Excluding certain audiences from email

Kim Ethridge

We are an advocacy and restoration organization. Whenever we get a new email member we automatically opt them into six Communications Interest Categories. We also have an Education arm, and even though "technically" educators who sign up for our programs receive a complimentary membership, Education has strong feelings about excluding them from receiving our e-communications (unless they have made a donation or taken an action alert--which would move them into our Donor and Advocacy membership groups, or specifically opted in to an interest).


Several members of our digital team feel strongly that we should automatically opt educators in to our e-communications, regardless. They argue that we should assume educators are interested in receiving all our e-communications and if they aren't they can opt out.


I'm trying to find out if anyone else out there has similar scenarios and, if so, how you approach them.


Thanks.


Kim

Brian Mucha

We've been here too! Before you know it everyone will want their groups protected, and that's not a good place.


I agree with the digital team. That's exactly what interests are for. Your welcome series should introduce them to your org so they know why they are getting your emails. They could even have a conditional content block in the welcome series geared right to complimentary members - maybe that will earn a little buy-in from education.


BPM

Kim Ethridge

Brian Mucha:

We've been here too! Before you know it everyone will want their groups protected, and that's not a good place.


I agree with the digital team. That's exactly what interests are for. Your welcome series should introduce them to your org so they know why they are getting your emails. They could even have a conditional content block in the welcome series geared right to complimentary members - maybe that will earn a little buy-in from education.


BPM

Thanks, Brian. I like your suggestion about using a conditional.

The bigger issue with Education is they really don't want educators being opted-in at all. From their perspective it raises a significant issue with optics as well as grants--needing to keep our education programs separate most especially from our advocacy efforts.


Kim