Email Marketing Basics
Email marketing can be the most efficient, effective and expedient
way to communicate your message to constituents.
It’s also the easiest, as long as you follow some basic
guidelines:
1.
Don’t use false or misleading header information.
2.
Don’t use deceptive subject lines.
3.
Be clear that you identify the reason for the message
4.
Tell recipients where you’re located.
5.
Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you.
6.
Honor opt-out requests promptly.
7.
Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.
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Affirmative Consent and Pre-Existing Business Relationship
Some email service companies, such as ResultsMail, will allow
clients to only send email to individuals who have either provided
affirmative consent through an "opt-in" process that they want to
receive the type of email communication being sent or with whom they
have a pre-existing business relationship.
Federal law (S.877 Sec. 3 (1)) states that "the term 'affirmative
consent', when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail
message, means that:
A.)
The recipient expressly consented to receive the message,
either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such
consent or at the recipient's own initiative; and
B.)
If the message is from a party other than the party to which
the recipient communicated such consent, the recipient was given
clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was
communicated that the recipient's electronic mail address could be
transferred to such other party for the purpose of initiating
commercial electronic mail messages.
Pre-existing business relationship means, when used with respect to
the initiator and recipient of an electronic mail message, that:
A.)
Within the 5-year period ending upon receipt of such message,
there has been a business transaction between the initiator and the
recipient (including a transaction involving the provision, free of
charge, of information requested by the recipient, of goods, or of
services); and
B.)
The recipient was, at the time of such transaction or
thereafter, provided a clear and conspicuous notice of an
opportunity not to receive further messages from the initiator and
has not exercised such opportunity.
Distributing mass emails from your office may not be as easy as it
sounds. Most internet
providers set limits on the number of emails you can distribute in a
day. In addition, the
pressure of keeping up with Opt-out requests, out-of-office replies,
etc., can put additional time limits on your staff.
There are numerous companies that will distribute your email
campaigns for a one-time, monthly or subscription fee.
Here are few to consider:
http://www.resultsmail.com/;
http://www.emailvision.com/
; http://www.volomp.com/;
https://www.jangomail.com/;
http://www.lyris.com/
Before you send your email be sure to test send it to employees or
trusted volunteers to check for content and typos.
An over-done or over animated email message may take too long to
open on a potential donor’s computer.
Keep your message simple and professional.
Email addresses can be used to transmit great amounts of
information, such as newsletters, or provide quick updates on an
office’s weekly activity.
The greatest use of email is its immediacy and the unique
opportunity in provides to engage your audience.
Interested in what your voter base feels about an issue?
Send a well-crafted email and ask their opinion. Need
constituent support at an upcoming rally?
Send an email announcing the day and time of the event.
Follow the same communication guidelines that you use for all
of your correspondence:
Be direct, be thorough and most importantly, be accurate.
We hope you enjoy receiving e-mail notices and updates from our
office. If you do not wish to receive e-mail messages from
[office/name], please [reply to this e-mail and change the subject
line to “Unsubscribe.”]
OR [e-mail us at______].
[Postal Address]