They say there are two things that are certain in life:

Death and Taxes.

Well, let’s officially make it three things that are certain:

Death, Taxes, and that no one tests their onboarding flow in an actual inbox.

At least it seems that way.

In late December of 2017, I signed up as a member at Levo.com.

Levo is the new networking platform. The un-LinkedIn. The better-than-social-media social space. Levo’s not just here to make connections. Levo “arms you with the tools to develop your talent, build connections with peers, mentors, and jobs. Stay inspired day in and day out as you grow and develop. We believe you can create a life you’re passionate about.”.

It just so happens I’m passionate about email. So let’s see about that, Levo.

The Stats:

Levo is a free platform so there isn’t a trial in the traditional sense
8 onboarding emails (you see 7 above, I’ll show you the 8th in a bit)
1 team member introduced
2 sets of emails sent to new members

Levo is a beautiful platform doing so. many. things. right when it comes to user experience in the app itself. Claps for that.

The email experience needs to match their in-app game, though. Let’s run through it here and talk about what’s working and what’s not.

Lay of the Land

When you join Facebook, you get an email inviting you to connect with other Facebook users. The thought here is that the more connected a person is to other people they know on your platform, the more likely they are to use your platform.

It clearly works for Facebook.

Levo takes a similar approach with their first email on the day you sign up.

Well, they attempt it:

Great subject line, right?!

I was so stoked to see that they were going to point out 3 people on the platform that were either a) connected to my interests or b) power Levo users I should follow.

Too bad neither option was there when I scrolled through the email:

Hm. Well, lemme just click on that Facebook tab in my browser real quick. I’ll come back to Levo later…

Forced BFFs

Day 2, 9:13am

It’s the second day of my membership with Levo and I’ve already forgotten about it, tbh.

Until there’s an email in my inbox!

Oh. Hm. Daily emails? Wasn’t anticipating this. At least they’re up front about it. Let’s open ‘er up and see what’s going on.

How’d they get that image of me reading this email???? jkjkjkjkjk

K.

1) This email’s coming at me as a surprise. I had no idea there were daily emails in the mix when I signed up. Was that part of the “daily inspiration” thing? IDK. What I do know is that I’m still not 100% sold on using Levo.

2) “Hello, New Friends!” <<< I am one person. If basic {{first.name}} personalization won’t work, at the very least use a greeting that’s written to a single subscriber. “Hello, New Friend!” is a subtle shift but an important one for the ol’ trust factor.

I scroll through the email despite all of this, see it’s a ton of content, realize I have a long to-do list and it’s just after 9am, and close the email.

10:45am – PING!

Levo’s back in my inbox.

Well this is nicely personalized!

I do work in digital and I would like to meet some new people. It’s why I’m HERE.

When I open the email I realize that “digital” is the default “location” for anyone who lives in a city that doesn’t have a local Levo meetup. It’s cool. I click the link and join the digital “meetup” community.

I spend a little more time on the Levo website, add a few more things to my profile, and start to feel like a real member.

See how important it is to feel like you belong?

Nice to Meet You

Day 3 and I at least remember what Levo is when it shows up in my inbox.

In today’s inbox and notification overwhelmed society, that’s saying something.

Problem is, I have no idea who Emily is.

New sender who dis?

Now this is where I want to point out a few things:

• the subject line doesn’t mention the business name at all
• the sender name doesn’t have a “from Levo” or “at Levo” there
• the preview text is too long for me to see the business name (in this case the full text reads “Join the doers, makers, and thinkers on Levo” but I can’t see all of that)

Emily, it turns out, is The Profile Guru. She’s here to help me make the most of my profile.

Awesome. Except…

I already did this part.

So I disregard the email and go back to my bullet journal and get through my work day.

Now where was I?

Hello Again!

Another day, another set of emails from Levo.

This time Emily is hiding.

Emily? Is that you?

A quick scroll to the bottom of the email to see who wrote it reveals… a mystery.

Ah ha! I knew it was you, Emily. I remembered that you were “The Profile Guru” from yesterday’s email. You can’t hide behind that impersonal sender name and lack of sign off. I see you.

Quick tip, Em. (Can I call you that? Em? I’m going to anyways. We’re close enough now that you apparently don’t even need to use your name, ya know?)

Em: always sign off as a person.

Business X Team, X Team at Business X, Business Name <<< these are all impersonal and shitty sign offs for emails.

Real people talk to real people.

And especially when your platform is all about connections, go ahead and make one.

While you’re at it, drop a little more detail in that From Name while you’re at it.

“Emily from Levo” would be such a welcome sight in my inbox, friend!

Saving The Best For Last

The next three onboarding emails are rocking with my girl Emily back in that From Name (just don’t forget to add your business in there, Em)

Of course, I have that Daily Email alongside every. single. onboarding email but…. I let that go for now.

Emily’s here to tell me more about filling out my profile:

…but I already did that part.

On Day 2.

But wait.

Levo saves their very best email for spot #6! Almost a whole week into my Levo experience and I get this one (this is just a snippet of the whole thing):

Yes! Who in the world wouldn’t want to be featured on a networking platform???

Plus there’s something different about this particular email.

Do you see it?

It took me a second to realize it.

So check out this side by side:

That’s right. The format on this email is different from every other email so far.

It’s cleaner.

It’s not pretending to be a personal email from a friend.

It’s action-oriented.

And it’s emotionally-driven.

While this particular email is still written from Emily in a conversational tone, the simple layout/template change made a world of difference in the way I perceived Levo.

Is it because I’m an email snob?

Maybe.

But here’s hoping by the end of this series you will be one too.

Flashbacks Without Psychedelics

The seemingly final email in my onboarding series gives me flashbacks. Well, it goes back to the old template at least. And another “I already did that part” moment on my side.

Can Levo send app-triggered emails based on action (or in-action) in the app?

(Emily, girl, if you’re reading this please let me know. I’m dying to find out.)

8 Days Later…

I’m still getting the Levo Daily Emails (we’ll talk about those in a minute) when all of a sudden a second Levo email pops up in my inbox just a little over a week after I thought I was done with the “onboarding”.

Since one of the ways Levo makes money is through selling online courses inside their platform, I figure they’re finally pitching me on those.

FINALLY.

So I click into the email.

Only to find myself completely surprised.

This email isn’t about their courses at all!

It’s about their social media handles. It’s about connecting with them everywhere BUT on Levo.

Look, I can see how this is a power move for Millennials and whatever comes after Millennials (I think that’s Generation Z but then do we start over at A after that or what??? I digress…)

But Levo has yet to tell me how I interact with them in a paid capacity.

They’ve yet to sell me… anything.

Getting your new users onto your platform on a regular basis: Step One.

Getting your new users to contribute to the monetary foundation of your platform: Step Two.

Or at least, like, Three or Five.

It’s certainly not Step Never.

I gotta tell you, since that email above ^^^, the only emails I’ve seen from Levo are the Dailys.

Take Your Vitamins

Let’s talk about those Daily emails for a sec:

1) If you want to send daily emails, I’m all for it! It’s a great way for a platform like Levo to stay top of mind for their users.

2) If you’re gonna send daily emails, send them after your new user is fully onboarded.

3) Better yet, send them after they’re fully onboarded and they got an email from you letting them know to expect daily emails moving forward (and how to opt out of that if it’s not for them).

That’s it!

Daily emails are a fine practice if that’s what works for you.

Just honor the inbox and that new person who was so excited and is now slightly overwhelmed by the amount of emails thankyouverymuch.

Okay.

Let’s break it all down now.

The Good

• Emily! I got to know a person on the team a bit and having a real name to go with an email makes it feel more human.
• I got a daily email in the first week of checking out Levo. Keeps me in touch with the platform right up front.
• Encouragement to connect early and often. That first email subject line got me excited about connecting with others on Levo.
• Subject lines all around! They’re well written (even though they could do without the whole Title Case situation)

The Bad

• Impersonal greetings. Don’t give me a complex, I’m just one person.
• Opportunities for deeper app-triggered emails aren’t used.
• The best email in the whole sequence doesn’t come until almost a week in.

The Ugly

• overlapping emails starting on Day 2 when the Levo Daily Email kicked in
• Subject lines. They’re both Good and Ugly because while they’re well written, they rarely related to the actual action the email was inviting me to take. Don’t mislead your reader.

So Levo has an incredible product and some lack-luster emails. That’s okay!

As you’ll find out in this series… lots of people do!

It’s one thing to pour your heart and soul into the product, the website, the app, the membership portal. It’s another thing to focus that same amount of energy and time on the external customer-facing pieces like your customer support channels or onboarding, retention, and churn emails.

When you master the combination of internal and external, your customers will do all the marketing for you through simple happiness and word of mouth.

Don’t believe me? Ask Basecamp.

Now it’s your turn.

What are your biggest takeaways from Levo’s onboarding emails?

How will you apply those lessons to your business?

Have a set of emails you want to see dissected here? Send me a note at heygirl(at)valgeisler(dot)com with the details of where I can sign up! If I write up the review, I’ll share a draft with you before anyone else sees it.