Stop Writing to Everyone: How to Make Your Zoo Emails Feel Personal
Subject line: Baby Flamingos are here!
That’s the one that made me stop what I was doing and open an email from my local zoo earlier this year. My daughter loves flamingos (and who doesn’t love zoo babies?), so I clicked immediately.
Inside there was information about the baby flamingos – along with a dozen other, unrelated updates. I didn’t read past the flamingos, I just turned to my daughter and said, “We need to go to the zoo… they have baby flamingos! She squealed with joy, and the next week we were there.
The subject line worked – it got us through the gates. But the rest of the content in that email was lost in the noise.
Humans can’t focus on more than one story at a time. When you try to do too much in your emails, your readers tune out.
A Missed Opportunity: When Big News Doesn’t Reach Your Subscribers’ Inboxes
A few months later, something even more exciting happened: my zoo celebrated the birth of its first-ever okapi calf. The first in its nearly 100-year history!
The story made the local news. It has been published as a featured news story on the AZA’s website. It even appeared in People magazine.
But there was no mention of it in my inbox.
Nothing on the website.
No story.
No connection.
The zoo did share the news on social media – but that’s not a strategy, that’s a post.
Social media is rented space. It’s great for sharing pictures and updates to accompany stories on your website, but it’s not where relationships are built. Your social media should lead people back to your website or inbox, where you can tell the full story and nurture a real connection.
That’s the difference between creating momentary excitement and building lasting loyalty.
Too often, zoos and aquariums rely on social media posts to inform instead of emails to engage. Read more about why social media shouldn’t be prioritized over email marketing in my blog post 5 Email Marketing Mistakes Your Zoo or Aquarium is Making (and How to Fix Them).
The secret to stronger visitor engagement isn’t more posts or more emails – it’s more personal ones.
The Real Problem: Emails Written for “Everyone”
Most zoo newsletters follow the same pattern: a long list of announcements arranged into a template, each fighting for attention.
These emails inform, but they don’t connect. They speak at the reader, but not to them.
Honestly, as a zoo member and a marketer, I lose focus on these newsletters quickly because there’s too much information and it’s not personalized.
This is the problem with these broadcast messages – they’re highly impersonal and contain way too much information for a single email.
Here’s the key: Your zoo’s emails land in each inbox individually. Your reader is not a crowd… They're one person who loves your animals, the experiences and memories they create when they visit, and supporting your zoo’s mission.
When you write to everyone, you connect with no one.
But when you write to one person, everyone feels seen and they will connect with you.
From Newsletter Blasts to Relationship-Building Emails
Try moving away from long, generic, templated newsletters to shorter, story-focused emails.
Open with a friendly salutation (use your email marketing platform or CRM to insert the subscriber’s name and insert “Zoo Friend” for any subscribers whose first name you don’t have). Share one story, one emotion, and one call to action for every email you send.
For example:
A baby animal birth announcement with a button that links to the full announcement on your zoo’s website.
A zookeeper’s behind-the-scenes story with a button that links to the full story on your zoo’s blog (if you don’t have one yet, now’s a great time to start!).
A reminder about Zoo Lights with a button that links to your zoo’s ticketing page that says “Plan Your Next Visit”.
You can still email your list about events or news, but do it one email at a time – like you’re writing to a friend.
This simple shift turns routine updates into meaningful conversations that connect.
Write to one person: Meet Your ICA
Your goal isn’t to fill inboxes. It’s to nurture relationships that move visitors to members, members to donors, and donors to lifelong advocates.
To do that, you must write to a single, clearly defined person – your Ideal Conservation Advocate (ICA).
When you focus on your ICA, the person who embodies your zoo’s mission and its values, your message becomes natural, personal, and clear. And it connects.
I’ll dive deeper into how to define your ICA in next week’s WildStory Field Notes.
Personalization Meets Automation
Consistency builds trust. But staying consistent doesn’t have to mean more work.
Email automation allows you to send the right message to the right person at the right time. Once you know who you’re writing to, automation helps you keep the conversation going without adding to your to-do list.
Your Next Step: Write One Email This Week
This week, try this simple exercise:
Choose one story or update from your zoo — a new animal birth, a fun zookeeper moment, or a seasonal event.
Write an email about it as though you’re sending it to one person.
Use “you” more than “we”
Example:
Dear [Name],
We have exciting news here at the zoo – our Okapi has given birth to a baby boy, the first in our 100 year history!
Mother and baby are doing well and will be off exhibit for the next few weeks. Keep an eye on your inbox for a special invitation when they make their debut.
In the meantime, we’d love to see you here at the zoo. Plan your visit below!
When your emails sound like a conversation instead of an announcement, your readers feel valued. And that’s the first step toward lasting connection.
Note: Emails like this are not written using a template. They should be written with a white background. You can include your zoo’s logo at the top, a picture within the text and a button with a CTA at the end, but that’s it. It should feel to your reader like this is an email from a friend.
Because when your supporters feel seen, they don’t just visit the zoo, they become part of its story.
If your zoo is ready to move beyond broadcast messaging and start writing emails that feel personal and inspire real connection, I’d love to help.
I offer personalized email marketing audits to help AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums identify what’s working, what’s missing, and how to turn your emails into powerful engagement tools.
