FundSvcs Community

 View Only

  • 1.  Testing new emails

    Posted 02-17-2023 02:53 PM

    TGIF!

     

    Has anyone tested emails received from an email finder service? I would like to send an email asking the recipient to confirm their email and provide additional information such as employment, best phone number, etc.  Wondering if anyone has done this. If so, could you share your message with me?

     

    Thank you!

     

    Best regards,

    Tracy

    __________________________________________________

     

    Tracy A. Forkin '13, '18 M.S.; P'17

    Director of Stewardship & Donor Engagement

     

    Advancement & University Relations

    Johnson & Wales University

    111 Dorrance Street

    Yena Center | 3rd Fl | #326

    Providence, RI 02903

    p. 401.598.4661

    e. tracy.forkin@jwu.edu

    www.jwu.edu

     

    Johnson & Wales University ... an exceptional education that inspires professional success and lifelong personal and intellectual growth.

     

    Join the new JWU Alumni Connect portal to connect with fellow alumni!

     

    Member of the Mary & Gertrude Society

     



  • 2.  RE: Testing new emails

    Posted 02-17-2023 03:22 PM
    I have seen this done but with mixed results.

    Some people will not respond - so what does that tell you about the accuracy of the email?

    Others will respond by complaining that they never gave you their email and how dare you acquire and use it without their knowledge or permission. This also forces you to be prepared to flag records as "Do Not Email."

    Then there is the problem of how to handle the responses. If you do not include the known data and ask them to make changes, you will need to ask your staff to manually look everything up and compare what the donor sends with what you already have.

    I am not saying you shouldn't do this. Only that there are many things to consider.

    Another option, however, is rather than use only an "email finder" service, why not use a vendor that will do it all - providing you with new or updated addresses, phone numbers, and employment information? Then keep that information on file and use it for official business purposes when you need it- rather than send a note to people telling them you bought new data and are testing it!

    BTW, many vendors will test new email addresses for you to ensure you are not being given dead ends.

    John

    John H. Taylor
    Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier St.
    Durham, NC   27705
    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Testing new emails

    Posted 02-18-2023 12:30 PM

    Hi Tracy...

    Under CAN-SPAM regulations the vendor should send an email out to each of the addresses before handing them over to you.  This is to let the recipient know that their email address is being given out.  The message can say something like "Johnson & Wales would like to be in touch with you".  

    When you receive the email addresses, you can then send them through a validation service such as Zero Bounce. I have always suggested at least running a scrub routine on your own to make sure that John Brown does not have a "Mary.Brown@gmail.com" email address (check for obvious errors) and also outdated domains.  

    That step is optional, but it is good practice to inform the individual that you received their email address and give them another option to opt-out.  This is both good stewardship, and is a safeguard in the event the vendor did not do this.  This email could be sent from the president of the alumni association, for example, and be a nice "we want to be in contact to let you know of alumni benefits, events, etc." message.  I have only ever had 1-2 individuals respond with an opt-out. 

    If you are doing an append, but sure to ask for an individual match, not a family match, it will weed out some (not all) of the "mary.brown"s above.  

    Personally, I don't recommend appends, due to poor quality and matching.  It may be worth a try, though.  I personally prefer self-reporting, such as putting a webform address in the alumni magazine or other mailing and offering a prize like an iPad or a small branded token, such as a thumb drive or key chain to all who respond.  (A web form will give you an electronic file that can be loaded.  In addition, you can ask for other information such as employment.  

    I hope this is helpful!

    Terry Callaghan 

    Zuri Group



    ------------------------------
    Terry Callaghan
    Senior Director, Management Consulting
    Zuri Group
    terry@zurigroup.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Testing new emails

    Posted 02-20-2023 08:22 AM

    Thank you so much, Terry (and John Taylor) for your response.

     

    I agree with your thoughts below 100%!  Unfortunately, this wasn't my decision to make.  

     

    Personally, I don't recommend appends, due to poor quality and matching.  It may be worth a try, though.  I personally prefer self-reporting, such as putting a webform address in the alumni magazine or other mailing and offering a prize like an iPad or a small branded token, such as a thumb drive or key chain to all who respond. 

     

    Best regards,

     

    Tracy

     




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Testing new emails

    Posted 02-21-2023 08:46 AM

    Tracy,

    I have been through many rounds of email appends. Terry had great suggestions for review steps you can do to avoid appending bad emails.

    The other thing I now recommend any time this idea is raised is to only append emails for records where we don't already have contact information for the constituent. If you have an address, send a postcard. If you have a phone number do a special calling project using your telefund students. Too often the email, while valid, do not belong to the person whose record it was appended to. If you have no way to contact the person, the risk of putting bad data on the record is far less of a concern. 

    Also consider coding the emails you add in a way that will allow you to go back in a year and review the results so you have information the next time the idea is raised.

    Lianna



    ------------------------------
    Lianna Bodzin
    Assistant Director of Advancement Services
    Colorado School of Mines
    lbodzin@mines.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Testing new emails

    Posted 02-21-2023 09:00 AM

    When we do an email append, we do the following sweeps to minimize bad data. Hopefully!

    • Humans only
    • Exclude active students
    • Exclude Informal Groups
    • Exclude Trustees
    • Only entities with no email at all added to system since last append. We don't want to keep paying for the same bad info over and over again.
    • Suppress any entity where spouse has email. Append vendors will often give you a spouse's email for the entity.
    • When append file arrives, do not load any emails which also lives on another entity.
    • Do not load emails which live in system as a bad / inactive email. We may have already deemed that email bad in the past.

     

    Aaron Forrest CPA

    Senior Director Gift and Donor Services

    University of Rochester Office of Advancement

    585.275.2799 | aaron.forrest@rochester.edu

     




    Original Message


Related Content