1. Extension: Lyris Implementation April 17, 2009 Sarah Bjorkman

2. About Extension Extension established in 1909 More than 700 employees 18 regional offices and local educators in most counties of the state Programs focus on Community, the Environment, Family, Food and Agriculture, and Youth (4-H) In 2008: Nearly 700,000 Minnesotans served through 18,000 educational events; 5.9 Million web visitors, 59,000,000 page views

3. Current Uses of Lyris Internal (employee) newsletter distribution Retiree newsletter Internal announcements/campaigns

4. Internal Newsletter ► weekly ► no opt out ► link to online

5. Retiree Newsletter ► quarterly ► updates/donor

6. Internal Announcements

7. Lyris Results (Example: internal newsletter)

8. Unique opens (avg.): 37% Unique clickthroughs (avg.): 23% Page views of online version of newsletter: –41,745 in 2008 –17,925 in 2007

9. How are we using the results? (for internal newsletter) Helps to inform or emphasize: Viability of newsletter Content topics of greatest interest How employees want to receive information Delivery: rate of success

10. Extension-wide Lyris Implementation Predominant issues/barriers –Decentralized vs. centralized support model –Employees with non-Extension soft/hardware –Mailing list maintenance –University branding policies

11. Current Requests for Lyris Ask units to get clear on: –Content provider(s) –Mailing list (organize) –Cost/benefit analysis (adequate support?) –Distribution process If they need the tool “now”, we recommend that they look into paying for non-University mass e-mail tools

12. In progress… Electronic newsletter standards Internal communications process Extension identity and branding policies Core competencies and training: writing for web, e-mail, newsletter, basic design, etc. Employee site content review

13. Electronic Newsletter Standards Key elements of electronic newsletters: identify target audience, establish objectives, consider costs Format: advantages and disadvantages (plain text, HTML, web) Layout and design (including identity and graphic treatment) Content and writing standards (what info to include and how to write it) Distribution and required statements Evaluation

14. Thanks Questions?