Five things to consider when adding a supporter
So you’ve signed up for a Grief Coach subscription and now you have the opportunity to add supporters to your subscription. What does this mean? Who should you add? Maybe the idea of adding supporters sounds great, but you’re unsure of who to add and how to ask them. We can help.
Here are 5 things to consider when adding supporters to your Grief Coach subscription:
- Think of who has already shown up for you
Can you think of someone in your life who has truly been there for you? If there’s someone who’s consistently been a great supporter, but who seems to be distant now that you’re grieving, perhaps they’re unsure how to support you in this phase of your life and could use some support themselves.
- Think of people who have said, “Let me know if you need anything!”
You’ve probably heard this a million times at this point, but when we’re grieving, we often don’t know what to ask for. We’re really not sure what we need. Now’s a great time to take these people up on their offer of support and Grief Coach can be a great tool for making that happen.
- Ask them
Sometimes the reality is that the people we wish would show up for us, don’t. When considering who to add as a supporter, it is important to talk to the people you’re considering, and ask them if they are willing to receive these messages, and if they think they might be helpful. Here’s an example of an email or text you could send to people you’re hoping will sign on as your supporters:
Hi _____. I’ve signed up for a service called Grief Coach that delivers personalized grief support via short text messages two times a week, and I’m finding the messages comforting and useful. I can include up to 4 other people in the subscription who want to support me this year. I wonder if you'd be willing to receive suggestions and reminders for how to support me? I know that many people find it hard to know what to say and do when someone is grieving so maybe Grief Coach can help both of us. Let me know if I can add you. I’d be very grateful for your support.
- Add them as a supporter!
Once you’ve established a good idea of who you want to add as a supporter, edit your profile to add them! Be sure to list their phone number so that we can begin sending them messages right away.
- If they unsubscribe, you can add someone else
Life happens, people change, and sometimes grief changes the relationships we hold. That’s okay. The good news is that if one of your supporters unsubscribes, or if you decide someone else would be a better fit for the role, you can change these people at any time.
We hope these suggestions will make it easier for you to invite people to support you this year. Unfortunately nearly everyone who has experienced grief has also felt disappointed by some of the people they hoped would support them. The truth is that people’s fear and discomfort can keep them away, even though they care for us very much. This is why we designed Grief Coach to include support for you, as well as tips and suggestions for friends and family who want to help but may not be sure how.
Grief is hard, but if you can find a few people who want to support you this year and add them to your subscription, it will be a little bit easier.