It’s that time of year again, time for student registrations and College member renewals. How are you informing people? Many would assume over email, maybe a tiny percentage out there are still using letters. Either way, both are some type of a letter and feature the same things. So, here are our tips to bettering your registration and renewal emails and letters!
1. Customize emails in category types.
Sending an email to everyone in your database with a “general” message isn’t very interesting to read, nor does it really make your organization seem very nice. Imagine receiving an email that said:
“Dear Member,
It is time for students to register and members to renew! If you are a student, please follow this link to register. If you are a member, click here to renew!”
Can it get anymore impersonal…and lazy?! Send your emails via categories. For example, create a different template for your students, graduates, members, and even go the extra step and make sub-categories, for example for your members: practicing and non-practicing.
This way the recipient will only have to read information relevant to their needs, nothing extra.
2. Use a name in the greeting.
This one is easy, especially if you’re using templates, just keep the space after Dear, saying “[FIRSTNAME].” It’s a minor detail, but one that gets notice. Anyone can send an email that says “Dear Member,” it’s now a sign that the email could be fake (just check out our phishing blog post). Letting your recipients know you know their name helps them trust the email and also makes them feel less like a number in a sea of mass emails.
3. Important information first.
State the point of the email at the beginning of the email. Unless someone is sitting down and reading their emails thoroughly, many people just skim them in under thirty seconds.
“Dear Sarah,
Today is the opening date of our annual membership renewal period. To continue practicing massage therapy, please renew by October 30th, 2015.”
By stating it at the beginning, the recipient won’t mistaken the email for a newsletter, or an unimportant message. Providing a deadline also gives them a sense of urgency.
4. Don’t put anything confidential.
This mainly applies to renewal emails for members: even though you will likely get some emails and questions about how they can retrieve their forgotten passwords, do NOT include login IDs and passwords in the email. Many things could go wrong. The recipient might not receive the email, the email could be hacked, the email could go to the wrong address in the organization’s database, or that email address might not even be their current email address anymore. If the recipient isn’t expecting personal information to arrive in his or her inbox, it’s best to not send any, especially if it’s being sent out in large amounts.
5. Keep it simple
Don’t crowd the email with too much information. Include only what is necessary and don’t format it too much (bullet points, numbers, etc). If it is written out simply, just text, it will be viewed properly from any device.
“Dear Sarah,
Today is the opening date of our annual membership renewal period. To continue practicing massage therapy, please renew by October 30th, 2015.
To renew, you will need a copy of your liability insurance, CPR documentation (certificate or wallet card), and knowledge of your work hours. There is a renewal fee of $460.
If you renew past the deadline, there will be a late fee of $300.
Click on the link below to access the renewal page.”
In the example above, the subjects of the letter are separated by paragraphs, and everything in explained in sentences.
6. End it with some friendliness.
End the email in a friendly way! Receiving an email that sounds like it was personally typed for you from a real person is a great feeling. This will also make recipients feel welcome to ask any questions or voice any concerns they might have.
“Dear Sarah,
Today is the opening date of our annual membership renewal period. To continue practicing massage therapy, please renew by October 30th, 2015.
To renew, you will need a copy of your liability insurance, CPR documentation (certificate or wallet card), and knowledge of your work hours. There is a renewal fee of $460.
If you renew past the deadline, there will be a late fee of $300.
Click on the link below to access the renewal page.
www.fakecollegeofmassagetherapy.com/renewals
If you have questions feel free to reply to this email before the deadline!
Thank you,
Alicia Silverstone
FCMT Renewals Coordinator”
7. Make it responsive.
Earlier I mentioned people reading their emails on different devices. With the popularity of smartphones, tablets, portable laptops, and such, people are reading their emails more often on the go than at home at a desk. Make sure that your email is readable and works on any size resolution to reach all of your recipients. If it doesn’t work on someone’s tablet, they might just disregard the email and forget about it. To avoid this problem test it on all devices!
Thank you for checking out our tips to sending out emails to your members. With these tips, your email will look more personal, open to response, and reader friendly!
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