How to Write an Email

Hi, I’m Lauren. I write email.

What can email do for you?

Reach people quickly & cheaply Activate people to take action Enhance what you’re doing everywhere else

A few key principles

It’s about everything else you’re doing It’s about story telling It’s about number crunching

So how to I write an email?

Basic structure of an email

1 st sentence: Attention grabber Try to keep it to one sentence. One line if possible.

Basic structure of an email

2 nd paragraph: Summary. Why are you sending this email?

Avoid too many facts, figures. That’s what the rest of the email is for.

Basic structure of an email

3 rd -4 th paragraph: Take Action. What do you want people to do?

What is the theory of change?

Basic structure of an email

Links Stand-alone (separate from paragraphs) Should you hyperlink text or write out urls? It depends Don’t just use picture links

Basic structure of an email

After the link 2-4 more paragraphs with background info, quotes, bullets, etc.

Repeat your theory of change, action, link

10 tips for better emails

1. Keep it short.

People don’t want to read a long essay.

2. Think about your subject line.

Be concise (5-7 words) Grab attention, but don’t cry wolf Be creative Don’t be too wonky

Good Subject Lines

Can I dial you in? (DCCC) For your eyes only (YES to Fairer Votes) I agree with George W. Bush (Howard Dean) Missing you (Kiva.org) We’re 54.7% sure… (Families USA) Spill baby spill (Brave New Films)

Bad Subject Lines

The ____ Update June 2011 Newsletter Tell your Senators to vote no on S. 2191 Urgent FEC Deadline Maryland GOP Calls for End to New Poll Tex for Absentee Ballot Voters

3. Keep it conversational.

Snarky is ok. A formal letter isn’t.

Have voices, personalities in your email.

4. Never send an email without an action…

All you can do is unsubscribe.

Sign a petition Write a letter Tell a friend Watch a video Follow us on Facebook or Twitter Call Congress Make a donation Share your story Give us your feedback Attend an event

4b …But don’t ask people to do a million things.

Multiple actions confuse/overwhelm Splits the returns of your actions Better solution: Segmentation & Daisy Chain

5. Ask people what they want.

Surveys are good for you and your list.

Find out more about your list Solicit new ideas Make your members feel like they’re part of the team

6. Treat new supporters differently.

Make a good first impression.

Send an intro message describing your org & what you’ll be asking them to do.

Don’t ask for money – but don’t wait too long.

7. Keep formatting simple.

Use images sparingly.

Compelling buttons can help action rates Most don’t matter Don’t hold up an email for an image Don’t make your whole email an image

7. Keep formatting simple.

Avoid fancy formatting.

You are not writing direct mail Fancy formatting distracts from links

8. Timing is everything.

Sometimes it’s better to be the 1 st than to be the best.

General wisdom: Tuesday-Thursday late morning In reality: Whenever something urgent happens

9. Checklist your emails.

One bad mistake can ruin your email.

Ask someone who didn’t write it to proofread it Ask someone to click every link & take every action

10. Test & Segment Your emails

Tests: Sender name/format Subject lines Time of day Images (including headers) Length Links Landing pages Segments: Geography Donation history Past actions taken Signup date Whatever you’ve got

Landing Pages

Landing Pages: Keep it simple.

Make sure it’s clear what you want people to do Limit the number of: Distractions Fields Clicks

Landing Pages: Daisy Chain

You don’t have to just send people to a “thank you” page Prioritize based on what you need most: Tell a friend Donate Events Other actions

Wal-Mart wants to build its first store in Washington DC.

A store in DC would hurt local businesses. Wal-Mart underpays its employees and doesn’t provide adequate health care.

Write an email to a local coalition email list, encouraging them to sign a petition against the new Wal-Mart. It will be delivered to the next city council meeting.

Writing Workshop

How to Plan a Calendar

Why plan emails?

To avoid the blank page/blinking cursor problem.

To make them part of a larger campaign.

To have more time to write better emails.

To have get better content.

To get something done!

1. What are you trying to do?

What is your goal(s)?

Online goals: List growth?

Fundraising?

User generated content?

Twitter/facebook followers Offline goals: Pass a bill?

Save the (puppies, seals, unicorns)?

Events?

Volunteers?

Press attention?

Drive a news story?

2. What do you have to do it?

What are your resources?

Email list?

Volunteers on the ground?

Friendly bloggers? An organizational blog?

A technology platform?

Allied organizations/partners?

Online advertising budget?

Video capabilities?

Other technology abilities?

3. What are your key moments?

What are your online and offline milestones?

Internal news External news Media Personal stories Holidays/Days of Importance Other solicitations

Is this a long or short campaign?

Are there deadlines you must meet?

Moments along the way that you can highlight?

4. What are your segments?

Do you need different emails for different people?

Action takers/non-action takers Geography Interest How they joined the list Donation history Demographics Superactivists vs. Lurkers

4. What can people do to really help?

What is your theory of change?

Get a grid.

Plug in your offline activities/milestones as the base.

Petition: When will you be delivering it?

Events: Should we invite them? Ask them to donate or share? What can people do if they can’t attend?

Videos/ads/offline materials: Can the list contribute content? Money? Share?

Reports/research: Can they comment? Debunk it? Share?

Fill in the rest.

Kicker messages Follow-up results messages Donation messages Other creative things you can give people to do

How much email is too much email?

How often do you have something urgent and meaningful to say?

Quarterly Weekly Monthly Daily TYPICAL Almost certainly too little Probably too much Credit: Idealware

Sample Campaign: Debbie Shank has paid enough

Debbie Shank has paid enough

Goal: To stop a lawsuit.

Resources: 100,000 person email list. Petition & Speakout technology. Contact with the family.

Timing: Debbie’s well-being was in jeopardy Segments: People who signed/didn’t sign petition; frequent letter-writers; Facebook followers Theory of change: By shaming Wal Mart, they’d drop the lawsuit.

Launched a petition (email and Facebook) Wrote letters to Wal top management Wrote to news outlets to cover the story

What did we do?

It worked.

Thanks!

Questions?

@laurenm

www.neworganizing.com

@neworganizing