10 Tips of Email Writing

Acknowledgements
This presentation was created by Lauren Miller in conjunction with New Organizing Institute. These new media materials have been developed over the course of many trainings by Lola Elfman, Lauren Miller, Matt Compton, Ben Simon, Larry Huynh, Nate Thames, Becky Bond, Michael Silberman, Mia Cambronero, Adam Green, Jason Rosenbaum, Colin Holtz and many others.

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What can email do for you?

Reach people quickly & cheaply
Activate people to take action Enhance what youre doing everywhere else

A few key principles

Its about everything else youre doing Its about story telling
Its about number crunching

So how to I write an email?

Basic structure of an email

1st sentence: Attention grabber

Try to keep it to one sentence. One line if possible.

Basic structure of an email

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

Avoid too many facts, figures. Thats what the rest of the email is for.

Basic structure of an email

3rd-4th 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 Dont 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 dont want to read a long essay.

2. Think about your subject line.

Be concise (5-7 words) Grab attention, but dont cry wolf Be creative Dont 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)

Were 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 isnt. 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 dont ask people to do a million things.

Multiple actions confuse/overwhel m
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 theyre part of the team

6. Treat new supporters differently.

Make a good first impression.
Send an intro message describing your org & what youll be asking them to do. Dont ask for money but dont wait too long.

7. Keep formatting simple.

Use images sparingly.
Compelling buttons can help action rates Most dont matter Dont hold up an email for an image

Dont 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 its better to be the 1st 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 didnt 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 youve got

Landing Pages

Landing Pages: Keep it simple.

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

Landing Pages: Daisy Chain

You dont have to just send people to a thank you page
Prioritize based on what you need most:
Tell a friend Donate Events Other actions

Why plan emails?

To avoid the blinking cursor paralysis.
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 your goals?

1. What are your goals?

Online goals: List growth? Offline goals: Pass a bill?

Fundraising?
User generated content?

Save the. (puppies, seals, unicorns)?

Events? Volunteers? Press attention? Drive a news story?

Twitter/facebook followers

2. What are your resources?

2. 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?

3. What are your key moments: 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 cant 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 Monthly Weekly Daily

Almost certainly too little

TYPICAL

Probably too much

Credit: Idealware

Debbie Shank has paid enough

Sample Campaign:

Debbie Shank has paid enough

Goal: To stop a lawsuit. Resources: 100,000 person email list. Petition & Speakout technology. Contact with the family. Timing: Debbies well-being was in jeopardy Segments: People who signed/didnt sign petition; frequent letter-writers; Facebook followers Theory of change: By shaming Wal-Mart, theyd drop the lawsuit.

What did we do?

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

It worked.

It worked.

Never let the grid stop you from taking advantage of key moments.

Lauren Miller lauren@bluestatedigital.com @laurenm

Thank You To:

www.neworganizing.com @neworganizing