When it comes to inviting family and friends to new websites and online services, it helps to know exactly what they see and need to do to join you. You also want to be sure that your contacts' email addresses are protected, and you're not going to inadvertently sign them up to receive spam emails or confusing messages. There's nothing more frustrating than wanting to share a newly discovered site but not knowing for sure how invitations work, so we wanted to share exactly what happens when you invite someone to connect with you on 23snaps.
Sending the Invite
After you invite someone to connect with you, either through the 23snaps app or by inviting someone online, they receive a simple, clear email invitation that looks like this:
Example of an invitation that is sent by email when you invite family or friends to connect on 23snaps.There are a couple things we wanted to make very clear in the email invitation:
- How to accept it. With both a text link and a big button, it should be very easy for your family and friends to move to the next step in the acceptance process.
- Who it's from. We repeat the name of the sender (you) and your children a couple of times, just to make it very clear that this is a personalized invite from someone they actually know.
- That it's a real, trustworthy service. By including some photographs you've already added to 23snaps, we can help your contacts understand that you trust 23snaps, and they can too.
- What 23snaps does. A small message at the end of the email helps your contacts understand what 23snaps is, and the photos in the email give them a small taste of the special memories they will get to share.
No response? No problem - we send one email reminder just in case the first one got lost or missed among other email messages. But we hate spam and don't want to send too many messages, so we only send one reminder. Think a family member missed your invite? You can always give them a call or send them a personalized email to follow up.
Accepting the Invite
Once your family member or friend has clicked the 'Accept Invitation' link, they are taken to a confirmation page that explains that they will now begin receiving email digests with your latest content. If they wish, they can enter their details to create a full 23snaps account which will allow them to add comments and smiles, upload photos of their own, and manage their email settings.
Many relatives just want to receive 23snaps updates - and all of your beautiful photos - by email and don't want to worry about managing an online profile or account with a new website. That's ok! Once they click the "Accept Invitation" link and see the page in the screenshot below, they will receive emails only when you add new photos, videos or updates.
An example of the page that your connections see when they click the "Accept Invitation" link in the 23snaps invite email.Here are the things we wanted to make clear with the 'invite accepted' page:
- You don't need to do anything else. If someone isn't particularly comfortable with technology, this page makes it clear they don't have to do anything - they have successfully accepted your invitation.
- New photos will arrive by email. Your contact should expect future emails that contain more pictures, videos and updates.
- There's more to 23snaps, so they should create an account. If your contacts want to see all of your previously uploaded photos, to leave comments or access additional 23snaps features, they should create an account with 23snaps themselves.
Receiving Email Digests
Once your family member or friend has accepted your invite, whether they are just receiving email updates or they have created a full account, they will begin receiving email updates with any new photos, videos and updates you add. They will only receive at most one email per day - and only if you have added new content to 23snaps. The email update is really just a showcase for your newest updates - an easy way for your connections to enjoy those special memories. They can click on a picture to see a larger version and leave comments.
If you or your contacts prefer to receive emails less (or more!) frequently, it's easy to change your email settings online.
Example of the email digests your connections receive when you add new photos, videos or updates to 23snaps.
A couple of notes about email digests:
- It's easy to unsubscribe. Every email has an unsubscribe link. This link doesn't get used very often (turns out people really, really like receiving email updates with photos of the children they love) but if for any reason they need it, it's clear how to get the emails to stop.
- It's all about the photos. There's no unnecessary text and no advertising. Just your photos, videos and updates front and center.
23snaps Makes It Easy to Connect to Anyone in Your Family
23snaps was built with families in mind. And we know that some members of your family may be more, or less, comfortable with technology than others. Regardless, you may want to know exactly what your friends and family see when you invite them to join you on 23snaps. 23snaps invitations are clear, easy to accept and are a spam-free first step to sharing your precious memories with the people you love.