A few weeks before the U.S. elections I received an email from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Their idea? A good one. The implementation of the idea? Not the best.
Below I’m going to share with you both the email AND the landing page I was directed to. What’s important is that when you send an email and you successfully motivate people to click the CTA button, you need to make sure that people will actually take the action you desire. But if you make it too difficult, confusing or burdensome, people won’t just hesitate. They won’t do the thing.
Let’s start by looking at the email:
I like the header image! It’s election season and they’re showing two people who have voted early. Now to find out what they want:
Real simple ask for people who are voting. It’s good that EDF is encouraging people to vote. When they do so EDF is encouraging them to take a selfie and share it.
So far so good.
I like that they appeal to “climate voters across the nation.” This is a good way of making the reader feel like they’re part of a larger community who’s gonna go out and vote.
The P.S. is good. Share information and help people to find their voting poll location. Helpful!
I also want to point out the footer: Good job adding all their social media icons! Remember that people don’t read every email you send. Let them connect with you on social. More chances they’ll see your content.
I click the CTA button and I arrive on this landing page. Below is the landing page piece by piece:
Good job making sure the header image on the landing page matches the email header image. Now I know I’m in the right place!
You can see at the bottom you have a choice- you can submit your photo or view photos that they have already received from voters.
Simply restating what was in the email. The next part is a short form people have to fill in.
Then comes this:
Adding a caption is a good idea. Adds a little flavor to the voting selfie people submit.
But then they lost me.
When you start adding “lawyer speak” and things a reader has to agree to, you’re asking for stuff people didn’t think they’d be asked. Now you’ve got readers who hesitate and wonder what they’re giving away.
Using words like “perpetual non-exclusive license” confuses me. I’m not a lawyer and I wonder what that actually means. What can they do with my picture and my name? Now I start to get a little concerned and hesitate to agree to their terms.
And what if I just wanna participate by uploading a picture but do not wish to be identified by name? They don’t offer that choice.
At this point I’m seriously considering NOT uploading my photo and leaving the page.
I don’t have the data but I bet I wasn’t the only person making that decision. You asked me to upload a photo? Lemme do that! Don’t start with agreements and conditions.
This is a good campaign idea but the implementation could have been better. For example, they should have encouraged people to upload their voting selfies to social media, tag EDF and use a dedicated hashtag. EDF would get way more eyeballs on this campaign that way than just posting a gallery of photos on their website.
In the past I have seen similar campaigns which have been successful using social media. EDF has the right idea here but I think what they ask me to affirm and the fact that it’s only on their website means they get fewer submissions.
When you ask subscribers to take an action, think about what that action looks like and what’s involved. The more complicated or confusing it is to readers, the fewer actions will be taken.
When you work on any kind of campaign, think it all the way thru from the reader’s perspective.
An offer for you: Looking to raise max money from max donors this year-end via your online donation form? That will only happen if your form is user friendly, easy to use and effective!
To maximize your efforts this year-end, let me review your online donation form and I’ll send you a report about what’s working and what needs to be improved and upgraded. For Email 366 subscribers only, I’m offering a 20% discount off the regular price AND I’m guaranteeing to share with you a form report within 48 hours!
The last six weeks of the year are your organization’s most important. Make sure your online donation form is ready so you don’t lose out on gifts! Email me today and let’s help you surpass your year-end goal!