[hjanssen]

To add to the points others have made: If I see an email with a name in the title I don't recognize, I instantly think it is spam.

Please do not do this, it neither helps with your credibility nor does it help to build a "connection". I want to know where this email is coming from, and if I have signed up at Spotify, I expect to recieve my emails from Spotify, not Tom whoever at Spotify.

[arethuza]

I really dislike emails that claim to come from a person but obviously come from an automated system - I find it remarkably dishonest.

Edit: I don't mind if I think the person is even vaguely aware I exist. But an email claiming to be from an executive of some huge company saying how happy they are that I have signed up doesn't fall into that category.

[jariel]

To me, if it's a 'real person' but an automated system it's even more dishonest.

The message is not coming from them.

I know it's not particularly disingenuous - it's just 'marketing' but at the same time it really triggers my 'Orwellian Dystopia' concerns about the completely impersonal future where relationships are utterly commoditized and we lose the ability to distinguish between man and machine.

In fact, the overly familiar tone of messages those that 'try to hard' to lack protocol bother me as well.

A 'corporation' using the language of 'friendship' is ridiculous. Sadly, I think this will go on as we love to think that 'someone who uses more casual language with us must be on more familiar terms'.

Frankly, I'd rather go back to proper titles. Mr. Ms. whatever.

"I don't know you, you are not my friend, you cannot be familiar with me, don't tell me jokes or help me 'chillax'" is what I feel like saying.

[leetrout]

Also the odds that Ivan at Notion is using "mail.notion.so" .... umm no.

[ZephyrBlu]

Why? It's just a matter of time and scale. It's impossible to email thousands of people a personalized message.

I still see it as an email from that person, assuming they wrote the template themselves. I would also expect to be able to reply directly to that person if I wanted to, though.

[me_smith]

The first time I got an email from "Ivan" or the "Tom" from so and so company, I opened and read it. However, a couple lines in, I realized it was an automated email and it went straight to the trash. I don't understand how it helps make a better connection when you aren't really connecting with a real person.

Maybe I am getting old and I am not the target audience for these types of strategies but it really turns me off. I feel it takes away the value from actual email.

[pau_alcala]

Interesting point there. Does the same happen to you with smaller or earlier companies? I wouldn't trust Tom from Spotify is a real person, but some companies have founders sending and replying to those emails themselves. A good practice I saw from another onboarding sequence was Apollo.io's first email. It was from a person who told me they would be my point of contact if I needed anything from the company. I know it's automated, but I personally though it was much better than receiving something from support@apollo or onboarding@apollo. It makes it easier for me to reach out if I have something to say

[hrktb]

I think the difference is less on small or big company, but wether it’s an open topic or not.

You don’t want a password reset confirmation mail from Andre, or in this case a simple account creation notification from Tom.

If it’s a full onboarding email where you are invited to have questions and interact further, sure, why not, assuming all following mails will be from Tom as well. Otherwise the mail having personality is just noise and abusing people’s social behavior.

I feel the same with mails addressing me on a first name basis. It’s skating on very thin ice, and I hate most companies doing it.

[hjanssen]

I does not make a difference, at least from my point of view.

I think those personal emails are warranted if my first contact with a company was human, like I reached out and contacted someone from the sales team.

But "personal" responses to an obviously automated process like signup is just dishonest. If the founder responds to support requests - fine. Send me a personal response once I have a support request, but not as a signup confirmation.

[choward]

> I always feel awkward when I don’t know who is writing on the other side. Is it the CEO? Someone from Sales? Is it a super intelligent baby?

Why would someone feel awkward? It's from neither of those. It's automated so I think it's awkward and misleading to use a name.

[frosted-flakes]

Well, someone wrote the email. It didn't write itself.

[pbhjpbhj]

They didn't write it to you, they wrote it to all new customers, it's misleading.