Brain dump on email octopus + emails

docs/marketing/checklist.md

@@ -33,14 +33,22 @@ nav_order: 2
 
 ## Mailing List Email
 
-- [ ] Update template to use current year's branding
 - [ ] CFP and Opportunity Grants Open
-- [ ] Registration Open
+- [ ] Registration Open & Early Bird Sales
+- [ ] Early Bird Closing
+
+
+### Email Octopus 
+
+- [ ] Copy over email addresses from ti.to to Email Octopus with appropriate tags
+- [ ] Update [Email Octopus template](https://dashboard.emailoctopus.com/brand/templates?filters=eyJsYXN0S2V5IjpudWxsLCJwYWdlIjoxLCJwYWdpbmF0aW9uRGlyZWN0aW9uIjoiZm9yd2FyZCIsInNvcnRCeSI6Imxhc3QtdXBkYXRlZC1hdCIsIm9yZGVyIjoiZGVzYyIsInNlYXJjaEhhc2giOm51bGx9) to use current year's branding
+- [ ] Update [Brand information](https://dashboard.emailoctopus.com/brand/information) with current years' URL 
+- [ ] Update [Brand Style](https://dashboard.emailoctopus.com/brand/style)
 
 ## Attendee Emails
 
-- [ ] 1 month prior to conference
-- [ ] 1 week prior to conference
+- [ ] Announcing Keynotes: 1 month prior to conference
+- [ ] Welcome Email: 1 week prior to conference
 
 ## Social Media
 
@@ -56,5 +64,4 @@ Update all social media with new branding and dates each year
 
 ## Other
 
-- [ ] Post about each blog post on social media as it happens
-- [ ] Use
+- [ ] Post about each blog post on social media as it happens

docs/marketing/communications.md

@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ For standard announcements (CFP open, tickets on sale, keynote announcements), w
 - [Pablo](https://pablo.buffer.com/) for adding text and logos to images
 - [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/144080672@N05) for photos of past DjangoCon US's
 - [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/) for free "generic" photos
-- [Mailchimp](https://mailchimp.com/) for mailing lists; ask to be added to our group
 - [Buffer](https://buffer.com) for scheduling social media posts
 - [Awesome acceptance letter](https://bridgetkromhout.com/blog/2016/04/06/tl-dr-your-talk-is-accepted/)
 - [Happiness Packets](https://github.com/erikr/happinesspackets/)

docs/marketing/email.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+---
+layout: page
+title: Email
+parent: Marketing
+nav_order: 1
+---
+
+Emailing attendees and potential attendees has multiple important parts to be aware of. There are a few different tools we use, each suited to a different purpose — don't mix and match them (e.g. don't use Email Octopus for transactional ticket info, or Ti.to for cold marketing outreach).
+
+**Need access to any of these tools?** Get in touch with someone at DEFNA.
+
+## Ti.to
+
+Good for emailing ticketholders and prior-year ticketholders — easy to segment by ticket type. Supports Markdown for formatting. Email addresses can be manually excluded or included as needed.
+
+**Use it for:**
+- Welcome emails
+- Reminders to assign tickets
+
+## Pretalx
+
+Good for emailing speakers, CFP applicants, and anyone in the talk-submission pipeline.
+
+**Use it for:**
+- CFP acceptance/rejection notifications
+- Speaker logistics (AV needs, scheduling, travel info)
+- Reminders for speaker deadlines (slides, bios, headshots)
+- General speaker communications leading up to the event
+
+## Email Octopus
+
+Ideally for email marketing only. Think: cold email outreach, announcements, promotions, newsletters, etc.
+
+There are laws around email marketing specifically — please read up on them before sending a campaign:
+
+- [CAN-SPAM Best Practices for Email Marketing](https://help.myemma.com/s/article/How-Can-Spam-affects-your-email-marketing)
+- [CAN-SPAM Act and how it affects your campaigns](https://knowledgebase.constantcontact.com/email-digital-marketing/articles/KnowledgeBase/5825-CAN-SPAM-Act-and-how-it-affects-your-campaigns?lang=en_US)
+
+If we have subscribers or attendees outside the US, also be aware of:
+- **CASL** (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) — stricter consent requirements than CAN-SPAM
+- **GDPR** (EU) — if we have any EU-based contacts, this affects consent, data storage, and the right to be forgotten
+
+When in doubt, don't email someone who hasn't opted in, and make unsubscribing easy and immediate.
+
+### Contacts
+
+It's important we keep our email list well organized. Any time emails get imported, add the appropriate tag for **ticket type**, AND for **year**. For example, in-person ticketed attendees of 2026 would get both `[in-person]` and `[ticketed2026]` tags.
+
+Currently, contacts must be copied over from Ti.to via CSV export/import — this is a manual process (not an automated sync), so it's worth budgeting time for it around each ticket-import cycle.
+
+*Previous providers were Sendy and Mailchimp; no longer used.*
+
+### Segments
+
+Dynamic lists based on specific filters and properties, built from the tags above. Some of the ones we currently have are:
+
+- Sent an email in the last 7 days
+- Sent an email in the last 30 days
+- In-person attendees
+
+### Campaigns
+
+A given email can have multiple campaigns — for example, an "Early bird tickets end soon" email can be tailored to specific audiences with their own content and recipients using the tags described above:
+
+- **Online:** `[online]` tag, content tailored to the $99 ticket
+- **IRL:** `[ticketed2025]`, `[ticketed2026]` tags, content tailored to the city itself and IRL events
+
+Don't take this as gospel — take some time to tailor campaigns that will deliver the biggest punch.
+
+## Sending best practices
+
+Regardless of which tool you're using:
+
+- **Test send first.** Send yourself (and ideally one other person) a test before blasting the full list. Check links, images, and how it renders on mobile.
+
+- **Watch your frequency.** Avoid emailing the same segment more than once every few days unless it's time-sensitive (e.g. an early-bird deadline). Over-emailing drives unsubscribes, which is when the segments like `Sent an email in the last 7 days` come in handly, so those emails can be excluded if needed.

docs/marketing/mailing_lists.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ nav_order: 5
 
 # Mailing Lists
 
-The current mailing lists for DjangoCon US are:
+The current mailing lists for DjangoCon US are managed by Google Groups and are as follows:
 
 | Mailing List | Purpose                                                                                                        | Who receives emails addressed to this list?            |
 | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
@@ -16,32 +16,3 @@ The current mailing lists for DjangoCon US are:
 | program@     | List for program committee                                                                                     | Members of the program committee, AV chair             |
 | sponsors@    | List for active and potential sponsors                                                                         | Members of the sponsors team; conference chairs        |
 | visas@       | List for attendees who have questions about international travel or who need visa invitation letters           | Members of the visas team                              |
-
-## Mass Emails
-
-We use [Mailchimp](https://mailchimp.com/) for mass emails to attendees, speakers, and sponsors. Mailchimp has pretty good [docs](https://mailchimp.com/help/) that can help you figure out how to do what you need to do. Common Mailchimp functions:
-
-- Create lists
-- Update people on lists (new ticket purchasers)
-- Create new template
-- Add sponsors to template
-- Create "campaign" (another word for email)
-- Schedule campaign
-
-These are the current lists we use in Mailchimp:
-
-### DjangoCon US Announcements
-
-This is the list we use for anyone who wants notifications about our announcements. It persists from year to year. At the end of a conference, we move all attendees from the current year onto this list so they can continue to receive announcements for the following year.
-
-### DjangoCon US Attendees
-
-We use this list to keep in touch with attendees before and during DjangoCon US. This list is deleted at the end of a conference year.
-
-### DjangoCon US Speakers
-
-This is a private list with all of our speakers (keynotes, talks, and tutorials). This list is deleted at the end of a conference year.
-
-### DjangoCon US Sponsors
-
-This is a private list with all of our sponsors which we use to keep them informed of what's going on. This list is deleted at the end of a conference year.

docs/sponsors/history.md

@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ nav_order: 3
 ---
 
 ## Previous Sponsors Chairs
+
+- Catherine Holmes
+- Nicole Dominguez

docs/swag/history.md

@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ nav_order: 3
 ---
 
 ## Previous Swag Chairs
+
+- Nicole Dominguez
+- Catherine Holmes

docs/website/history.md

@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ nav_order: 3
 ---
 
 ## Previous Website Chairs
+
+- Salim
+- Nicole Dominguez

zensical.toml

@@ -19,17 +19,17 @@ nav = [
   { "Health and Safety" = ["health_and_safety/about.md", "health_and_safety/checklist.md", "health_and_safety/history.md"] },
   { "Lightning Talks" = ["lightning_talks/about.md", "lightning_talks/checklist.md", "lightning_talks/history.md"] },
   { "Logistics" = ["logistics/budget.md", "logistics/design_website_checklist.md", "logistics/logistics.md", "logistics/organizers.md", "logistics/photographer.md", "logistics/post_conference.md", "logistics/timeline.md"] },
-  { "Marketing" = ["marketing/about.md", "marketing/checklist.md", "marketing/history.md", "marketing/communications.md", "marketing/mailing_lists.md", "marketing/remarks.md"] },
+  { "Marketing" = ["marketing/about.md", "marketing/checklist.md", "marketing/history.md", "marketing/communications.md", "marketing/remarks.md"] },
   { "Online Committee" = ["online_committee/about.md", "online_committee/checklist.md", "online_committee/history.md"] },
   { "Opportunity Grants" = ["opportunity_grants/about.md", "opportunity_grants/checklist.md", "opportunity_grants/history.md"] },
   { "Program and Schedule" = ["program_and_schedule/about.md", "program_and_schedule/checklist.md", "program_and_schedule/history.md", "program_and_schedule/example_schedule.md", "program_and_schedule/program.md", "program_and_schedule/timeline.md", "program_and_schedule/schedule.md"] },
   { "Social Events" = ["social_events/about.md", "social_events/checklist.md", "social_events/history.md", "social_events/special_events.md"] },
   { "Sponsors" = ["sponsors/about.md", "sponsors/checklist.md", "sponsors/history.md"] },
-  { "Swag" = ["swag/about.md", "swag/checklist.md", "swag/history.md"] },
+  { "Swag" = ["swag/about.md"] },
   { "Tickets" = ["tickets/about.md", "tickets/checklist.md", "tickets/history.md"] },
   { "Venue" = ["venue/about.md", "venue/checklist.md", "venue/bathroom-baskets.md", "venue/experience.md", "venue/history.md"] },
   { "Volunteer Team" = ["volunteer_team/about.md", "volunteer_team/checklist.md", "volunteer_team/handbook.md", "volunteer_team/session_emcee.md", "volunteer_team/session_manager.md", "volunteer_team/registration.md", "volunteer_team/email_templates.md", "volunteer_team/blog_template.md", "volunteer_team/automation.md", "volunteer_team/history.md"] },
-  { "Website" = ["website/about.md", "website/checklist.md", "website/history.md"] },
+  { "Website" = ["website/about.md", "website/checklist.md"] },
 ]
 
 [project.theme]