A few weeks ago I sat down to design a set of welcome emails for a team launching a new tool. The copy was drafted. The brand colors were picked. The plan was simple: design the templates, hand them off, done.
But as I worked through them, I kept asking the same question. Where is the person reading this email right now? What did they just do, and what are they stuck on?
So before designing anything else, I stepped back and drew the whole journey on one board. Every step a new person takes, from the moment they sign up to the moment they get real value. When the team saw it, the conversation changed. Someone said, "Each of those moments is where we're losing people." And just like that, we knew which emails mattered most.
This is the part most organizations skip. And it applies whether you run a church, a restaurant, or a nonprofit.
Why the order matters
Most of us write follow-up messages one at a time, as the need comes up. A welcome email here. A reminder there. A newsletter when we remember. Each one makes sense on its own, but nobody has looked at how they fit together.
What happens is that people fall through the gaps between messages. A first-time guest visits your church, gets a warm welcome card, and then hears nothing until the monthly newsletter. A customer orders once, gets a receipt, and never hears from you again. A donor gives for the first time and the next thing they get is another ask.
The messages themselves might be lovely. The problem is the empty space around them. A journey map shows you that space.
Step 1: Write down every step a person takes
Grab a whiteboard, a sheet of paper, or a free tool like FigJam or Miro. Start with how someone first finds you, and end with what it looks like when they are fully connected.
For a church, that might look like:
Visits the website or a social post
Attends a Sunday service for the first time
Fills out a connection card
Comes back a second time
Joins a small group or serves on a team
For a restaurant, it might be: finds you online, visits for the first time, leaves a review, comes back, brings friends.
For a nonprofit: hears about the mission, signs up for updates, gives or volunteers for the first time, gives again.
Keep it plain. You are listing what people actually do, in order.
Step 2: Mark where people get stuck
Now look at each step and ask: where do people stop?
In the project I mentioned, the team already had a hunch, and the map made it clear. Some people signed up and never took the first action. Others took the first action and then stalled waiting on the next one. Each stall point needed its own message, one that picks up exactly where that person left off.
You probably know your stuck points too. The guests who visit once and never return. The customers who never come back after their first order. The volunteers who sign up and never show. Circle those steps. Those are where your next messages belong.
Step 3: Celebrate the small wins
When I mapped the journey, the biggest gap was that nobody was celebrating progress. People were told what to do next, but never told "you did it."
Milestones keep momentum going. A short note after someone's first month of serving. A thank-you after a second visit. A message to a donor showing what their first gift made possible. These take five minutes to write, and they tell people that someone noticed.
So as you look at your map, add a few moments of celebration between the asks.
Step 4: Give every message one clear next step
One of the designers on that team said something I keep coming back to: every email needs a strong enough reason to act. Something valuable enough that the reader wants to take the next step.
That means one main action per message. Plan a visit. Join a group. Book a table. See the impact. If a message has five links and three requests, people usually do none of them.
Your journey map makes this easier, because each message already knows its job. It moves a person from one step to the next.
Step 5: Warm it up, and keep the basics simple
After the first round of templates, the team told me the brand felt a little sterile. So we warmed it up with real photos of the people they serve, a few hand-drawn touches like an arrow and a marker highlight, and the brand colors used with more personality.
At the same time, I kept the account verification email plain on purpose. People might get that one more than once, and its only job is to work. Not every message needs to carry the full brand.
For you, this might look like real photos from your Sunday service instead of stock images, a personal note from your pastor or owner, or a signature from an actual person on your team. Save the extra warmth for the moments that build the relationship, and keep the practical messages short and clear.
What you can do this week
You do not need new software or a big budget to start. Here is a simple plan:
Pick one journey. First-time guests, first-time customers, or first-time donors. Just one.
List the steps. Five to seven is plenty.
Circle where people stop. Ask your team. They usually know.
Look at what you send today. Write each current message next to the step it serves. Notice the empty spaces.
Fill one gap. Write one message for your biggest stuck point, with one clear next step.
Add one celebration. A thank-you or a "you did it" at a milestone.
It sounds like a lot, but it fits on one page. Take it a little at a time.
Let's map yours together
At Waymaker, I do this work side by side with churches, small businesses, and mission-led teams. We map the journey together, find where people are slipping away, and build messages and templates your team can keep using long after we are done. My goal is to set you up to run it on your own.
If you would like help mapping the journey for your guests, customers, or donors, book a call with me. I'd love to hear what you are building.
Always with pleasure,
Monserrat
