Hump Day: how do you onboard members into your community?

[Jordan Miller]

 

Happy Hump Day, team! 

I wanted to pick your brain about how you onboard members into your community (if at all). 

We have a new Alerts System feature available in our upcoming release, 4.7, which can create one opportunity to welcome your new members with a greeting. 
 

 

There are a bunch of great ways to introduce a member to your community. Some other ideas include:

• Sending a welcome PM
• Guiding new members with a warm message using a block
• Have a welcome forum
• Create a getting started / welcome topic
• Include an onboarding team to answer any potential questions
• Create a welcome video
• Award new members a badge for posting once

One thing I also personally do is launch an email campaign that drips out emails over the course of a week with information, guidelines and opportunities to reach out to me.

Do you do anything special? I'd love to see you flex your community management skills!

---

As always, here is a list of updates and fixes made to the platform in the last seven days made by our talented developers: 

Quote

- Added a notification email when tracked invoices expire.
- Fixed an HTML validation error for embeds.
- Fixed an HTML validation error for embeds.
- Fixed an issue where some members in group that is set to force anonymous status may not be anonymous.
- Fixed an issue where private messages that the user could view may show in trending content.
- Fixed an issue where some members in group that is set to force anonymous status may not be anonymous.
- Fixed an error when deleting pages from clubs.
- Removed some deprecated sitemap tags in Gallery.
- Fixed an issue where records were not removed from `core_follow_count_cache` when an application was uninstalled.
- Fixed an issue where achievement rules were not removed when an application is deleted.
- Fixed an SQL error that may show when viewing the top referrer statistics in the admin control panel.
- Fixed an issue where the contact name would not show when a support request was created via the Contact Us form.
- Improved the preview message in the admin control panel for adverts containing javascript.
- Fixed some issues with approving and deleting transactions for a deleted payment method.
- Added a new CORE REST endpoint to retrieve data from promoted content
- Added a new webhook which is fired when a content item is promoted.
- Added a new webhook which is fired when a member gets a warning.
- Added a new webhook which is fired when a content item gets marked as solved.

Looking forward to hearing from you in the comments! 

[opentype]

50 minutes ago, Jordan Miller said:

One thing I also personally do is launch an email campaign that drips out emails over the course of a week with information, guidelines and opportunities to reach out to me.

Then you can probably convince IPS to add that feature natively, because I am not aware of such a feature in Invision Community. 😉 

50 minutes ago, Jordan Miller said:

Do you do anything special? 

I replace the language strings “email_reg_complete” with a long welcome message. The default “Welcome to %s and thank you for joining” is rather pointless but it goes out anyway. So I make use of that. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by opentype

[Jordan Miller]

33 minutes ago, opentype said:

Then you can probably convince IPS to add that feature natively, because I am not aware of such a feature in Invision Community. 😉 

Haha yea I do use the below, but it can also natively be done with Zapier + MailChimp. 👼 
 

 

[Claudia999]

I'm using New Member Followup.

On day 1 new users receive a large message with a warm welcome, an explanation, why I founded the community, the hint where they can introduce themselves and with instructions where they can try out the handling of the forum (a test board) and where they can find their profile.

On day 7 they receive a hint to the clubs, on day 15 to our newsletter, on day 23 to member map and their benefit, and on day 31 to our weekly chat and monthly video call.

[Daniel F]

If you're NOT interested into complex mail campaigns via mail chimp and co, you can utilize the built in Zapier features to create an onboarding email process.

 

Here's an example zap:

 

When a member registers, I use the Zapier Delay feature  to run the next step delayed instead of immediately, which is really handy.

Member registers => wait a day and send an email, then wait another week and run the other stuff.

[opentype]

As mentioned before, I don’t see how these options can be implemented legally. How do these methods ask for consent to receive multiple emails in the future? How do we get consent to have the email (i.e. personal data) routed through multiple 3rd-party services in the background? What happens if users turn off notifications/bulk mail in their account? How do we stop the drip campaigns then? What happens if the user deletes their account entirely? 

It’s 2022. This approach of “you registered, now we can shower you with emails” luckily ended when GDPR became legally binding. I don’t like to be on the receiving end of such unwanted emails and therefore I also don’t want to send them out unless it is legal and there is proper consent. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by opentype

[Davyc]

I believe new members should be made aware of the Newsletter option and it should (if it's something you're keen to provide) be made more prominent with an explanation as to what it is and what it contains, along with informing the member that there is an unsubscribe link in every email should they wish to stop receiving them.

Members join a site for many different reasons and I doubt that one of them is to receive loads of emails from the site admin without their consent.  It may be seen by some as a way of 'onboarding' but conversely it can also chase people away if they feel they are being cajoled into something they did not sign up for.

A well compiled welcome message highlighting the benefits of using the site and the features it offers will be more welcomed than a load of follow-up emails.  When someone new joins up there will always be an element of trepidation and they should be allowed to go at their own pace.  If they find your site appealing they will, hopefully, contribute; if they find that it's not what they expected then let them leave peacefully.

[Matt]

2 hours ago, opentype said:

I don’t see how these options can be implemented legally.

My understanding is that you can send emails related to the service they signed up for. It's when you start sending them adverts for other services that you are on shaky ground.

Sending a sequence of welcome emails and guidance how to use the community is fair, and I cannot see how this would be deemed "illegal".

We work with brands in the EU who have whole departments dedicated to legal and they have no issue with a welcome email sequence.

[Dll]

Just now, Matt said:

My understanding is that you can send emails related to the service they signed up for. It's when you start sending them adverts for other services that you are on shaky ground.

Sending a sequence of welcome emails and guidance how to use the community is fair, and I cannot see how this would be deemed "illegal".

We work with brands in the EU who have whole departments dedicated to legal and they have no issue with a welcome email sequence.

Was about to say something very similar. Sending out useful information about the service a user has signed up to isn't illegal. It  may be annoying for some but it's not breaking GDPR (that's a privacy law, not an email one). 

That said, we don't do it, as I'm not convinced it's effective. As far as I'm concerned, for every person it engages it may well drive another one away as a constant drip of emails is never especially fun if you're not wanting or expecting them. 

[opentype]

There needs to be freely given, specific, informed consent. That is why I have an opt-in checkbox for bulk mails during sign-ups, but there is no checkbox for a drip campaign or similar uses. So, as a user, I have not freely given consent, I have not given specific consent to the drip campaign, nor am a properly informed about having my personal data processes by third-party providers (like Zapier/Mailchimp…), which is certainly relevant in regards to GDPR. Google got a $50 million fine a while ago because of this. They did ask for consent, but the kept it too vague. 

The distinction between ads and “helpful information” also doesn’t exist this way. If I run a website as a business, then everything I do is a business activity. If I try to keep my users active with drip campaigns, that a business activity. It doesn’t matter if the specific email tried to sell something or not. 

[Sonya*]

13 minutes ago, opentype said:

That is why I have an opt-in checkbox for bulk mails during sign-ups, but there is no checkbox for a drip campaign or similar uses.

While I cannot judge if it is legal or not, I have never seen any checkbox for drip campaigns on other websites. Never. I subscribe to a lot of tools and websites to test them out or get registered-only content. I see a lot of onboarding emails in my inbox (mostly ignored due to the lack of time). If they start annoying me, I just unsubscribe and never get any subsequent emails from there.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Sonya*

[opentype]

Sure, and I am not asking for a drip campaign checkbox. I am asking how to have a proper workflow for everyone involved. The technical ability alone to push an email through Zapier isn’t enough. 

[Dll]

1 hour ago, opentype said:

There needs to be freely given, specific, informed consent. That is why I have an opt-in checkbox for bulk mails during sign-ups, but there is no checkbox for a drip campaign or similar uses. So, as a user, I have not freely given consent, I have not given specific consent to the drip campaign, nor am a properly informed about having my personal data processes by third-party providers (like Zapier/Mailchimp…), which is certainly relevant in regards to GDPR. Google got a $50 million fine a while ago because of this. They did ask for consent, but the kept it too vague. 

The distinction between ads and “helpful information” also doesn’t exist this way. If I run a website as a business, then everything I do is a business activity. If I try to keep my users active with drip campaigns, that a business activity. It doesn’t matter if the specific email tried to sell something or not. 

As far as I'm aware, if you use 3rd party providers you need to put them in your privacy policy and clearly link to that site wide + particularly when you ask permission. There's no requirement to ask permission separately for each one. I assume you don't specifically and separately ask for permission for your cdn, webhost, existing email provider and so on? 

As for helpful information or not - I'd say it's a legitimate and expected use of someone's details to email them with registration details and information on the product they've registered to use within a relatively short timeframe of them registering. 

https://www.itgovernance.eu/blog/en/the-gdpr-legitimate-interest-what-is-it-and-when-does-it-apply#:~:text=What is a legitimate interest,the data subject would expect.

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Dll

[Matt]

1 hour ago, opentype said:

There needs to be freely given, specific, informed consent. That is why I have an opt-in checkbox for bulk mails during sign-ups, but there is no checkbox for a drip campaign or similar uses. So, as a user, I have not freely given consent, I have not given specific consent to the drip campaign, nor am a properly informed about having my personal data processes by third-party providers (like Zapier/Mailchimp…), which is certainly relevant in regards to GDPR. Google got a $50 million fine a while ago because of this. They did ask for consent, but the kept it too vague. 

The distinction between ads and “helpful information” also doesn’t exist this way. If I run a website as a business, then everything I do is a business activity. If I try to keep my users active with drip campaigns, that a business activity. It doesn’t matter if the specific email tried to sell something or not. 

I would say that bulk emails are very different from a targeted post-registration drip campaign but I appreciate that in your part of the world, companies are actively being handed fines for non-compliance while the rest of the world shrugs.

[Jordan Miller]

8 hours ago, Claudia999 said:

I'm using New Member Followup.

On day 1 new users receive a large message with a warm welcome, an explanation, why I founded the community, the hint where they can introduce themselves and with instructions where they can try out the handling of the forum (a test board) and where they can find their profile.

On day 7 they receive a hint to the clubs, on day 15 to our newsletter, on day 23 to member map and their benefit, and on day 31 to our weekly chat and monthly video call.

Nice! I like the idea of sending a PM upon someone joining. What are you using to add them to your newsletter / member map / weekly chat / video call? Sounds super interesting. 

[Davyc]

I believe when it comes to quoting the GDPR it can be considered a matter of interpretation; the downside to this is that your interpretation may not be the same as the governing body responsible in your country for implementing the GDPR.

I also believe that if there is any doubt in your mind you should not proceed with whatever you are doing that may bring you into a situation where you could be breaking the law and so check with the governing body if what you are proposing is actually legitimate. The risks of non-compliance can be weighty depending on how your governing body perceives your misdemeanour. 

The bottom line is that if you are unsure ask for consent; it's simple enough to do and could save a lot of pain further down the line.  We've already witnessed in this community people who have been ravaged by uncertainty when some unscrupulous member puts them through the mill when quoting the GDPR.

And while the rest of world outside of the scope of the GDPR may shrug, there is a substantial number of countries where millions of people can't just shrug.  The GDPR is a monster that has been unleashed and it's bite can be fatal.

[Randy Calvert]

The bigger part of GDPR compliance is that instead of trying to interpret a law yourself, it is important to have someone with a legal background and trained on laws applicable to your location and field (sometimes referred to as a lawyer) help you understand what is actually required and needed based not just the writing of the law but any other relevant cases referencing it. 

While many choose to not do so because of costs, the risk as @Davyc says can be quite substantial. 

[Claudia999]

17 hours ago, Jordan Miller said:

Nice! I like the idea of sending a PM upon someone joining. What are you using to add them to your newsletter / member map / weekly chat / video call? Sounds super interesting. 

We have two newsletters - a big one and an automated newsletter made with „Newsletters“.

For the big one, users have to sign up separately with a third-party service. Many people would never sign up for our community because they want to see what we do or what we write, for example, out of professional interest.

Some sections of the newsletter can only be read by supporters, everyone else gets to read "If you want to read more, support us" at that point.

This newsletter is sent the day before the video call and is therefore also a reminder.

The automated newsletter contains "What you missed in the last 14 days".

[Jordan Miller]

6 hours ago, Claudia999 said:

We have two newsletters - a big one and an automated newsletter made with „Newsletters“.

For the big one, users have to sign up separately with a third-party service. Many people would never sign up for our community because they want to see what we do or what we write, for example, out of professional interest.

Some sections of the newsletter can only be read by supporters, everyone else gets to read "If you want to read more, support us" at that point.

This newsletter is sent the day before the video call and is therefore also a reminder.

The automated newsletter contains "What you missed in the last 14 days".

I love this breakdown! Video call idea sounds super intriguing as well. Interested to learn more about your community's general business model if you're open to that!

[Ocean West]

It would be nice at least on the outgoing 'legitimate' email and site communications on activity that these emails may also include site advertisers to offer exposure to new customers of site advertisers. Or another campaign available for advertisers to purchase. Also if impressions or clicks are made from emails perhaps these stats could be provided back to the system and eventually to advertisers portal.