Email Newsletters and Campaigns

UNO has a mass email policy. Please reference this and contact MarComm if you have additional questions.

If you are looking to create email newsletters or other types of mass emails to send to internal or external parties, please read below, and then if interested, take the HubSpot Email training to learn our tools that can be used.

Mass email on behalf of official university departments, units, and colleges is governed through Digital Communications Executive Committee.

HubSpot

HubSpot is the official tool UNO uses for email newsletters and campaigns. Each college and over-arching administrative unit (Criss Library, Community Engagement Center, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and MarComm) has a lead communicator in charge of coordinating and being a point-person for their respective email newsletters.

As you will learn in training, two basic email templates have been created using the guidelines from the UNO Brand Guide and are available for all groups to use. It is recommended that you put you own unique spin on these templates while remaining within brand guidelines in order to stand out from the crowd.

For questions on creating your own unique emails or brand requirements, access, and support for getting started, you can reach your lead communicator or get in touch with the MarComm Digital Team at web@unomaha.edu.

Don't forget UNO's official news center and newsletters!

Remember the importance of the News and Events Centers on UNOmaha.edu as well as our Maverick Daily and Bullseye newsletters.

All public news and events should be submitted to your communications lead or through Start Your Project so UNO can promote and include them in many feeds on the website and other channels around campus.

Structure and Roles

Each college and over-arching administrative unit will be designated as a "Team" within HubSpot. Departments and sub-units will be placed as child teams under the parent teams so that lead communicators have access to help users in their designated college or over-arching unit.

Another "Team" in HubSpot will not have access to your emails and vice versa. Teams do share access to contacts and images. This will be explained in more details during training.

The uploading of contact lists to HubSpot requires attending an advanced training session and is limited to users who can demonstrate they understand database management and the repercussions of duplication that can add extra cost to the university and errors that can be detrimental to all users of HubSpot.

It is recommended that at least two users per college and over-arching unit be trained in the uploading of lists in case one person is out of the office. The MarComm Digital Team is also available as backup at any time.

The MarComm Digital Team reserves the right to remove access or change permissions for users who are not properly following the policies outlined during training.

Making an Access Request

First, contact your lead communicator to inquire about the possibility of an email newsletter or other email sending needs. It is important to indicate the length of your contact lists and frequency of emails you intend to send.

The lead communicator will then put you in touch with the MarComm Digital Team and have you take the HubSpot Email training.

Users will not be granted access to HubSpot until after they take the training.

Best Practices and Tips

Images

• Sizes: All images must be under 200 KB before uploading to HubSpot. Smaller image sizes helps emails load faster and get through spam filters.
• File names: Please use the naming convention taught during training: "Department -- Unit -- Description of photo."
• Alt text: Make sure you write alt text for every image in your email. Alt text is there for accessibility reasons. Those who are blind or visually impaired will be read the alt text so they know what the image looks like. The alt text for all photos will default to the file name (see item above). So you must manually change it when you insert a new photo.

List Management

• Opt-ins only: It is recommended all receivers of emails from unomaha.edu have opted in and expect to receive the mailing you send.
• No purchased lists: Lists also must not ever be purchased. Otherwise, you are sending spam.
• Curated lists: We understand that some contact lists have been curated from over many years, meaning you have gathered names and likely never deleted any. These curated lists can be detrimental to our email system because they often contain incorrect addresses, and, therefore, must first be put through an email verification service. Only valid emails then will be allowed to be added to HubSpot.
• Email verification: This service identifies email addresses that are still current versus those that are no longer valid or even spam traps. ZeroBounce is a recommended and cost-effective email verification service. Contact the MarComm Digital Team about how to get started with using ZeroBounce.
• Big lists: As noted in the advanced training, the uploading of lists of more than 1,000 contacts must be approved by the MarComm Digital Team ahead of time. Failure to do so may result in your import privileges being revoked.
• Smaller list, better results: Segmenting your lists into smaller audiences will almost always increase your email open rate, click-through rate, and audience satisfaction.

Misc.

• Buttons: If you want people to take an action like RSVPing, downloading a file, or clicking to read more of an article, use a button in your email. These buttons typically get more clicks than simply using a link within the text, linking a photo or linking the headline.
• Mobile-friendly: More and more people are reading email exclusively on their phones, so make sure you design your email to be easily read on both desktop and mobile.
• Get creative: If you aren't seeing the results you want when it comes to open rates or click-through rates, take some chances. Try some more creative subject lines with emojis. Switch up your email design and add more color. Just because you've always done it one way, doesn't mean that's how it has to stay! The MarComm Digital Team is here to help! Contact us at web@unomaha.edu for a consultation.

More information on policy surrounding electronic messaging and best practices is located in UNO's electronic messaging policy.