emails as social media: how and why non-profits and educational orgs should use email lists
TRANSCRIPT
Emails as Social Media:How and Why Non-Profits and Educational Orgs Should Use Email Lists
Gretchen Weber, Communications ManagerDaniel Jones, Digital Media ProducerBerkman Center for Internet & Society
About the Berkman Center
Dozensprojects launched to study and influence the development of
the Internet, including Creative Commons and Global Voices
100+events, reports, tools, videos,
podcasts every year
Founded in 1997“to explore cyberspace,
share in its study, and help pioneer its development”
We build, study, educate, and
connect.
The Berkman Center: information flow
Dozens of projects &
100+ reports, tools, events, videos, podcasts every
year
Project specific communities and audiences: teachers, lawyers,
parents, developers, journalists, policy makers, activists,
librarians, storytellers, etc, and the interested public
We build, study, educate, and
connect.
500+ staff, fellows, affiliates, faculty associates , & alumni from 40+ countries;
Network of 50+ Internet & society research centers
internationally, as well as other partner institutions and Harvard
WHY THE HECK DO WE NEED EMAIL???
2.5 billionemail users worldwide, many with multiple accounts
Source: The Radicati Group
2.9 billionemail users worldwide by 2019
Facebook: 1.1 billionTwitter: 310 millionLinkedIn: 255 millionPinterest: 250 millionGoogle+: 120 millionTumblr: 110 millionInstagram: 100 million
>
10 millionlists
600 millionemails sent per day
22-25%open rate for emails in our sector (non-profit, education)
Step 1: Assess the problem
Welcome to List Management Hell
● Using (mostly) 4 entirely separate lists (newsletter, events, reports, jobs)
● Buried among many other active, outdated, & defunct lists
● No mechanism for detecting overlap between lists● No system for clearing bounces● Unsubscribing was nearly impossible
Trapped in an outdated template
Negatives:● coded in html every week
● time consuming ● error-prone● totally limited by
outdated template● not mobile-friendly
Postives (sort of):● We had thousands of
subscribers… but did they engage with the content?
Impossible to gauge impact or success
No metrics???
Know what you want
PRODUCTION NEEDSEasy list managementQuicker production timeFlexible templatesMultimedia inclusiveMobile responsiveMeaningful metrics
EDITORIAL GOALSProvide value to audienceBe interesting to readBe inviting, tone &
visuallyBetter showcase our work
with context & formatsShare work from the
broader community
Consider your audience...
...and their privacy
“Can we import your email address into MailChimp?”
Be Transparent
Migrating was easy
Migrating was easy
Migrating was easy
Customizing cut our prep time in ½
Better User Experience
when your emails are mobile friendly:
Editorial
After the pilot phase: Expansion
Migrated 3 more lists - found tons of crossover
Created groups within main listMerged our events & Buzz
emails to reduce volume of emails sent
A/B tested headlinesOn-boarded other staff
Prettify our templatesCreate better systems for
finding good contentLearn & experiment with
featuresLook more closely at dataMore A/B Testing
More work to do
Why Email?
.8%
5% 8%
Join our Listsbrk.mn/mail
Follow us@berkmancenter
Email [email protected]@cyber.law.harvard.edu
Thank You!