I'm subscribing to newsletters from 2021 NYC City Council candidates and I gotta admit I'm kind of shocked at how hard some of these websites make it to find and subscribe to a newsletter/email updates.

I've always tended to use a subscribe form as a pop-up on candidate websites; some folks have donate pop-ups which I get as it still harvests an email address (though if someone it's going to donate you lose that information). But not everyone is even doing that.

For example, a not-insignificant number of these candidates don't have a pop-up at all, and you have to either click that you want to volunteer (which I don't, yet, at the moment I just want to be on your email list to learn more about you), or scroll around on their home page...

...till you find a field to fill in. Others have chosen some odd fields to require - I've tended to just go with email address and zip code, or just email address, because the more information you require the fewer sign-ups you get.

Right now, I'm on a candidate website of a candidate who's facing at least one heavy-hitter, yet there is *nowhere* on this site, that I can find, to sign up to an email list. Not gonna name and shame, but WOW.

(In fact, the only candidate I'm going call out on email signups is @KeithPowersNYC. Whoever thought of his strategy is a genius and I will be cribbing it from now on. What is his strategy? You don't just get a "sign up for updates" pop-up...

...you get a whole damn SURVEY. This might be the first time I've seen something this extensive on a website and it's so SMART. 100% stealing for future campaigns, Keith. Also, whoever on your team thought of this deserves a raise.)

OH and major kudos/thanks to @aaronnarraph for his incredible city council candidate spreadsheet, which you can find here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1voaVJFTZD2XZgLgucTh879QAKzG3ZBnSp8ahO3sOXb8/edit?usp=sharing

AHHHHHHHHHH just found one with *no way to sign up* other than a donate form. The contact info is literally the email address and a phone number typed in/not hyperlinked. I cannot imagine this is effective.

(I'm also surprised by how many candidates don't have a website. How are you running for office in 2020 and you don't have a website? You can hire me, I'll make you a website.)

And just in case folks think I'm only being nitpicky - I am also seeing some really great websites where folks have obviously given them a ton of thought. And WOW some of these logos are *hot*.

Candidates, please don't force folks to sign up on your volunteer email form then ALSO require them to check off ways to volunteer (without a "keep me updated" option, which one candidate did have).

Also why do I have to enter my email in two required fields?

YIKES. Just got a "your connection is not private" warning from a candidate's website. While there are plenty of times this happens for innocuous reasons, definitely not a good look. Am going to see if I can contact them to let them know.

Good news! Reached out to the candidate and it turns out they have a different URL. Hurrah!

Dear incumbents, you cannot just have social media and not have your own website. That's not okay. Sigh.

Oh no. This candidate has a link right at the top of their site, which is great, but all three fields are giving me a "please enter a valid email address" field. Candidate just lost folks' name and phone number - and their email, if they decide not to fudge by using it for all 3.

Found another website having an API issue with its email signup form. Wondering if this candidate and the others I've seen with similar issues used either the same website designer, or the same template. No good either way.

...plus this candidate has a link to a twitter account that doesn't exist, so no way to flag for them to fix. :(

You will not grow your email list if you're running for city council but your URL leads to a password-protected site. I'm sorry that's just how it works. :(

I think my heart just broke. I got so excited because a candidate's site had a big SUBSCRIBE button, above the fold. But when I clicked it the link wasn't live, and when I clicked "Get Involved" it said coming soon.

So, a moment of real talk about why this is so important. An email address is one of the best ways a candidate has to keep folks in the loop on their work. Social media is great (and VERY necessary), but you're relying on the algorithm to put you in front of supporters.

Once you have someone's email address, you can make sure that they're served important content - donation asks, volunteer requests, news updates, petitions. Make it as easy as possible for folks to opt in.

(I would even go as far as to say that if I have to choose between an immediate donation, or getting someone's email address, I *strongly* prefer the email address. You can send them fundraising emails and invitations with that, whereas not everyone will want to give you $$$.)

Side note/question: can you run as a progressive without your logo being, in some way, on a 45-degree slant?

Oh yikes. I feel bad for whoever's on the back end of the volunteer signup form I just saw (bc the "contact us" button was broken). Instead of going by zip code they ask "neighborhoods," with a short text box rather than a drop-down. 2020 has enough challenges. Use a drop-down.

I'm seeing so many good logos as I page through these and I've made a point of not singling candidates out, but this one from @severinoforD32 is hands down one of my favorites so far.

As long as I'm acknowledging a couple candidates by name, love this one from @althea4theBX, as well:

Oh! Clever feature. @CHarris2021 has a slider that lists the names of folks who sign up to support the campaign, & it ALSO has a tick-box so you can opt out of having your name featured. Great way to make support visible & not invade folks' privacy. Must learn how to do this.

My team & I just finished subscribing to everything, so that's the end of today's email tutorial. And now that I've made you scroll all the way to the bottom (lol), here are some email lists you might enjoy:

1) I like sharing knowledge, esp with grassroots/new candidates, so sometimes I do stuff like this thread but with political professionals, panel discussions, and Zoom calls. Sign up here and you'll get those invites: http://eepurl.com/hhEcor 

2) Are you a reporter? Here's my press list, so I can keep you up to date when interesting, press-related events and breaking news: http://eepurl.com/hhFMhL 

3) Do you like hyperlocal political podcasts? @RadioFreeBR is a podcast about life here in beautiful #BayRidge, Brooklyn, and I'd love to have you on our list so you can hear about what we get up to down here. By far the prettiest of the signup forms: http://eepurl.com/dOolf5 

Coda...one of the candidates I emailed just wrote back to my request to get on their mailing list and said I could add them on social media.

Candidates...don't do this. Please don't do this. Have an email list. Even if it just lives in a spreadsheet, have an email list.