How to write a friendly reminder email

Reminders are essential to the workflow of any business as every person is living on a very busy schedule and sometimes renewals and appointment dates slip and just pass by. Either if reminders are going to customer and clients or just to internal employees, these need to be written a way that promote the user to take action and also feel that help is being provided by receiving the reminder. This is even more important now as the communication channels are switching to be electronic (this is email or SMS messages) and adding a personal touch to them will go way further and achieve the final intention.

Below you can find some simple tips on how to make these emails even better:

Make them personal

Even if it's for a dental appointment, an upcoming surgery or an employee drivers license renewal, people are looking for ways to receive that information as if it was coming from a real person and not a machine. It makes a difference to just don't look excited or worried if they miss it, just transmit the information in a practical way.

Take for example this text for a friendly reminder:

Hey Joseph,

Writing just to let you know that your passport is coming for renewal on October 5th.

Please give me a quick reply if you need information on how to renew or where to get the forms. If you don't have time, let me know so we can help you with the paperwork.

Have a great day!

Now compare the previous message to this one: "Your passport will expire on October 5th. Please renew by the specified date. Thanks." It's pretty obvious the first one is more inviting and it really shows like it isn't coming from a computer.

Go directly to the point

Most of these reminders will be read when the employee or customer is doing other things like at work, meeting, having lunch, etc. so they may not be able to read a lot when getting the reminder

So make the best of it and try to get to the point as fast as possible when sending the reminder. Be specific about the dates and what is that is being reminded.

Include any items that might be beneficial to the employee or customer like steps to follow to renew the passport or what to do to confirm the appointment. Or if there's a special offer going on, you can include it in the reminder but just after you have stated what the email is about.

What information should be included

The information included in the reminder email is essential for customers and employees to remember what is they're being reminded about. Mostly on the side of appointments, people usually forget pretty quickly that they had one.

Useful information to include are:

• Time and dates: Clearly state the time and date for an appointment reminder if this is the case. For renewals, clearly show when is it up for expiration so the customer has a clear idea of how much time it has to go through the renewal process. It's also useful to include this kind of information for a second time at some other place in the reminder.
• Location: This is important so the user knows where to go in case of appointments. If you're a business with multiple locations this is even more important.
• Preparation: This is where you state what information is required from the employee or customer to actually do the process for which he or she is being reminded about. For medical appointments this can be for example to bring insurance documents or ID. For renewal reminders for example this can show what is the process that needs to be done to actually renew.

These tips will help you create friendly and useful reminders that your customers will actually enjoy and feel grateful. Remember most of them forget what needs to be done because of the busy live we all have. Remember to always add that personal touch so your reminders look genuine and that the real goal is just to keep them informed.