can raise it without users getting more value.
Should a new marketplace build supply or demand first?
Whichever side gets a buyer to a completed transaction while giving the supplier a reason to stay. Start in one narrow market and track matches, supplier earnings and repeat buyers.
When can a marketplace copy its first city?
When service holds after subsidies come down, a new manager can run the launch playbook without the founders, and the team knows whether the channel behind market one's demand starts warm or cold in the next market.
How should you test a landing page?
Show visitors what they searched for before the ask, start with the page's first clear funnel drop, and count activated users per visitor alongside signups.
Should a startup with a few dozen users stop acquisition?
Stop broad acquisition but keep a small hand-picked flow from one segment, onboard those users live, and count only return visits nobody prompted.
How does a B2B startup find its first paying customers?
Have founders sell by hand to one narrow buyer, starting with warm intros and asking for payment early. Then check who actually paid, and at what price, before choosing a channel to scale.
