---
title: "When to In-App and when to Email"
slug: "when-to-in-app-and-when-to-email"
updated: 2023-06-01T10:58:47Z
published: 2023-06-01T10:58:47Z
canonical: "knowledgebase.copilot.cx/when-to-in-app-and-when-to-email"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledgebase.copilot.cx/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# When to in-app and when to email

When you're planning communications with your users, you have two main options to choose from:

1. In-app messages – a pop-up that appears in the app, usually on a specific screen or after a certain action
2. Email – a message sent to the user's inbox

Let's look at when you should use each of these channels and why using both is often the best option.

## Use in-app to reach users when they're already engaged

In-app messages have 5-10 times the conversion rates of emails.

When a user sees your in-app message, it's highly relevant because they're already doing something in your app. And the more relevant and [contextual](/v1/docs/in-app-triggers-controlling-when-to-present-a-popup-in-the-app) you can make your message with events, the better.

For example: If a smart light user on Android opens the day-and-night scheduler, you could trigger an in-app showing how to integrate the light with a Google Home routine.

## Use email for more educational content

Email is a great option for deeper, more educational pieces, or any messages that your users may want to revisit.

Here are a few communications that are best suited to email:

- A welcome email with a quick round-up of your top three features
- A monthly newsletter showcasing your newest features and app improvements
- An educational email sequence to promote heavier usage of a specific feature set

And of course, another big benefit of email is that it gives you the opportunity to pull users back into your product. After all, in-apps will never reach users who aren't using your product.

## Two is better than one

Emails that follow in-apps have double the clickthrough rate (CTR) as standalone emails. So when you're planning your campaigns, always think about how you can set them up as multi-channel sequences.

Here's an example to show why this is so effective:

- You want to get users to try out a new feature in your app
- You send an in-app message, but some users close the message without thinking because they're in the middle of something
- You send a follow-up email on the same subject, which the same users now have time to read

On top of this, email also gives you the opportunity to go into more detail – maybe with an educational video or step-by-step guide. This gives you more chance to convert users who didn't convert from the in-app.

So, when in doubt, [sequence](/v1/docs/the-strength-of-engagement-sequences).