What you need to know about emailing division members

No doubt an email address is one of the most important pieces of information we all have from our members, making it possible for us to communicate quickly, easily and inexpensively. While we all want to receive relevant emails, we recognize the need to protect members’ emails against volume and privacy concerns. In this article, we will share some important points about how divisions can use member emails with confidence.

Access to email addresses

Division leaders can access emails and other contact information for their members who belong to APA and any division affiliate (non-APA) members maintained in the APA database. Here are some key rules to keep in mind:

• Can only be used for division-related business, such as looking for members to serve as committee chairs for the division, inviting members to apply for fellow status and sending out a division bylaws vote.
• For one-time use.
• May not be given or resold to another user without the permission of the APA CEO or their designee.
• May not be used for questionnaires, surveys, data gathering or other research purposes. Divisions are free, however, to survey their own members concerning division-related business. 

If your division has a memorandum of understanding with the Division Engagement Office (DEO) for membership processing (i.e., if included in this list), then your division presidential trio, treasurer, secretary, membership chair, listserv administrator, and executive director/administrative officer can get an Excel file of your members in all categories of membership and their data, including email addresses, through the Division Leadership Data Portal (contact your division engagement liaison if you have questions).

If your division does not have a memorandum of understanding with the DEO for membership services, you can get an Excel file of your members, associates and fellows, including Life Status through the Division Leadership Data Portal. For any other categories of membership, your division’s administrative office (outside of APA) will be able to provide the names and email addresses.

You should not include email addresses for your division members who have asked to be unsubscribed to emails (do not include those who have “stop email” of true) unless being used for delivery of membership benefits such as publications, voting, etc.

Security of member data

Because of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, APA is, like many U.S. organizations and companies, reinforcing its data security protocols. Here are some important considerations regarding data safety when collecting data and when emailing:

• Always identify the purpose for which the data is being collected and used when collecting data from individuals (division officers, members or the public). Be sure to only use the data for those purposes and let the individuals know they can withdraw their consent for their data to continue being used in the future at any time.
• Make sure you have protocols in place in case an individual asks you to suppress or delete their data to abide by their request.
• If contacted by anyone about how you are using their data or with concerns that they believe their data was mishandled, contact Division Engagement and/or the Office of General Counsel immediately.
• Don’t email spreadsheets of member information. If you must share this information, use a file sharing service like Dropbox or Google Docs and send a link to a password protected document.
• When transferring information to persons rotating into leadership roles, be mindful of password security.
• Encrypt data that you share if possible. DEO is using Proofpoint encryption whenever sending member data to others.
• Do not store member data or personal information on work computers, university computers or other systems that you cannot control.
• Once you no longer have a use for the data, please delete it.

What the law says

There are laws and regulations in the U.S. about sending emails, and if you are promoting or advertising a commercial product or service through electronic communication, you must comply with the law or face penalties. The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them and spells out tough penalties for violations. While many of our messages may not be considered commercial, so that we are not marked as spammers, it is best to follow these rules. As everyone has the chance to opt out of emails during the membership process, we can assume that if we have an email, then the person has agreed to receive our emails.

Here’s a summary of the main CAN-SPAM requirements:

• Don’t use false or misleading header information.
• Don’t use deceptive subject lines.
• Identify your message as an ad, unless everyone has agreed to receive your emails.
• Tell recipients where you’re located.
• Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future emails.
• Honor opt-out requests promptly.
• Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.

Does your division consider each of these with every email that is sent? Find more information about the CAN-SPAM Act on this websiteopens in new window. 

How to send emails

You can send mass emails for free using your own email provider. There are also free services such as MailChimp. Association management software such as MemberClicks and Wild Apricot offer integrated email. Paid services such as Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor offer various features at different rates. Each has its pluses and minuses, so you will want to do some research to find out which may be right for you.

You can request a Listserv through APA as a way of managing an electronic mailing list for your members. See Appendix VII in our Division Officers Handbook for more information, and see which division Listservs exist via the APA Listserv websiteopens in new window. (Most Listserv names begin with DIV and then the division number.) There is no charge for a Listserv through APA. 

If you have any questions, please contact your division engagement liaison.