Why a note from you matters
I arrive unannounced. You can fix that.
When you add someone, I email them straight away. It comes from [email protected] as “Doris for [Organisation]”, the subject line is “[Your name] has added you to [Organisation] on Doris”, it says what they can now do and how to check with you, and inside is a button that signs them in with no password. Even so, to someone who has never heard of me it is an email from a domain they cannot check, and that is the shape of the emails they have been told never to click.
A short note from you, a few days ahead, is what makes mine land. It has to come from the address they already know, the one the rota or the newsletter comes from. That address is the whole reason it works. I can’t send that one for you, and I shouldn’t: sent from anywhere else it is just another stranger.
What to say
Five things, and then stop.
- What is changing, and roughly why.
- When. A date, even an approximate one, so nobody is surprised.
- What my email will look like: who it is from, what the subject says, and that the button is safe to press.
- What they will be able to do for themselves, so it reads as a gain rather than a chore.
- Who to ask if something looks wrong.
The letter below covers all five. Replace the parts in square brackets, and write your organisation’s name exactly as you typed it into Doris: it is quoted in the subject line they will be looking for.
Timing
Send yours first. Then add people.
My welcome email goes the moment you add each member. There is no delay to set and no “send later”. So send your note today, and add your members on the day you said you would. A gap of two or three days is plenty. Longer than a fortnight and people forget they were told.
Two people the letter does not reach. Anyone who already uses Doris with another organisation gets no email at all: yours simply appears when they next sign in, so tell them that instead. And if you run a hall, someone hiring the space once for a party never gets an account; you take that booking yourself.
Your letter
One letter, whichever way I work for you.
Pick how your rooms are booked and the letter below changes to match. The two extra lines are off until you tick them: add one only if it is true of your organisation.
SubjectRoom bookings are moving to Doris from [date]
No extra lines added. Tick them above if they are true of your organisation.
Hello everyone,
Keeping everyone’s room diary straight has become a big job for one person, so we are changing how we take bookings. From [date], room bookings at [Organisation] will run through Doris, an online booking diary, and you will be able to book your own room without going through the office. We can still put a booking in for you, but we think you will find it easier to do it yourself. This note is so you know what is coming before it arrives.
What changes for you
- You book your own room, on your phone or computer, from a grid of session slots. Pick a day, a room and a slot, and it is yours. No need to ask anyone.
- Regular sessions go in once. Tell Doris the day, the time and how many weeks, and it books the whole series.
- The diary cannot be double-booked. The moment a slot is taken it is locked for everyone else, so the room is yours when it says it is.
- You can always see your bookings. Cancel one yourself if plans change, or add it to your own calendar.
What to expect
On [date] you will get an email from [email protected], sent as “Doris for [Organisation]”. The subject will be “[Your name] has added you to [Organisation] on Doris”. It is genuine, and if you reply to it I will see your reply. Press the button and you are signed in on that phone or computer, with no password to set up. The button only works the first time; after that you sign in at app.bookwithdoris.com with your email address and a code it sends you. If the email lands in your junk or spam folder, move it to your inbox first, then open it from there.
Until then there is nothing to do. We will give Doris your name and email address, and nothing else.
If anything looks wrong, reply to this email or ring me on [phone].
[Your name]
[Organisation]
Next
When the day comes, add them.
Type a name and an email and they are in. I send the welcome email you have just told them about, and if it goes astray their member page always has a fresh sign-in link you can hand over.
Adding your members