As a Program Coordinator, you can send a single message to all, or a filtered subset, of your participants at once using the Bulk Message feature. It's the most effective tool for proactive participant communication, keeping mentoring front of mind and your cohort moving through the program.
Where to find messaging in Mentorloop
Mentorloop has three places to message participants, depending on their status:
- Participants page — for active participants. Select the participants you want to message, then choose Message selected. Also available from the Loops page for loop-level targeting. Messages are delivered into the participant's 1:1 loop chat with you.
- Signups page — for applicants who haven't yet completed registration. Useful for nudging people to finish signing up before they become active participants.
- Mentoring Bench — for benched participants. Select participants from the Bench and click the email icon. Messages are delivered as emails (not into a loop), making it easy to re-engage someone without re-enrolling them first.
How often should I message my participants?
At minimum, send a general check-in to your participants once a month. The most effective programs go further, they plan messages around key program milestones, so every communication lands at a moment when participants actually need it.
Think of it in two modes:
- BAU monthly messages — a regular cadence sent to all active participants. These keep mentoring visible, share resources, and remind people you're there to support them. The Program Management Playbook: Templated Communications has 12 ready-to-use monthly message templates, one for each month of a program cycle.
- Milestone-triggered blasts — targeted messages sent to specific groups at key points in the program lifecycle: when matches are released, when pairs are stuck at the First Meeting milestone, mid-program, and at wrap-up. These are higher-impact because they speak directly to where each participant is right now.
Consistency matters more than frequency
Participants don't need to log in every week for a program to be healthy, but they do need to feel remembered. Even a short, warm message once a month is enough to keep mentoring front of mind and reduce the chance of relationships quietly going dormant.
What does a good comms cadence look like for a cohort program?
For programs that run in cohorts with a defined start and end date, milestone-triggered blasts are the most effective approach. The table below maps typical program stages to suggested message focus and audience filters, adapt the timing to suit your program's specific timeline.
| Program stage | Timing | Message focus | Suggested audience filter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches released | Match day / ASAP | Welcome your match, explain next steps, encourage first contact | All matched participants (or filter by mentor / mentee role to tailor the message) |
| First Meeting | ~3–4 weeks post-match | Nudge pairs who haven't yet had their first meeting; share resources to help them get started | Participants at the First Meeting milestone (filter via Participants page → Mentoring Milestone) |
| Goals & momentum | ~6–8 weeks post-match | Prompt goal-setting; share a resource; check in on progress for pairs who've connected | All active participants, or filter by Grow Together milestone for targeted nudges |
| Mid-program check-in | ~Halfway through | Reflect on progress, re-energise relationships that have slowed, share an inspiring story or resource | All active participants; also consider filtering the Loops page by Last Activity to target stalled pairs |
| Re-energise | ~Three-quarters through | Warm re-engagement — short, encouraging, focused on the stretch run | All active participants |
| Wrap-up + next cohort | Final 2–4 weeks | Thank participants, share impact data, announce next cohort intake dates or rematching options | All participants (including those who may have gone quiet, this is a natural close) |
Your PC Dashboard is the easiest way to track which milestone groups need attention. Hover over any milestone to see how many participants or loops are sitting there, and look out for the 21-day alert, which flags pairs that have been stuck in the same milestone without progressing.
For ready-to-use message copy at every stage, see the Program Management Playbook: Templated Communications.
What else can I use Bulk Message for?
Beyond milestone-triggered comms, your monthly messages can serve a range of purposes. Rotating between these throughout a cohort keeps the content fresh and relevant:
- Keep mentoring front of mind — a short, friendly nudge is often all it takes to re-surface a relationship that's slipped between the cracks.
- Share useful resources — the Mentoring Resources section has a wide range of articles and guides. The Mentorloop blog is also a good source of ideas to pass on.
- Spotlight a participant — celebrating a mentoring champion or sharing a success story builds community and motivates others.
- Encourage survey responses — nudge participants who haven't yet completed their Mentoring Quality Score or post-meeting feedback. You can use filters or tags to target only those who haven't responded.
- Offer support — remind participants that you're available as a point of contact, whether for feedback, advice, or flagging anything sensitive.
- Share organisation news or upcoming events — Bulk Message supports file attachments, so you can include any relevant documents alongside your update.
Tip: pasting links with .com.au or similar domains
When typing a URL directly into the message field, links with more than one dot in the domain (e.g. www.example.com.au) may not automatically render as a full hyperlink. To avoid this, paste the URL rather than typing it manually, or use the link formatting tool in the message editor.
How do I nudge participants to complete their signup? 📝
The Bulk Message feature is also available from the Signups page, so you can reach people who haven't yet finished their application, before they're even active participants in the program.
- From the Signups page, you can see how far along each applicant is in the registration process.
- Filter for participants who haven't completed their application or confirmed their email address.
- Select them and send a friendly reminder to support them in finishing their registration.
- You can also edit the email subject line when messaging signups, so your nudge stands out in their inbox.
Personalised messages work best here. Mention any upcoming deadlines, highlight the benefits of joining, or link to a resource that makes it easier for them to take the final step.
How do I reach participants who are on the bench? 🪑
If a participant has stepped back and been benched, you can still reach them directly from the Mentoring Bench, without re-enrolling them into the program first. This is useful for scheduled re-engagement check-ins or to let someone know you've found a good match for them and invite them back.
- Go to the Mentoring Bench from the left-hand navigation at the organisation level.
- Select the benched participants you want to contact using the checkboxes in the table.
- Click the email icon in the toolbar, compose your message, and send.
- Use the {firstName} tag to personalise by first name.
Messages sent from the Bench are delivered as emails directly to the participant. Unlike messages from the Participants page, they are not sent into a loop and are not logged in Mentorloop after sending, so keep a copy of your message if you need a record.