Have a new feature to announce? Use Appcues to show new and existing users how it works to increase adoption.

As with creating any flow, it's helpful to take a sympathetic stance with your users. You may be excited to show and tell them all about your new feature(s), but the information is best received and used with the right time and place in mind. 

Consider the following:

• How does this feature benefit my users?
• Where is the best place to announce this feature?
• How much guidance will my users need to adopt this feature?
• Do any of these answers vary by user type?

In this guide, we'll cover creating a welcome experience that is personalized to the user. We'll cover:

• Building the content
• Setting the Theme
• Targeting the correct users

The final product of your flow will look something like this when we're done:

Building the content

Let's begin by creating the actual content.

Pro tip: you can use either a Modal or a Slideout. Modals are more intrusive, so best for major announcements that need the user's full attention. With Slideouts, a user can continue to interact with the page and are better for more minor announcements.

For this example, we'll build a Modal, but the mechanics are virtually the same for a Slideout.

First, launch the Appcues Builder to create a new flow

There are multiple ways to create a new flow, one is from the flows page in your dashboard by clicking the green 'Create a Flow' button: 

Create a Modal step

Once in the Appcues Builder, start by creating a Modal: 

Customize

Add a gif to highlight the new feature, if applicable. Create a to-the-point header and a short teaser for what users can do with the new feature. Add a call to action (this can be a link to the release notes, a permalink to another flow, and more). It all may come together like this:

Setting a Theme

See our help article Themes if you haven't already set a theme for your Appcues content.

If you have a Theme you're ready to use, make sure this modal is using it:

Targeting the correct users

The main considerations for targeting a feature announcement are how familiar the user is with the existing product and whether the new feature would be helpful for a certain user.

To be able to target you'll need the applicable User Properties being sent to Appcues. You can see what you're sending on the "Events and Properties" tab of the Settings section. And recommended User Properties to send are in the User Properties Overview doc.

Existing user targeting

For feature announcements, targeting users that are familiar with your product is generally preferred; a brand new user isn't aware that the feature never existed in the first place. By sending Appcues a property for when the user was created you can target them based on time:

User type targeting

Likewise, if this feature only benefits a certain user type make sure to target just to them. For example, if the feature is a new part of the admin panel:

That's it!

For inspiration on great-looking feature announcements, head over to ReallyGoodUX.

When you're ready you can use Test your Flows to see what your modal will look like and publish your flow. And remember, you don't need to wait to build all the content you're hoping to build to set this flow live; and you can always iterate on each flow once you know how your users are interacting with them.