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I agree that where possible one should be as personal as possible in email correspondence, but this does not scale well. If you start getting 15 (that's fifteen

I agree that where possible one should be as personal as possible in email correspondence, but this does not scale well. If you start getting 15 (that's fifteen, not fifteen thousand)or more signups per day, being personal approaches a full time job. I suppose the crux of the matter is honesty. If you try to automate individualised emails, that comes off as a bit sleazy and 'markety'. In this case I think it would be of net benefit to make an auto response email read like an auto response email, in the same spirit as you do with the personal hand written versions.

veesahni 13y ago
The only part that isn't automatable (and therefore scalable) is adding something unique in the email. Skip that part and it scales fine. One approach I've been thinking of is to have the system automatically send the email but have a mechanism in place to selectively disable for single email. This would allow me to be more personal where desired but still have a decent default being sent out in within the ideal window.
- timjahn 13y ago
  Exactly. We do this with matchist (http://matchist.com/talent http://matchist.com/talent). We're not trying to be sleazy, as the GP suggests. Instead, we're trying to be as personable as possible while at the same time, growing the business in a healthy way and providing more value for all our customers.
  - philhippus 13y ago
    Hi there [enter your mark's name here] old friend...is what I refer to as 'sleazy'. A strong term I admit, but if you are going to send me an auto response, don't pretend like we're close buddies. I would respect more something like 'You are the 159th signup we had today, send an email to [a real person] to request support.' Perhaps I am just an outlier.
    - eropple 13y ago
      You are an extreme outlier and nobody looking to drive user engagement would ever write that email. But, then, nobody would use "old friend" in a welcome email and nobody reputable considers them "marks" so I am curious where to procure one of these windmills at which you are tilting. These emails are targeted toward normal people, not social-discomfort-masquerading-as-efficiency people (because there are still a lot more of the former among developers than the latter) and normal people respond favorably to the appearance (which becomes the reality) of being valued and appreciated by people who they are looking to do business with. That's why they work: because they connect at a real level. And it's not "manipulation" or any other carefully chosen fear-word any more than any other communication method is; it's simply--literally simply--how people are.

veesahni 13y ago

The only part that isn't automatable (and therefore scalable) is adding something unique in the email. Skip that part and it scales fine. One approach I've been thinking of is to have the system automatically send the email but have a mechanism in place to selectively disable for single email. This would allow me to be more personal where desired but still have a decent default being sent out in within the ideal window.

timjahn 13y ago
Exactly. We do this with matchist (http://matchist.com/talent http://matchist.com/talent). We're not trying to be sleazy, as the GP suggests. Instead, we're trying to be as personable as possible while at the same time, growing the business in a healthy way and providing more value for all our customers.
- philhippus 13y ago
  Hi there [enter your mark's name here] old friend...is what I refer to as 'sleazy'. A strong term I admit, but if you are going to send me an auto response, don't pretend like we're close buddies. I would respect more something like 'You are the 159th signup we had today, send an email to [a real person] to request support.' Perhaps I am just an outlier.
  - eropple 13y ago
    You are an extreme outlier and nobody looking to drive user engagement would ever write that email. But, then, nobody would use "old friend" in a welcome email and nobody reputable considers them "marks" so I am curious where to procure one of these windmills at which you are tilting. These emails are targeted toward normal people, not social-discomfort-masquerading-as-efficiency people (because there are still a lot more of the former among developers than the latter) and normal people respond favorably to the appearance (which becomes the reality) of being valued and appreciated by people who they are looking to do business with. That's why they work: because they connect at a real level. And it's not "manipulation" or any other carefully chosen fear-word any more than any other communication method is; it's simply--literally simply--how people are.