Who's On Your Email List?

Via Donor Power Blog:

... almost 80% of the over 50 age group does not respond to email marketing, preferring to use email to communicate with friends.... However ... 36% of this age group are happy to communicate with brands online once initial contact has been made using other media.

Most donors (by a large margin) are over 50.

This is why it's critically important to segment your lists, whether they be email or direct mail, not everyone responds to the same stimulus.

For DECs, who have memberships largely over age 50, it's important to realize that pushing fundraising via your email lists isn't always the exact way to go. People have to be slowly but surely persuaded. My suggestion is to use your email list to send informational emails (like newsletters and event signups) to get your constituencies to recognize the value of opening that message from the local DEC. Over time, you'll develop the loyalty that's required to finally send a fundraising email.

When DECs Get It Right

Most of my life, I've had a pretty negative opinion of DECs. The image I had -- based on some evidence, but probably not enough -- was that they were simply a collection of entrenched good old boys who cared more about their own fiefdom than actually winning elections or changing society for the better. The more I get involved in politics, the less accurate I find this stereotype to be. For example, I've recently joined the Leon County DEC because I really, really like what they've been doing. A lot of people are contributing to the success of the Leon Democrats, but as people from commissioners John Dailey and Andrew Gillum to Congressman Allen Boyd to Senator Barack Obama has publicly said, the key to the great things happening in Tallahassee is Chair Rick Minor. Here's what is going on under his supervision:

1. 2006 elections were a rousing success in Tallahassee. If I remember correctly, no Republican defeated any Democrat in local elections. Most of the statewide elections were significantly more in favor of the Democratic candidate than the Republican.

2. Barack Obama appeared at the annual Collins-Steele fundraiser. Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but Obama only appeared at two fund-raising events in Florida -- Tallahassee and Miami. Miami is much more of a swing district has a lot more donors for presidential campaigns and has a lot more voters. And yet we got Obama too. And he helped Leon Dems raise a whole heck of a lot of money -- Enough money to impress even Ray Seaman. ;)

3. The DEC is pursing policy proposals. Instead of passively waiting for things to happen, the Leon Dems are actively seeking to push the local policy agenda. After a campaign finance scandal with a county commissioner, the DEC has stepped up to push for non-partisan lobbying reform. In addition to pursuing an actual policy proposal with the help of Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, we also spent the last meeting with a diverse panel of speakers who not only gave us the run-down on the issue, but answered the exhaustive questions of the large audience. It would be difficult for anyone who attended that meeting to not have a good grip on the issue.

4. The Takin' It to the Streets program is a great idea. What is happening is that each month at the DEC meeting, instead of having the meeting at the same old stuffy city commission chamber, the meetings are rotating to different locations in each district. This not only benefits those people who don't want to drive across town every month, it has brought out tons of new people to each meeting, the last of which was standing room only (in my district).

5. Rick is great at community outreach. My theory is that no public event in a county should go without a Democratic Party presence. I don't go to every event out there, but I couldn't tell you the last time I went to something in the community when our DEC chair wasn't present and actively talking to people to promote our agenda and learn what the people are saying and thinking.

6. We're also trying to improve outreach to African-Americans in the community by focusing on No Party Affiliation voters. Leon County is like a lot of the state where African-American turnout in elections is lower than we would like it to be. By reaching out to the NPA voters and letting them know about Florida's closed primary rules, we have a chance to change that.

And all of this is just in the three months I've been actively participating in the organization. I hear talk of numerous other things that I don't even know enough about to get into. The point is that this is exactly the type of activity I think a DEC should be engaged in and the activity and excitement you see around here is impressive. A lot of that has to do with Rick Minor.

Like I said before, Minor didn't do any of this alone, but that's one of the keys to why he (and we) have had so much success lately -- he recognizes others, regardless of race, gender, age or personality, who want to help and can help and he gives them the trust and responsibility to succeed and they, and he, do succeed. That helps all of us.

She Should Run

Local activists should take a look at the great website, She Should Run.

Those involved in candidate recruitment should pay particular attention to female candidates. In Marion, we found out in 2006 that voters were tired of voting for men. Undecideds, and in races where voters didn't know much about the candidates, voted overwhelmingly for the female candidate.

Besides, regardless of electablility, we need more diversity in Florida government - at all levels.

Never Forget Why

When you're building any organization, much less a DEC, you will undoubtedly run into frustration and stress. If not, you're probably not changing anything.

There are setbacks, mistakes, arguments, etc. which can bring you down. However, in times like these, just remember one thing: why you're working hard in the first place.

For me, I grew up in Weirsdale, Florida, a rural country "town" in the middle of nowhere. Ocala and Leesburg were the "big cities." You get the picture. Poverty and desperation was everywhere with the exception of wealthy lake shore homeowners and those in nearby gated retirement communities.

The poor and their situation were largely ignored, the local elementary school was one of the worst in the entire county. It didn't start changing until people in the community started waking up, and through the leadership of local churches (one of them being my father's - Weirsdale Presbyterian) good things started happening. The school is now an "A" school and is no longer ignored by the School Board. I can't say the economic situation has improved (that will take both a Democratic President and a complete public policy priority shift at all levels) - that problem remains.

I learned that ordinary people, when organized, could do extraordinary things.

So when I face obstacles and frustrations, I always think "If we don't organize and fight - who will?" Kids aren't going to get better schools, better jobs aren't going to be created, healthcare access won't improve, growth won't be better managed if we sit around and complain.

That keeps me going - what about you?

FDP Chair Karen Thurman Answers Your Questions

Last week, I put up a notice that the Florida Netroots site had the opportunity to interview Karen Thurman, the Chair of the Florida Democratic Party and invited you to submit your own questions. Here is our Q&A.

Death By Committee

We Democrats love our committees. In fact, we some of the time love them too much. It is necessary to have a number of standing committees to carry out basic functions of the DEC no doubt. In fact, there are a number of committees that are mandated to be in existence by state bylaws (Affirmative Action Committee, for example) and DEC bylaws.

However, not every problem needs a committee, and having too many committees end up stifling innovation, ideas, and potential new leadership.

When DECs are organized and reshuffled around at the beginning of every new leadership team, the structure that is developed should take care of basic tasks and provide for new ideas and innovation. The key here is only having committees that are doing something beneficial for the DEC and helping it progress. If there's a committee where there is all talk and no action, if it only seems to be an echo chamber, or the personal lobbying group of a particular member - its time to bring out the axe.

Its also important that committees don't turn into this, as told by BMW:

Or this

Here are some tips to make existing committees better, particularly if you're in charge of one (via Fundraising Success magazine):

1. Limit your comments. Hold your tongue and suggest changes only when you are squarely within your expertise and you have facts to back you up.

2. Work to enlighten fellow committee members. Bring in documentation from the experts. Build the case for fact-based judgment over opinion-based judgment.

3. Advocate restraint. You might be able to impact your committee’s culture and make it less destructive. Your fellow members likely are open to becoming a different kind of group for the good of your organization.

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Survey Results

Thanks to all who participated in our recent survey which gaged both reader loyalty and interest in the various elements of the site as well as opinions about the future.

A total of 35 people began the survey, and 17 fully completed it. This is actually a well represented sample of our readership.

Reader Interest
Roughly, how often do you read Build Florida's DECs?
More than one time a day: 11.4%
Daily: 22.9%
Weekdays Only: 11.4%
Weekends Only: 2.9%
Weekly: 42.9%
Monthly: 8.6%

Primary Links
The number after the primary link is the one chosen by a plurality of the voters. Remember, this was on a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being the best.

Donate- 5: 47.1%

Invest- 5: 47.1%

Store- 5: 47.1%

Find Your DEC- 5: 29.4%

All elements had many votes in the 6-10 range with only one or two votes in the 1-4 range.

Sidebar Elements

People Who Make It Happen- 5: 41.2%

About- 5: 52.9%

Proud Member- 5: 35.3%

Useful Links- 5: 29.4%

Archives- 5: 47.1%

Again, most votes were in the 6-10 range, and only one vote in the 1-4 range of all 5 elements.

Projects
What is your opinion of our collaborating with the Florida Progressive Coalition for the creation of the Virtual Think Tank?
Approve: 88.2%
Disapprove: 0%
No Opinion: 11.8%

Would you like to see Build Florida's DECs continue to work with organizations like the Florida Progressive Coalition and collaborate on projects?
Yes: 88.2%
No: 0%
No Opinion: 11.8%

Would you like to see Build Florida's DECs start doing interviews with DEC officials and grassroots activists through possible mediums such as podcasting, internet radio, or simply live blogging?
Yes: 94.1%
No: 0%
No Opinion: 5.9%

Would you like to see Build Florida's DECs use a more interactive platform other than Blogger, such as Word Press, Drupal, or Joomla?
Yes: 11.8%
No: 5.9%
No Opinion: 82.4%

This was a very interesting survey. The vast majority of respondents like what they see here and want to see it do even more. I plan to do a survey every now and then to keep track of any new changes we implement.
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DEC Fundraising: Q2 2007

I've only received a little more than half of the DEC figures back from the individual Supervisor of Elections office. I'll update this post as new data comes in.

Alachua $44,067.69
Orange $34,070.00
Okaloosa $20,781.18
Martin $20,085.00
Pinellas $16,197.55
Manatee $9,969
Broward $9,903.00
Hernando $9,285.41
Brevard $8,648.58
Escambia $7,231.00
Duval $6,928.74
Seminole $6,307.08
Santa Rosa $5,342.74
Marion $5,236.00
Sarasota 4,952.64
Lake $4,551.55
St. Lucie $4,199.88
Indian River $3,046.00
Putnam $2,695.00
Monroe $2,500.00
St. Johns $2,448.05
Okeechobee $2,330.00
Holmes $2,150.00
Sumter $2,098.00
Osceola $1,852.97
Nassau $1,725
Baker $1,700.00
Walton $1,495.00
Clay $1,430.00
Polk $1,410.48
Jefferson $1,337.81
Charlotte $900.00
Pasco $733.44
Bay $645.00
Leon $470.00
Gulf $450.00
Calhoun: $0.00
Liberty: $0.00
Taylor: $0.00
Lafayette: NO DEC

The big surprise is, of course, the Martin DEC. Martin County has only 25,615 Democrats (compared to 47,307 Republicans.) Raking in $20K is no small feat. It also demonstrates the potential of DEC fundraising. Now compare the Martin DEC to Broward's stats this quarter. Broward County has 480,689 Democrats (nearly 19 times that of Martin County) and was only able to rake in $9,903.00.

DECs have a long road ahead of them to build viable fundraising operations. Posts like this (every reporting period) are designed to let people within DECs know how well they are performing in relation to other counties. Its also great ammo for DEC fundraisers to use - "If Martin County with only 25,000 Dems can raise $20,000 - we can do that - and better."

Update 11:29am: Okaloosa comes in at a resounding $20,781.18. Osceola rakes in $1,852.97, and St. Lucie $4,199.88.

Update 2: A small handful of DEC people have been grumbling to FDP about this post. I thought that would happen. Let me just say that this post isn't intended to shame DECs. We all know that DECs tend to have big annual fund raisers which therefore don't necessarily show up in these Q2 numbers. This is only the first post of its kind. I will be posting summaries every quarter which will demonstrate progress.
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Compiling...

Hey folks. Just wanted to let you know that I've been spending some time collecting data on the amounts of contributions received by DECs in the last quarter. Its all public information, of course, but its often unattainable from local Supervisor of Elections sites. In Marion, its all right there on the website - not so in most counties. So I've sent out around 60 emails requesting this information.

I'll hopefully be able to post on this tommorrow or Wednesday...hopefully.

Update 1:54- 16/67 in. Some Supervisor's offices are pretty fast!

Update 5:00- 26/67 in. Getting better...

Update 11:25am- 34/67 in. Halfway there.

Evaluating Local Republican Websites

We've talked about the need for better websites for DECs, and websites for DECs that currently don't have one. Fortunately for us, local Republicans fare just as bad if not worse. Here are some observations:

1.) There are around three particular cookie cutter designs.
a.) The waving banner type (Alachua, Santa Rosa)
b.) The glowing title type (Dixie, Holmes, St. Lucie)
c.) The red top banner type (Gadsden, Jackson, Washington)

2.) Most incorporate the "GOPUSA" News Feed (the liberal media can't be trusted, ya know.)

3.) Other than the cookie cutters - most local GOP sites look like most low-end DEC sites: websites that we're built in 1998. The difference between the two is that there is a lot of common widgets and blocks used by GOP sites (GOPUSA being one of them), while there is little such lock-step uniformity among DEC sites.

In other website news, the state Republican Party has rolled out a new website. Its nothing to write home about, they've just finally caught up with the modern age in terms of podcasting and video.

The Value of Service Projects

As many of you know, I spent last weekend working with my fellow Democrats remodeling Marion Dems HQ. It was a lot of work, but it was also very enjoyable. I can't always say that about a lot of the service projects I've been involved with. I was a Boy Scout for virtually all my teenage years, and service projects we're frequent. They weren't all bad, as I liked hanging around my fellow Scouts, but the projects were often tough and sapped the life right out of you. My own Eagle Scout project was no exception: the development of an emergency food center which took several workdays and hundreds of volunteer hours.

The point here is that DECs should try and do service projects when they can, particularly if they have a HQ. These activities build camaraderie, and Democrats therefore get to know each other better. Those partnerships become critical as big projects arise, and Election Day draws nearer.

Of course, all projects have to be planned out in advance, so people don't end up getting burned out instead of turned on to the Democratic Party.

Recurring Donors

Barack Obama is now taking his campaign to put much of his support base on a recurring donor program on the front page of his website. He's using this nifty little graphic:

Whether or not Obama gets the Democratic nomination, I personally believe this will be one of his greatest contributions to the Democratic campaign/organizational playbook. Using recurring donors really pays off and helps build and sustain campaigns.

Laboring For A Better Image

Sorry for the lack of posts today folks. I spent most of the day working at Dem HQ putting up a new sign for the front of HQ (pics coming in a few days, I hope) as well as moving furniture to prepare for a big paint job tommorrow.

The new sign is terrific, and HQ will be looking a lot better by the end of the weekend - it really needed it. To me, our HQ is part of our image to the public. If it looks crappy (which it did), it makes people view the party as crappy. The same goes for websites, which are essentially eHQs. If your website looks like its crummy, people will think the candidate/organization/business/DEC is also crummy.

Enjoy your weekend!

CiviCRM

I've talked about the need for DECs to have websites, and what good ones can do. However, I want to plug a particular peice of the website puzzle which I've only linked to in the past: CiviCRM.

CiviCRM is really only for DECs that have people who are techies. I say that because CiviCRM is a pretty complex package to install and use. However, once you have it, I think its a really great tool.

CiviCRM is a "Constituent relationship module" (thus the CRM part), that is, its a huge database with all kinds of customizable features that you can tailor to your DEC's needs. CiviCRM is made up of the four major components:

CiviMember: This module is geared towards tracking individual members, including their contact information, what they volunteer for (and their volunteer preferences), when they contribute and what they contribute to.

CiviContribute: This module is built for accepting online contributions (you choose which service you want to handle the transactions: PayPal, etc...), both in lump sum and recurring forms. The best thing is that you can create custom fundraising campaigns, complete with thermometer (you know you love those.)

CiviMail: CiviMail gives you the ability to send customized mass emails to targeted groups, which you can establish through CiviMember.

CiviEvents: Create your own events, send invites to people, and manage RSVPs. I think you can set it all up so when someone RSVPs for an event, that it shows in their profile through CiviMember.

Once again, you can learn all about it here. I know there are those who will say, can't VAN do all of this? Not really. You kinda need both, which I know is heresy to database people. VAN is great for GITV and GOTV, while CiviCRM is better suited for managing activist information. There's certainly some crossover.

GusWatch: A Model Local Blog

Some disclosure: One of the main contributors of GusWatch is a fellow manager at the Florida Progressive Coalition.

One of the many things that was discussed at the Netroots Luncheon during JJ Weekend is the need for more local and specialized blogs. The same thing was said over the weekend during the first edition of Florida Progressive Radio. I've talked about the need to set up and develop local progressive blogospheres in the past.

The blog GusWatch is an example of what we would all like to see more of. GusWatch was founded during the 2006 Elections to keep an eye on Gus Bilirakis, the then Republican candidate for Congress. They did a terrific job, and despite the fact that Bilirakis would end up winning the election - they didn't stop. This is what we dream of the blogosphere doing more than it already is - stepping into the void traditional institutions and the MSM have opened.

DECs should do everything they can to encourage activists to start blogs geared towards holding elected Republicans accountable, while searching for Democrats to challenge them. Each specialized blog acts an attractor of potential new volunteers, donors, and activists.

In addition, let's not forget big local issues which demand accountability. Growth management is the first thing I can think of. Isn't there a need for a blog which tracks those sneaky land use amendments being pushed by developers? Shouldn't there be some watchdog out there tracking votes on important things like this?

So again, we should renew the call for more local blogs. They are badly needed, and local parties can play a big role in connecting activists with relevant blogs.

Absentee Ballot Information

College Progressive at FLA Politics has written a post detailing all the contact information relevant to requesting absentee ballots. You can get that information here.

DECs should really be pushing vote by mail, as was detailed in my postmortem on the SD3 Special Election. Its very hard for our candidates to win when they begin Election Day with a several thousand vote deficit.

Obviously, the key thing to do here is to take this valuable information CP has researched and put them into materials that can be passed out to members and activists in the field. This valuable information also should be put on most party literature.

Update: kansasr has a wonderful form that he used during the 2006 Elections. Check out his comment over at FLA Politics. They had a nice system going, and I think its something that could be easily duplicated elsewhere.

"Voting by mail" must be stressed at every possible moment.

Getting 18 Year Olds to Vote

A pretty funny video from the voter registration group, Declare Yourself:



18 year olds are tough convince, but videos like this are the answer. Our older readers may find this video offensive and revolting, but trust me, it works on young people.



You can find more videos here.

The Importance of Municipal Elections

Back in 2005, I proposed to the small Coordinated Campaign team at the Marion DEC that we should really focus on municipal races (that is, city council races.) They are incredibly small and easy to win, and they pay huge dividends down the road when we're looking for candidates at the county and state level. I was basically told to go ahead, yet due to my own greenness and naivety, I really got nowhere. Besides, I had to go attend my first semester of college at UF at the end of the summer.

Yet had I been successful then, we could have started seeing some of that effort bear fruit for the 2008 elections. You see, as I alluded to earlier, city councilmen and women make great candidates for the county commission, school board, countywide constitutional offices (tax collector, property appraiser, etc...) and state representative. The bottom line is that city councils are where we incubate and develop future candidates. This, by the way, is how Republicans slowly took power in Florida: they started at the municipal level and slowly but surely worked their way up the ladder.

In areas of the state where Democrats are currently out of power, DECs should really focus on recruiting city council candidates as a way of building the bench for future elections.

New Links

Donor Power Blog is a blog built for fundraising professionals in the nonprofit sector. Now, you may be asking yourself, "Why is Ray linking to nonprofit help sites?" In my personal opinion, I think sometimes the only real difference between political organizations and nonprofits is the way they report taxes. Were all in the "mission" field and 90% of the time lessons that nonprofits have learned over the years are ones that can be directly adapted to the political world. In fact, many of the new links you'll see me link to are geared towards nonprofits. Donor Power Blog is full of great information about raising money. A lot of time is focused on new fundraising technology and tactics, which I believe makes this blog extremely valuable.

Be Relevant! is a blog designed for email marketing tips. The author is Tamara Gielen, an email marketer for eBay Belgium. She has great tips about effective email marketing. There's all kinds of great practical information for any progressive group (particularly DECs) which has a mailing list and wants to use it effectively.

Online Fundraising Stuff

DFA's Night School program just went through a big series on fundraising which was superb. I encourage all to at a minimum take a look at the presentations and when you have time, to listen to the recorded teleconferences. Awesome stuff!

My father every now and then sends me excellent posts from the Donor Power Blog, which is solely dedicated to fundraising tactics.

Today they had an excellent post dealing with online fundraising. When you get a fundraising email, and you decide to click on the link, where you go is called the "landing page". There was a study done recently on landing pages as reported by Donor Power Blog:

• 45% of landing pages have the same headline as the email that sent people to the page.
  
  
• 17% of emails send those who click through to a home page, rather than a page where they can immediately take relevant action.
  
  
• 35% of pages don't look and feel like the email that sent them there in the first place.
  
  
• 45% of landing pages bog down users by requiring them to fill out 10 or more fields.
  
  
• Nearly 70% include a navigation bar, even though it's a distraction that pulls visitors away from the page's primary goal.
  
  
• 25% of landing pages required users to scroll through more than two screens of text.
  
  

I'll be adding these and other good fundraising links later today and doing a "New Links" post on them.