Unlike the old days where you usually just buy a software off the shelf and pay a one-off payment, many softwares now charges on a subscription basis.
With the new subscription model, users expect regular updates and improvements. Otherwise, it’s easy for them to switch to other alternative products on the market.
So to keep your customers engaged, it’s important to not only “ship” regular updates, but also to “communicate” these updates effectively with your customers. And here’s come the importance of sharing effective product release notes.
Release notes is a documentation that you share with your customers to inform them about the new features added, recent bug fixes, and improvements that you’ve made to the product.
Product release notes is an important way of communication with your loyal customers and power users. When used effectively, they can help you keep your customer engaged and keep them excited about what’s coming next.
By communicating your recent updates, you give an impression to your users that you are always working hard to improve the product. Product release notes also let users know that their feedback are valued and are often used to make meaningful changes on the product.
Oftentimes, certain new features that you’ve launched recently might be available to users who are on a certain plan only. By communicating these new features along with their benefits in your product release notes, you can help your users explore new features that they might otherwise not be aware of and increases the chances that your users move to a higher-tier plan.
Sharing product release notes regularly also helps to reduce churn. Product release notes help to keep users informed and can help retain frustrated users who might otherwise be not aware of the bug fixes or new features that they have been waiting for.
So other than simply communicating recent fixes and improvements, it’s also a good idea to include a section to communicate the coming-soon items (of course, you will have to then deliver what you promised). This way, you can avoid situations where some clients thought that something is missing in your product and churned, but in fact, you are going to launch the new feature / improvement very soon.
In this section, share the important new features that you want to highlight. To catch your users’ attention and help them understand better how they can use and benefit from the new features, it’s useful to include screenshots or GIF about the new features and add a link to the related help desk article.
Here, communicate the recent bug fixes and smaller improvements that you’ve made to the product that are not included in the What’s New section. Don’t underestimate the power of even small improvements to the product - they might be the ones that your customers have been waiting for.
Share what are the next-ups in your product roadmap so that your customers will know what are coming soon - a great way to keep them excited.
Looking for a tool to collaborate on writing your product release notes? Try out Kipwise!
1. Simply create a Kipwise account via the Start with this Template button at the bottom of this Page
2. After creating your team on Kipwise, create a new Page and select create a new Page from your templates
3. Search for “Release Notes Templates” and select Use this template
Most SaaS companies publish release notes monthly or bi-weekly, depending on their development cycle. The key is consistency - establish a regular schedule that matches your actual product updates. If you ship features weekly, consider monthly summaries to avoid overwhelming customers. For major releases, publish immediately, but batch smaller improvements into regular updates.
Write for your primary audience - typically non-technical users. Focus on benefits rather than technical implementation details. For example, instead of "Implemented OAuth 2.0 authentication," write "Added secure single sign-on to streamline your login process." If you have technical users, consider creating separate technical changelogs alongside customer-facing release notes.
Release notes are customer-facing communications that highlight benefits and improvements in user-friendly language. Changelogs are typically more detailed, technical records of all changes made to the product, including minor bug fixes and internal improvements. Release notes are marketing-focused, while changelogs are documentation-focused.
Keep individual items concise - 1-2 sentences per feature or fix. The entire release note should be scannable in 2-3 minutes. Use bullet points, screenshots, and clear headings to make information digestible. Remember, customers want to quickly understand what's new and how it benefits them, not read lengthy explanations.
Yes, visual elements significantly improve engagement and understanding. Screenshots help users quickly identify new features in your interface, while GIFs or short videos can demonstrate functionality. Visual content is especially important for UI changes or complex new features. Keep file sizes optimized for fast loading.
Only announce features that are fully rolled out and stable. For gradual rollouts, mention "rolling out to all users over the next week" with clear timelines. Avoid mentioning beta features unless specifically communicating to beta users. If you must pull a feature after announcing it, immediately publish an update explaining the situation transparently.
Even small improvements matter to customers. Highlight bug fixes, performance improvements, or minor UI enhancements. If there truly aren't user-facing changes, consider skipping that period rather than publishing empty release notes. Alternatively, use the opportunity to highlight upcoming features or share behind-the-scenes improvements.
Use multiple channels: in-app notifications for active users, email newsletters for your subscriber list, blog posts for SEO benefits, and social media for broader reach. Consider your customer segments - power users may want detailed email updates, while casual users might prefer brief in-app notifications. Make release notes easily accessible on your website.
Yes, but frame them positively. Instead of "Fixed critical login bug," write "Improved login reliability and speed." Customers appreciate knowing you're actively addressing issues, but focus on the improved experience rather than highlighting past problems. Group minor fixes under a general "improvements and fixes" section.
Track engagement metrics like open rates (for emails), page views (for blog posts), and click-through rates to feature documentation. Monitor customer support ticket volume - good release notes should reduce questions about new features. Survey customers about their awareness of new features and gather feedback on communication clarity. Use analytics to see which types of content generate the most interest.
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