Understanding what types of email notifications to use throughout various touchpoints of the customer journey can be critical to a product or app’s success. Below, are the essential email notification types product and app teams use when communicating with customers at various instances of user engagement.

Activation emails are sent as soon as a new user creates an account. It’s the first email notification your users will receive, and is a critical path step towards user activation. For many services, users very literally cannot use the app until an account has been activated by clicking a link in the email.Activation emails serve to verify that the email address the user provided is valid and working. They also remind users that they chose to sign-up for your product, an important step in making the difference between a genuine user and a “drive-by” signup.

Welcome and onboarding messages are sent once a user has verified their email address to activate a new account. Most often, a welcome message is sent as soon as an account has been activated. Welcome messages reinforce a service’s core promises, set the tone for future interactions, and say thanks for joining.One or more onboarding messages are sent to help users explore and get started with the product. Whether timed or triggered by specific actions, these emails provide information and prompt users to get up and running—and to accelerate their pace to become active, engaged users.

User invites and shares are are a core email for consumer and B2B apps alike. Both contribute to viral, word-of-mouth growth. Explicit invitations asking colleagues to join a project team are essential for many categories of services and are a notification example that product teams must consider implementing.Although shares are very often associated with social networks and similar consumer services, they also have a place in many B2B contexts. Document sharing and other forms collaboration are common examples. It is worth noting that shares also play the role of an implicit invitation to join when sent to a new user.

Activity notifications are an important tool for alerting users to changes in workflows and for integrating in-app activity with many users’ primary environment, their email inbox. They also are an effective way of reengaging passive users who might not be using the app on a regular basis.These messages can be triggered by explicit events or sent on a scheduled basis, depending upon the context. Typical examples include reminders to complete a task or a summary of missed social media notifications.

Reports and dashboards are especially important for B2B services. The information they contain is essential for users and their teams to keep tabs on the business processes they manage.Like other forms of activity notifications, these messages reinforce engagement for users who may not be active in the app itself. And well-designed reports and dashboards are an effective way of explicitly reminding users and their executive decision-makers of a service’s value.

Password resets and two-factor authentication are examples of utilitarian notifications that every app must implement reliably. Like activation emails, they’re quite literally the sort of product email can make or break a user’s ability to use a service.

Security and account alerts are an essential aspect of helping users to protect their accounts. They’re a crucial bulwark against fraud, misuse, and the theft of sensitive information and credentials.