Communicating with large groups via mass email is tricky. The last thing you want is a community member to feel like they’re one of thousands or millions, but as a community manager, you need to be efficient. One of the most critical parts of growing a community is maintaining a sense of belonging, and that starts with your communication efforts from the beginning. So, how do you make everyone feel included, important, and also be efficient as a community manager?
1. BCC Everyone or Get an Alias
First and foremost, it’s poor form to email a large group of people and reveal everyone’s email addresses. Some members may prefer to keep their email addresses private, which is why BBC-ing on a mass email is considered to be poor form. BBC-ing isn’t the only way to protect your members’ email addresses though. Using Mobilize, you can email your entire group, or subgroups if you have them. The email will be delivered from your community’s name @groups.mobilize.io.
2. Keep it Short
When emailing a large group, it’s important to keep it short and brief. As humans, we inherently have short attention spans. Your community members are likely to receive dozens of emails a day, too, so it’s best not to add on to the sludge pile. A few ways to make emails shorter, and more visually appealing are:• Use bullet points• Add a summary graph at the end “TL;DR” (too long; didn’t read) for the skimmers in your• Bold the important information
3. Use a Poll
Need an answer from your community members? Polls are a fun way to get a quick yes, no, instead of asking everyone to email you back. One of the most-used features in Mobilize, is our poll button. Hundreds of communities have explored the power of polling and have received quick answers from communities members.
4. Make it Visually Engaging
Finally, an email with a fun GIF is surely better than one without. If you’re asking for your community’s time, and attention, might as well try and make them laugh while you’re at it. GIPHY has a great selection of GIFs.