Email on autopilot: 4 easy automations for reviews and retention [with templates]

While most coworking operators focus primarily on marketing-oriented email campaigns (after all, these are incredibly powerful), non-marketing emails are equally valuable.

Rather than soliciting new member sign-ups, these non-marketing emails are focused on:

  1. Drumming on social proof and reviews that give your space credibility
  2. Ensuring members feel valued, enhancing their experience, and supporting retention

Best of all, these emails can easily be automated to put your efforts on autopilot. 

In this article, we'll cover:

  • Why non-marketing emails matter
  • 4 types of non-marketing automated emails you should be sending (with copy-and-paste-able and downloadable templates)
  • The technical side: 3 steps to set up your email automations

Let's dive into.

Why Non-Marketing Emails Matter

Non-marketing emails create meaningful touchpoints throughout the member lifecycle, enhancing the experience and reinforcing their connection to your coworking space. These emails can:

  • Build Member Loyalty: They make members feel valued and supported.
  • Streamline Communication: Automating non-marketing emails ensures that no member slips through the cracks, no matter how busy your space gets.
  • Improve Retention: By maintaining a consistent, personalized relationship, members are more likely to stay long-term.
  • Boost Your Online Credibility: By automating the process of getting Google Reviews, you can help boost your online presence and make your space more appealing to potential members.

4 Types of Non-Marketing Automated Emails You Should Be Sending

So, what types of non-marketing emails can help boost your business? To get you started, we’ve listed three ideas below—complete with templates you can use to get started. 

1. Member Onboarding Email

The onboarding process is one of the most important touchpoints for a new member. And a single, well-crafted onboarding email can set the stage for a positive experience, making sure new members feel welcome and informed from day one. 

This is a one-time email that provides everything they need to get started without overwhelming them with unnecessary details.

What to Include in a One-Off Onboarding Email

Your onboarding email should be a personal, welcoming message that includes all the essential information your new member needs to hit the ground running. 

This email can also provide recommendations and insights that showcase your local knowledge and help enhance your new member’s overall workday experience. 

It can include things like: 

  • WiFi Instructions: Clear steps on how to connect to the internet.
  • Building Access: Any keycodes, access cards, or times of availability they need to know.
  • Technology and Apps: Instructions for using booking systems, community apps, or any other software specific to your space.
  • Amenities Access: Information about kitchen facilities, lounges, or shared areas.
  • Meeting Room Booking: How to reserve meeting rooms or conference spaces.
  • Printer/Scanner Access: Steps to use printers, scanners, or other office tech.
  • Hours of Operation: When the space is open or if 24/7 access is available.
  • House Rules: Any guidelines for noise, guests, or shared space etiquette.
  • Nearby Restaurants and Coffee Shops: Recommendations for places to grab coffee or lunch nearby.
  • Parking and Transit: Information on parking options and nearby transit routes.

Example Onboarding Email

Here’s an example of how you might structure the onboarding email:

Subject: Welcome to [Your Coworking Space]—Here’s Everything You Need to Get Started!

Body: 

Hi [Name],

Welcome to [Your Coworking Space]—we’re so excited to have you as part of our community! We can’t wait for you to experience everything our space has to offer, and we’re here to make your transition as smooth as possible.

Below, you’ll find all the key information you need to get started:

  • WiFi: Connect to the network "[Network Name]" using the password "[Password]."
  • Building Access: You’ll need the keycard provided at reception to enter the building. Our space is open 24/7 for members, so feel free to work on your schedule!
  • Booking Meeting Rooms: Need a private space for a meeting? You can reserve rooms through our [App Name] app. Just log in and book at your convenience.
  • Printers & Scanners: You can find the printer and scanner on the second floor, near the lounge area. Instructions for setup are posted next to the machines.
  • Amenities: Make yourself at home in our shared kitchen—free coffee and tea are available all day. Don’t forget to check out our lounge for breaks or casual meetings.
  • Nearby Eats: If you’re looking for a quick bite, we recommend [Restaurant 1], [Restaurant 2], or [Coffee Shop] just around the corner.
  • Parking & Transit: We offer parking in the lot behind the building. If you’re taking public transit, [Transit Option] stops right nearby.

If you have any questions or need help, feel free to reach out to our community manager at [Contact Info].

We’re thrilled to have you with us, and we can’t wait to see you around the space!

Best,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

This onboarding email strikes the perfect balance between being welcoming and informative. It gives new members everything they need in one place without overwhelming them with unnecessary details. The tone is friendly and personal, making the member feel valued while the content ensures they can get started without any confusion.

How to Set This Email Up

In your CRM or email marketing platform, you can implement this email as a sequence and then set a trigger that distributes the email as soon as the contact’s status changes (for example, from “Open Lead” to “Closed Lead,” “Converted Lead,” or “Member”). This will depend on how your pipeline is set up. 

2. Google Reviews & Testimonials Solicitation

After a member has settled into your coworking space, soliciting reviews and testimonials is an effective way to build social proof that you can use in a variety of ways. 

Google Reviews, in particular, are vital for improving your local SEO and attracting new members. 

Automating review requests ensures that this important task doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.

How to Automate Review Requests

There are a few different ways you can automate this email.

Post-Onboarding Review Request 

After a new member has had time to settle in—say, 30 days or so—send them a polite request for a Google Review. 

This not only helps you gather feedback but also boosts your visibility for local searches.

Example Review Request Email

Here’s an example of how you might structure this email.

Subject Line: Are You Enjoying Your Experience at [SPACE]?

Body: 

Hi [Name],

We hope you’re enjoying your time at [Your Coworking Space]! 

Now that you’ve been here for a little while, we’d love to hear your feedback. 

If you have one minute to spare, would you be willing to leave us a quick review on Google? 

Your thoughts help us improve and allow others to find the perfect workspace. You can leave your review here: [Insert GMB Link].

Thanks so much for being a part of our community!

Best,

[Your Name]

Post-Meeting/Event Review Request 

For members or visitors who’ve booked a meeting room or event space, send a follow-up email to ask for a review. Ideally, this would be 24 to 48 hours after the fact. 

Example Post-Meeting/Event Review Request Email

Here’s an example of how you might structure this email.

Subject Line: How Was Your Gathering at [SPACE]?

Body: 

Hi [Name],

Thanks for hosting your [meeting/event] at [Your Coworking Space]! 

We hope everything went smoothly. If you have a moment, we’d love for you to share your experience with us on Google—your feedback helps us continue improving. 

You can leave a review here: [Insert GMB Link].

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to seeing you again!

Best,

[Your Name]

How to Set These Emails Up

In your CRM or email marketing platform, you can set up simple triggers that distribute emails at the appropriate moments. 

3. Member Feedback Surveys: Gaining Insights for Continuous Improvement

Automated feedback surveys help you gather insights into what’s working well and what could be improved. 

Regularly checking in with your members, whether through post-onboarding surveys or quarterly satisfaction surveys, helps ensure that you’re constantly evolving and meeting their needs.

The simplest place to start is with a quarterly satisfaction survey. 

Checking in with members periodically helps ensure they remain satisfied with the space and allows you to address any issues early on. It also gives you a temperature check on what you can think about improving over time or what your members love most about your space (and that you can market to prospective members down the line.

Example Member Feedback Survey Email

Here’s an example of how you might structure this email.

Subject Line: Will you share your feedback with us? 

Body Copy: 

Hi [NAME],

First and foremost, thank you for being a [SPACE] member.

Every quarter, we reach out to get your thoughts, feedback, and opinions on what we’re doing right, what we could do better, and how we can make your experience even better. 

Do you have 90 seconds to spare to complete our Member Feedback Survey [hyperlink to your survey]? If so, we’d be incredibly grateful. 

Thanks again,

[Your Name]

How to Set This Email Up

The good news is that the automation element of this email is very easy to set up. You simply set it up as a template and schedule it to deploy every 90 days.

However, in order to make this work well, you need a bit of a system in place to:

  1. Make it simple and streamlined for members so that they’ll actually do it
  2. Organized and efficient so you can track, review, and utilize the data you receive

Here’s how we do it at Talemaker.

We set up a Google Form that has a variety of member engagement-focused questions. We’ll save you the time of making one up—here’s a template you can use. Just make sure to select “Make a Copy” and save this form to your own Google Drive.

Under the “Responses” tab, we link our clients’ form to Google Sheets so that all responses automatically populate into one centralized location.

This way, you can send out your engagement survey and it will be easy for your members and simple for you as well. 

4. Personalized Touchpoints

These are a bit trickier to execute because they rely on you having a solid amount of information about each of your members—whether it’s information you picked up during sign-up or things your attentive community management team has noticed and flagged in your CRM.

However, if you can pull them off, automated emails with personalized touches can be massively impactful.

Think about things like:

  • Birthdays, anniversaries, or other milestones
  • Membership anniversaries
  • Seasonal well-wishes and timely notes

Non-marketing emails are the backbone of member relationships in coworking spaces. From a well-crafted onboarding email to automated feedback requests and milestone celebrations, these emails help create a positive, lasting impression on your members.

By automating these touchpoints, you ensure that every member feels supported and valued without adding to your workload.

The Technical Side: 3 Steps to Make These Email Automations Work

When it comes time to implement these emails, the technical side will vary slightly depending on your email marketing platform, but in general, there are a few steps you can expect to take.

Let's use the example of a member onboarding email so you can follow along with the whole process.

While this process will vary depending on your email marketing platform (for example, Kit leans into Tags instead of Segments), the general steps will apply across all email marketing platforms.

1. Segment/tag set-up

First and foremost, you'll need to make sure you have the right segments or tags set up (for more on that, check out this article).

In email marketing, tags and segments are tools used to organize your contact list for targeted communication:

  • Tags: These are static labels assigned to contacts to denote specific attributes or actions. Tags are typically binary (yes/no) and are less likely to change over time. They help you identify contacts with certain characteristics. For coworking spaces, tags would apply for things like:
    • Where the lead came from (ie. contact form, book a tour, event space booking, meeting space booking)
    • Who referred the member
    • Type of service a lead is interested in
  • Segments: These are dynamic groups of contacts defined by specific criteria or behaviors. Contacts can move in and out of segments based on changes in their data or interactions with your business. For coworking spaces, this would be things like:
    • Membership status (current member, former member, prospective members)
    • Membership type (dedicated desk, private office, etc.)
    • Location (if you have a few)
    • Funnel stage (i.e. Lead, Qualified Lead, Opportunity, Member)

Since we're focusing on your onboarding email in this example, we're dealing leads vs. members. So, you'll want to focus on segments.

2. Implement your automation

Next, you'll want to implement your automation into your email platform.

The exact steps to do this will vary depending on the platform you're using, but in general, you'll...

Create a sequence...

Using the template we've shared or a draft you create on your own.

Make sure to call the sequence something obvious, like Member Onboarding Sequence. This will come in handy later (and as you go on to create even more sequences).

Edit a few simple settings... 

Like how many days it will take once the sequence is triggered for the email to go out), and a few more in-depth ones...

Like optimal send times, anyone you'd like to exclude, and whether people should be able to restart this sequence. This is mostly for more complex sequences.

From here, make sure to test your email by sending yourself a preview. Check that it's formatted correctly, your subject line and preview text are right, any personalizations work correctly(such as a custom field for your recipient's first name in your greeting), and that all links work properly.

Then, hit publish...

For an onboarding sequence, this could be a single email...

Or, you could add another email in the sequence to check-in and see how things are going (you could set this to go out 2 weeks after the first one). Remember to follow the same steps for your second email to make sure everything is set up correctly and that it's ready to send.

3. Set up your trigger

Once your sequence is set up, you'll need to create a trigger (sometimes known as a rule).

These triggers are typically very simple, following a format of:

If this, then that.

So, in this case, your rule would be something like...

If a contact is added to the segment Members, then subscribe them to sequence Member Onboarding Sequence.

Since we use Kit, we use Tags more than Segments, but here's how the trigger looks for our sequence when people sign up for our free eBook, The Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Coworking Spaces...

Once you've saved this rule, your onboarding email will go out to new members after the amount of time you set in your email sequence.

Pro tip: the first time someone goes from Lead to Member after you've implemented this sequence, make sure to proactively confirm that the email has gone out and that everything has worked properly.

Learn to Grow Your Coworking Business with Email Marketing (Without Spending a Dime) 

Want to dive deeper into email marketing? Click below to download our free 14-chapter eBook:

Or, if you're looking for help in using email marketing to grow your coworking business, book a free consultation with us today.