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8/25/2010
New Redesign Launched for Rep Jim McGovern
Congressman Jim McGovern has launched a redesign of his existing site with iConstiuent. The new design is contemporary and constituent-friendly. Viewers can easily find information on important issues, current legislation and helpful constituent services. Congratulations, Representative McGovern, on your new site!
Comments(0) | del.icio.us | Digg It!8/16/2010
Handling More Inbound Mail, Faster
CapCorr 8 (CC8) Inbound Mail Processing Features allows your office to handle more mail, faster. Here are six features you should know:
- Identify Topic Based Content - Use keyword rules to automatically find the topic of each communication from the language of the email.
- Duplicate Email Detection - Detect if the a new email message is a duplicate – in content – with an email that was previously received (e.g., from Advocacy Group Email Campaigns) and display them for easy management.
- Organized Inbox - Sort and group incoming email based on customer-configurable conditions (e.g., if the message contains certain words, if it is overdue, and more).
- Controlled Inbox - Maintain a “self-cleaning database”, where each new email that is received will be checked against the constituents that have already written and automatically consolidated.
- Auto Reply - Send an automatic email reply to each constituent when their email is received (such as a “Thank you for writing me” email with note of a more detailed, personalized, follow-up to come later).
- Noise Filter - Create a communication policy with flexible settings for accepting or excluding constituent and non-constituent mail by District(s), Zipcode(s), State(s), and more.
To schedule a demo contact us at: dcsales@iconstituent.com
8/6/2010
Hardware Services for Member Offices
Did you know that iConstituent can provide your Member's office a streamlined hardware solution? Our trained engineers manage everything from equipment purchases, paperwork, set-up, and configuration to on-call support. And, with over 18 years of working in the U.S. House of Representatives we understand the technical landscape, have the supplier relationships and know the requirements needed for a House office.
Hardware and Systems Administration Services Include:- Computers - Desktops, Laptops and Servers
- Peripherals - Printers, Scanners, Faxes and Multi-Function Machines
- Mobile Devices - BlackBerrys, iPhones, iPads, MiFis and Other Smart Devices
- Active Directory – Account and Email Administration
- User Support – Direct One-on-One Support to Users on their Desktops
- Equipment Needs –Multiple Suppliers to Provide a Complete Line of Products
7/30/2010
New Website for Representative John Yarmuth
iConsttiuent is pleased to announce the launch of Representative John Yarmuth's website. The new site combines rich constituent-oriented content with a very clean contemporary design.
Visit Rep. Yarmuth's website at yarmuth.house.gov
7/23/2010
New Web Site for Representative Solomon Ortiz Launched
iConsttiuent is pleased to announce the launch of Representative Solomon Ortiz's web site. The new site combines rich constituent-oriented content with a very clean contemporary design.
Visit Rep. Ortiz's web site at ortiz.house.gov
7/12/2010
Using Website Analytics in Constituent Gateway
Did you know that you can now access your website’s analytics in Constituent Gateway? This information is a great way to determine how constituents are finding your site, which information is being accessed most often, and how many new and repeat visitors you have. To access your statistics, simply hover over the “Website” menu and select “Google Analytics”.
Your analytics includes several reports including Overview, Content Views, Traffic Sources, and Visitor Data. Below are some definitions of the statistics you will see on the reports, including some common uses for improving your website based on this data.
- Visits – this represents the number of times your site has been visited. If a user were to visit your site one day, then return the next day, that would count as two visits (therefore, they are not unique visits). This can be used to monitor spikes in traffic that might come from things like e-newsletters, press releases, or town halls and other public appearances.
- Pageviews – this represents the number of pages that have been viewed on your site. If a user were to visit a page, then navigate away, and then return, that would count as two pageviews of the initial page.
- Pages per Visit – this represents the number of pages (see pageviews) per visit (see visits). This is helpful for determining the extent to which users are browsing your site. Seeing a low number here? Trying enticing users with teasers in your sidebar – use related content, updated buttons for hot topics, or links to videos or other immersive content.
- Average Time on Site – similar to pages per visit, this statistic will indicate the length (in minutes and seconds), on average, each user spends on the site. If the information they are seeking is more lengthy, they may spend more time reviewing it while maintaining a lower number of pages per visit.
- Bounce Rate – this indicates the percentage of single-page visits where the user left your site from the entrance (landing) page. This can often be on the homepage, but might also include landing pages that you link to from e-newsletters. By creating compelling content including teasers and cross-pollination of content from other sections, you can entice users to continue to browse your information after they’ve arrived.
- New Visits – this is the percentage of visits that are coming from first-time visitors. A low number here means that you have many repeat visitors who continue to come back for more information. Keeping your site updated and compelling will increase the number of repeat visits (thereby decreasing the percentage here).
- Traffic Sources - this information is shown in two forms: a breakdown of source type (by percentage) and a listing of specific sources (with number of visits and percentage of visits). This information will show you where your visitors are coming from – either direct traffic, using a search engine, or if they are being referred from another source.
- Top Request Pages – this chart displays lists the pages in the website, ordered by number of pageviews (most popular on top). You can also sort by unique pageviews, average time on page, bounce rate, and the percent of the time that this page is the last page visited before exit. Clicking on the header title at the top will sort the chart by that variable.
- Top Landing Pages – this chart displays the pages of the website, ordered by how frequently the page is landed on first by a user. You can also sort by bounces and bounce rate (how often is it the only page they visit).
- Top Exit Pages – this chart displays the pages of the website, ordered by how frequently the page is the last page visited by a user. You can also sort by pageviews and the percentage of views which result in an exit from the site.
- Keywords – this listing refers to words or phrases entered into search engines that result in a visitor being brought to your website.
- Browser – this area lists the most popular web browsers being used to access your site.
- Flash Version – this area lists the most popular versions of Flash being used to access your site.
- Operating System – this area lists the most popular operating systems being used to access your site.
- Connection Speed – this area lists the most common connection speeds being used to access your site.
6/23/2010
Capitol Correspond: Updating a Letter (Quick and Easy)
The Letter Library houses all of your Form letter responses. Once a letter is no longer relevant as a response, you may choose to either make it “Obsolete” or archive it. Making a letter “Obsolete” allows you to maintain the letter in your Letter Library for possible use in the future; however, once a letter is “Obsolete,” you can no longer search for and assign it as a response to a constituent. If you choose to archive a letter, you are removing the letter from the Letter Library and storing it in a separate utility so that it is not searchable from the Letter Library and may not be assigned to a constituent. Archived letters are still saved in the database and may be restored at any time.
Before you decide to archive a letter or make it obsolete, you should decide if you can re-use the language of the letter again in a new letter. If you can update the letter, you do not have to re-create a new template from scratch, which means you do not have to re-assign a header, signature, usage, Interest Codes, Fill-In Fields, etc. Using the “Copy Letter” feature, all you have to do is give the letter a new name.
To use the "copy letter" utility:
- Go to Utilities > Letter Library.
- In the Letter Search Screen, search for the letter you wish to update.
- Double-click on the letter you wish to update.
- In the Letter Detail window, hover over the “Options” button, and click “Copy Letter.”
- Give the letter a new name/code (i.e., “111HR3456_UP”, where “UP” stands for “UPDATED”), and click “Ok.”
Now you have two letters with two different names, you can make any changes to your second letter while maintaining the original. Be sure to finalize your updated letter when it’s finished.
6/23/2010
Constituent Gateway: The Blackout and Creating 499 Lists
With the August Blackout period approaching for all Members of the House of Representatives, it's an appropriate time to review creating 499 lists in the Constituent Gateway. As always, you should check the election laws for your state and consult the Franking Commission to verify how Blackout period rules apply to your office. Below, we’re going to outline some “Best Practices” with regard to creating 499 lists in the Gateway.
Once you've logged into your account, browse to Contacts > Create Lists > Create 499 Lists.
On this screen you can see a field for naming your 499 lists, a drop down menu for choosing your Source List, and a box where you can select your Suppression Lists (see below for further detail).
Naming Your List: We recommend that you follow a standard naming convention for 499 lists, ideally starting with the number 499 plus the subject matter (i.e., “499--adopt a puppy”). You may also want to include a date. Starting all of your 499 list names with the number 499 will keep them grouped together in the List Suppression box, which will be important if you're creating more than one 499 list.
Choosing Your Source List: The Source List is the list from which you're instructing the software to randomly draw 499 contacts. If the source list you choose does not have 499 or more good contacts, the Gateway will not create the list.
In general, the goal of sending e-newsletters is to collect subscribers to whom you can send subsequent e-newsletters -- outside of a 499 list. To this end, we suggest starting with your "All Viewers" list because these are contacts we know have opened at least one of your e-newsletters and are more likely to interact with your message in such a way that they will become subscribers. After you have created all of the 499 lists that you can out of the "All Viewers" list, you should switch to the "All Contacts" list. There's no need to be concerned about one contact being in more than one 499 list as long as your Suppression Lists are as described below.
List Suppression Box: As you chose Source Lists in the Gateway from which to draw contacts, you should create Suppression Lists in order to tell the software from which lists not to pull. Your goal should be to add new subscribers to your contacts, which means that when you're creating 499 lists, you don't want to include contacts that are already subscribers or any bad email addresses. Hold down the "CTRL" key to choose more than one list starting with your "All Subscribers" and "Hard Bounce Suppression" lists. You should also suppress any previously created 499 lists, which should be easy to locate in the List Suppression box if you've started each 499 list with the number "499."
Once you've made your Source and Suppression List selections, click "Create List." The software will process for a few seconds and then create a 499 mailing list that you can then assign to your e-newsletter under the list selection column on the pending mailing screen.
6/15/2010
Have You Tried a Training Class?
iConstituent offers training on its family of products for users with varying degrees of experience and skill. For new users, two of our most popular classes include “The Basics of Correspondence” and “E-Newsletter Fundamentals.” With the arrival of summer interns space may be limited, so make sure you register for a class today by emailing training@iconstituent.com!
For descriptions of these classes, please visit our training page. All classes listed below will be held in the iConstituent offices unless otherwise noted.
Below is the schedule for our June courses. Hope to see you there!
Class
Date
Time
Capitol Correspond 6 Correspondence
Capitol Correspond 8 Correspondence6/16/10
9:30am-11:30am
3:00pm-5:00pmCapitol Correspond 6 Correspondence
Capitol Correspond 8 Correspondence6/21/10
9:30am-11:30am
1:30pm-3:30pmCapitol Correspond 6 Correspondence
6/22/10
9:30am-11:30am
Constituent Gateway Website
Constituent Gateway E-Newsletter6/23/10
3:00pm-4:00pm
4:00pm-5:00pmSpecial Workshop: CMF/Gold Mouse Awards
6/28/10
10:00am-11:30am
Capitol Correspond 6 Correspondence
6/29/10
1:30pm-3:30pm
Constituent Gateway Version 3.2 Features
7/12/10
1:00-1:30pm
*online webinar6/11/2010
Constituent Gateway Version 3.2 is Here!
Google Analytics Now Integrated into Constituent Gateway
As you may know, our websites use Google Analytics to track important data such as visits, pageviews, and user statistics. Currently, users must log in to the Google Analytics website to access this information. With this new feature, the most common and popular reports can be accessed right from Constituent Gateway! Simply click on the “Google Analytics” link on the Website tab!
New Option for Press Release Filtering
Several of our website clients have requested a new way to filter their news and press releases. Currently, users can only choose between Month/Year layout or the default layout which can be used with content categories. This new feature will group press releases by month with a dropdown to select a year at the top of the page. This feature works in conjunction with content categories, making your news even easier to organize. Simply select “Group By Month” from the edit folder page!
Update to Our Text Editor for Websites and E-Newsletters
We have upgraded the text editor that is used to manage content in your e-newsletters and websites. The new updates bring support for Chrome, improved handling for content pasted from Microsoft Word, additional features for embedding Flash, and improved handing for external links. More information will be available on our blog after the release so stay tuned!
RSS Feeds Filtered by Attribute
On a news section, you can enable an RSS Feed. Previously, if you filtered by Content Category, the RSS Feed would still pull all articles. Now, you can create an RSS Feed that is specific to that Attribute. This could be used for things like creating an issue-specific tab of news on your Facebook page.
Data Downloads from House Websites
Although this feature has been available since our server upgrade earlier this year, as a reminder you can now download survey responses (in .csv format) from the House website version of Constituent Gateway.
A Change to the “Trouble” Text on E-Newsletters
We are always looking for new ways to keep our throughput up, minimizing soft bounces that you receive. One change that you will notice in this release is that the text on the top of e-newsletters has changed. The “trouble” text will now read “If you are having trouble viewing this message, you can view the message online”. Removing the words “click here” is just one thing we are doing to avoid soft bounces.
We are looking forward to more releases in 2010...stay tuned!-
Manual for 3.2 Features ( 06/15/10 02:33 PM PST )
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