FirstGov.gov Launches First All-Spanish Version of GovDelivery

Español.gov, the Spanish version of FirstGov.gov (the U.S. government’s official web portal) announced the launch of the first all-Spanish version of GovDelivery.  Together, Español.gov and FirstGov.gov offer updates on 50 specific topics ranging from Hurricane Katrina Recovery to Public Service and Volunteerism to U.S. Military Personnel and Veterans. 

"Providing citizens with the most up-to-date information available on Español.gov is a continuing step in keeping the Administration’s promise to enhance citizen access to government information,” said M.J. Pizzella, Associate Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services and Communications.

Click here to view the releases on Español.gov and FirstGov.gov.

GOVDELIVERY SUCCESS STORY: United States Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sent more than 10 million e-mails to 80,000+ subscribers since launching GovDelivery a year and a half ago.  GovDelivery makes it easy for DOL to keep citizens up-to-date on the 125 different topics on an ongoing basis. The department has also been able to leverage the subscriber lists it has in place to communicate with citizens about critical events.  For example, during Hurricane Katrina and the West Virginia Sago mining accident, DOL used GovDelivery to send out hundreds of thousands of e-mails to keep citizens informed about recovery efforts. 

Not only has the DOL improved communication with the public using e-mail updates, it has also improved communication within its own agency and regional offices across the country.  Recently, it launched GovDelivery on its Intranet to keep employees up-to-date on topics such as training opportunities and employee rights, compensation, and benefits.

Since launching GovDelivery only a year and a half ago, DOL has:

• Sent more than 10 million e-mails to 80,000+ subscribers.
• Deployed GovDelivery in less than 15 days.
• Achieved an average of 13 subscriptions per subscriber.
• Implemented GovDelivery on its Intranet.
• Offered 125 specific subscription items including:
• Proposed Legislation
• The Labor Advocate
• Audio News Releases
• Opinion Letters
• Faith-Based Initiatives
• Women's Bureau Publications

View a detailed case study on the U.S. Department of Labor.

QUARTERLY TIP :
Making Sure E-mail Gets Through

Every day, e-mail deliverability is becoming exponentially more challenging as the ever-growing amount of unsolicited mail continues to flood inboxes.  ISPs, such as AOL, Yahoo!, and Hotmail, and company e-mail servers are combating the onslaught of unwanted mail by developing increasingly sophisticated methods of weeding out the “good” mail from the “bad.”  

Fortunately, as a legitimate e-mail sender, there are steps that you can take to make sure e-mails reach your intended audience.  Below are some helpful tips to remember when sending e-mail.

How to Make Sure Your E-mail is Delivered:

Get Whitelisted and Monitor Blacklists

Major ISPs maintain whitelists, a list of all valid and accepted e-mail addresses, which allows e-mail to be delivered even if spam filters are in place.  Senders can apply for whitelist status with ISPs and should frequently monitor lists to make sure they remain in good standing. 

Conversely, a blacklist is an explicit list of senders from whom e-mail will not be accepted or delivered.  Occasionally, legitimate e-mail senders are placed on blacklists.  Getting removed from such a list simply requires monitoring the lists to see if you’ve been placed on one and applying to the list holder for removal.

Keep E-mail Lists Clean

People change e-mail addresses frequently making it a certainty that today’s clean e-mail list will contain bad addresses by tomorrow.  To minimize the negative impact of undeliverable addresses, all invalidaddresses should be removed from a list before e-mails go out.  Most ISPs are very sophisticated about tracking failed delivery attempts and will blacklist a sender if they send too many undeliverable e-mails.

Full article

Scott Burns and Zach Stabenow co-founded GovDelivery, Inc., with the idea that they could help government communicate more effectively with citizens.  The company’s flagship product, GovDelivery e-mail subscription management, took root in St. Paul, MN.  Five years later its use has spread to all levels of government in the U.S. and the U.K.  Scott consults with many federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and State, to help them use e-mail to communicate more effectively with citizens.

The Minneapolis and St. Paul business community recently recognized Scott with an Emerging Leader award.  He is featured in the March issue of Twin Cities Business and is quoted as being a “passionate citizen and entrepreneur.”

Scott resides in St. Paul, MN with his wife, Sarah.  When he's not at GovDelivery or on the road visiting clients, he enjoys camping, skiing and mountain biking. 

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