On Email

Building a network of supporters from scratch is a slow process.

Email Graphics Organizations should be much more conscious of soliciting email addresses from their supporters, particularly at offline events. Far too many presentations end before a signup sheet is passed around. By then it’s almost always too late.

While maintaining a Web site does require some specialized knowledge, maintaining an email list is easy. Human rights groups can use email lists to broadcast human rights abuses in real time, reaching out globally for solidarity and support. Whether publishing a newsletter, sending out an action alert, announcing an event, raising funds, building solidarity, or generally spreading the word, the costs for maintaining an email list are minimal. And the impact can be great. (See the examples page.)

There are several free listserv services available to individuals and small organizations.

Steer clear of “free” services from big corporations, though. Not only are these often padded with advertisements, but Yahoo! and Topica don’t much care for the privacy or security of your users.

Below is a list of organizations that provide email list services run by for activists, generally staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. They generally do not include advertisements on their email lists. Many have specific policies about the types of groups they support and the types of email messages they do not. See: autistici.org/inventati.org, cat.org.au, communitycolo.net, icomm.ca, interactivist.net, mutualaid.org, nodo50.org, onenw.org, resist.ca, riseup.net, sindominio.

You can also set up a free announcement list on your own Web server with phpList. The software is easy to install, manages bounces and multiple lists very well, and seems perfect for folks who are not yet ready to tackle Mailman or Sympa — two industrial strength applications.

If you do have a Web site, make sure it’s immediately clear on your site you do have an email list. And make it very easy for people to sign up. No need for pop-up windows — a prominent link or sign-up form will do.

Here are a few tips.

These pages offer a few other basic tips on using email for advocacy:

While some of these tips may seem like common sense, they are ignored with surprising frequency. In some cases, this may be because maintaining an online campaign is more resource intensive than it seems at first. At the height of its campaign activities in the 2004 presidential election, MoveOn employed a full-time staff of six (plus volunteers and consultants) to drive its online campaigns. A campaign that asks time and resources from its users should consider the time and resources it devotes to them.

Last modified on January 19, 2006 6:32 PM

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