How Email Marketing is Transforming Tennessee’s Division of Underground Storage Tanks

Posted on Monday, September 30th, 2024 | Sara Kenney

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Division of Underground Storage Tanks is to protect human health and the environment by preventing future petroleum underground storage tank (UST) releases and remediating existing petroleum UST contamination.

When you think about email marketing, you probably think about the private sector, but utilizing it in government agencies is a great way to encourage civic engagement and guide readers towards beneficial resources. Abdul Kayum outlined the benefits of email marketing in an article written for LinkedIn: “The main purpose of marketing is to provide value to the audience. So that the audience is attracted and connected, email marketing can be said to be the best way to do all this because you can easily deliver emails to all your audience through email and attract their attention by constantly offering mind-blowing emails to them.”

TDEC created a small team whose primary focus is creating helpful information and providing outreach to the UST community. The team decided a better way to educate our owners and operators about their USTs and preventing releases was through email marketing. For example, we used email marketing to promote a training webinar series about our new UST rules and regulations. Our newsletter “Tennessee Tank Talk” was first released in August 2020. The monthly newsletter contains Division updates, information on UST rule changes, and general helpful information about improving UST compliance rates. Newsletters are emailed to 17,000 UST stakeholders inside and outside of Tennessee each month. Each edition of our newsletter focuses on specific topics like state fund eligibility, new overfill testing requirements, yearly violation recaps, and tips and tricks for compliance inspections. The newsletter also includes information and links to current rules and regulations, form letters, and other valuable information on our Division’s website. Readers can also reply to the newsletter and direct their questions or concerns to a specific contact. The emails ensure that owners and operators have all the necessary and relevant information at their fingertips.

Since its inception more than three and a half years ago, TDEC has sent out 28 editions of Tennessee Tank Talk. A recent Tank Talk focused on the top UST violations of 2023. It also included information on UST testing requirements, record-keeping requirements, and fines associated with these violations. Doing this provided tank owners and operators with more information to help them obtain and maintain compliance.

The email marketing software that TDEC uses provides metrics for email open and click rates. This data helps refine communication strategies for greater marketing effectiveness. Tank Talk has been popular, exceeding expected government email marketing metrics in nearly every issue since inception. The table below shows the 28^th edition’s open and click rates email analytics for within and outside of Tennessee:

Since starting the newsletter, TDEC has had fantastic feedback from our owners and operators. They love the simplicity of getting Division updates and information relevant to their UST systems. From the beginning, I have always said that this newsletter is valuable — even if only one person takes something from it, we have achieved a goal. 

Utilizing email marketing allows for quick distribution of information to a large audience at a nominal expense. It can also help motivate readers to react and better respond to the latest news and updates. I highly recommend and encourage other agencies to start their own outreach program, as it is an efficient way to get information to the public. By highlighting proper UST management, you will hopefully inspire the readers to take the necessary steps to protect the environment and public health.

To read more about all of our Tank Talk editions and Division updates, visit our Division’s website.