When an email goes into my Gmail “Promotions” folder, it pretty much means “skim this for a second then delete”. But last week, there was an email that made me take notice.

The email was announcing Lift 2.0. For those unfamiliar, Lift is an app that helps you achieve your goals through daily measurement of the habits you’re hoping to form. (Disclaimer: While I’ve played around with the app and it seems to serve a great purpose, I’m not a user.)

The email (which can be read here in its entirety on Medium) announced several changes to the app that would significantly alter the user experience. Some features would be added and other popular ones would be removed.

In my opinion, the email had three key components that made it highly effective at successfully communicating change:

It was personal. The email came from Lift CEO Tony Stubblebine. It was authentic and injected Tony’s personal views as a user of the product:

“As a user, I love this upcoming version of Lift so hard. Every part of it has made me more successful.”

2. It didn’t try to tug at my heartstrings. My own #1 rule for effective communication is to treat people like intelligent adults. I use this at work, and I also use it with the teens that I mentor. When you lay out logical facts and don’t cater to the lowest common denominator, you’ll find you get respect in return.

I remember when Facebook launched Timeline. It was launched with a perfectly-produced video showing how Timeline could help you watch your children grow up. *Tears*

Timeline was a huge departure — one that changed the user experience, the interface design and privacy controls. It freaked people out. Users were confused. And via the launch video, questions went unanswered. Effective marketing? Yes. Effective communication? No.

3. It took a firm stand. We all have features we want to get rid of. Sometimes, they’re loved by users. Other times, there are internal stakeholders that are attached to them. It’s a tough call to make, and the easy way out is to just leave the feature the way it is, thereby complicating your user experience. Tony laid out the rationale for removal of a pretty actively used feature: strangers being able to prop activity.

“But, this is an example where we had to do some math around effectiveness. Giving a prop to a stranger does more for the prop-giver than it does for the prop receiver. The impact of a prop from a stranger has been minimal whenever we’ve measured it.”

In its place will be a new discussion area which the team believes will yield more fruitful engagement on the site. Inevitably, there will be backlash for removal of a popular feature; but the email successfully communicated — with valid reason — the removal in advance so expectations are set.