Email is an important tool for nonprofit organizations, and for good reason: In 2018, nonprofit email marketing earned $45 for each 1,000 emails sent (M+R Benchmarks). Wish to get more out of your email marketing? Start with the following tips for effective nonprofit email campaigns.
1. Educate subscribers about your mission
Email is the proper opportunity to advertise your mission and goals. Even higher, it gives you a probability to show subscribers how their contributions make a positive impact on the things they care about most.
For instance, you possibly can tell subscribers where their donations go. They could be used to feed the hungry, clean polluted lakes, or educate children. You may illustrate how your organization’s staff and volunteers have directly affected those in need. And you possibly can display strong leadership and financial responsibility by detailing what percentage of funds are used to execute your mission.
Use email to foster belief in your mission and trust in your organization, so recent subscribers be ok with contributing to your cause.
This Charity: Water welcome email communicates its mission and provides subscribers opportunities to learn more about how donations are used.
2. Excite and encourage subscribers with personalized stories
One of the crucial powerful fundraising strategies is to excite and encourage subscribers with personalized stories that tug on the heartstrings and prove your nonprofit’s impact. You can send an email that lists past accomplishments, details successful story, or describes the plight of those in need.
Humanize the story by detailing who your nonprofit helped — or who needs your help — and add a picture for strong visual impact. Then, use a call to motion (CTA) that invites subscribers to learn more, watch a video or meet the people you’ve mentioned.
Your CTA button can link to a landing page that includes a video together with a donation request. The goal is to get subscribers enthusiastic about contributing to your cause, then allow them to make a direct impact.
This World Vision email shows subscribers the impact the nonprofit has made with specific, personalized stories that encourage motion.
3. Raise money with creative fundraising emails for nonprofits
Fundraising is on the core of nonprofit email marketing. The best fundraising emails for nonprofits stress the importance of your cause, personalize your request and create excitement about giving. Listed here are some ideas:
- Tell successful story, then ask for a donation so that you might help others in an identical way
- Show subscribers exactly what their money goes toward at different contribution levels; for instance, $25 might feed a toddler for per week while $100 might pay for his or her education for a month
- Fundraise for the vacations (or a particular project) and set a campaign goal; send regular progress updates to excite subscribers and motivate donations
- Sell promotional items resembling shirts, hats, and water bottles together with your logo; have a portion of the proceeds go to your cause — or let subscribers buy items as gifts for family and friends
- Send emails that allow subscribers to donate in others’ names: friends, relations, organizations, or within the memory of family members
You may make your nonprofit fundraising emails simpler with colourful CTAs that stand out. “Donate now” is a standard CTA, but you possibly can try others resembling:
- Learn more
- Give now
- Give a meal
- Help a toddler
- Save a whale
- Watch the video
- Become involved
- Join us
- Be a hero
Once subscribers click, take them to a landing page that features your donation form plus additional information and media: videos, images, and an summary of your current campaign. A superb nonprofit landing page helps reduce abandonment because it really works to foster excitement and makes it easy to contribute.
4. Personalize your emails as much as possible. For instance, use an email marketing tool that inserts each subscriber’s first name within the salutation (and even the topic line).
In the event you’re asking for donations, add your director’s name and signature near the underside. You can too reap the benefits of email automation to spice up your fundraising efforts. Create a series of emails which can be robotically sent to subscribers at scheduled intervals. For instance, your campaign might include:
- A welcome email that introduces subscribers to your organization’s mission
- An update email that tells subscribers what you’ve been doing to make the world a greater place
- A fundraising email that creates excitement around your current campaign and makes a direct ask for donations
Here, you possibly can divide subscribers into two segments: donors and non-donors. Donors can receive a thank-you email with updates on campaign fundraising, the impact of their contributions, and future requests for donations. Non-donors can receive more emails that construct the case in your cause before they make one other donation request.
This email from Unicef tells the story of a young girl who lost her home on account of climate change, then tells subscribers learn how to help thousands and thousands of other children identical to her. Note the three different calls to motion.
5. Keep subscribers updated with email newsletters
Send regular newsletters to maintain subscribers updated in your organization’s challenges and successes. Your supporters wish to know the way you’re working to attain your mission and the way they might help.
Good nonprofit newsletter ideas include:
- Suggestions that align together with your cause — for instance, a nonprofit that protects animal rights might list ways to maintain pets cool and comfy during hot summer months
- Case studies “from the sector” — for instance, you could possibly detail how your last campaign saved a wildlife habitat for an endangered species ( after which send them to a fundraising landing page to learn more)
- Financial reports to let subscribers know the way you’re spending donations and the positive impact of their contributions
- Donor and volunteer spotlights show how individuals could make necessary contributions to encourage other subscribers to do the identical
- Related news articles and commentary out of your director or communications officer
- Featured photos that illustrate the impact of your organization
- Upcoming events, resembling conferences, trade shows, webinars, and more
- A CTA to point out subscribers how they might help — immediately
This UNHCR email is an ideal example of a great nonprofit newsletter. It includes a video link, personalized news stories, and a robust CTA.
6. Help subscribers take a stand
Nonprofit email marketing isn’t nearly fundraising. It might even be used to advertise activism. Specifically, political activism that demands change.
In the event you’re fighting legislative policy, going head-to-head against an enormous corporation, or attempting to sway public opinion, send an email that asks subscribers to sign a petition. You may then send them to a landing page that collects signatures.
Send your signed petition to legislators, corporate heads, newspapers, blogs, and other publications to make your stand. Follow up with subscribers to allow them to learn about responses you’ve received and the impact their petition had.
That is one other opportunity to make use of email automation to boost funds. You may robotically add petition signers to a recent email list and send thank-you emails plus donation request follow-ups.
This WDC email uses disturbing images to motivate petition signatures.
7. Learn more about your supporters
Email, when coupled with surveys, becomes much more powerful. Create a survey designed to learn more about your supporters, their demographics, and what they expect out of your organization. Then, use that information to enhance results.
For instance, your survey will be used to discover supporter demographics. You need to use that information to focus on your donation requests to people who find themselves prone to contribute. You can too discover what motivates your supporters and what they expect out of your organization — use this information to position your message and encourage motion, resembling donations, volunteerism, and advocacy.
Nonprofit email marketing is probably essentially the most powerful communication tool at your disposal. Better of all, it’s easy and reasonably priced. Use the following tips to craft effective nonprofit email campaigns that increase support and boost your fundraising efforts so you possibly can proceed to make a positive impact on the world.
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