New feature announcement template
The short answer
A new feature announcement names one change in the customer's words, says why it matters, shows how to use it in one step and has one link. Write two versions. A short note to the people who asked, with their words quoted. A broader one for everyone else. Annsa's Share Back drafts the note to each person who asked; you review it and send it.
A new feature announcement tells people one thing changed in your product: what they can now do, how to do it and where to start. This page gives you two messages to copy. A short personal note goes to the people who asked. A broader announcement goes to everyone else.
TL;DR
- Write two messages for one feature, not one for everybody.
- Subject lines name the change in the customer's words: "You can now pause a subscription".
- The note to the people who asked quotes their words, says where to find it and asks one question. Send it the day it ships.
- The broader announcement leads with what the reader can now do, shows how in one step and has one link. Send it a day later, or post it with your changelog.
How to use it: copy the block below. Fill the brackets for one feature. Cut any part you cannot fill honestly. An announcement that says "improved experience" has nothing in it.
A new feature announcement template
NEW FEATURE ANNOUNCEMENT (one feature, two messages)
--- 1. Note to the people who asked (send the day it ships) ---
Subject: You can now [what changed, in their words]
Preview: [Where to find it, or the benefit. Under 90 characters.]
Hi [First name],
[A while back / On (date)] you told me:
"[Their words, one or two sentences]"
[What changed, one sentence.] You'll find it at [screen name or link].
Does this do what you needed? Reply either way.
[Your name]
--- 2. Broader announcement (a day later, or with your changelog) ---
Subject: You can now [what the reader can do]
Preview: [The benefit, not a repeat of the subject. Under 90 characters.]
[One sentence: what the reader can now do.]
Good for: [the person and the moment, one line]
How to use it:
1. [Where to go]
2. [What to do]
[Screenshot or short clip]
[Verb] [feature]: [one link]
[Your name]
--- Before you send ---
[ ] One feature only
[ ] The subject names the change in the customer's words
[ ] The preview text adds something and is under 90 characters
[ ] The opening line says what the reader can now do
[ ] The personal note quotes the person's own words and asks one question
[ ] One link, and it goes straight to the feature
[ ] No "excited to announce", no internal names, no feature list
[ ] Nothing promised that has no plan behind it
How is this different from the other pages?
Two nearby pages cover related jobs. Use the right one.
- Feature shipped email templates covers the email to a customer who asked, in three situations: one person, several people, and a feature that shipped differently from the request. Use it when the question is how to write to the person who asked.
- Closing the feedback loop is an audit: it counts what you shipped in 30 days and whether anyone was told.
- This page is the template for announcing one feature to two audiences, the people who asked and everyone else.
What goes in each part?
Subject line. Name the change as the customer would. "You can now pause a subscription for up to 3 months," not "Subscription state machine v2" and not "Product update". Keep it short enough to read on a phone. No hype, and no "We're excited to announce".
Preview text. The line after the subject in the inbox. Add the benefit or the place to find it. Do not repeat the subject. Put the useful words first, and keep it under about 90 characters. Example: "Keep the account, the history and the price."
Opening line. What the reader can now do, in one sentence. Not how you feel about it.
For the people who asked: their words. Quote the line they gave you. It is the proof you listened. Keep the note plain and short, with no marketing language.
Why it matters. The person and the moment. "If you have customers who go quiet over summer." It lets people who do not need the feature stop reading, and people who do recognize themselves.
How to use it. One short path: where to click, or a link that goes straight there. A screenshot or a short clip helps more than a paragraph. If it needs more, link to a help page.
One link. One call to action, with a clear verb: "Try pause". Not "Learn more", and not three links.
What is next. One line, only if you have a plan. Never a date you have not set.
One question. In the personal note, ask whether it does what they needed. A reply of "not quite" is the most useful answer you can get.
Examples, filled in
Both are examples. Names, numbers and the feature are made up.
Example: the short note to the people who asked
Subject: You can now pause a subscription
Preview: It is under Billing > Subscriptions.
Hi Maya,
A few weeks ago you told me:
"I need to pause customers over the summer without losing them."
You can now pause a subscription for up to 3 months. It is under
Billing > Subscriptions > Pause.
Does this do what you needed? Reply either way. A "not quite" helps
me more than a yes.
Cat
Example: the broader announcement
Subject: You can now pause a subscription for up to 3 months
Preview: Keep the account, the history and the price.
Pause a subscription instead of canceling it.
Good for customers who go quiet for a season.
How to use it:
1. Open the customer's subscription.
2. Choose Pause and pick 1, 2 or 3 months.
Billing resumes on its own on the date you chose.
[Screenshot of the Pause button]
Try pause: [link to the subscription screen]
Which channel, and when?
- The people who asked: email, the day it ships or the day after. They are waiting. They remember asking.
- Everyone else: email the same week, or a short in-app notice where the feature lives. A day after the personal notes keeps the people who asked from reading it second.
- Every change: a changelog entry. It is the permanent link the other messages point back to.
- Not both audiences in one message. Mixing them makes the personal note feel like a mailing.
If a feature is small, skip the email and put it in your release notes. If it is a headline change, add a post too. For planning what goes out together, see the release plan template. A week later, check whether people used it, and read any replies.
Where does Annsa fit?
Writing the two messages takes ten minutes. Finding who asked, and what they said, is the slow part, especially when requests came in through Slack, Intercom, calls and surveys.
Annsa keeps each request with the person who made it, their exact words, the account and its revenue. When a job ships, Share Back drafts a note to each person who asked. You review it and send it. (Automatic sending exists but is off by default.) Numbered releases group what shipped, so the broader announcement has its list ready. See Share Back.
What should you do now?
- Pick the last thing you shipped.
- Fill in the template. Write the personal note first, then the broader one.
- Send the personal notes today. Send the broader one tomorrow.