Best practices for email invitation systems

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗗... Too many PD invitations sound like courtroom summons: “Mandatory professional development will be held October 15 from 8:00–3:30. Lunch provided. Attendance required.” Inspiring? Not exactly. Now imagine receiving this instead: “We’re thrilled to invite you to our Equity-Centered Design Institute on October 15. This will be a space for reflection, connection, and hands-on planning as we reimagine student-centered learning…” 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲? One treats PD like a 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯. The other treats it like an 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. What the best invitations have in common: ✅ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: why this matters, not why you must show up ✅ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀: what participants will leave able to do ✅ 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁: “We’re excited to learn with you” tops “you must attend” ✅ 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: parking, food, what to bring, accessibility ✅ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: here’s what will 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 happen 𝗣𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: • “We can’t wait to learn 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 you as much as 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 you.” • “Your experience is essential to this learning.” • “This isn’t more to do—it’s support for what you’re already doing.” • “We’re committed to honoring your time and making every minute count.” Evoking excitement starts 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 the first minute of PD. When people feel respected, informed, and genuinely invited, they show up ready. 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗢𝗨: What kind of invitation language would make 𝘺𝘰𝘶 genuinely eager to attend PD? Drop your words, phrases, or “must-haves” below. Let’s crowdsource the perfect invite! 👇 P.S. If you want to grow as a PD facilitator, here’s my free Three Mistakes You’re Making with Your PD… and What to Do Instead tool: https://lnkd.in/guKwkGyu #ProfessionalDevelopment #PDDesign #AdultLearning #InstructionalCoaching #EducationLeadership

🐝 How To Write Effective UX Research Invite Emails (https://lnkd.in/erqNpkBX), with examples on how brands across B2B and B2C craft emails to get users to give feedback and what you can do to get more responses. By Rosie Hoggmascall. 🚫 Avoid generic, vague and company-focused subject lines. ✅ Good subject line: “What do you think of [X] so far?”. ✅ Better subject line: “👋 Can you answer one quick question?”. ✅ For subject lines, try a direct question that is easy to answer. ✅ Introduce yourself in the very first line of body copy. ✅ Explain how long the survey is going to take (5–10 mins max). ✅ Include a survey link in the top 50% of the email. ✅ Be specific and explain why you are inviting that person. ✅ Include an authentic email signature from a real person. ✅ Good copy comes from a real person, not a big company. ✅ Show how many people joined already as social proof. ✅ Put company’s logo at the bottom of your invite email. ✅ Test plain text format: no imagery vs. branded template. Some emails prompt users to share their insights to get a chance to win a $250 prize for their time. In my experience, giving a guaranteed $50 voucher works better. And: reward doesn’t have to be cash: it must be meaningful. Suggest to plant trees, or support initiatives, or donate funds to a charity of their choice. The more an invitation feels like an invite from a colleague who is genuinely interested, the more likely customers are to respond. However, we don’t want generic responses. We want honest, constructive, helpful insights — and they aren’t coming from generic emails from corporate research initiatives. Show yourself and your name, and perhaps even your work phone number. Explain how customer’s time and effort will help you and your team. As a result, you might not just get constructive insights, but bring people on your side, willing to participate and help for years to come. Useful resources: How to Write Compelling UX Research Invite Emails (+ Templates and Examples), by Lizzy Burnam 🐞 https://lnkd.in/erfKiCHi Email Templates To Recruit All The Users You Need in 24 Hours, by Chuck Liu https://lnkd.in/ev6MhEGT How To Recruit UX Research Participants, by Gitlab https://lnkd.in/edg9iXKS UX Research Recruiting Email Tips, by Adam Smolinski, Annegret Lasch, David DeSanto https://lnkd.in/e8b556Wy How To Recruit Research Participants By Email, by Olivia Seitz https://lnkd.in/eJFZT6Qf Research Recruitment Email Strategies, by Lauren Gibson https://lnkd.in/e2xBk6MZ #ux #design

An Exec Assistant taught me one of my favorite practices, and it helped me win a two-year deal with a Top 5 insurance SVP (# 266 on the Fortune 500). Here's how it works: 1/ Set your calendar invite to start at :05 after 2/ Attach an exec summary / 1-page business case 3/ Let their EA know there's a pre-read in the invite The reason this works? → One, ever notice execs join your call a couple mins late anyway? That’s because they’re often rushing in from another meeting, thinking, “Why am I in this next meeting again?” Searching their inbox for context on what it’s about. Put the answer right there in the invite, with space to read it. Related: → Second, execs are sharp. They think clearly, know what they want, and will process written information WAY faster than the pace of a typical sales conversation. Sharing a pre-read — without expecting "homework" to be done before — jumps you right into their feedback. But for this to work? Your exec summary/biz case can't be a 30-slide branded deck. That triggers a "eh, another vendor selling me stuff" thought. Here's what to do instead: https://lnkd.in/gYDY6CzY