As Deputy Political Director, I manage Heritage Action’s online operations. This includes activist mobilizations and fundraising appeals.\n
From Mrs. Obama, this email really drew me in. What do you notice about it?\n
This is my Obama-campaign inbox. Look at how many different senders and subjects!\n--burnout if your goals are long term\n
AFP’s failing agenda opening message. Notice the call to action.\n
The landing page for that message. Where does the call to action connect?\n
1. Communication online is conversational--you are in their space.\n2. Think about your subscribers, visitors, and followers as people, not numbers. Don’t “blast” them.\n
What is not in this Bonobos pants email?\n
The landing page for those jeans. Notice what’s here vs. what’s in the email.\n
My friends at TPP sent this fundraiser our for a Labor Day campaign.\n
Our pattern is to unite appeals with political messaging. This is an intro to the fight to defend welfare reform.\n
The next email in this campaign invites people to act to defend welfare reform.\n
The landing page syncs to both emails.\n
1. The narrative arc of your messages matter. Bonobos tells you that you can be stylish, then shows you how.\n2. We try to set up every issue with at least 2-3 emails. We can get to about 40% of our list in a ten day span, multiple messages help, so long as they drive the story forward.\n3. This is a point about integration: think in terms of campaigns and have all channels support the effort.\n4. Fundraising appeals work best as part of a greater narrative. Explain how and what money buys before asking for it.\n
This is a multi-message campaign around the post-SCOTUS Obamacare votes.\n
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The ask was based off real urgency, and laid out in clear terms.\n
1. It’s easy to say “what” and “how”, but the core question of why is hard, especially when asking people to sacrifice their time and money.\n2. Artificial deadlines and numbers are gimmicks. They can work, but people easily see through them.\n