Carly Buxton, PhD

So as yesterday’s post revealed, I’ve been getting more serious about acting lately. Commercials, photo shoots, background work… Apparently I give off a very “mom in charge” type of energy, and because my work for Parentswarm and in fractional CX is so flexible, I’ve been looking for more acting gigs.

So a few months ago, I bit the bullet and joined Backstage. This is sort of a LinkedIn for aspiring actors, and though it’s a little hazy whether people actually get work from the site (and apparently lots of scammers like: Send nudes and we’ll consider you for this amazing role…) I thought I’d give it a try (not the nudes part, though).

First, a reflection on my buying journey:

First impression: They targeted me on Facebook several times with ads about filming for a resort in the tropics for a high salary and paid travel/accommodations. I didn’t join in time to submit for this gig, but I did certainly keep daydreaming about getting booked for it.

Consideration: On set for a commercial at Six Flags, the other talent and I were exchanging ideas about where to find breakdowns and get hired. Someone mentioned Backstage. Ok, so credibility is building. 

Purchase: On a night home alone, thinking about how fun it is to act, I Google “Backstage,” and on their landing page, I’m given a limited-time offer of $75 for the year rather than $199. I screenshot it. I return to the page about 10 minutes later and give my credit card details.

Mild regret: I instantly mark my calendar for June 20, 2025 to deactivate my subscription after the promo-code year. 

And yet: Filling out my bio, adding headshots and reels… it feels like I’m “working” – like I’m “doing something” to advance my budding career in acting. I spend about 90 minutes uploading details and skills to my profile, poking around for jobs, submitting for a few, even recording a few audio demos. 

And TWO DAYS LATER, I get this email:

Why on earth was I being welcomed to the platform 2 days after joining…? (PANIC: Did I accidentally join–and pay–twice?) Why was I being invited to create my talent profile when I’d spent more than an hour doing that right after I joined? (PANIC: Did I not save it properly?) Why was I being encouraged to “start browsing” for gigs when I’d submitted for quite a few already over the past 2 days? (PANIC: Did I just imagine doing that? Did I mess it up? Or did they hate me so much that I’m not even registering as ‘considered’ in the system?)

All of these panic moments (really, self-doubt moments) have been caused by a welcome email that was either (or both) ill-timed and/or poorly constructed.

I went back and saw that they had indeed already sent a nearly identical version of this email the moment I joined, at 9:06 pm on Friday night. This second welcome was auto-sent 24 hours later, but because I didn’t check my email that late on Saturday, I didn’t see it until Sunday morning (so, 2 days after joining). 

I know from setting up my own company’s automations that it’s pretty complicated (at least with my current level of systems and AI knowledge) to personalize a sequence based on the actions that new customers have (or have not yet) taken. So we just send the email to everyone and assume, “Oh, they’ll just ignore that bit about setting up their profile if they’ve already done so.” Not true. 

Urging your customers to do a set-up task they’ve already done can cause unnecessary panic, cloud your initial brand impression, and enhance buyer’s remorse, even if that’s all subliminal.

So take this as a prompt to go and audit the first few emails you’re sending your customers.

Assume that your customers are EXCITED after joining–and also trying to reassure themselves that their money was well spent by instantly putting it to use. They’re likely going to take the first few steps to fill out a profile right after joining, especially if you encourage them to do so in your first (instantaneous) welcome email.

If you feel the need to prompt them to take such preliminary actions AGAIN in your welcome sequence (maybe you have data that shows a concerning percentage of delay or incompletion), do one of two things:

• Use AI / smart systems CRM technology to personalize their emails according to the onboarding actions that they have (or have not) taken. For example:

You’re on Backstage! View your profile here.

Now let’s get you more work!

• Set up your talent profile
• Submit for your first gig
• Enhance your profile with a video reel

• OR if that’s too complicated, try something like this:

Thank you for joining Backstage! You can edit and view your profile here.

Maybe you’ve already submitted for your first gig–yay! If not, you can view this tutorial on how to get started, or search for matched opportunities right now.

My journey from aspiring actor to Backstage subscriber highlighted the critical importance of thoughtful, personalized onboarding in any customer experience. The takeaway: remember that your customers’ first interactions with your product set the tone for their entire experience. By crafting welcome sequences that acknowledge and adapt to user actions, we can avoid confusion, alleviate anxiety, and foster a sense of belonging and acknowledgement from day one.