thinkhard.SI

Prompt repository Customer support & success

Write onboarding emails that get new customers to first value

New customers sign up and stall before they see what your product does for them, and you want a short email sequence that gets each one to that first result.

Registry no.
SUP-043
Collection
Customer support & success
Laid out for
Any chat model
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
9
Added

Customer support & successAny chat

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when New customers sign up and stall before they see what your product does for them, and you want a short email sequence that gets each one to that first result.

  • {{customer_type}}
  • {{product}}
  • {{target_days}}
  • {{first_value}}
  • {{setup_steps}}
  • {{events}}
  • {{help_resources}}
  • {{sender}}
  • {{last_resort_help}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Write an onboarding email sequence for new {{customer_type}} customers of {{product}}, so that as many of them as possible reach the first value moment below within {{target_days}} days of signing up. The sequence goes to everyone who signs up, so it has to work without a call or a dedicated contact; planning a single account's onboarding is a different job.

First value moment (the first thing a customer does that shows them the product works for them): {{first_value}}

The steps it takes to get there, in order, with what usually goes wrong at each:
"""
{{setup_steps}}
"""

Product events we can send or skip emails on, if any: {{events}}
Help we actually offer (docs, videos, chat, office hours): {{help_resources}}
Sender and voice: {{sender}}

Write 4 to 6 emails, in the order of the setup steps, so each one asks for the next step and nothing more. For each email give:
Send when: the day number or the event that triggers it.
Skip if: the event that shows the customer already did this step.
Subject line: under 50 characters, saying what the email helps them do.
Body: under 120 words, one action only, with the single link or button it points to written as [LINK: where it goes].
If stuck: one line on what to do if the step fails, using only the help listed above.

The last email goes to customers who still have not reached first value. It asks, in one sentence, what is in the way, and offers {{last_resort_help}}.

After the emails, add a table with the columns Email, Send when, Skip if, Action asked, so the sequence can be set up in the email tool.

Each email should read as if one person who wants them to succeed wrote it, in plain words. For example, a subject line in the right form: "Add your first client". That example shows the form only.

Do not:
- List features the customer does not need for the next step.
- Put two asks in one email.
- Use urgency that is not real, such as warnings that the account will be limited, unless the trial terms in the setup steps say so.
- Quote results other customers got, unless the figures are given above.

If the setup steps do not make clear how a customer gets from one step to the next, or no events are listed, time the emails by day number only and add a final section headed "To confirm" with each assumption you made.

Variables

{{customer_type}}
Who the sequence is for, for example "self-serve small business" or "free trial".
{{product}}
Your product or service.
{{target_days}}
How many days after sign-up you want customers to reach first value, for example 7.
{{first_value}}
The first value moment, for example "sends their first invoice" or "publishes their first booking page".
{{setup_steps}}
The steps from sign-up to first value, in order, with where people usually get stuck.
{{events}}
The product events your email tool can trigger on, for example "account created, first project added", or "none".
{{help_resources}}
The help you offer, with links or names, for example "setup guide, 2-minute videos, live chat 9 to 5".
{{sender}}
Who the emails come from and how they sound, for example "the founder, friendly and brief".
{{last_resort_help}}
What the last email offers, for example "a 15-minute setup call" or "a reply from our support team".

Why it works

  • Who it's for. Every email moves the customer one step toward the first value moment you define, which is the point where new customers decide to stay.
  • Format. Send-when and skip-if lines per email, plus a setup table, mean customers who already did a step are not nagged about it.
  • What to avoid. No two asks in one email and no false urgency, so the sequence helps people instead of pushing them to unsubscribe.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in blanks and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/customer-onboarding-emails

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "customer-onboarding-emails"}, or just ask for it by name.