Creating Custom Targets

The Custom Targets tool allows you to have your users contact officials who are not tracked or provided by VoterVoice. Note - This tool is not to be used for elected legislators. If you want to send messages to legislators who are not included in your VoterVoice package, please contact your account manager about adding the appropriate governmental bodies.

Mouse over the Advocacy menu and choose the option for Campaigns. On the Campaigns page, select the tab for Custom Targets. You will come to a page where you see your existing groups of custom targets as well as the ability to add new ones.

There are four key elements to consider on this page:

• Appropriate Targets
• Target Groups
• Individual Custom Targets
• The Users’ View

Appropriate Targets

The custom targets tool is meant specifically for non-elected American public officials, those whom VoterVoice does not track or already provide in the Targets page of the campaign editor. It is often used to allow your supporters to contact people like the heads of state-level agencies, state-level regulatory boards, and state-level boards of commissioners.

These types of officials often do not have any legal obligation to hear from the populace on issues they handle, so we suggest that (prior to setting them up) you contact their offices to let them know that you want to have your members contact them and ask for the best email address(es) for that purpose.

Since VoterVoice does not provide these contact methods, we cannot guarantee that they will always work. If you have a typo in the email address, we will try to help; and we will resend any failed emails. If the custom target blocks your communications, it is up to you to ask them to allow the messages to go through.

On occasion, you may want to have your members submit comments to an online contact form (often in the case of contacting businesses). This requires a programmer to set up, so it generally does come with a custom work fee. In this case, create the target as shown below and contact your VoterVoice account manager for details regarding the custom sync.

Target Groups

Before you add any individual custom targets, you will need to create a group for that target to go in (even if you are only entering a single target). Just click on the “new group” icon, and you will see a pop-up where you can enter the name of the group. Your users will see this group name before entering their physical addresses, and you will need to select the appropriate group on the Targets page of the campaign editor. The department, board, or company that the individuals work for is usually the best name for the group.

Individual Custom Targets

Within the group you have created, click the option to add a “new target.” You will see a pop-up with a series of informational fields.

You must enter at least the first name, last name, title, and email address of the person you want to target. You can enter additional information if you like, but the target is only available for email campaigns; so this is all that is required. When you are done, click save. You can add as many additional targets in a group as you wish. Your supporters will send one email to each of them.

If you enter the email of an elected official VoterVoice provides in our software, the system will stop you from saving it. You will see a notice to contact Support if you have questions about why those individuals are not permitted to be custom targets.

The Users’ View

When a user first comes to the campaign page, if they are not remembered, they will see the group name prior to entering their physical address.

Once the user enters their physical address, they will see the individual targets you created under the list of recipients. The targets will be listed as [title] [first name] [last name]; so in the example shown above, the user will see the recipient as “Former Secretary Condoleezza Rice.”

In the letter the user sends to the target, the target is addressed automatically as [title] [last name]; so in the example above, the letter will be addressed to “Former Secretary Rice” This is set and cannot be changed by manually editing the information in the salutation.