The document outlines essential onboarding practices to enhance user engagement and retention in apps. Key strategies include providing compelling introductory content, utilizing custom opt-in prompts for permissions, and implementing multichannel messaging campaigns. It emphasizes the importance of measuring onboarding success and optimizing through testing to improve user retention rates.

1. ONBOARDING ESSENTIALS
AND BEST PRACTICES FOR
CREATING ENGAGED USERS
DECEMBER 7, 2016 / 2:00PM ET
DONTE LEDBETTER, GROWTH PRODUCER,
CONTENT & PROGRAMMING

2. 2
WHY ONBOARDING
IS IMPORTANT

3. 3
WHY ONBOARDING IS IMPORTANT
The cost of acquiring an engaged user is high.
Onboarding sets the stage for the rest of a user’s journey with
your brand and determines your chances of retaining a user.
$61Effective Cost Per Engaged Customer
1IN4Fewer than 1 in 4 users will return to
the app the next day

4. 4
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
OF AN ONBOARDING
CAMPAIGN

5. 5
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF AN ONBOARDING CAMPAIGN
MULTICHANNEL
MESSAGING
INTRODUCTORY
CONTENT
MEASUREMENTPERMISSIONING TESTING

6. 6
MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION WITH INTRODUCTORY CONTENT
Once a user downloads your app, it’s important to greet
them with introductory content. A good introduction
showcases your app’s value, discusses key features, and
encourages people to continue using your app with a
clear call to action.

7. 7
MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION WITH INTRODUCTORY CONTENT
5 TIPS FOR GOOD INTRODUCTORY CONTENT
1. Provide length indicators to show users how long
it will take to get through the introductory screens.
2. Provide an option to leave the introduction.
3. Show the app’s value and functionality through
images.
4. Keep it short and to the point. Only include the
most essential information.
5. Include your app’s logo and slogan to build trust
with the user.

8. 8
ASK THE RIGHT WAY WITH PERMISSIONING
If your app requires special permissions for users to
get the most out of it, or if you would like for push
notifications to be enabled to send useful messages,
you need to communicate this with your users.

9. 9
ASK THE RIGHT WAY WITH PERMISSIONING
4 TIPS FOR GOOD PERMISSIONING
1. Use custom opt-in dialogues to ask for special
permissions, such as sending push notifications
or gathering location data to provide users with
a better app experience.
2. Make sure your custom opt-in prompt shows
before the native OS prompt. If a user declines,
you get a second chance.
3. Test your opt-in prompts to see what variant
generates more opt-ins.
4. Explain why users should opt in to receiving
push from your app (i.e. prime for push).

10. 1 0
BOOST RETENTION WITH MULTICHANNEL MESSAGING
Multichannel onboarding campaigns
raise the odds that new users complete
onboarding and become engaged with the
app. According to our research, multichannel
onboarding campaigns resulted in a 130%
increase in two-month retention versus 71%
for single push campaigns.

11. 1 1
BOOST RETENTION WITH MULTICHANNEL MESSAGING
2 TIPS FOR A GOOD MULTICHANNEL
CAMPAIGN
1. Supplement push notifications with other
messaging channels, like email, in-app/
in-browser messages or News Feed Cards.
2. Use push notifications or email to reach
users who don’t finish onboarding.
FiberMonk 5m ago
You’re almost there! Add a credit card to
your FiberMonk account and get 15% off
your first order!
50%
RISE IN NEXT DAY
RETENTION
71%
RISE IN
TWO-MONTH
RETENTION

12. 1 2
OPTIMIZE YOUR ONBOARDING FLOW BY TESTING
While the data is pouring in from your
onboarding campaign, it’s important to
know what will work and what won’t. A good
way to find your winning messaging is to test
your messaging.
FiberMonk 5m ago
You’re almost there! Add a credit
card to your FiberMonk account
and get 15% off your first order!
FiberMonk 5m ago
Uh oh, you forgot to complete
registration. Register to take
advantage of our promotions.
VARIANT A VARIANT B

13. FiberMonk 5m ago
You’re almost there! Add a credit
card to your FiberMonk account
and get 15% off your first order!
FiberMonk 5m ago
Uh oh, you forgot to complete
registration. Register to take
advantage of our promotions.
VARIANT A VARIANT B
1 3
OPTIMIZE YOUR ONBOARDING FLOW BY TESTING
40%
CONVERSION
RATE INCREASE
WITH TESTING
2 TIPS FOR A GOOD TESTING
1. Test your onboarding flow (content, length)
to optimize for the flow that yields the most
engagement.
2. Test different variables of your messaging,
including copy, images, tone, and
personalization.

14. 1 4
MEASURE SUCCESS
You need a way to measure the
success of your onboarding
campaign or else you’ll just end
up wasting money on a campaign
that’s not bringing in results.
CLASSIC RETENTION
RETENTIONRATE
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
DAY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 45 60 90

15. 1 5
MEASURE SUCCESS
CLASSIC RETENTION / OVERALL
RETENTIONRATE
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
DAY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 45 60 90
1
2
Fewer than 1 in 4 users will
return to the app the next day
Users are more likely to come back to the app the
day of the week they first engaged with the app
1 2
3 TIPS FOR MEASURING SUCCESS
1. Measure classic retention after
onboarding, as well as range and
rolling retention.
2. Analyze the impact of onboarding
on first-time purchases and
registrations.
3. Compare your retention metrics with
your industry’s.

16. CLASSIC
Looks at users that return
on a specific day
RANGE
Looks at users that return at any
time during a range of time
ROLLING
Looks at users that return at
any time after a specific day
CLASSIC RETENTION
RETENTIONRATE
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
DAY
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 45 90
THREE POPULAR WAYS TO CALCULATE RETENTION

17. 1 7
ONBOARDING
EXAMPLES

18. 1 8
IHEARTRADIO - GREAT INTRO CONTENT, PART 1
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19. 1 9
IHEARTRADIO - GREAT INTRO CONTENT, PART 2
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you scheduled has
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20. 2 0
HOPPER - GREAT PERMISSIONING
StyleRyde
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scheduled has now
2m
slide to
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scheduled has now
2m
slide to

21. 2 1
TRIPIT - GREAT MULTICHANNEL ONBOARDING, PART 1
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you scheduled has
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22. 2 2
TRIPIT - GREAT MULTICHANNEL ONBOARDING, PART 2
StyleRyde
Sara — The ryde
you scheduled has
2m
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StyleRyde
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you scheduled has
2m
slide
IN-BROWSER MESSAGE
MOBILE APP
CONFIRMATION
EMAIL AND
WELCOME EMAIL

23. 2 3
1/ INCLUDE INTRODUCTORY CONTENT IN YOUR
ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE
2/ ASK FOR SPECIAL APP PERMISSIONS VIA
CUSTOM OPT-IN PROMPTS
3/ USE MULTICHANNEL MESSAGING TO BOOST
RETENTION
4/ TEST YOUR ONBOARDING FLOW AND
MESSAGING
5/ MEASURE THE IMPACT OF ONBOARDING ON
APP ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION
KEY TAKEAWAYS

24. 2 4
Q+A

25. 2 5
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Learn more at Appboy.com.
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