In one database you’ve got your newsletter subscribers, in another your CMS contacts, maybe a block of data sitting on a hard drive and email lists from a dozen different sources in just as many places. It’s time to get it together, and it won’t be as painful as you think.

Sync all your data in Fireside Email™ and take full advantage of that mass of information without risk of sending duplicate emails to your constituents. And you can still use our tagging system to build different audiences, so you’ll lose none of the specificity of targeted email lists.

In fact, if you really want to streamline things, bring all your data under one roof with Fireside CRM™, a comprehensive system for handling the constant flow of congressional mail, email, and casework.

And here’s some information on importing email lists.

There are over half a million people in your district, and most of them use the internet.  How many are on your email list?

OK, 500,000 might be ambitious, but you should still set goals for your email outreach and determine metrics to measure your progress.  Take a moment to establish targets for your readership and subscription lists and block off time on your calendar for regular reports (in line with your newsletter cycle, for example).   Then, use these numbers to answer the question, “What works?” 

Here are some metrics to consider:

Track your list counts:

• All emails vs. Opt-in lists: How many email addresses do you have and how many of those are subscribed?  What did you do in the last email to add subscribers and did it do the trick?  
• Your VIP network: These are leaders in your community who could be useful in spreading your emails and growing your list. (More on VIPs to come).
• Your targeted lists: By issue, location, etc… what audiences do you want to reach and what are your goals for those lists?

Track message performance:

• Open rates: They read your brilliant subject line, but how many actually opened your email? 
• Click-thru rates: Are your email links drawing traffic to your website?  Which links in particular?
• Subscribe rates: Make it a priority to get more of your email recipients to subscribe.  These are your active readers and the ones you’ll be able to go on emailing during black-out periods.
• Unsubscribe rates: Don’t forget to look at these.  Sometimes too many emails can drive your readers away.

These data are all available in real-time through Fireside Email™, providing you with the information you need to build your email strategy.

Here are some of the new faces at Fireside21:

• Mark Soldavini – Mark brings a load of experience to our product development team at Fireside21. The success we’ve achieved with the deployment of our new Fireside CRM has a lot to do with Mark’s hard work.
• Michal Lyons – Michael joined our team on a part-time basis last fall. He has bolstered both our web support and software development teams. We are pleased to have recently welcomed Michael as a full-time colleague.
• Andrew Edelen – Andy is the newest member of the team, but you have likely already talked to him on the phone! As an Account Coordinator, you shouldn’t hesitate to call Andy with any questions about any of our services.

If you’re interested in working for a growing company leading the effort to help Congressional offices connect with their constituents in new ways, send us your resume.

It was a great time to get out and hear some respected speakers and learn about new technology and techniques. Even though a lot of the technology, like iPhone apps and Google App Engine, were things we probably won’t get an opportunity to use with our product, it’s fun to learn about them, and who knows, maybe someday Fireside21 will “have an app for that”.

Big thanks to Ken for sending us to the event, and to the support team for going developer free for a day.

Here’s a great shot of the event.

With this in mind, over the next several weeks we’ll be posting a series of 21 tips to help you grow, manage, and make the most of your email list. Keep an eye on our blog for ideas on adding subscribers, honing your audience lists, and crafting emails that your readers will open, read, and forward to their friends.

And, as always, feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about how to implement these ideas in your own outreach plan.

It’s a nice time to reflect upon our mission: to help legislators build close relationships with constituents using the latest technologies and strategies. This year, more than ever, we’ve been focused on that goal with the launch of our innovative Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) tools.

I’m happy to report that we’re on track for our best year ever. That includes going back to our time as a division of Adfero Group.

We’ve been growing our team here too as our first priority continues to be a commitment to providing exceptional customer support. We look forward to continuing to serve all of you and help as you engage with all of your constituents!

First, here’s what appears in the article:

“Screening eliminates confusion,” said Fireside21 Chief Executive Officer Ken Ward. “In a situation when there are callers who go beyond what they should in matters of language and decorum, there’s the ability to mute that person. I don’t think anyone is trying to censor — just maintain the level of appropriateness for the conversation.”

Maintaining an appropriate level of decorum is definitely important, but the screening, or call moderation, occurs before the constituent is on the line live with the Congressman. Here’s why moderation eliminates confusion and is a best practice for a successful telephone townhall:

1. It allows an office staffer to explain to the constituent how the question queue works and prepare them for when the Congressman calls on them.
2. It allows a staffer to confirm the caller’s contact information on the call list. This might not seem important, but it is very common for Jill Smith to be on the call list while her husband Jim is the one actually on the line. Otherwise, you will have some uncomfortable dead air when the Congressman says, “Hello, Jill. What is your question?”
3. The office, through staff members, will be able to personally speak with far more constituents than the Congressman alone.
4. It allows a staff member to ask the topic of the constituents question. While the overwhelming issue of interest has been health care for the past month or so, typically a telephone townhall covers a wide range of topics. Knowing the questions’s topic allows the Congressman to cover as many topics as possible (if that is the goal).

Without this technology, these opportunities for direct interaction between a Congressman and constituents are unlikely to occur at all. While everyone just returned from the August district work period, Congressman spend far more time in DC than back home.

It is certainly their obligation to hold physical townhalls throughout their district, but telephone townhalls permit more timely access to Congressman while they are in Washington preparing to vote on legislation.

Take a look when you send out your next email and click the “Single Page View” link next to the “Create/Edit a Message” page title.

We hope you like this new feature and it helps you send your emails even faster with Fireside Email!