Product Update Email Examples

Superlist does a nice job of balancing engaging screenshots with short blurbs in their product update emails. The images are generally slightly abstract, hinting at the new feature without being a direct screenshot of it. They also include emojis throughout the email, staying on brand and highlighting their personality. The closing line is "we can't wait to see what you make!". It still means "check out our new feature," but it reads as an invitation rather than an instruction.

This Product Update email example from Layers covers two things: 1) a new feature and 2) an opportunity to invest in the platform. Liam opens with the investment ask, keeps it to a few lines, and then moves on to the update readers expected. From there, the email introduces Posts with a short blurb and teaser image. The blurb explains what Posts is for and leaves the rest to the app.

Instapaper did a nice job of incorporating simple and easy to understand screenshots to help users visualize the new feature announcements. The overall text of the email is heavy, so these visuals give the user a break while allowing them to see it in action. They wrap the email up with a list of another seven updates and improvements, one bullet each, which shows how much shipped in one release without giving every item its own section.

Folk's New Year product update email highlights all of their new features that they've kicked off the year with. Each feature announcement comes with a short gif showing what it does, and each section ends with its own link, from "Start here" for email sequences to "Switch to the darkside now" for dark mode. With six updates in one email, the gifs also break up the blocks of text.

Slack is jumping on the AI bandwagon with this product update email. The subject line ends with the ✨ emoji, and the header claims that Slack's AI capabilities "ignite productivity". The body lists three features (search answers, channel recaps, thread summaries) with two links to read more. Near the end, Slack states that Slack AI is available only as a paid add-on for Enterprise plans in English, with other plans and languages coming later.

June sent a product update email to announce their shiny new website. Instead of listing what changed on the site, June tells the company's story: two founders leaving Intercom 3 years ago, getting into YC, and early users who have since grown to a million in revenue. The new positioning lands in one bold line, "June is product analytics that works for you." The only CTA points to the news on Twitter.

Descript sends a monthly product update email that does a nice job of blending visuals and text. Each screenshot is laid over a bright background that draws attention to it. Each of the four updates gets a header, a short blurb, and its own "Learn more" link. The copy has a voice, too: the intro jokes that the team barely had time to write the email and that you apparently didn't have time to unsubscribe, and the Stock Speakers blurb admits that neither of the two sample voices "sound very fun TBH".

mymind does a great job of integrating their positive and bright branding into their product update email. They use their colors throughout and swap standard bullets for the ✦ mark from the subject line. The email introduces the new iOS share panel and lists the three goals behind it (delightful, one tap to save, easy to dismiss), so users know what to look for the first time they try it. Last but not least, they're sure to let Android users know that their time is coming soon... something that they're very used to hearing by now.

Reform's product update email does a nice job of balancing text descriptions with simple images that help users understand the updates at a high level. Two shipped features get a section each (folders and international phone numbers), and then a list of five upcoming releases, from spam prevention to form analytics, tells users what's coming next. It ends with an invitation to hit reply with feature requests, signed by Arun Sivashankaran.

Cron, err, Notion, sent this product update email to tell users the calendar app was being renamed. After a year of integrating Cron with Notion, the team was ready to rebrand the app as Notion Calendar, along with features that pull Notion pages and database dates into events. The email links to the announcement on Twitter before explaining the changes in the body. From there, the email thanks users for being early believers in the product and links to the changelog for the details. Finally, the email sets expectations by letting users know that this will be the final Cron email they will receive and that Raphael will keep posting on Twitter.

Arc builds anticipation in their product update email. They're referring to everything you've seen to this point as Act I. They name a date, January 30, 2024, for the reveal they call Act II, without saying what it is. The main call to action is a sneak peek into their 2024 plans, followed by a thank-you for the year's launches: 1.0, Mobile, Max, and Windows.

Tally opens their year-end product update with a subject line that thanks users for a great year. They name the year's wins (the Tally 2.0 launch and a number one spot on Product Hunt in September) before getting into recent updates. Images and text are balanced throughout, so a reader can scan to the features that interest them.

Visual Electric leans into the entire purpose of their app by keeping their product update email extremely visual. They announce four new moods for their image generator by showing rather than telling. The entire email is just a handful of examples of what is now possible with the simple closing prompt of "What mood should we make next?" and an invitation to reply with suggestions.

Spline incorporates fun GIFs to accompany each product update. They keep their product update email short and sweet with a quick tagline of the new feature followed by 1-2 sentences about it. The rest is up for you to see for yourself in the app.

Buffer starts this product update off with a banger of a subject line. If teasing the most requested feature of the entire year isn't enough to convince you to open their email, nothing will. Once you open it, you're presented with a nice graphic that highlights just how many users upvoted this specific feature request. They then close the email with a quick rundown of why you will love this feature with a link to get started using it. They hooked you with the subject line and didn't waste any time getting you to their CTA.

Polywork announces all of their product updates in a predictable monthly cadence. They package each update with a quick screenshot, tagline, description, and call to action. They give you just enough information about each update to be interested before sending you off to learn more which allows them to keep the email as concise as possible.

Folk leads with an easy-to-understand GIF that shows their newest product update in action. And if that isn't enough, they also link to a quick video showing it in action. The body lists the five groups folk will suggest: Founders, Executives, My team, Investors, and Journalists.

This product update email from Ahrefs borders on TLDR territory, so it opens with two alternatives: a 5-minute video that runs through the updates, or a blog post version to read outside your inbox. The features are worth the length, and the reader picks the format before scrolling into the summary.

Atlas follows a very clean and formulaic approach to their product update email. It starts with a quick bullet list of the new changes and is then followed by a detailed explanation of each alongside a screenshot of the feature. This structure makes the entire update easy to follow.

Instapaper used this product update email to soften a price increase. Yes, the increases are included in the email but first comes the announcement of a new feature specifically for paying customers. Permanent Archive leads, and the jump from $3 to $6 a month follows with three stated reasons.

Parrot AI introduces a new feature for their Chrome extension through a mix of why you should care and a quick screenshot of what it actually looks like in use. It closes with a link to book time directly with the CEO and a support address, so there is an obvious place to send feedback.

Canny opens their product update email with a quick highlight of each of the new changes, so you can decide whether any of them are worth reading in full. From there, they go into each of the updates in more detail with a nice screenshot and then link to an external page that has the full details.