{"id":1994,"date":"2021-02-03T23:14:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T23:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildapricot.wpengine.com\/?p=1994"},"modified":"2025-05-12T05:29:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T05:29:43","slug":"welcome-letter-to-new-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wildapricot.com\/blog\/welcome-letter-to-new-members","title":{"rendered":"Write a Perfect Welcome Letter to New Members with These 10 Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

I once received a new member welcome letter that was so drab, it caused me to cancel my membership with the association.<\/p>\n

Well… there’s a little more to the story than that. Let me explain.<\/p>\n

After I signed up online to be a member of an association, here’s the one-and-only boring email they sent me:<\/p>\n

\"Welcome<\/p>\n

At first glance, this email seems to have all the important details, but it\u2019s missing something big.<\/p>\n

When I joined, I expected the association to be excited to meet me.<\/p>\n

I expected them to reach out and connect me with other members. Plus, I was looking for some positive reinforcement, since I\u2019d just forked out my money to join.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this email looks like it was written by a robot.<\/p>\n

My excitement and impression of the association dropped to zero.<\/p>\n

A few days later, a friend recommended another association in the same industry. I ended up joining and immediately received a wonderful welcome email.<\/a>\u00a0It was personally written from the admin. She asked if I had any questions and included a short tour of the website. She also followed up the same day with an invite to the association\u2019s next networking event.<\/p>\n

That experience was so positive, I cancelled my membership with the first association (there wasn’t any need to be part of two similar organizations) and haven\u2019t considered them since.<\/p>\n

If you think your welcome letter to new members (whether it’s mailed or via email) could use some improvement, I\u2019m going to show you ten things I\u2019ve seen membership organizations do to create a positive first impression.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll also include examples of some amazing welcome emails I\u2019ve seen, the best way to automate your emails to welcome new members, and a template for you to use at the end.<\/p>\n

1) A Personalized Email and Recognizable Confirmation Subject Line<\/h2>\n

First things first, it\u2019s a common best practice to personalize your email\u2019s subject line. Studies show<\/a> that doing this can increase your email\u2019s open rate by 26%.<\/p>\n

To do this, simply include a real person\u2019s name in the \u201cSender Name\u201d field of your email, instead of your organization\u2019s. Or, include both like my colleague Terry has done below. Recipients see \u201cTerry from WildApricot\u201d when they get an email from me.<\/p>\n

\"Welcome<\/p>\n

What I commonly hear after an organization does this is that new members start emailing them back, thanking the specific person in the email for accepting their membership \u2014 something that didn\u2019t typically happen before.<\/p>\n

Another best practice is to include a clear confirmation message of their membership in the subject line \u2014 often members will refer back to this email to dig up their account details, so it needs to be recognizable if they search for it.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of what I mean by a clear confirmation message in the subject line:<\/p>\n

EXAMPLE: \u201cWelcome, [NAME}, you\u2019re now a member of [ORGANIZATION]! Here\u2019s what to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n

EXAMPLE: Hi [NAME], welcome to [ORGANIZATION]! Here are your membership details.<\/p>\n

One final thing to mention: do not make this email a \u201cnoreply\u201d email. Here\u2019s why. A noreply email sets the precedent that your organization is difficult to get in touch with \u2014 the opposite impression you want to make.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"New<\/a><\/p>\n

2) Confirmation They Made the Right Decision<\/h2>\n

You know that gut feeling you get when you regret a choice? If it happens after you purchase something, it\u2019s called Buyer\u2019s Remorse<\/a> and it\u2019s the last thing you want your new members to feel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very hard to form a positive impression after someone feels Buyer\u2019s Remorse \u2014 this is actually what I was feeling before I cancelled my membership.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to combat Buyer\u2019s Remorse and actually make new members feel confident they made the right choice.<\/p>\n

For example, you can incorporate an element of Social Proof \u2014 the theory that people will like and do things they see other people doing. Social proof is one of the six principles of persuasion<\/a> identified by famous psychologist Robert Cialdini.<\/p>\n

EXAMPLE: “Congratulations, you just joined an exclusive network of over 1,000 professionals in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

If 1,000 other people are finding value in a membership, it must be a good decision to join.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n

I recommend starting your welcome letter to new members off with a statement like this to create a positive sentiment from the bat.<\/p>\n

3) A Brief Introduction to Your Organization<\/h2>\n

Many organizations assume new members have done their research about the organization.<\/p>\n

In reality, many have not.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to share some background info about who you are in your welcome email.<\/p>\n

Here are some tips with an example at the end:<\/p>\n