Email newsletters are potentially powerful tools in your campaign. They have been shown to create a more personal bond between the reader and the campaign, and are a way of showing that you are a dynamic cause. The incentive of doing something to put in the newsletter can also help you when your campaign is going slowly.
1. How do I get people subscribe?
All you need for a newsletter is a list of people who have said they would be interested in hearing more from your campaign. To compile a list, whenever you talk to someone simply ask them if they'd like to hear more about your campaign, then get their email so you can send them the newsletter.
If you have a website, you should also have a prominent link allowing people to join the mailing list. This could be just an email saying, "Sign me up!"
You should not pass the list of emails that you collect on to anyone else, otherwise you could be breaking the Data Protection Act. You can find out more about this from the Information Commissioner.
There are a couple of points of newsletter etiquitte that you should follow:
Privacy When you send out the newsletter you should do so with all the recipients addresses in the ‘BCC’ box (rather than the 'To' box). This means that you will not ‘share’ people’s email addresses with everyone else on the list, as they will only see their own address listed.
Unsubscribe Along with the latest news from your campaign there should be an option for people to unsubscribe from the newsletter, if they are no longer interested in the campaign. Make your ‘Unsubscribe’ option clearly visible. Don't worry too much about losing supporters. People often stay subscribed to newsletters for longer than they intended.
There really is no set style for an email newsletter. You should just express yourself in the way you think best suits your campaign. Here are some general tips:
Don’t make it too long - people are more likely to read a short email
Make your newsletter as personal as possible - these people are your friends
Keep your letters simple, highlighting the main points
Don't include large photos or files - these can fill up people's inbox
However, though you can write in any style, you must take care over what you say. Libel laws can apply to an email newsletter in the same way as a leaflet. For more information on libel laws read the guide on How to avoid libel and defamation.
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