[BCMA] BCMA Listserv posts - 5 tips to ensure your message gets sent out

Tue Apr 3 16:38:48 PDT 2018

Hello everyone,

It is summer job posting season once again and the listserv emails are
coming in fast and furious!  Some recent posts have had some problems that
mean they can't be sent out or would get marked as spam, so I have created
some guidelines to help you ensure your messages get seen.  Please
circulate to whoever sends emails in your organization.

1. *Content is key!*  Emails without content get marked as spam by most
email service providers.  Please ensure you have content within the body of
your email (i.e. not just the subject line).  Copying and pasting plain
text from Microsoft Word or typing your emails directly are great ways to
ensure you don't get marked as spam.

2. *Save the clicks - paste, don't attach.*  Everyone loves a
well-formatted PDF with logos and images and fancy columns, but did you
know your big attachment could shut down our listserv?  Paste your job
posts or other content into the email body like you did above instead of
attaching a large-format PDF.  This saves recipients from having to click
again and download a file, too.

3.  *Don't tell me what to do!*  BCMA listserv emails go directly to over
750 inboxes, and there's no middleman other than me clicking "accept" or
"reject".  I cannot copy your text or change the wording, so please ensure
your email is exactly how you want people to see it.  There is no need for
any "please share with your members" or "please post this to the listserv"
type language, it will only make you send it again!

4.  *Can I have your number?  *The BCMA listserv does not have a reply
function and has a strange tendency to drop your signature blocks, so
remember to include how you want to be contacted in your email!  For
example, "Please respond by emailing bfast at museumsassn.bc.ca"

5.  *No Mailchimp newsletters!  *Please do not add us to your Mail Chimp or
other auto-distribute e-newsletters!  While we love to hear what you're up
to, this could get you marked as a spammer for breaking the CASL laws, and
the formatting never works out anyways.

And a bonus: 6. *Say it up front*.  Use informative (and catchy) subject
lines so people see your email.  Don't just say "BCMA Post" or "Message,"
this is your chance to tell the world in 10 words or less what your email
is all about.  Try "Museum X: Curator Job Posting - Apply by April ##" or
something similar.  A good subject line means your email will be seen
amidst the daily deluge of other messages.  And it works, it got you to
read this far didn't it?

Thanks, and happy posting,

Ben

-- 
*Ben Fast*
Programs and Member Services Coordinator

BC Museums Association || 675 Belleville Street  || Victoria, BC || V8W 9W2

Office: 250-356-5700 <(250)%20356-5700>  || www.museumsassn.bc.ca
Direct Twitter: @benfaster <https://twitter.com/benfaster> Twitter:
@BCMuseumsAssn <http://www.twitter.com/BCMuseumsAssn> Facebook:
BCMuseumsAssn <https://www.facebook.com/BCMuseumsAssn>

*The BCMA is looking for 2018 Webinar hosts!  Consider submitting a webinar
proposal
<http://museumsassn.bc.ca/professional-development/upcoming-events/webinars/host-a-webinar/>.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vifa.ca/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20180403/0c088dd5/attachment.htm 