Phonecoop: Raise cash for your initiative
By Ben Brangwyn 23rd April 2010
All UK Transition Initiatives can now generate valuable ongoing income through an affinity Partnership with The Phone Co-op
The Phone Co-op and Transition Network have been working together to establish an innovative web-based affinity partnership which Transition Initiatives can use to create a long-term sustainable income. This partnership has been developed in consultation with existing Transition Initiatives and is endorsed 100% by Transition Network.
By participating in this affinity scheme and encouraging people to sign up with The Phone Co-op, your Transition Initiative will receive into its bank account 6% of the value of each new subscriber’s monthly phone and broadband spend (approx £18 per person per year). This percentage is paid for as long as that person stays with The Phone Co-op – and their customer retention rates are well above average.
Why The Phone Co-op?
The Phone Co-op is the only real option for anyone seeking a more ethical and environmentally responsible supplier of telephone calls, broadband and line rental.
Owned and democratically controlled by customers, The Phone Co-op is focussed on giving good value, excellent service and a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable approach to business. Additionally, The Phone Co-op is offering all new affinity customers £10 off their first bill.
Setting up an affinity scheme with The Phone Co-op is easy
- Your Transition Initiative signs an agreement with The Phone Co-op – just download, complete and send in the very simple one page affinity partner application form
- The Phone Co-op creates a unique landing page on their website for your initiative – see this example: www.thephone.coop/transitionnetwork
- Your initiative puts a special affinity banner on the home page of your website which says “Support your transition initiative by signing up with The Phone Co-op” – see example above
- When someone clicks on the affiliate banner on your website they get taken to your unique landing page on The Phone Co-op website. They can sign up straightaway and, from that point, you’ll be getting income equal to 6% of their monthly bill.
How you can promote the Phone Coop affinity scheme
- Website: place the affinity banner on your homepage.
- Email content: when you send your members an email, include a section about how the scheme can provide some income to your initiative and provide a link to your unique landing page on The Phone Co-op website.
- Email footers: add a footer to your Transition related emails saying, “support Transition XYZ by signing up with The Phone Co-op” with a link to your unique landing page.
- Email and word of mouth: ensure you’re giving a few regular gentle nudges to encourage people to support the scheme and sign up.
Ready to sign up to the affinity partnership or have some questions?
- Your initiative will get income even if you sign up only one person, but given the set-up effort involved (for both your initiative and The Phone Co-op), it only makes sense to embark on this if you think you’ll be able to get 10 or more new people to sign up.
- To sign up your Transition Initiative for the scheme, contact Alasdair Inglis by email on alasdair.inglis@phonecoop.coop. Ensure that you email him your completed one page affinity partner application form. The Phone Co-op will set up the scheme for you and give you a link to put behind your affinity banner that’ll send potential subscribers to your signup page on The Phone Co-op website.
- If your Transition Initiative does not want to set up its own affinity partnership, you can still support Transition Network on a national level. Do this by promoting the affinity scheme to your own Transition Initiative as noted above, making Transition Network the beneficiary. To direct the cash to Transition Network, simply:
– use the link www.thephone.coop/transitionnetwork
– use the Transition Network affinity banner if you need a graphic
– make sure you quote ‘Transition Network’ and the code ‘AF0456’ when you promote the scheme
– just for clarification, you don’t need to fill in the form noted above
That’s it. Thanks for spending conscientiously and wisely, and promoting an organisation that has values much more akin to Transition that the usual suspects.