First Contact Emails

Email Template for Winners | Email Template for Creators
We understand that being the one to make first contact can be nerve-racking, so here are some suggestions to help!

Firstly, please read our guide for getting in touch with creators, which includes points that creators and winners should discuss when they get in touch. If you read it and are still unsure of how to start the conversation, we have two “first contact” email examples for creators and winners below. Feel free to change things; you don’t have to include anything that doesn’t apply to you.

Be aware that you might have to compromise a bit on both sides as you go along, but this is why you should establish your preferences at the beginning. Don’t hesitate to state hard limits or describe your ideal situation.

We’d like to encourage everyone to take the plunge and get in touch with their auction winner/creator as soon as possible, even if it’s just to let the other person know that you’re not able to talk until a certain date. Remember that your match might also be anxious about taking that first step. It could be a case of mutual “I’ll wait until they contact me” syndrome that’s keeping you from making contact with each other, but we guarantee that they’re looking forward to hearing from you!

WINNER TEMPLATE

Hi XNAME,

This is YOURNAME. I won your MTH auction, AUCTION ID, for XSERVICE. I’m looking forward to working with you!

[Something specific about the auction you won. For example:

I had a look at your works, and I really love the way you do XTHING/Your “will create works that contain” section drew me in since I love XTHING as well!

I don’t have anything specific in mind yet, but I was wondering how you’d feel about doing a work that includes XTHING./I have a pretty good idea of what I’d like to ask you to create, but I wanted to double check that you didn’t forget to add any DNWs to your creator post. I’m thinking XDESCRIPTION(S) THAT FITS THE AUCTION LIMITS or XPROMPT(S) THAT INCLUDES THE CREATOR’S WANTS BUT NONE OF THEIR DNWs./I don’t have a prompt right now, but I can get back to you with one by XTIME.

Let me know if you prefer to work with general prompts or if you’d like a specific scenario or prompt from me!

If you’re open to it, I’d love to do a collaboration where we bounce ideas off of each other, so I’m involved in the process of creating the work./I’d prefer to send you some prompts and then get surprised with the finished work if that’s okay./I’ll probably check in occasionally, but for the most part, I can leave you to it while you work on the auction fill.]

Let me know if you have any questions at all and feel free to contact me if you ever need anything from me to finish your auction fill. I can’t wait to hear back from you! You can contact me at ALTERNATE CONTACT METHOD(S) in addition to this email address.

Warm regards,

YOURNAME

CREATOR TEMPLATE

Hi XNAME,

I’m getting in touch with you about the MTH auction you won. Thanks so much for participating in MTH and bidding on me!

I offered XDESCRIPTION OF AUCTION OFFERED (you can lift this from your work description in your creator post or edit/add to it if you’d like). If you want examples of my work, you can see them LINK(S) HERE.

I can’t wait to get started on my auction fill for you!/I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be really busy/AFK because of XREASON until XDATE. I’ll be checking my emails semi-regularly, but don’t worry if you don’t get a reply during that time. You can also contact me at ALTERNATE CONTACT METHOD(S).

I work best when… XDESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED WORKING PROCESS

[For example:

  • …I have two or three specific art/fic/digital work prompts to choose from, so I know what you’d really like but am not overwhelmed by options.
  • …if I get some general tropes and things you enjoy reading about/seeing, so I can work with a bit of freedom.
  • …I have a combination of general and specific prompts, so I can mix and match depending on where the art/fic/digital work takes me.
  • …if you let me know what your top three choices are for the fic you’d like me to translate/podfic so that I can pick something you’d like but have a few options, especially as the author for your first choice may not want to have their work transformed.
  • …if you send me a finished fic/WiP to beta read.
  • …if we have regular back-and-forth, so I can make sure you’re liking my work so far. I like to send WiPs and get comments about whether you’re liking things or not as I go.
  • …if you leave me to work and be the one to get in touch about progress instead of showing you the WiP, so I don’t stress too much. I’ll send you the finished work, and then I can change things once I get your feedback on it.]

Let me know if you have any questions!

Looking forward to hearing from you,

YOURNAME