Request Procedures for Augustana University Offices

Transcription

1 Request Procedures for Augustana University Offices Procedures follow for requests and e-newsletter requests including timeframe, distribution lists, design, content, personalization, approval process, statistics and best practices. It s relatively easy to initiate the process for Augustana department/office/affiliate s to be sent to alumni and other constituent addresses. If you have any questions after reading the following requirements, please Katie Foutz or call Timeframe The Communications Office usage policy below requires five business days in order to prepare s. For e-newsletter formats, additional time is required. For initial set-up, allow two to four weeks production time. Once format is established, future issues require two weeks. Attachments will not be used, so ensure a link to the updated website content is included for details. To initiate the process, please complete the Alumni Broadcast Request Form online. Distribution List It is important to determine who the audience will be for the . Lists of additional recipients can be provided to Advancement in the following Excel spreadsheet format: /first name/last name. Alumni lists are generated from our database of record, JX, so it is important that JX has the most current information. Prior to sending, all lists should be compared for accuracy. Updates received after sending the s should be provided to alumni@augie.edu to maintain accuracy of data for future use. Design If a mailing has been sent or is scheduled to be sent, please provide an electronic version (PDF, InDesign, etc.) in order to coordinate the design. If specific pictures are needed, please provide them to our office. Colors and fonts will also be matched with the website. Content Send all content and images with your request form. (You will be prompted to upload these files.) Provide content in a Word document and image files in.jpg format. Personalization Custom fields such as first name can be inserted in e-newsletters. If any of the fields do not exist in JX, an Excel spreadsheet of those fields must be provided.

2 Approval Process One point person (contact name) will need to be provided for the project. When is set up and ready for approval, a preview will be sent to that person to distribute as appropriate. All changes should be provided by that point person, and previews will be generated until final approval is provided in writing. Final approved will be subject to review by the Communications staff. Statistics Statistics are available upon request for all blasts. Fields available include: Messages Sent Message Kickbacks Delivery Rate Message Opens Clicks Unique Clicks Unique Click Rate Link Clicks within Unique Link Clicks within Best Practices Create subject lines that are relevant and entice people to open s. Subjects should have a verb. Subjects should be fewer than 40 characters. The top 400 pixels (about 4 inches) should present the most important content with a call to action (for example, register or join us ). Keep the number and size of images within the to a minimum. s that are made up of images and no text may be marked as spam and sent to your recipients junk mail folders. APRIL 2016

3 Alumni Broadcast Usage Policy for Augustana University 1. General Guidelines This policy applies to broadcast s, which are s sent to 25 or more alumni/constituents at a time. Senders should familiarize themselves with all applicable rules and regulations affecting . All s to alumni must be in compliance with University and federal rules, particularly in regards to Federal Trade Commission Spam regulations and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act guidelines. to alumni and constituents must be sent using the Augustana University Communications Office s online broadcast services. Access to the marketing tool is limited to Augustana Communications staff and other University staff members who have been granted access and received training. Other Augustana University organizations wishing to contact alumni via broadcast should contact the Communications Office to send the on their behalf. All requests for the Communications Office to send s should be made to the appropriate staff liaison. Liaisons will forward all requests to the Communications staff or by using our online form. address lists from the alumni database will not be given to any University employee or any volunteers to create their own address book or shadow database for mass s. Broadcast s cannot contain political or commercial messages (with the exception of messages from Augustana University sponsors or partners). s containing information about a University sponsor/partner should first be cleared through the Augustana University Office of Advancement. Fundraising solicitation s must be approved by the Vice President for Advancement or a designee. The size of an message cannot exceed 1 megabyte, due to bandwidth constraints and limits by major Internet service providers. Attachments cannot be sent through the broadcast tool. It is recommended you provide a link to a website where the details can be posted. content submitted by any University office, alumni volunteers, partner organizations, etc. may be edited for consistency with Augustana Advancement communication guidelines. Failure to follow the terms, conditions, and guidelines of this policy may result in restricted access to addresses and use of the broadcast services.

4 Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Vice President for Advancement. 2. Number of Broadcast Messages in a Given Time Period It is recommended that no more than seven s be sent University-wide per week using the Augustana alumni online community tool, regardless of intended audience. This recommendation is based on the fact that alumni generally do not differentiate one Augustana University department from another. Multiple s from Augustana University to the same alumnus/alumna may be viewed as excessive to the alumnus/alumna, and they may opt out of all Augustana University s. All mass ing activity will be tracked to ensure alumni are not receiving excessive amounts of communications. A master list of traffic is maintained by the University Communications Office. 3. Required Information in s (Per federal 2003 CAN-SPAM Act) Each broadcast must include an opt-out feature and the permanent mailing address for the Alumni Association or the department on whose behalf the has been sent. All s must have a clearly worded subject line. Subject lines should not exceed 10 words or 40 characters, whichever is less. The stated purpose of the must be included in the first few lines of the . Reply addresses must include domain. 4. What to Do with Returns Requests to change addresses, street addresses or phone numbers, as well as "recipient unknown" or bad addresses should be forwarded to alumni@augie.edu. Additionally, requests to be removed from future s should be sent to alumni@augie.edu. 5. Scheduling Messages Sent by University Communications All s must be scheduled through the Augustana University Communications staff to avoid unnecessary overlap with other scheduled s. Scheduling of s should occur as early as possible. All necessary information for each scheduled broadcast must be submitted at least five business days prior to the send date of the message. For e-newsletter formats, additional time is required. For initial set-up, allow two to four weeks production time. Once format is established, future issues require two weeks. Attachments will not be used. Complete the online request form. All requests must be made/approved by University faculty or staff. 6. Sending Surveys to Alumni s

5 All surveys being sent within an or linked from an must be approved by Augustana University Communications staff. Alumni downloads will not be provided for the manager option of the survey tool without approval by the Vice President for Advancement. Ready to request an ? See our REQUEST FORM. APRIL 2016