How do you shut down a SaaS properly?

Send one email that says what's happening, why, and when; refunds the current month in full; and gives people a way to take their data out that you've tested yourself. Then, after your name, one line for anybody curious about what you're doing next.

The goodbye took a Sunday

When the platform my developer tool plugged into shipped the same feature for free, the right answer was to close it well and quickly. I wrote the closing email on a Sunday afternoon, and it took the whole afternoon. (The product had taken a week. The goodbye took a Sunday.)

It said the product was closing. It said why, in one sentence: the platform now did the same thing, free, and I'd rather tell them than wait for them to notice. It gave a date 6 weeks away. It refunded the current month in full, whether they stayed to the end or not. It linked to the export, which I'd tested that morning, and a short guide to moving across.

The last line

At the very end I added one line: I was working on something new, and if anybody was curious, they could reply and I'd tell them when it was ready.

3 people wrote back to thank me, which I hadn't expected. 2 replied to the last line. One described almost exactly the problem I'd been building for, and became one of the first customers of my newest product. She's still a customer.

The checklist

• The reason, in one honest sentence.
• The date, with real notice. I gave 6 weeks.
• The refund, for the current period, given gladly.
• The export, tested by you that morning.
• Somewhere to go, if there is one.
• One line at the end, and only one. It must never turn into an advert.

Write your closing email now, while you're not closing anything. It's far easier to write it calmly.

The Second Product has the chapter. Ship Alone has the closing done properly.