The goal isn’t to trick them—it’s to make it so good they don’t care.

Let’s have an honest conversation about those “just checking in!” automated emails you’re sending. You know, the ones with the {First_Name} field that sometimes glitches and shows up as “Hi %FirstName%!” or they type in their name as RANDY and you look like you’re yelling at them with each text personalization (We’ve all been there.)

Here’s the truth: Your couples know these emails are automated. They’ve seen enough “Happy Birthday!” emails from their dentist to spot automation from a mile away. And guess what? They don’t care. At least, they don’t care if you’re doing it right.

The Automation Authenticity Paradox

Remember when we all thought we had to pretend our automated emails were hand-typed at 9:43 PM while we were thinking specifically about that one couple? Yeah, those days are over. Your couples are smarter than that, and they’re actually totally fine with automation—as long as you’re delivering value.

Think about it: They use Alexa to order their coffee, Siri to set their reminders, and Netflix to tell them what to watch next. They’re not anti-automation—they’re anti-bad automation.

What Your Couples Actually Care About

When that automated email hits their inbox, here’s what they’re really thinking:

“Did this help me?” Not “Did a human type this?” They’re wondering if you just solved a problem they had, answered a question they were about to ask, or made their planning journey easier.

“Was this relevant to me?” Not “Was this personally written?” They care if the content actually matters to where they are in their planning process, not whether you manually clicked ‘send.’

“Did this feel like it was for me?” Notice I said “feel like”—not “was.” They know it’s automated, but does it feel thoughtful? Does it feel like you understood their needs?

The Value Over Volume Game

Your couples would rather get one incredibly helpful automated email than seven “personalized” check-ins that add zero value. Let that sink in.

When you’re crafting your automation sequence, stop asking: “How do I make this seem more personal?”

Start asking: “How do I make this so helpful they don’t care that it’s automated?”

Making Automation Feel Personal (Without Faking It)

Here’s how to create automated emails your couples will actually love:

Time It Right

An automated email that arrives exactly when they need it feels more personal than a “custom” email that misses the mark. Send venue layout tips the week they’re meeting their planner. Share lighting inspiration right when they’re booking their photographer. That’s not luck—it’s smart automation.

Solve Real Problems

Instead of “Just checking in to see how planning is going!” (which we all know is automated), try “Here are the three most common questions couples ask at this stage of planning—and the answers you need.” Same automation, way more value.

Anticipate Their Needs

The most personal-feeling emails are the ones that answer questions before they’re asked. When your email about ceremony timing hits their inbox right as they’re stressing about their timeline, it feels downright psychic (in a good way).

The New Rules of Automation

  1. Stop apologizing for automation—start maximizing its potential
  2. Focus on timing over typing
  3. Deliver value over artificial personality
  4. Make it relevant rather than “real”
  5. Be consistently helpful instead of inconsistently “personal”

When to Keep It Real (And When Not To)

Some moments deserve a genuine, human-typed email. Like when they:

  • Ask a specific, unique question
  • Share personal details about their story
  • Express concerns or anxiety
  • Need special attention or care

But for everything else? Automation can actually serve them better than scattered personal attempts.

The Bottom Line

Stop trying to hide your automation behind fake personalization. Instead, make your automated communications so valuable, so timely, and so helpful that your couples look forward to them—even knowing they’re automated.

The goal isn’t to trick them into thinking a robot is human. The goal is to use automation to be consistently helpful at scale. Because at the end of the day, your couples would rather have reliable, valuable automated communication than sporadic, generic “personal” touches.

Ready to embrace the power of honest automation?

[AUTOMATE WITH PURPOSE]

P.S. Yes, this postscript is probably automated too. But if it made you smile and think differently about your email strategy, does it really matter?