Introduction
The Group Administrator Bulk Email Tool is a way for group administrators to communicate with their group members. There are a broad range of applications for this tool, and here we will discuss a few of the ways administrators commonly use it.
For a detailed look at how to use this tool and important guidelines to follow, take a look at our Using the Admin - Bulk Email Tool article. The most important rule to follow with this is to respect the privacy of group members, especially their personal contact information.
Review Process
All bulk emails are submitted to the Group Projects Team for review before they are sent. If the Group Projects Team finds any issues with an email, a member of the team will contact you with an explanation of what needs to be corrected and resubmitted.
The Group Projects Team cannot edit bulk emails, nor do they review email content for punctuation/grammar, genealogical references, or the accuracy of genealogical or genetic conclusions or assertions. This includes whether or not an analysis of a particular SNP or haplogroup is correct, etc.
The team only reviews emails to verify that all Group Project Administrator Terms & Policies are being followed, that references to FamilyTreeDNA products, policies, and procedures are accurate, and that no links to competitor sites are included.
Contact Information
It is important to note that bulk emails are sent via our internal email distribution system. That means that any replies directly to the email do not go to the email you list under your contact information, but instead go to our Help Desk and are automatically closed.
It is good practice to include your email address in your signature line, and to add a note to remind members to reply to that email. This way important communication with your members is not lost. See our Using the Admin - Bulk Email Tool article for further details.
Promoting Third-Party Services
Many genealogists are members of local, regional, or national genealogical societies, and these societies often host Zoom meetings, workshops, family reunions, etc. We encourage the use of the Bulk Email tool to support non-profit organizations and events.
We also understand that genetic genealogists use a wide variety of products and services outside of FamilyTreeDNA. This is fine, and we know there are powerful tools out there to help you further your research.
However, we do not allow the promotion of third-party products or services through our bulk email server system. If you wish to promote such services through other channels, this is your choice and is not a violation of our Administrator Terms & Policies; we simply do not encourage promotion of them through our servers.
Protecting Member Privacy
Project members of most projects will probably be matches to some, if not all, of their fellow project members. However, they are not necessarily matches to all of each other, so care must be taken when communicating about project members or their results.
As a project administrator, you have access to the full names and other contact information of your project members. While group members have granted you permission to see this information, they have not granted the same permission to other group members.
Please do not include the full names or other personally identifying information in your bulk emails. We know that breaking through brick walls is exciting, but please keep the privacy of your members in mind when communicating these breakthroughs.
In some cases, a project member may wish to send out their contact information to the rest of the group. This is usually a call for genealogical help on a research hurdle. This is fine as long as you have their explicit, written permission to do so. Please have the project member send a copy of this permission directly to us through our contact form.
Common Topics for Bulk Emails
Research
Bulk emails can be used to announce new findings to project members. This can include research breakthroughs made through testing, analysis of new or existing genetic data, or resources such as articles or newsletters that may be of interest. When discussing
Members’ test results, be careful not to include personally identifying information such as name or email address without explicit written permission from the group member, and not to combine kit numbers with full names. If it is not visible on the Group Project’s public pages, please do not include it in a bulk email.
In other words, you can announce that results for a certain kit number have come in, or that test results have confirmed or helped determine ancestral connections, but you must refer to that data by subgroup or kit number only.
Promoting Further Testing
Many group administrators encourage group members to purchase additional testing such as the Big Y-700 to help further research goals. FamilyTreeDNA offers periodic sales, and this is a great time to encourage testing. As testing can be expensive, it is also an opportunity to promote the Group General Fund option if you so choose. You may ask for donations from project members to help fund testing.
While it is perfectly acceptable to promote testing with FamilyTreeDNA, we do not allow administrators to promote testing from third party companies using the Bulk Email tool. We understand that some people test at other companies, which is every customer’s prerogative, we just prefer not to promote those companies using FamilyTreeDNA resources.
Educational opportunities
Many group projects are affiliated with genealogical and historical societies, and you are free to advertise non-profit organizations such as these to your project members. In addition you can use this tool to advertise webinars, family gatherings, conferences, workshops, and other opportunities for project members to get together and collaborate or learn. It is fine if these events require a fee, so long as they are not for profit.
Welcoming New Administrators and Members
You can create a template welcome email with the Welcome Email tool, but you may also wish to use the bulk email tool to send a more personalized greeting. When new administrators or co-administrators are added to the project, an automated email is sent to members as well, but the new administrator may wish to introduce themselves on a more personal level, and this tool is a great way to do that.