MVP Email Is About Learning, Not Marketing

At MVP stage, email is a feedback tool, not a marketing channel. Every email you send should either help users reach the core value proposition or help you learn something about how they use the product. Nothing else matters right now.

Resist the urge to build elaborate sequences. You do not need a 12-email onboarding drip. You need 3-4 emails that get users to the aha moment and ask them what they think. When you have product-market fit, invest in sophisticated email marketing. Until then, keep it lean.

The 30-Minute MVP Email Setup

Here is the entire email marketing setup you need at MVP stage, in 30 minutes:

1. Welcome email: one sentence, one feature to try, one link. (5 minutes)
2. Day 3 feedback email: "How is it going? Reply to this email." (5 minutes)
3. Day 7 question: "What would make you use this every day?" (5 minutes)
4. Weekly product update template. (15 minutes)

That is it. Four emails. Set them up in whatever free tool you choose and move on to building product.

Reading the Signals

At MVP stage, email engagement is a product-market fit signal. If users reply to your feedback emails with feature requests and excitement, you are on to something. If they do not open your emails at all, it might mean your email is bad, or it might mean they do not care about the product enough to engage.

Track reply rates, not just open rates. A user who replies with detailed feedback is worth more than 100 users who passively open your newsletter. Those replies are your roadmap.