Revision history for CreatingEmails
Additions:
To see introductory materials for Constant Contact visit these links:
- https://www.constantcontact.com/guides/making-sense-of-online-marketing?&cc=GOO-239684&pn=search&gclid=CjwKCAjwjaWoBhAmEiwAXz8DBee6GD1XPDlSzkawSZwKlss11hVgVkvm5Od3tWO0_cuolrn-i3ADnhoCiwkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
- https://knowledgebase.constantcontact.com/email-digital-marketing?lang=en_US
- https://www.constantcontact.com/guides/making-sense-of-online-marketing?&cc=GOO-239684&pn=search&gclid=CjwKCAjwjaWoBhAmEiwAXz8DBee6GD1XPDlSzkawSZwKlss11hVgVkvm5Od3tWO0_cuolrn-i3ADnhoCiwkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
- https://knowledgebase.constantcontact.com/email-digital-marketing?lang=en_US
Additions:
As of 2022 we use Constant Contact for all of our mass emailing. (e-newsletter subscribers, media, advisers, alumni, etc) You can find the login for Constant Contact on the Membership Clipperz.is account.
In order to avoid account review/suspension
- Each campaign/email is allotted 1 spam complain per 1,000 recipients
Campaigns need to maintain <10% bounce rate
Maintaining Contact Lists
- Make sure contacts are recent, collected/emailed (not bounced back) within last 18 months
- This also helps maintain a low bounce rate
- For temporary contact lists (non repeated/one time use) - delete contact list after sending
Users Opting Out of Services
- Majority report (July 2023) shows most opt out due to (I didn’t sign up to receive email)
- We need to set an expectation on the website/elsewhere on how often/what kind of email they receive from us
- When we receive people’s emails, do we ask them/provide an opt-in option for additional emailing?
- How and when are we collecting emails? (To avoid potentially sending spam)
Save the contact's sign-up date
- Contacts who subscribed over a year ago are statistically more likely to lose interest or report your email as spam. Consider cleaning your lists regularly to reduce this risk.
- Encourage contacts to update their information - Using the Update Profile Form, encourage contacts to update their personal information. Having the correct information stored will reduce the likelihood of your contacts reporting your emails as spam.
Avoiding Spam Filters and Complaints
- Subject Line
- Short to avoid spam filters (no more than 45 characters)
- Maintain an up to date contact list
Bounce Type - What it means, what they suggest to fix it)
Non-Existent
These bounces happen when the contact's ISP says that an email address doesn't exist. It's like the post office saying there's no one with that name in the building.
How to Fix Non-Exsistent:
- Double-check these email addresses for obvious typos.
- If possible, get in touch with the contact to see if they have a new email address.
- After fixing the issues, try sending to them again.
- If the address continues to bounce, remove it from your lists.
- If you know the address is correct, it's likely bouncing for a different reason, or we may be interpreting the bounce incorrectly and it belongs in a different category, like "blocked" or "undeliverable." Please contact our Support Team to troubleshoot.
Suspended Bounce:
When an email address repeatedly bounces as "Non-existent" across any Constant Contact account, we categorize it as "Suspended."
How to fix suspended:
- Because repeatedly sending to the same non-existent address can negatively impact deliverability for yourself and all of our customers, Constant Contact doesn't attempt to send to any Suspended addresses. We recommend that you remove them from your list.
In order to avoid account review/suspension
- Each campaign/email is allotted 1 spam complain per 1,000 recipients
Campaigns need to maintain <10% bounce rate
Maintaining Contact Lists
- Make sure contacts are recent, collected/emailed (not bounced back) within last 18 months
- This also helps maintain a low bounce rate
- For temporary contact lists (non repeated/one time use) - delete contact list after sending
Users Opting Out of Services
- Majority report (July 2023) shows most opt out due to (I didn’t sign up to receive email)
- We need to set an expectation on the website/elsewhere on how often/what kind of email they receive from us
- When we receive people’s emails, do we ask them/provide an opt-in option for additional emailing?
- How and when are we collecting emails? (To avoid potentially sending spam)
Save the contact's sign-up date
- Contacts who subscribed over a year ago are statistically more likely to lose interest or report your email as spam. Consider cleaning your lists regularly to reduce this risk.
- Encourage contacts to update their information - Using the Update Profile Form, encourage contacts to update their personal information. Having the correct information stored will reduce the likelihood of your contacts reporting your emails as spam.
Avoiding Spam Filters and Complaints
- Subject Line
- Short to avoid spam filters (no more than 45 characters)
- Maintain an up to date contact list
Bounce Type - What it means, what they suggest to fix it)
Non-Existent
These bounces happen when the contact's ISP says that an email address doesn't exist. It's like the post office saying there's no one with that name in the building.
How to Fix Non-Exsistent:
- Double-check these email addresses for obvious typos.
- If possible, get in touch with the contact to see if they have a new email address.
- After fixing the issues, try sending to them again.
- If the address continues to bounce, remove it from your lists.
- If you know the address is correct, it's likely bouncing for a different reason, or we may be interpreting the bounce incorrectly and it belongs in a different category, like "blocked" or "undeliverable." Please contact our Support Team to troubleshoot.
Suspended Bounce:
When an email address repeatedly bounces as "Non-existent" across any Constant Contact account, we categorize it as "Suspended."
How to fix suspended:
- Because repeatedly sending to the same non-existent address can negatively impact deliverability for yourself and all of our customers, Constant Contact doesn't attempt to send to any Suspended addresses. We recommend that you remove them from your list.
Deletions:
===General Guidelines===
- Optimize your open rates by using engaging subject lines- you can test with different segments.
http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
- Use a minimum of graphical elements. Focus on useful and informative content - E-mail is just not the place for creative graphic design, largely because the HTML and CSS support for it is so spotty.
1)A few compelling pictures next to text is just fine.
2)E-mail messages based mainly on graphics often are blocked by SPAM filters.
3)Most email clients turn images off by default unless the recipient explicitly turns them on (i.e. Outlook, Gmail and others).
- Be very cognisant of your audience. Think of what that group of people wants you to send them
1)__Ambassadors__ we can be very personal with - they are some of our most active members! Thank them, give them credit for our success, provide them with news updates, and give them tasks that make them feel like an important part of the team!
2)__Members__ are important stakeholders in our organization, and Richard will often tell you what to send out to them. It is important to keep them updated with what their money is going to, and we can ask them for help when needed (ex. distributing brochures)
3)__E-newsletter subscribers__ are not members - they want to receive useful updates from us, and we should not be as personal with them. However, they are a sizeable group of subscribers who may donate.
- **Do NOT** send an email to every list in IContact unless Richard asks you to. You need to think about what you are sending and who will want to receive it and not think of it as spam.
- IContact can be glitchy and dumb. Keep in mind that you can gchat their tech support.
- Sarah, our strategic adviser, is another great resource who is available to you. Make the most out of your monthly meetings!
- Always send at least 2 test messages to different people so that errors can be caught prior to sending. Always.
- FYI: IContact urchins all of your messages for you!
- Keep in mind that you can post your email messages onto the blog and share them on social media.
===Spam===
- Shane’s definition of spam/ spam filtering:
Previously marked as spam by user = 1
Number of users in domain that have marked the message as spam = 0.2/user
Number of times emails from sender has been deleted without opening = 0.1/user
Contains spammy words or subject = 0.5/word
Found on a blacklist site = 2/RBL or DNSBL
No SPF record (authorized sender) = 1
Multiple emails sent to same domain = 1/message after 10
Number of redirects in header = 1/redirect more than 2
Bulk mailing check = 1/for more than 100 recipients
- Handling:
score less than 5 not spam
score greater than 5 but less than 10 send to junk folder
score greater than 10 reject
- **Things to be cognizant of**:
1)Words:
a)Certain words can trigger spam filters. Ex. same-sex marriage, terrorists. IContact automatically checks for spam before you send something out, yet it is still important to be aware of.
b)Keep in mind the current political climate and avoid words that may upset people and make them mark you as spam (ex. Election, president).
c)Using all caps can trigger an email getting sent to spam.
2)Graphic Content:
a)Emails with a large amount of links and photos may not get into people’s inboxes or go to spam.
b)Including attachments (esp large ones) can cause your email not to inbox.
3)Send yourself a test email with different content options to your personal email/ PVS email to test for spam, if you are concerned.
- Adding an unsubscribe link in the header of the email may deter to people to unsubscribe rather than just marking it as spam.
- Have questions on spam? Talk to our IContact rep, Sarah! Spam is a gray area and can be very confusing to understand.
===Navigating IContact===
- Emails: Create a message; Re-Use a Sent one; Edit a current draft message; Pending Messages; Upload an image to My Image Library
Make sure to ALWAYS reuse a sent message when building a new email!
- Social: Our PVS Facebook and Twitter pages have been connected with IContact. You may post twitter and facebook updates and track their clicks via icontact, if you so choose (hasn’t been done since 2015).
- Reports: This allows you to track any of your sent messages to find out open rates, clicks, who opened, who unsubscribed, who complained (marked email as spam), how many bounced, etc.
===Political Research Wrap Up===
- The schedule for sending out a research wrap up is once every month. Log this on the DevComm Tasks sheet under the “Physical and Online Mailing Schedule” tab.
- The research wrap-up is built from the highlights identified by research in their weekly research reports. There should be 3-5 research reports between each wrap-up, so there is enough new information to include. Create a draft of the research wrap-up in iContact 1 week before the intended send date.
1)Creating a Google Doc is typically the best way to handle this - identify the most timely/impactful items from the most recent research reports, and compile them here before building the email in iContact.
2)Contact the research directors with questions, they will reach out to their staff.
- The research wrap up usually focuses on a two key areas:
1)Recent noteworthy legislation
2)Key speeches and statements
- Optional information to include, when we're low on these or notice an especially noteworthy development may be:
3)An update on elections and officials (special elections, etc.)
4)Interesting endorsements/ratings
5)Upcoming elections/ballot measures (when applicable)
6)Any other research that the Research Department finds noteworthy!
7)DevComm: make sure to include a donate section!
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Send yourself several test emails. Then, a test email should be sent to the DevComm Director, National Director, and both research Directors. When all edits have been made and the email is approved, a test should then be sent to Richard for a final sign-off. Expect this process to take at least 2-3 days. At this point, the wrap-up is ready to be sent to our email contacts!
- I typically send this to members, ambassadors, e-newsletter subscribers, advisors.
- When building this in iContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
- No more than a day or two after the email has been sent, it should be recreated as a blog post for archival purposes. This can also be cross-posted on social media if desired.
===E-newsletter===
- The e-newsletter is an email that goes out every month providing subscribers with updates at Vote Smart.
- Richard will tell you when he wants you to send out the e-newsletter, and he will give you instructions as to what to put it in it. Your job is to make sure that it is aesthetically pleasing and that there are no major grammar errors.
- You should try to put the e-newsletter on the blog.
===Sending email messages from Richard===
- DO NOT change any of Richard’s words unless he explicitly tells you it is okay.
- If he tells you not to add any embellishments, then DO NOT add anything more than the text he sent you.
- Ask if he wants you to send responses to membership@ or to richard@votesmart.org
- If anyone responds to our emails and specifically addresses Richard, make sure to forward to Richard for him to answer. Send an info sheet if you have it.
===Maintaining Email Lists and Sign Ups===
It is your responsibility to ensure that:
- We are taking every opportunity to convert website users and other people interested in Vote Smart into email subscribers, and they can do so easily.
- All people that have opted in to communications from Vote Smart from various mediums (ex. Website signups, material requests, MyVoteSmart, Members who give an email, VoteEasy signups, etc.) are included on the list of contacts in iContact, with as much information about them as possible (name, location, etc.)@@
- Members that give their email address are uploaded into IContact and separated from non-members in your lists. This needs to be done on a bi-weekly basis.
- All people that add themselves independently are presented with an appropriate, approved autoresponders/"welcome messages" that includes an "ask" for help
- All people that unsubscribe from emails or certain lists are marked “Do not Contact,” to prevent them from getting further communications.
===Updating MEM & AMB lists in iContact===
- Find your list
1)If you are uploading from an Excel sheet - you are good to go and can skip the following steps.
2)If you are updating the Members list or the Ambassadors list, go to Donor Perfect
3) Use the report in Default titled “Email List”
4)Set Select filter using these queries (this may already be set up)
a.Flag contains MEM (for Ambassadors use AMB)
b.Email is not blank
5)Download the CSV of your list
- Go to iContact
1)Click “Contacts”
2)Find the list you want to update, click the “Manage List” dropdown
3)Select “add subscribers”
4)On the next page, select “Choose File” and select your CSV
5)Select “Upload Contacts”
6)Select the fields that correspond with each of your columns
a.Fname = first name
b.Lname = last name
7)Select “Next”
8)Enter your initials
9)Select “Subscribe these contacts to list(s).”
10)Leave the box “Update existing subscribers with new information. Only new subscriber information will be added.”
**One a final note**: Switching from IContact: A lot of thought has been put into switching to a different email client, for a variety of reasons (Icontact has a clunky interface, and a significant chunk of contacts were made 'do not contact' due to spam issues once upon a time). During your tenure at PVS, future wiki reader, you may be tempted to begin this process anew. Let me tell you: it's almost certainly not worth it. IContact is considered to be a top tier email client; any issues, including our emails being marked as spam, are going to be present in other email clients. Given the costs of changing from one system to another, there would have to be a very compelling reason to switch from Icontact, beyond "IContact sucks".
Deletions:
Comments@ is our catch-all email address, traditionally monitored by someone in the DevComm department. Guidelines and recommendations for managing the account can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OmPnmynDqL0xbk_u10nl1Hd6WZctX5xNBCO95wGjf80/edit?usp=sharing
Additions:
**Managing Comments@ Email Account**
Comments@ is our catch-all email address, traditionally monitored by someone in the DevComm department. Guidelines and recommendations for managing the account can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OmPnmynDqL0xbk_u10nl1Hd6WZctX5xNBCO95wGjf80/edit?usp=sharing
Comments@ is our catch-all email address, traditionally monitored by someone in the DevComm department. Guidelines and recommendations for managing the account can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OmPnmynDqL0xbk_u10nl1Hd6WZctX5xNBCO95wGjf80/edit?usp=sharing
Revision [57556]
Edited on 2021-05-05 10:02:07 by MelissaLauer [Update to research wrap-up section.]Additions:
- No more than a day or two after the email has been sent, it should be recreated as a blog post for archival purposes. This can also be cross-posted on social media if desired.
Revision [57554]
Edited on 2021-05-05 09:50:12 by MelissaLauer [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
- The schedule for sending out a research wrap up is once every month. Log this on the DevComm Tasks sheet under the “Physical and Online Mailing Schedule” tab.
- The research wrap-up is built from the highlights identified by research in their weekly research reports. There should be 3-5 research reports between each wrap-up, so there is enough new information to include. Create a draft of the research wrap-up in iContact 1 week before the intended send date.
1)Creating a Google Doc is typically the best way to handle this - identify the most timely/impactful items from the most recent research reports, and compile them here before building the email in iContact.
2)Contact the research directors with questions, they will reach out to their staff.
- The research wrap up usually focuses on a two key areas:
2)Key speeches and statements
- Optional information to include, when we're low on these or notice an especially noteworthy development may be:
4)Interesting endorsements/ratings
5)Upcoming elections/ballot measures (when applicable)
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Send yourself several test emails. Then, a test email should be sent to the DevComm Director, National Director, and both research Directors. When all edits have been made and the email is approved, a test should then be sent to Richard for a final sign-off. Expect this process to take at least 2-3 days. At this point, the wrap-up is ready to be sent to our email contacts!
- When building this in iContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
- The research wrap-up is built from the highlights identified by research in their weekly research reports. There should be 3-5 research reports between each wrap-up, so there is enough new information to include. Create a draft of the research wrap-up in iContact 1 week before the intended send date.
1)Creating a Google Doc is typically the best way to handle this - identify the most timely/impactful items from the most recent research reports, and compile them here before building the email in iContact.
2)Contact the research directors with questions, they will reach out to their staff.
- The research wrap up usually focuses on a two key areas:
2)Key speeches and statements
- Optional information to include, when we're low on these or notice an especially noteworthy development may be:
4)Interesting endorsements/ratings
5)Upcoming elections/ballot measures (when applicable)
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Send yourself several test emails. Then, a test email should be sent to the DevComm Director, National Director, and both research Directors. When all edits have been made and the email is approved, a test should then be sent to Richard for a final sign-off. Expect this process to take at least 2-3 days. At this point, the wrap-up is ready to be sent to our email contacts!
- When building this in iContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
Deletions:
- You will need to solicit help from research around 2-3 weeks before you want the research wrap up to be sent out.
1)Google Doc/ Google folder is typically the best way to handle this.
2)Contact the research directors, they will reach out to their staff.
- The research wrap up usually focuses on a few key things:
2)Key speeches
4)Interesting endorsements/ ratings
5)Upcoming elections/ ballot measures (when applicable)
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Send yourself several test emails before you send it to everyone.
- When building this IContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
Additions:
- You should try to put the e-newsletter on the blog.
Deletions:
- The blog wrap up takes the past 4-6 blog posts and the social media graphic for each one, and compiles them together. Aim to send out every 1-2 months
- The set up is the social media graphic for the blog post, a short quote from the blog, and a “click to read more!” icon that brings people to the post on our website.
- At the end include a call to donate.
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Get a second set of eyes on it.
- When building this IContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
- You should try to put the e-newsletter on the blog. However, it can often be difficult to get things to post in Django - if you don’t have time to screw around with the formatting or it looks terrible, leave it go.
Revision [56241]
Edited on 2019-06-14 17:41:16 by MurphyBurke [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
4)Set Select filter using these queries (this may already be set up)
Deletions:
Revision [56240]
Edited on 2019-06-14 17:39:28 by MurphyBurke [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
3) Use the report in Default titled “Email List”
4)Set Select filter using these queries
4)Set Select filter using these queries
Deletions:
4)Use the custom report writer report “Email List”
Additions:
a)Emails with a large amount of links and photos may not get into people’s inboxes or go to spam.
Deletions:
Revision [19142]
Edited on 2017-04-13 10:42:36 by cassandra@votesmart.org [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
- Members that give their email address are uploaded into IContact and separated from non-members in your lists. This needs to be done on a bi-weekly basis.
- All people that add themselves independently are presented with an appropriate, approved autoresponders/"welcome messages" that includes an "ask" for help
- All people that unsubscribe from emails or certain lists are marked “Do not Contact,” to prevent them from getting further communications.
- All people that add themselves independently are presented with an appropriate, approved autoresponders/"welcome messages" that includes an "ask" for help
- All people that unsubscribe from emails or certain lists are marked “Do not Contact,” to prevent them from getting further communications.
Deletions:
All people that add themselves independently are presented with an appropriate, approved autoresponders/"welcome messages" that includes an "ask" for help
All people that unsubscribe from emails or certain lists are marked “Do not Contact,” to prevent them from getting further communications.
Revision [19141]
Edited on 2017-04-13 10:41:39 by cassandra@votesmart.org [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
- FYI: IContact urchins all of your messages for you!
- Keep in mind that you can post your email messages onto the blog and share them on social media.
===Updating MEM & AMB lists in iContact===
- Keep in mind that you can post your email messages onto the blog and share them on social media.
===Updating MEM & AMB lists in iContact===
Deletions:
===Updating lists in iContact===
Revision [19140]
Edited on 2017-04-13 10:39:25 by cassandra@votesmart.org [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
1)__Ambassadors__ we can be very personal with - they are some of our most active members! Thank them, give them credit for our success, provide them with news updates, and give them tasks that make them feel like an important part of the team!
2)__Members__ are important stakeholders in our organization, and Richard will often tell you what to send out to them. It is important to keep them updated with what their money is going to, and we can ask them for help when needed (ex. distributing brochures)
3)__E-newsletter subscribers__ are not members - they want to receive useful updates from us, and we should not be as personal with them. However, they are a sizeable group of subscribers who may donate.
- **Do NOT** send an email to every list in IContact unless Richard asks you to. You need to think about what you are sending and who will want to receive it and not think of it as spam.
- **Things to be cognizant of**:
2)__Members__ are important stakeholders in our organization, and Richard will often tell you what to send out to them. It is important to keep them updated with what their money is going to, and we can ask them for help when needed (ex. distributing brochures)
3)__E-newsletter subscribers__ are not members - they want to receive useful updates from us, and we should not be as personal with them. However, they are a sizeable group of subscribers who may donate.
- **Do NOT** send an email to every list in IContact unless Richard asks you to. You need to think about what you are sending and who will want to receive it and not think of it as spam.
- **Things to be cognizant of**:
Deletions:
2)Members are important stakeholders in our organization, and Richard will often tell you what to send out to them. It is important to keep them updated with what their money is going to, and we can ask them for help when needed (ex. distributing brochures)
3)E-newsletter subscribers are not members - they want to receive useful updates from us, and we should not be as personal with them. However, they are a sizeable group of subscribers who may donate.
- Do NOT send an email to every list in IContact unless Richard asks you to. You need to think about what you are sending and who will want to receive it and not think of it as spam.
- Things to be cognizant of:
Revision [19139]
Edited on 2017-04-13 10:35:52 by cassandra@votesmart.org [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
- FYI: IContact urchins all of your messages for you!
Revision [19138]
Edited on 2017-04-13 10:34:47 by cassandra@votesmart.org [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
**One a final note**: Switching from IContact: A lot of thought has been put into switching to a different email client, for a variety of reasons (Icontact has a clunky interface, and a significant chunk of contacts were made 'do not contact' due to spam issues once upon a time). During your tenure at PVS, future wiki reader, you may be tempted to begin this process anew. Let me tell you: it's almost certainly not worth it. IContact is considered to be a top tier email client; any issues, including our emails being marked as spam, are going to be present in other email clients. Given the costs of changing from one system to another, there would have to be a very compelling reason to switch from Icontact, beyond "IContact sucks".
Revision [19136]
Edited on 2017-04-13 10:24:47 by cassandra@votesmart.org [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
====**Email Marketing 101**====
>>{{{toc}}}>>
As of 2017 we use iContact for all of our mass emailing. (e-newsletter subscribers, media, advisers, alumni, etc) You can find the login for iContact on the Membership Clipperz.is account. For PCT: Emails to politicians are sent via the NPAT Mail Merge feature in Admin.
===General Guidelines===
- Optimize your open rates by using engaging subject lines- you can test with different segments.
http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
- Use a minimum of graphical elements. Focus on useful and informative content - E-mail is just not the place for creative graphic design, largely because the HTML and CSS support for it is so spotty.
1)A few compelling pictures next to text is just fine.
2)E-mail messages based mainly on graphics often are blocked by SPAM filters.
3)Most email clients turn images off by default unless the recipient explicitly turns them on (i.e. Outlook, Gmail and others).
- Be very cognisant of your audience. Think of what that group of people wants you to send them
1)Ambassadors we can be very personal with - they are some of our most active members! Thank them, give them credit for our success, provide them with news updates, and give them tasks that make them feel like an important part of the team!
2)Members are important stakeholders in our organization, and Richard will often tell you what to send out to them. It is important to keep them updated with what their money is going to, and we can ask them for help when needed (ex. distributing brochures)
3)E-newsletter subscribers are not members - they want to receive useful updates from us, and we should not be as personal with them. However, they are a sizeable group of subscribers who may donate.
- Do NOT send an email to every list in IContact unless Richard asks you to. You need to think about what you are sending and who will want to receive it and not think of it as spam.
- IContact can be glitchy and dumb. Keep in mind that you can gchat their tech support.
- Sarah, our strategic adviser, is another great resource who is available to you. Make the most out of your monthly meetings!
- Always send at least 2 test messages to different people so that errors can be caught prior to sending. Always.
===Spam===
- Shane’s definition of spam/ spam filtering:
Previously marked as spam by user = 1
Number of users in domain that have marked the message as spam = 0.2/user
Number of times emails from sender has been deleted without opening = 0.1/user
Contains spammy words or subject = 0.5/word
Found on a blacklist site = 2/RBL or DNSBL
No SPF record (authorized sender) = 1
Multiple emails sent to same domain = 1/message after 10
Number of redirects in header = 1/redirect more than 2
Bulk mailing check = 1/for more than 100 recipients
- Handling:
score less than 5 not spam
score greater than 5 but less than 10 send to junk folder
score greater than 10 reject
- Things to be cognizant of:
1)Words:
a)Certain words can trigger spam filters. Ex. same-sex marriage, terrorists. IContact automatically checks for spam before you send something out, yet it is still important to be aware of.
b)Keep in mind the current political climate and avoid words that may upset people and make them mark you as spam (ex. Election, president).
c)Using all caps can trigger an email getting sent to spam.
2)Graphic Content:
a)Emails with a large a lot of links and photos may not get into people’s inboxes or go to spam.
b)Including attachments (esp large ones) can cause your email not to inbox.
3)Send yourself a test email with different content options to your personal email/ PVS email to test for spam, if you are concerned.
- Adding an unsubscribe link in the header of the email may deter to people to unsubscribe rather than just marking it as spam.
- Have questions on spam? Talk to our IContact rep, Sarah! Spam is a gray area and can be very confusing to understand.
===Navigating IContact===
- Emails: Create a message; Re-Use a Sent one; Edit a current draft message; Pending Messages; Upload an image to My Image Library
Make sure to ALWAYS reuse a sent message when building a new email!
- Social: Our PVS Facebook and Twitter pages have been connected with IContact. You may post twitter and facebook updates and track their clicks via icontact, if you so choose (hasn’t been done since 2015).
- Reports: This allows you to track any of your sent messages to find out open rates, clicks, who opened, who unsubscribed, who complained (marked email as spam), how many bounced, etc.
===Political Research Wrap Up===
- The schedule for sending out a research wrap up is once every 1-2 months. Log this on the DevComm Tasks sheet under the “Physical and Online Mailing Schedule” tab.
- You will need to solicit help from research around 2-3 weeks before you want the research wrap up to be sent out.
1)Google Doc/ Google folder is typically the best way to handle this.
2)Contact the research directors, they will reach out to their staff.
- The research wrap up usually focuses on a few key things:
1)Recent noteworthy legislation
2)Key speeches
3)An update on elections and officials (special elections, etc.)
4)Interesting endorsements/ ratings
5)Upcoming elections/ ballot measures (when applicable)
6)Any other research that the Research Department finds noteworthy!
7)DevComm: make sure to include a donate section!
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Send yourself several test emails before you send it to everyone.
- I typically send this to members, ambassadors, e-newsletter subscribers, advisors.
- When building this IContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
===Blog Wrap Up===
- The blog wrap up takes the past 4-6 blog posts and the social media graphic for each one, and compiles them together. Aim to send out every 1-2 months
- The set up is the social media graphic for the blog post, a short quote from the blog, and a “click to read more!” icon that brings people to the post on our website.
- At the end include a call to donate.
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Get a second set of eyes on it.
- I typically send this to members, ambassadors, e-newsletter subscribers, advisors.
- When building this IContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
===E-newsletter===
- The e-newsletter is an email that goes out every month providing subscribers with updates at Vote Smart.
- Richard will tell you when he wants you to send out the e-newsletter, and he will give you instructions as to what to put it in it. Your job is to make sure that it is aesthetically pleasing and that there are no major grammar errors.
- You should try to put the e-newsletter on the blog. However, it can often be difficult to get things to post in Django - if you don’t have time to screw around with the formatting or it looks terrible, leave it go.
===Sending email messages from Richard===
- DO NOT change any of Richard’s words unless he explicitly tells you it is okay.
- If he tells you not to add any embellishments, then DO NOT add anything more than the text he sent you.
- Ask if he wants you to send responses to membership@ or to richard@votesmart.org
- If anyone responds to our emails and specifically addresses Richard, make sure to forward to Richard for him to answer. Send an info sheet if you have it.
===Maintaining Email Lists and Sign Ups===
It is your responsibility to ensure that:
- We are taking every opportunity to convert website users and other people interested in Vote Smart into email subscribers, and they can do so easily.
- All people that have opted in to communications from Vote Smart from various mediums (ex. Website signups, material requests, MyVoteSmart, Members who give an email, VoteEasy signups, etc.) are included on the list of contacts in iContact, with as much information about them as possible (name, location, etc.)@@
Members that give their email address are uploaded into IContact and separated from non-members in your lists. This needs to be done on a bi-weekly basis.
All people that add themselves independently are presented with an appropriate, approved autoresponders/"welcome messages" that includes an "ask" for help
All people that unsubscribe from emails or certain lists are marked “Do not Contact,” to prevent them from getting further communications.
===Updating lists in iContact===
- Find your list
1)If you are uploading from an Excel sheet - you are good to go and can skip the following steps.
2)If you are updating the Members list or the Ambassadors list, go to Donor Perfect
3)Set Select filter using these queries
a.Flag contains MEM (for Ambassadors use AMB)
b.Email is not blank
4)Use the custom report writer report “Email List”
5)Download the CSV of your list
- Go to iContact
1)Click “Contacts”
2)Find the list you want to update, click the “Manage List” dropdown
3)Select “add subscribers”
4)On the next page, select “Choose File” and select your CSV
5)Select “Upload Contacts”
6)Select the fields that correspond with each of your columns
a.Fname = first name
b.Lname = last name
7)Select “Next”
8)Enter your initials
9)Select “Subscribe these contacts to list(s).”
10)Leave the box “Update existing subscribers with new information. Only new subscriber information will be added.”
>>{{{toc}}}>>
As of 2017 we use iContact for all of our mass emailing. (e-newsletter subscribers, media, advisers, alumni, etc) You can find the login for iContact on the Membership Clipperz.is account. For PCT: Emails to politicians are sent via the NPAT Mail Merge feature in Admin.
===General Guidelines===
- Optimize your open rates by using engaging subject lines- you can test with different segments.
http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
- Use a minimum of graphical elements. Focus on useful and informative content - E-mail is just not the place for creative graphic design, largely because the HTML and CSS support for it is so spotty.
1)A few compelling pictures next to text is just fine.
2)E-mail messages based mainly on graphics often are blocked by SPAM filters.
3)Most email clients turn images off by default unless the recipient explicitly turns them on (i.e. Outlook, Gmail and others).
- Be very cognisant of your audience. Think of what that group of people wants you to send them
1)Ambassadors we can be very personal with - they are some of our most active members! Thank them, give them credit for our success, provide them with news updates, and give them tasks that make them feel like an important part of the team!
2)Members are important stakeholders in our organization, and Richard will often tell you what to send out to them. It is important to keep them updated with what their money is going to, and we can ask them for help when needed (ex. distributing brochures)
3)E-newsletter subscribers are not members - they want to receive useful updates from us, and we should not be as personal with them. However, they are a sizeable group of subscribers who may donate.
- Do NOT send an email to every list in IContact unless Richard asks you to. You need to think about what you are sending and who will want to receive it and not think of it as spam.
- IContact can be glitchy and dumb. Keep in mind that you can gchat their tech support.
- Sarah, our strategic adviser, is another great resource who is available to you. Make the most out of your monthly meetings!
- Always send at least 2 test messages to different people so that errors can be caught prior to sending. Always.
===Spam===
- Shane’s definition of spam/ spam filtering:
Previously marked as spam by user = 1
Number of users in domain that have marked the message as spam = 0.2/user
Number of times emails from sender has been deleted without opening = 0.1/user
Contains spammy words or subject = 0.5/word
Found on a blacklist site = 2/RBL or DNSBL
No SPF record (authorized sender) = 1
Multiple emails sent to same domain = 1/message after 10
Number of redirects in header = 1/redirect more than 2
Bulk mailing check = 1/for more than 100 recipients
- Handling:
score less than 5 not spam
score greater than 5 but less than 10 send to junk folder
score greater than 10 reject
- Things to be cognizant of:
1)Words:
a)Certain words can trigger spam filters. Ex. same-sex marriage, terrorists. IContact automatically checks for spam before you send something out, yet it is still important to be aware of.
b)Keep in mind the current political climate and avoid words that may upset people and make them mark you as spam (ex. Election, president).
c)Using all caps can trigger an email getting sent to spam.
2)Graphic Content:
a)Emails with a large a lot of links and photos may not get into people’s inboxes or go to spam.
b)Including attachments (esp large ones) can cause your email not to inbox.
3)Send yourself a test email with different content options to your personal email/ PVS email to test for spam, if you are concerned.
- Adding an unsubscribe link in the header of the email may deter to people to unsubscribe rather than just marking it as spam.
- Have questions on spam? Talk to our IContact rep, Sarah! Spam is a gray area and can be very confusing to understand.
===Navigating IContact===
- Emails: Create a message; Re-Use a Sent one; Edit a current draft message; Pending Messages; Upload an image to My Image Library
Make sure to ALWAYS reuse a sent message when building a new email!
- Social: Our PVS Facebook and Twitter pages have been connected with IContact. You may post twitter and facebook updates and track their clicks via icontact, if you so choose (hasn’t been done since 2015).
- Reports: This allows you to track any of your sent messages to find out open rates, clicks, who opened, who unsubscribed, who complained (marked email as spam), how many bounced, etc.
===Political Research Wrap Up===
- The schedule for sending out a research wrap up is once every 1-2 months. Log this on the DevComm Tasks sheet under the “Physical and Online Mailing Schedule” tab.
- You will need to solicit help from research around 2-3 weeks before you want the research wrap up to be sent out.
1)Google Doc/ Google folder is typically the best way to handle this.
2)Contact the research directors, they will reach out to their staff.
- The research wrap up usually focuses on a few key things:
1)Recent noteworthy legislation
2)Key speeches
3)An update on elections and officials (special elections, etc.)
4)Interesting endorsements/ ratings
5)Upcoming elections/ ballot measures (when applicable)
6)Any other research that the Research Department finds noteworthy!
7)DevComm: make sure to include a donate section!
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Send yourself several test emails before you send it to everyone.
- I typically send this to members, ambassadors, e-newsletter subscribers, advisors.
- When building this IContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
===Blog Wrap Up===
- The blog wrap up takes the past 4-6 blog posts and the social media graphic for each one, and compiles them together. Aim to send out every 1-2 months
- The set up is the social media graphic for the blog post, a short quote from the blog, and a “click to read more!” icon that brings people to the post on our website.
- At the end include a call to donate.
- Make sure to edit heavily for partisanship and grammar errors! Get a second set of eyes on it.
- I typically send this to members, ambassadors, e-newsletter subscribers, advisors.
- When building this IContact: click “reuse sent message” and use the template from the last message that was sent out.
===E-newsletter===
- The e-newsletter is an email that goes out every month providing subscribers with updates at Vote Smart.
- Richard will tell you when he wants you to send out the e-newsletter, and he will give you instructions as to what to put it in it. Your job is to make sure that it is aesthetically pleasing and that there are no major grammar errors.
- You should try to put the e-newsletter on the blog. However, it can often be difficult to get things to post in Django - if you don’t have time to screw around with the formatting or it looks terrible, leave it go.
===Sending email messages from Richard===
- DO NOT change any of Richard’s words unless he explicitly tells you it is okay.
- If he tells you not to add any embellishments, then DO NOT add anything more than the text he sent you.
- Ask if he wants you to send responses to membership@ or to richard@votesmart.org
- If anyone responds to our emails and specifically addresses Richard, make sure to forward to Richard for him to answer. Send an info sheet if you have it.
===Maintaining Email Lists and Sign Ups===
It is your responsibility to ensure that:
- We are taking every opportunity to convert website users and other people interested in Vote Smart into email subscribers, and they can do so easily.
- All people that have opted in to communications from Vote Smart from various mediums (ex. Website signups, material requests, MyVoteSmart, Members who give an email, VoteEasy signups, etc.) are included on the list of contacts in iContact, with as much information about them as possible (name, location, etc.)@@
Members that give their email address are uploaded into IContact and separated from non-members in your lists. This needs to be done on a bi-weekly basis.
All people that add themselves independently are presented with an appropriate, approved autoresponders/"welcome messages" that includes an "ask" for help
All people that unsubscribe from emails or certain lists are marked “Do not Contact,” to prevent them from getting further communications.
===Updating lists in iContact===
- Find your list
1)If you are uploading from an Excel sheet - you are good to go and can skip the following steps.
2)If you are updating the Members list or the Ambassadors list, go to Donor Perfect
3)Set Select filter using these queries
a.Flag contains MEM (for Ambassadors use AMB)
b.Email is not blank
4)Use the custom report writer report “Email List”
5)Download the CSV of your list
- Go to iContact
1)Click “Contacts”
2)Find the list you want to update, click the “Manage List” dropdown
3)Select “add subscribers”
4)On the next page, select “Choose File” and select your CSV
5)Select “Upload Contacts”
6)Select the fields that correspond with each of your columns
a.Fname = first name
b.Lname = last name
7)Select “Next”
8)Enter your initials
9)Select “Subscribe these contacts to list(s).”
10)Leave the box “Update existing subscribers with new information. Only new subscriber information will be added.”
Deletions:
==**Navigating IContact.com:**==
**Emails:** Create a message; Re-Use a Sent one; Edit a current draft message; Pending Messages; Create a survey; Upload an image to My Image Library
**Social:** Our PVS Facebook and Twitter pages have been connected with our icontact account; you may post twitter and facebook updates and track their clicks via icontact, if you so choose.
**Reports:** This allows you to track any of your sent messages to find out open rates, clicks, who opened, who unsubscribed, who complained (marked email as spam), how many bounced and how many people liked in it various types of social media.
**iContact can be very buggy and act a little strange sometimes. I would suggest trying different browsers. Unfortunately I can't suggest a specific one, as iContact changes and occasionally will not work well with one and then the other. Use Firefox and Google Chrome and see which ones works best.**
==**Best Practices**==
- **Optimize your open rates** Refer to best practices and/or results of a/b testing to optimize key components such as subject line, the first few lines of the email, targeting/customization, time of day to send, and day of week to send
- **Use a minimum of graphical elements.** Focus on useful and informative content, not whether or not you have rounded corners on your table cells. E-mail is just not the place for creative graphic design, largely because the HTML and CSS support for it is so spotty. A few compelling pictures next to text is just fine, so long as your design doesn't depend on them being there to look good. Also, E-mail messages based mainly on graphic images often are caught or blocked by SPAM filters. Finally, most email clients turn images off by default unless the recipient explicitly turns them on (i.e. Outlook, Gmail and others).
- **Optimize for the preview pane.** A large percentage of people only read email in their preview pane. This means that the top 200-300 pixels of your message is what people are going to see first. If all you have there is a large banner image, you won't get as many reads as you might if you include the titles of your articles in that space. Also keep an eye on the width of your newsletter. Under 700 pixels is best to account for low screen resolutions that some of your subscribers will have. Also, consider the use of mobile devices
==**Procedure**==
1) Confirm the rosters of email addresses (in particular the member emails) have been updated within the same week, or else [[AppendixEEmailingMembers Update member emails by exporting them from Donor Perfect and uploading them into iContact]]. Determine with your supervisor which email lists and segments should receive the content of the
1) Once you have drafted or collected and edited all material, have at least one other person proof for grammar, spelling, and appropriateness of content. Also see specific instructions for [[ENewsletter E-Newsletters]]
1) Get your supervisor's approval, and then send your copy to the National Director. The National Director will sign off on all e-newsletter copy, once she has run it past Richard.
1) Log-in iContact - votesmart; Password - vote8683 ; Go to: Email - Reuse a sent message
1) The easiest way to create an email is by reusing a sent one, as most of the emails we send out using iContact have generally the same format and appearance. Click on the most recent email of the style you are looking for and delete all content. Use the standard template for e-newsletters. Other email communications should at the very least have the Vote Smart logo, as well as information on what we do and our 501(c)(3) status etc.
1) Before copy and pasting from Open Office etc. always get rid of all formatting, and individually add all hyperlinks into iContact separately. To link words, highlight the word, then click on Text and go to insert link in accordance with our [[LinkPolicy Link Policies]]. You can edit and format the document by clicking between Text/Image/Block/Section/Message
1) **Always send at least 2 test messages to different people so that errors can be caught prior to sending.** Ideally, send tests to a variety of email clients such as Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail.
For [[ENewsletter E-Newsletters]] and Anything Else "Blog-Worthy":
1) Before sending out the email, be sure to [[Guidetospeakeasyblog create a blog post]] with all content from the e-newsletter, so it is available for all on the website.
1) Usually the articles are too long to look aesthetically pleasing in the e-newsletter in iContact, so add "Read more here" or something similar to a large portion of the content, and then **make sure to [[Link Policy link]] to the e-newsletter that has been added to the blog.** This is obviously very important, otherwise none of the email subscribers will be able to read the full content.
Revision [14608]
Edited on 2015-03-30 12:50:53 by KristenVicedomini [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
1) Once you have drafted or collected and edited all material, have at least one other person proof for grammar, spelling, and appropriateness of content. Also see specific instructions for [[ENewsletter E-Newsletters]]
For [[ENewsletter E-Newsletters]] and Anything Else "Blog-Worthy":
For [[ENewsletter E-Newsletters]] and Anything Else "Blog-Worthy":
Deletions:
For E-Newsletter's and Anything Else "Blog-Worthy":
Revision [14352]
Edited on 2015-03-09 15:20:17 by KristenVicedomini [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
1) Usually the articles are too long to look aesthetically pleasing in the e-newsletter in iContact, so add "Read more here" or something similar to a large portion of the content, and then **make sure to [[Link Policy link]] to the e-newsletter that has been added to the blog.** This is obviously very important, otherwise none of the email subscribers will be able to read the full content.
Deletions:
1) Usually the articles are too long to look aesthetically pleasing in the e-newsletter in iContact, so add "Read more here" or something similar to a large portion of the content, and then **make sure to link to the e-newsletter that has been added to the blog.** This is obviously very important, otherwise none of the email subscribers will be able to read the full content.
Revision [14347]
Edited on 2015-03-09 14:21:50 by KristenVicedomini [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
1) Before copy and pasting from Open Office etc. always get rid of all formatting, and individually add all hyperlinks into iContact separately. To link words, highlight the word, then click on Text and go to insert link in accordance with our [[LinkPolicy Link Policies]]. You can edit and format the document by clicking between Text/Image/Block/Section/Message
Deletions:
Revision [14342]
Edited on 2015-03-09 13:58:18 by KristenVicedomini [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
==**Best Practices**==
- **Optimize your open rates** Refer to best practices and/or results of a/b testing to optimize key components such as subject line, the first few lines of the email, targeting/customization, time of day to send, and day of week to send
- **Use a minimum of graphical elements.** Focus on useful and informative content, not whether or not you have rounded corners on your table cells. E-mail is just not the place for creative graphic design, largely because the HTML and CSS support for it is so spotty. A few compelling pictures next to text is just fine, so long as your design doesn't depend on them being there to look good. Also, E-mail messages based mainly on graphic images often are caught or blocked by SPAM filters. Finally, most email clients turn images off by default unless the recipient explicitly turns them on (i.e. Outlook, Gmail and others).
- **Optimize for the preview pane.** A large percentage of people only read email in their preview pane. This means that the top 200-300 pixels of your message is what people are going to see first. If all you have there is a large banner image, you won't get as many reads as you might if you include the titles of your articles in that space. Also keep an eye on the width of your newsletter. Under 700 pixels is best to account for low screen resolutions that some of your subscribers will have. Also, consider the use of mobile devices
- **Make your content scannable.** Use bulleted lists and boldface help make your articles scannable.
1) **Always send at least 2 test messages to different people so that errors can be caught prior to sending.** Ideally, send tests to a variety of email clients such as Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail.
- **Optimize your open rates** Refer to best practices and/or results of a/b testing to optimize key components such as subject line, the first few lines of the email, targeting/customization, time of day to send, and day of week to send
- **Use a minimum of graphical elements.** Focus on useful and informative content, not whether or not you have rounded corners on your table cells. E-mail is just not the place for creative graphic design, largely because the HTML and CSS support for it is so spotty. A few compelling pictures next to text is just fine, so long as your design doesn't depend on them being there to look good. Also, E-mail messages based mainly on graphic images often are caught or blocked by SPAM filters. Finally, most email clients turn images off by default unless the recipient explicitly turns them on (i.e. Outlook, Gmail and others).
- **Optimize for the preview pane.** A large percentage of people only read email in their preview pane. This means that the top 200-300 pixels of your message is what people are going to see first. If all you have there is a large banner image, you won't get as many reads as you might if you include the titles of your articles in that space. Also keep an eye on the width of your newsletter. Under 700 pixels is best to account for low screen resolutions that some of your subscribers will have. Also, consider the use of mobile devices
- **Make your content scannable.** Use bulleted lists and boldface help make your articles scannable.
1) **Always send at least 2 test messages to different people so that errors can be caught prior to sending.** Ideally, send tests to a variety of email clients such as Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail.
Deletions:
Revision [9906]
Edited on 2013-10-02 13:42:29 by KristenVicedomini [Updating the research wrap-up section]Additions:
1) Before copy and pasting from Open Office etc. always get rid of all formatting, and individually add all hyperlinks into iContact separately. To link words, highlight the word, then click on Text and go to insert link. All links should have their tracking variables modified as appropriate- see: UrchinTracking .You can edit and format the document by clicking between Text/Image/Block/Section/Message
Deletions:
You can edit and format the document by clicking between Text/Image/Block/Section/Message
Additions:
1) Before copy and pasting from Open Office etc. always get rid of all formatting, and individually add all hyperlinks into iContact separately. To link words, highlight the word, then click on Text and go to insert link. All links should have their tracking variables modified as appropriate- see: UrchinTracking
Deletions:
To link words, highlight the word, then click on Text and go to insert link. All links should have their tracking variables modified as appropriate- see: UrchinTracking
