How you can convert your free trial users to paid ones and increase your MRR by 20%

People can lie.

Statistics don't.

The average conversion rate for SaaS free trials is 2% to 10%.

Anything below 25% and you are doing something wrong.

Many SaaS founders still don't have any email strategy in place.

It is PROVEN.

Email marketing is one of the most effective channels for marketing.

Here is the flows that the TOP SaaS businesses use to convert their users.

A common sequence looks like this:

1. Welcome flows (1 Email - Depends on the number of plans):

Good Metrics: 30-60% open rate

This is one of the most important emails.

The one that will get the most opens.

We want to focus on providing value.

Creating rapport with the user.

Ideas that can be implemented:

• Thank you
• Q&A most asked questions
• Guide through the basic process
• Features + Benefits explanation
• Amplify their problem
• Product tours
• Invitation to your social media
• Free resources

Depending on your objectives (Usually is a mix of those items).

We will send one or the other.

Let's go to our second flow.

The Onboarding.

This one is much more complex.

You will need to set out goals.

What do you want to achieve with your onboarding?

This can be many things:

• Increase trial to paid users
• Add more MRR
• Increase AVRPU (Increase the number of team members)
• Schedule more demo calls

Now also think about the problem you are solving for your users:

• Email Marketing automation. Manually takes too long
• Scrape leads faster
• Improve communication between departments

Now that you have the goals you want to achieve and how your SaaS helps your customers.

Let's craft the Onboarding process.

In our case, we want to convert trial users to paid ones.

2. Onboarding Emails (7 emails)

After the Welcome Email you have a series of Onboarding emails.

These emails need to guide them through your final objective.

For we:

Convert trial users to paid

Say that we have a SaaS with 14-day trial:

It would look like this:

Email 1 (Day 1): Product Features Expansion + Benefits
Email 2 (Day 3): Case Studies + Future Pacing + VSL?
Email 3 (Day 5): Product Feature + USP
Email 4 (Day 7): Halfway through trial email reminder
Email 5 (Day 10): Upgrade reminder + Achievement gamification
Email 6 (Day 14): Trial expires
Email 7 (After 4 days): Trial extension

Why do we want to extend their trial?

it is proven.

More than 80% of the users start paying after 40 days.

Wee want them to get so comfortable with your SaaS.

That they will pay no matter what.

They are already familiarized with your SaaS.

3. App Usage Flow (Depends on the usage)

These are emails sent depending on the usage of the user on your platform.

You need to take advantage of this flow.

The difference between a converted user and a non-converted one is in these flows.

We want to focus on engaging with the user.

Here we can build different emails:

• Congratulations when completing a certain action
• Track progress and outline the things that are left to do
• Detect more usage than usual
• Push unfinished registrations

4. Expiry Warning / Trial Extension Flow

We want to send a trial expiry warning 24-72 hours before the trial ends.

You want to make the user know

What will his life be without your product?

Make him realize all the changes you've made

The processes you have improved

Reaffirm the value of your product

Trial extension.

Did the person not use your software?

There's no point in making him pay for it.

Extend his trial.

5. Win-back flows

These are emails sent to people who are inactive.

The ones that aren't using your software.

Persuade them.

Use special perks, make it interactive.

6. Post-trial flow

Analyzing is important.

Much more important is to understand your audience.

Realize why didn't buy.

Here is what this flow will do.

Ask people what's the issue.

Offer them discounts.

Identify their pain point and offer them a solution for that.

• It is too expensive === offer a discount
• I'm using an alternative === why is that better?
• Too difficult to learn === how can I improve UX?

These are all ideas and flows that you can work on to improve your SaaS retention and revenue.

DM me if you want to know more.