The UF Advancement Digital Communications team oversees email production and scheduling across fundraising, alumni and special event programs. With approximately 20 million sends per year, email is a critical component in reaching the Gator Nation®, supporting the university’s growth and reputation, and conveying the UF brand.
To uphold best practices, coordinate timing and comply with UF Foundation policy, alumni- and fundraising-oriented emails sent to more than 25 recipients are expected to route through UF Advancement Digital Communications. Email addresses of alumni and donors are considered confidential and can only be used via UF Advancement servers.
Please contact Monica Vosilla, director of digital communications, or Tonya Gibbs, digital communications manager, with any questions or for more information on email marketing.
Email Marketing Components
Planning
While the average time spent reading an email, is approximately 10 seconds (Statista, 2021) planning and executing can take several weeks. Consider what you want to achieve and how you’ll gauge success.
Development & Design
Emails blend the creativity of graphic design with the technical expertise of programming. Learn more about best practices and preview our templates, or wireframes, for a starting point to visualize content.
Testing & Optimization
UF Advancement supports quality assurance on email requests. Our emails are tested prior to deployment for readability, spam filtration, device optimization, and accessibility through Litmus, the industry standard in digital proofing and testing.
Deployment, Reporting & Analysis
UF Advancement uses Salesforce Marketing Cloud for email development and deployment. This system allows for responsive design, robust programming and data integration. Additional tracking is added to further assess deliverability and engagement.
Timeline
While the average time spent reading a email is approximately 10 seconds (Statista, 2021), planning and executing an email can take several weeks. Please consider the following timeline as it encompasses the entire process from request to materials to review and approval.
The recommended timeline from the day you request an email to sending is seven weekdays. We recommend that project sponsors begin preparations at least two weeks in advance as the current timeline is contingent upon all materials — content, graphics, links — being finalized. We also strongly encourage project sponsors to refer to the communications calendar in case the preferred send date has high email volume.
Email campaigns requiring assets from UF Advancement Creative Services, segmentation, A/B testing and multiple sends typically require 10 or more weekdays. Please contact Monica Vosilla if your request includes any special considerations.
Timeline:
| Day(s) | Task(s) |
|---|---|
| 7 | Email request submitted to Quickbase project queue, www.uff.ufl.edu/commproject, for review by Digital Communications. |
| 5 | Project approved and assigned; notification email sent to sponsor with link to access project. |
| 4-3 | UF Advancement Digital Communications team builds email with the materials provided; email is tested via Litmus platform and sent to Digital Communications leadership for review; project sponsor receives a Litmus proof in their UF inbox for review. |
| 2-1 | Sponsor provides feedback for a revision and/or approves email via Litmus; project sponsor adds Ascend campaign ID to QB ticket; suppression list(s) must be uploaded by 3pm day prior of send for AM scheduling or 10am day-of send for PM scheduling. |
| 0 | Approved email is scheduled for send; project sponsor will receive a confirmation email with the scheduled send time. |
Requesting Email Marketing
Email requests are handled through Quickbase, a project management system. With just a few steps, your project proposal will be in queue:
- Access the project proposal form – www.uff.ufl.edu/commproject
- Complete the project proposal form
- Add one or more email marketing requests
- Complete the request details
- Your request will be reviewed, approved and assigned within 1-2 days.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Submitting Data
❗ Effective with all emails sent after March 18, 2024, email data MUST come from the Ascend CRM. The Digital Engagement team will not be able to accept data from external sources.
This step is the responsibility of the project sponsor. The UFA digital communications team does not request data.
Data for all email sends are handled via cases in the Ascend CRM. Please refer to this wiki article (on UFA Hub) on how to request a case. The standard turnaround time is two weeks. Please note that only UF Advancement employees can request cases.
Email Roles & Responsibilities
Email production is a collaborative process between the project sponsor and UFA digital communications team. Please refer to this table for clarification on roles and responsibilities to successfully complete your email marketing request(s).
| Task | Project Sponsor | Digital Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Submit email request to project management system. | X | |
| Accept and assign request pending the UFA communications calendar and information provided. Notify project sponsor of intake or clarify incomplete or rush requests. | X | |
| Secure finalized copy, graphics, links, sender name and email address. Enter in the project management system. | X | |
| Build email using best practices and digital expertise in Salesforce Marketing Cloud once all assets are received via the project management system. | X | |
| Test and optimize email for multiple platforms and email service providers. | X | |
| Review and approve email via Litmus. | X | |
| Add tracking links for more comprehensive metrics. | X | |
| Schedule and send approved email to designated recipient and seed lists. | X | |
| Provide email metrics monthly to project sponsors via shared drive. | X |
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