This document provides 10 tips for writing effective emails. It discusses the basic structure of an email, including using an attention-grabbing first sentence, a summary paragraph, and calling readers to take a specific action. Other tips include keeping emails short, crafting effective subject lines, using a conversational tone, including a clear call to action in every email, and testing different email elements. It also provides suggestions for landing pages and examples of effective versus ineffective subject lines and email campaigns.

1. 10 Tips of Email Writing

2. 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.
Restrictions of Use
The following work is provided to you pursuant to the following terms and conditions.
Your use of these materials constitutes your acceptance of these terms:
• You may reproduce and distribute the work to others for free, but you may not sell
the work to others.
• You may modify the work, provided that the attribution to the New Organizing
Institute and the Author remain on the work.
• You shall include a copy of these restrictions with all copies of the work that you
distribute and you shall inform everyone who uses the materials of this agreement.

3. What can email do for you?
" Reach people quickly & cheaply
" Activate people to take action
" Enhance what you’re doing
everywhere else

4. A few key principles
" It’s about everything else you’re
doing
" It’s about story telling
" It’s about number crunching

5. So how to I write an email?

6. Basic structure of an email
" 1st sentence:
Attention grabber
" Try to keep it to one
sentence. One line if
possible.

7. Basic structure of an email
" 2nd paragraph:
Summary. Why are you
sending this email?
" Avoid too many facts,
figures. That’s what the
rest of the email is for.

8. Basic structure of an email
" 3rd-4th paragraph: Take
Action.
" What do you want
people to do?
" What is the theory of
change?

9. 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

10. 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

11. 10 tips for better emails

12. 1. Keep it short.
" People don’t want to read a long essay.

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 3. Keep it conversational.
" Snarky is ok.
A formal letter isn’t.
" Have voices,
personalities in
your email.

17. 4. Never send an email without
an action…
All you can do is unsubscribe.
" Sign a petition " Call Congress
" Write a letter " Make a donation
" Tell a friend " Share your story
" Watch a video " Give us your
" Follow us on Facebook feedback
or Twitter " Attend an event

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 7. Keep formatting simple.
Avoid fancy formatting.
" You are not
writing direct mail
" Fancy formatting
distracts from links

23. 8. Timing is everything.
" Sometimes it’s better to be
the 1st than to be the best.
" General wisdom:
Tuesday-Thursday late
morning
" In reality: Whenever
something urgent
happens

24. 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

25. 10. Test & Segment Your emails
Tests: Segments:
" Sender name/format " Geography
" Subject lines " Donation history
" Time of day " Past actions taken
" Images (including " Signup date
headers)
" Whatever you’ve
" Length
got
" Links
" Landing pages

26. Landing Pages

27. Landing Pages: Keep it simple.
" Make sure it’s clear
what you want
people to do
" Limit the number of:
" Distractions
" Fields
" Clicks

28. 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

30. 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!

31. 1. What are your goals?

32. 1. What are your goals?
Online goals: Offline goals:
" List growth? " Pass a bill?
" Fundraising? " Save the….
(puppies, seals, unicorns)?
" User generated content?
" Events?
" Twitter/facebook
followers " Volunteers?
" Press attention?
" Drive a news story?

33. 2. What are your resources?

34. 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?

35. 3. What are your key moments?

36. 3. What are your key moments:
online and offline milestones?
" Internal news
" External news
" Media
" Personal stories
" Holidays/Days of Importance
" Other solicitations

37. Is this a long or short campaign?
" Are there deadlines
you must meet?
" Moments along the
way that you can
highlight?

38. 4. What are your segments?

39. 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

40. 4. What can people do to really
help?
What is your theory of change?

41. Get a grid.

42. 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?

43. Fill in the rest.
" Kicker messages
" Follow-up results messages
" Donation messages
" Other creative things you can give
people to do

44. How much email is too much
email?
" How often do you have something
urgent and meaningful to say?
Quarterly Monthly Weekly Daily
TYPICAL
Almost Probably
certainly too much
too little
Credit: Idealware

45. Sample Campaign:
Debbie Shank has paid enough

46. 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.

47. What did we do?
" Launched a
petition
(email and
Facebook)
" Wrote letters to
Wal-Mart’s top
management
" Wrote to news
outlets to
cover the story

48. It worked.

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

50. Thank You To:
Lauren Miller
lauren@bluestatedigital.com
@laurenm
www.neworganizing.com
@neworganizing