By Nooshin Latour @nooshin & Anirvan Chatterjee @anirvan, Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at UCSF. Poster presented at the 2014 Joint Summits on Translational Science hosted by the American Informatics Association (AMIA). Showcases success with automated email onboarding for research networking software (Profiles.ucsf.edu) at UC San Francisco.

1. Email-Based Onboarding to Increase New User Engagement
for an Institutional Research Networking Platform
Nooshin Latour, MA, Anirvan Chatterjee
Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California, San Francisco
Clinical and Translational Science Institute / CTSI
Accelerating Research to Improve Health
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Introduction
New researchers get added to the UCSF Profiles research networking
platform upon joining the institution. While publication histories are added
automatically to profile pages, other data need to be entered by profile
owners. Many researchers were either unaware of their profile, and/or that
they could be customized (only 30% had logged in to make any edits).
Method
Communicators and technologists on the UCSF Profiles team developed
automated welcome emails to engage users joining the institution, using email
marketing best practices to encourage early engagement.
On Day 1:
• The day after they get added to UCSF Profiles, new users are
automatically sent a “Welcome” email (#1) which includes a description
of the system and links to their profile page and the customization form.
On Day 14:
• Users who have customized their profile page are sent a “Thank You”
email (#2A) which further describes how the system can be used.
• Users who have not yet edited their profile page get a friendly
reminder to do so (#2B), structured as a set of tips.
Emails are automatically triggered upon adding new users to UCSF Profiles,
and delivered via the Mandrill email automation platform. We used Mandrill’s
analytics to test multiple variants of the emails, based on open and click rates.
Results
We tested multiple variants of the emails. Results for winning variants:
• Email #1: 63% open rate, 55% click rate
• Email #2A: 39% open rate, 11% click rate
• Email #2B: 44% open rate, 25% click rate
These engagements rates are surprisingly high. Open rates for email A are
2-3x higher than related industry averages, and click rates are up to 15x
higher. We are doing cohort analyses to understand long-term impacts of
custom onboarding emails on engagement with this research networking tool.
Email engagement rates, compared to industry averages:
This project was supported by NIH/NCRR UCSF-CTSI Grant Number UL1 TR000004. Its contents are
solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
New researcher
joins UCSF
…and is issued a
new Profiles page
Onboarding email #1
sent the next day
Inspired by industry
Anatomy of a successful onboarding email
Customized subject line
Clear calls
to action
Helpful
tips
Responsive HTML email
works in webmail,
smartphones, etc.
Concise copy
Friendly
voice
Appeal to
curiosity
Two weeks later, did the researcher
customize their profile page?
Send either email #2A or #2B
63%
44%
47%
36%
33%
31%
25%
55%
25%
4%
3%
3%
3%
4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
UCSF Profiles
Welcome Email
UCSF Profiles
Follow Up Email
Non-Profit
Education &
Training
Software &
WebApp
Medical, Dental,
Healthcare
Social Networks
& Online
Communities
Open
Click
Jane Doe, PhD
Jane%Doe,%PhD%is%the%Eudocia%and%Sebas4ano%Papasthatopoulos%Endowed%Chair%in%Medicine%and%an%Associate%
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