Advocacy Data – political data you can trust

Segmenting your List is one of the best ways to achieve your email campaign goals. It is all about breaking up your list into smaller subsets and targeting those segments with relevant content that has more value to that recipient. Let’s look at three reasons to start segmenting.

Three Reasons to Start:

1. Improved ROI: Sending targeted messages will relevant subject lines and content will increase opens and clicks ultimately increasing support for your cause, donations for your campaign, or votes on Election Day.
2. Find out recipient interests: Sending out a survey allows the user to provide feedback on what interests them most. Asking them “What is important to you”  is sure to elicit lots of responses. Try to offer atleast 5 choices and then segment based on their response. Another option is to look at what messages or links a recipient clicks on. Are they clicking on links about a certain issue. Using data on what they click on or what messages they open can help you determine their interests.
3. Leverage Data for better targeting: If you know the age, gender, and political affiliation of a recipient chances are you can assume certain interests they would have. This would allow you to send content that is more appealing and increasing the relevancy of the message.

Have any questions on creating segments? Contact Us.

Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you.” – Stephen R. Covey

So I got to take some time off and found myself in San Diego.  I have included a sampling of some of the cool animals we saw there as well as a fabulous sunset.  As political junkies, it’s important for us to take some time when we have a chance.  It helps us be better when we return.  I hope all of you get a chance to take a break at some point before the cycle completely heats up.

Earl

Election 2012: It’s Not Facebook. It’s the Data, Stupid

http://bit.ly/fwhI8s

“This campaign will be more about micro-targeting than every before”

After President Obama’s Townhall over at Facebook last week it’s obvious that social networks will be a game changer in 2012. Facebook and Twitter allows for two way communication between candidates, supporters, and voters. You want to target the issues of interest to each voter. We’re all different and people who you need to turn out for you in primaries and general elections will show up for a variety of reasons. It’s clear that having more fans than your opponent won’t win an election, but not having the data and technological sophistication to engage voters might lose one.

“Facebook and other third-party social network platforms aren’t the central battlefield. It’s data and targeting and figuring out how to use online strategies to enable motivated volunteers to identify, persuade and get out the vote.”

Sending various messages to specific segments of your email lists can make all the difference in 2012. Think of it as using “data for the sake of mobilizing”.

“Obama can, for example, query his list to send a message to every self identified Democratic female 35 and older on Facebook with over 500 friends and get them to take action based on republican attacks to destroy Planned Parenthood,” one veteran Democratic online strategist told me. “Or cut their list based on self-identified male Republicans in New York City and send a message to them from a sender who may resonate, like Mike Bloomberg,”

No matter the size of your campaign we could help you target voters in your district in a similar way. We can tell how active someone is on social networks or if they have donated to political campaigns. We have a database of over 32 million voters who have opted in to receive emails.

If you would like us to run a count please email mike@advocacydata.com. Mention our blog and receive 10% off your data if purchased before May 1, 2011.

Thanks,

Mike

How Americans Used Email in the 2010 Campaign–

http://bit.ly/fZ12pn

In 2010 (16%) of adult internet users sent emails related to the campaign in the immediate months leading up to November. Email is an important fundraising tool and campaigns should also use it to drive their GOTV efforts and voter registration. Last year we sent out emails including early voting location and Election Day polling locations. Our trusted data can turn out voters early and at the right location. Another interesting find was the demographic that share political email. Pew found that a higher percentage of adults age 50-64 (21%) shared political information via email than 18-29 year olds (13%).

22% of college graduates and 22% of households with an income of $75,000 or more shared political information via email. One way to encourage different age groups to share political emails is to target age groups differently. Our data comes with all information on the voter file and can be easily segmented in order to send relevant content by age group.

After examining the political affiliation of voters Pew Research found that 24% of Republicans voters and 19% of Democratic Voters shared political information via email and one of the top forms of sharing information by supporters and detractors of the Tea Party.  Again, this returns to the point of segmenting lists and targeting by data. Our database collects party registration or likely affiliation and we encourage senders to target recipients by party. The more relevant and personal the message the more likely the reader engages in a two way conversation or passes along your message to family and friends.

Visit www.advocacydata.com to learn more.

Thanks,

Mike

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It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A recent Roll Call article chronicled differing views on how the GOP should manage it’s central political data.

Click here to read.

While the debate itself is very interesting and is bound to have great impacts on political strategy, it underscores one of our core beliefs: Good data drives good decisions. Saying the right thing to the right people at the right time is both the art and science of the political business.  I think it is important for the parties and elected officials to understand the electorate well.  We have a lot of important work to do in America and a good political data to build an understanding of who the people are and what they face is paramount.

Earl

Pew Research: “More than half of all voting-age adults used the internet politically in one way or another during the 2010 campaign — the first time more than half the population has done so in a midterm election.”

“For adult Americans who go online, the internet is the second-most prominent source of campaign news, behind television but ahead of newspapers.

Click Here to Read the Report

For those of us who do this everyday, this is kind of a “duh” moment, but it really indicates a strong and growing cultural tide. As more people go online for their sources of information, it becomes even more important for political operatives to be savvy about distributing their message.  Email becomes an even more important tool to help in “push” messaging as keywords help with “pull”.  Driving traffic to your site as a trusted source of information is a powerful tool that can make or break a race.

Happy Sending,

Earl