How to create an onboarding email sequence that really helps users start using the product

I used to send a five-day welcome email sequence that had advice, lists of features and friendly reminders to upgrade. The open rates were okay. Less than ten percent of people who tried the product ever finished the main setup inside the app.

We completely stopped using the messages and made each email focus on one specific action. The second email now takes the user to connecting their main data source along with a video that shows them how to do it in just one minute.

That one change raised the activation rate for trial users from eight percent, to twenty-two percent in a few weeks. People do not want emails that try to cheer them on; they want a way to get their first result.

What is the one onboarding email strategy that worked best for you?