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New E-Mail System

New E-Mail System. Overview of the system, process and policies March, 2013. Agenda. What lead to the change Overview of the systems and features Pilot Project Team Sample of E-Mails/Newsletters Analytics Policies and Procedures Questions and Answers. What lead to the change? .

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New E-Mail System

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  1. New E-Mail System Overview of the system, process and policies March, 2013

  2. Agenda • What lead to the change • Overview of the systems and features • Pilot Project Team • Sample of E-Mails/Newsletters • Analytics • Policies and Procedures • Questions and Answers

  3. What lead to the change? • Last year, Chapters were reporting e-mails were not being delivered to alumni. • Several unsuccessful attempts to fix the issues (8yrs old system) • We had to look at a new system • Need for compliance with CANSPAM regulations and the law • An important University initiative (University Relations, UWF, WAA, and other campus leaders) to: • streamline communication from the many units across campus who reach out to alumni and friends of the University. • A need to decrease number of e-mails to alumni through a coordinated effort • A need to apply new tactics for e-mail marketing and to strengthen the brand • WAA, its chapters and affiliates, are requested to play a key role in this effort.

  4. What other features were needed? • Large Capacity: WAA list size is approximately 200,000 addresses and we reach about 1 million people/month • Unsubscribe categories which are necessary to comply with CAN SPAM and allow us to best serve the variety of alumni interests. • Ability for someone to choose to unsubscribe from a travel or learning e-mail but not all or to unsubscribe from every other WAA email but can still receive local chapter emails. • All e-mails are tested with a spam program to ensure messages do not get filtered to spam folders and that will add to successful delivery.

  5. Old System versus New System

  6. Chapter Support • WAA Digital Coordinator: Someone trained assigned to design emails, schedule and provide support as an expert on communication and digital marketing • Chapter volunteers will no longer need advance html or design knowledge but can focus on event experience! • Ability to do support with strategy and targeted messaging as we can track activity within the email system. Ex: We can send a reminder email only to the people who opened the initial email; we can send a new email to only the people who clicked on a particular link in a previous email.

  7. Pilot Project Team In mid-January, we started a short-term pilot project with six (6) chapters to test the systems, processes and develop tool that will benefit in the transition. Project Team: • Patrick Davis, Austin, TX Chapter and Diana Tatili, WAA -Project Co-Leads • Dave Bunzel - San Francisco Chapter • Patrick Daley - Twin Cities Chapter • Becky Ennis - San Francisco Chapter • Stephanie Harvey- Chippewa Valley Chapter Dave Holt - Central Florida Chapter • Jim Reck, Brown County Chapter • Nancy Powell, Geographic Outreach, WAA • Caroline Radaj, Digital Production, WAA • Rebekah Hunt, Digital Production, WAA • Mike Fahey, Managing Director, WAA- Project Manager

  8. Pilot Project Goals • Collaborate with 6 chapters to test the emails system and resolve issues • Determine critical types of communication developed by chapters • Develop key e-mail and newsletter templates • Develop a process for chapters to submit requests • Monitor implementation, recommend changes to processes before full launch • Refine Policies and Procedures (number of e-mails per chapter per year, cost, data sharing and privacy requirements, etc.)

  9. Pilot Project Deliverables • Educational session to Pilot Chapters on the new email system • Develop a list of benefits of the new email system compared to the old system • Develop atool to capture types of communication, volume, etc. (Google Docs) • Develop a tool for all chapters to submit requests to WAA - Chapter Marketing Request Form • Refine Policies and Procedures • Test, test, test!

  10. Baseline Templates

  11. Newsletter options are available through this system (4a and 4b). Chapters who have multiple page (2 or more) newsletters can create them through the web account, post it on the webpage, and an e-mail could go out with a link to the newsletter.

  12. Example Email Campaigns

  13. General Analytics

  14. Soft Bounces: Temporary failures • Hard Bounces: Permanent failures (unsubscribes)

  15. Schedule of Communication and Events for the Transition

  16. Policies and Procedures

  17. What is the role of Chapters? • Improve overall communication to alumni! • Chapters will need to play by the same rules that we are asking every other unit on campus to follow, which means placing limits on the number of e-mails a chapter can send, and insuring there is a consistent look and feel to messages, while maintaining the unique features each local chapter brings. • Local chapter leaders have important knowledge and perspective on alumni in their community and how they want to get involved.  That is a very valuable perspective, and encourage active volunteer leadership, while also recognizing that no one campus unit or local chapter has exclusive control or ownership of relations with our alumni.

  18. Number of E-Mails The old e-mail system will be discontinued on March 29, 2013. • WAA will allow each chapter to have a block of 30 e-mails per year. • 8 e-mails from this block will be free and for local use • 6 e-mails from this block will be for organizational wide events : • Founders’ Day (2 e-mails) • Student Sendoff (2 e-mails) • Scholarship Notifications to students (2 e-mails) • Number of paid e-mails cannot exceed 16 e-mails per year. • Beyond the 14 free ones, the other e-mails will be charged at a reasonable cost ($.006 per addressee). • WAA will take into consideration and evaluate the need of geo-chapters for additional e-mails. • WAA will also consider the need for e-mails on rare occasions and unique University events (NCAA Tournament, Big 10 Tournament, Badger road games, etc.) • This policy takes effect on July 1, 2013 and will be reviewed annually.

  19. Cost • There is a direct cost to e-mail marketing for an organization of our size. • WAA does not have unlimited resources to fund everything and by asking for chapters to pay for certain costs, local chapters can make the decision on whether the investment in the communication will result in the desired participation.  • Chapters should use social media (Facebook, Twitter), other emerging tools and one on one conversations. WAA will cover costs of e-mail for all chapters as they related to: • Founders’ Day (2 e-mails), Student Sendoff (2 e-mails), Scholarship Notification (2 e-mails) • From April 1- June 30, 2013 chapters will be allowed to send up to 10 free e-mails (not including Founders’ Day campaign). • Billing cycle starts on July 1, 2013 and will be on a fiscal year basis.

  20. Seattle Chapter Example: • Total Alumni: 4, 486 • Total Alumni with e-mail addresses: 2, 239 (45%) • Cost to send 1 e-mail to 2, 239 addresses at $.006 per address: $13.43/e-mail • Chapter Costs for 16 paid e-mails/per year: $ 214.88

  21. What has changed on Data Sharing? • The laws regarding e-mail, particularly around the rules pertaining to individuals, who unsubscribe from e-mail communication, is requiring WAA to clarify our policies for how we collect and send e-mails. • Those rules, combined with the change to a chapter e-mail system that will be centrally managed by WAA, will require WAA and chapters to conduct business in some new and different ways.

  22. What lists can WAA share with chapter leaders? • WAA can continue to provide chapter leaders with lists of alumni in their community. Those lists may contain all information that is publically available, which includes name, address, phone, e-mail and degree information.   • Chapter leaders receiving lists will be required to sign a waiver stating they will follow all laws and WAA policies related to usage of alumni lists.

  23. What are chapter leaders allowed to do with the lists we do share? • Use the lists of alumni (provided by WAA) to communicate individually with alumni in their community, via personal connections or one on one communication. • Chapter leaders cannot copy the e-mail lists of alumni and send a separate communication through their personal accounts. • E-mail communication laws require all such communication to contain options for unsubscribing from that communication. • Mass e-mails sent on personal accounts cannot provide those unsubscribe options. • In addition, lists maintained by WAA are considered the property of WAA and our supporting partners, which includes chapters. • The proper method for communicating to alumni in this way is through the WAA e-mail system.

  24. What lists cannot be shared with chapter leaders? • Specific information about the activity of e-mail account holders as part of a campaign will not be shared with chapter leaders. That includes names or e-mails of alumni who unsubscribe from our e-mail communication and the names or e-mails of those alumni who do or do not open specific campaigns. • The aggregate analytics of a campaign may be shared, including number of e-mails sent, number opened, number blocked as unsubscribe or spam.

  25. List of e-mails collected through the years • Chapters can assist by encouraging alumni and WAA members to keep their information updated through the online Alumni Directory. • In addition, WAA will work with each chapter individually to identify the sources of supplementary e-mail lists and pursue appropriate methods for continued marketing. • For each supplementary list, please be prepared to identify the source of email addresses, and the intended purpose of each use. • E-mail addresses can be collected at an event using a sign in-sheet only if the sheet includes WAA language stipulating that by providing an e-mail it will be added to the WAA database and included in future communication from UW-Madison, WAA and the chapter. • Pulling lists from third party sites (i.e. Linked-in or other social media sites) without the direct permission of those individuals is considered a violation of spam laws and both WAA and the local chapter can be held legally responsible.

  26. What is the process for Chapters? • Use the online Form at Chapter Marketing Request Form submit requests in advance. • Turnaround: 3-5 business days • All e-mails will get chapter approval before emailing. • Chapter will get automatic general analytics on e-mail delivery

  27. What about chapter data on the old Email account? • The old emails will no longer be accessible, the newsletter component will be disabled. • The media files (local pictures, etc.) are a part of the website, they will remain and continue to be accessible along with a chapter's individual web page(s). • Data history will not be saved. • Chapters who want to use certain emails for reference we recommend they save individual pages as PDFs. • This step will happen for WAA teams as well.

  28. Our goals remain the same • Increase the number of alumni who are involved in the life of the university • Deepen the engagement of those alumni so they are giving back to UW and the university's greatest needs.   • Our alumni have multiple allegiances and ties back to UW-Madison. • They are graduates of a particular school, college or department (i.e. PoliSci, or CALS) • they are alumni of specific campus groups, communities and organizations, (WASB, Daily Cardinal, the Campus knitting club) • they support specific programs and initiatives (scholarships, athletics, their home department), and • they live in a unique community

  29. Why coordinate on this initiative? • No one unit representing UW-Madison, on campus or off, has complete control over those alumni nor can they individually dictate what communication those alumni receive or how they receive it.   • UW Foundation and WAA are investing millions of dollars in a coordinated database system, called ABE.   • It will help manage all the unique and diverse communication alumni receive from UW units, and helps to answer the universal question our alumni ask us all the time "Aren't you guys in Madison talking to each other?”  In most cases the answer to that question is “no” but we can do better.

  30. What is still in the Works… • A new Style Guide • Glossary of Terms (on Analytics and how to use them) • E-mail Samples to copy language and content • Data Sharing and Privacy Policy to be signed by all chapters • Updating the list of people who have web access

  31. Next Steps and Reminders • Share this presentation with your Board, and your Communication/Web coordinator(s) • Lead your chapter during this change • Become familiar with the Chapter Marketing Request Form • E-mail Access will no longer be available. Web Access – Yes. • Download and save key e-mails as .PDF before March 29th! • Review your chapter communication activity and budget, if necessary. • Call WAA for further guidance and support • After implementation, give us feedback!

  32. Questions Diana Tatili Tel: 608.262.9651 dtatili@waastaff.com Patrick Davis Tel:512-659-2874 phdavis@gmail.com

  33. Thank you!

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