What It Has to Do
Four things. If the email does those, it has worked.
- Who their main point of contact is
- What happens next
- What we need from them right now
- What to expect in the first stage of onboarding
What to Include
Typical ingredients, not a required order. Use the ones that apply.
- Opening context
- What the engagement is, that it is with Web Wizards, and why you are writing. Never assume the client already knows what the email refers to.
- Main contact
- Who they deal with day to day, and anyone else they will hear from.
- Immediate next step
- The one thing happening next, not the whole plan.
- What we need
- The access, assets or answers that are actually blocking work — not a full wish list.
- First focus
- What the team is working on while they get that to us.
- What follows
- A kickoff call or the next update, where either is relevant.
Add two to four next steps specific to what was sold, where they help. For a social engagement that might be confirming channels and posting cadence, confirming access and approvals, agreeing content priorities, and preparing the first content calendar. There are no per-service email templates — take the steps from the relevant service onboarding module.
Examples
Three shapes, depending on the relationship and the size of the work. Adapt one; do not copy it.
Then What?
The email has worked if the client can answer four questions without having to reply and ask: who am I dealing with, what happens next, what do you need from me, and what will I see first.
- Client KickoffRunning the kickoff, confirming goals and priorities, and agreeing the first 30 days.
- Access & AssetsAccounts, platform access, brand assets and credentials we need before kickoff.
- Internal Service BriefThe one-page brief Sales hands to Delivery, and the template behind it.
- OverviewWho owns onboarding, what happens in what order, and what has to be true before delivery starts.