Overview
The Welcome Email is an opportunity to introduce yourself, your fellow administrators, and give basic information about the project. This can include member guidelines, participation requirements, research goals, and more. There is wide leeway in what can be included in this welcome email, but It is important to follow the Group Project Administrator Terms & Policies.
Tips
This email will be the first communication the project member receives from you or the administrative team. It is your opportunity to set expectations and goals for the project, as well as to request information such as adding a family tree or earliest known ancestor information. Many projects share links to resources as well. Remember to ensure that if you link to any third-party resources, those resources do not violate our Terms and Policies. For example, it is fine to add a link to a spreadsheet of a phylogenetic tree or a family tree, but those trees cannot list group members' full names or ancestral information without those members' explicit written permission.
Remember, the member will not know the email is automatically generated, so be sure to include your email address in your signature line, and emphasize that replies should go to that email instead of directly responding to the welcome email.
Example
Below is an example of a Welcome Email. You are welcome to modify it for your project:
Subject: Welcome to the Smith Surname Project
Body:
Hello,
Thank you for joining the Smith Surname Project. My name is Jane Smith. I am the lead administrator of the project. My email address is EXAMPLE@EXAMPLE.COM. If you have questions or concerns, I respond within one or two days. However, I do not check my email on Sunday.
I have been researching the Smith family and all spelling variants using traditional genealogy for twenty years. I started the Smith Surname Project five years ago to confirm my research and find new links between different lineages. The use of Y-DNA has completely changed our understanding of some branches!
So that the project co-administrators and I may help you, please send us your pedigree information. We will then guide you through adding it to your account and the project.
Best wishes,
Jane Smith