In This Article:

    Letter to the Editor

    In This Article:

      Letter to the Editor

       

      Letters to the editors of local papers can be a powerful way not only to get your message out to diverse communities, but to influence legislative opinion. With the letter to the editor tool in Salsa, you can create a webpage which allows supporters to choose from their local papers, or from media contacts of your choice, to generate and send letters.


      Reporting on letter results is a little different than reporting in our actions/campaign tools.  There will be only a media key used to identify the publication that was targeted with each letter.  Here is a list of Media Keys and Publications that you can use to determine which keys correspond with which publication.


      Step 1: Description and Details


      Reference Name 

      Internal name for this letter (your supporters won't see this).


      Description 

      Enter the description you want your supporters to see on the page, above where they edit/send the letter. For example, this is where you can explain what the letter is for and why it's so important for them to send it.


      Paper Selection Text 

      Enter any special instructions or explanations about the paper selection step. This text will appear below the Description but before the list of papers in the supporter's area.


      Letter Subject 

      Enter the subject line you want the media outlet to see when your supporters' emails/faxes are sent. This is editable by your supporters.


      Letter Salutation 

      Enter the salutation (e.g., "To Whom It May Concern") you want used, if any. Your supporters cannot edit this.


      Letter Content 

      This is where supporters can create/edit the content of the letter. Here, you have several choices. You can either enter the full content of the letter you want your supporters to use (which they will be able to edit), or just enter part of it and let your supporters finish it, or just enter "Please type the body of your letter here" and let your supporters create 100% of the content. It's up to you!


      Request 

      This is where you'll select the fields your supporters will complete before submitting the LTE. Name and address fields are selected by default. We also recommend adding phone and email fields at the least. This is because most media outlets will not print letters unless they can contact the letter-writers and confirm that they wrote the letters.


      Template 

      Select the Templates you want to use for this page.


      Step 2: Add Talking Points


      Add talking point (blue button): 

      Click here to add one or more talking points your supporters can select from. These talking points will be listed next to the letter a supporter is writing/editing. If your supporters want to use any of the talking points, they can just click on the ones they want to add to their letters. This allows you to suggest content but lets your supporters pick and choose how they want to create their letters!


      Edit talking point 

      Enter the text of the talking point. If you have multiple talking points and want them to appear in a specific order, select an "Order" number for each one. Higher numbers will appear lower on the list of talking points.


      Step 3: Follow-Up


      Redirect path 

      Enter a full URL (starting with http://) if you want supporters to be brought to a certain page on your website after they have submitted the LTE. For example, you might want them to be brought to a donation page, or a tell-a-friend page, etc. This step is optional.


      Thank you page text 

      If you don't enter a URL in the redirect path box, your supporters will be brought to a generic thank-you page after they submit the LTE. This page will use your template and supporters will be able to click on any of the navigation items on the thank-you page to go to another page on your website. Enter the text you want to appear on this thank-you page. (If you enter no text, a generic "thank you" message will appear.) 


      Email Trigger Keys 

      If you have created email auto-responses on your Email Blasts tab, they will appear here. If you select an auto-response, it will be automatically emailed after the Letter to the Editor is submitted.


      Step 4: Options


      Use custom contacts 

      Select this box only if you have created custom recipients that you want to include on the contact list for this LTE. You can createTarget Recipients by going to the "target recipients" link in the navigation bar. Any recipient you create as a "Media Outlet" type will be available if you select this box.


      Recipient KEYS: 

      Select which custom recipients you would like to appear for your contact list by highlighting them from this menu.  You can multi-select menu options by holding down either your Apple or Control key and clicking on multiple options.  To "un-select" an option, use this same technique and make sure the option you wish to remove is no longer highlighted before saving. Note that you cannot use both auto-targeting and custom targets together in this tool. You can only use all custom targets or Salsa's auto-targeting.


      Disallow clickover talking points 

      Select this box if you do not want supporters to be able to add the talking points to their letters by clicking on them. This can be helpful if you want supporters to see the talking points, but want to force them to type them in manually, thereby increasing the likelihood they'll personalize them.


      Allow faxes 

      Select this box if you want your supporters' letters to be sent by fax to media outlets with fax numbers. Please note that you will be charged $0.10/page for these faxes.


      Max no. of faxes 

      Enter the maximum number of faxes you want sent for this LTE (this is very helpful in ensuring there is a maximum cost you will incur for allowing the fax option).


      Letter width 

      Enter a width if you want to customize the size of the box supporters will use to type in their letter.


      Letter height 

      Enter a height if you want to customize the size of the box supporters will use to type in their letter.

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      Comments

      1 comment
      • Is there a way to see the list of the Newspapers that you guys have in your database? Or can you refer us to the database you're using?

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