e-mail marketing can help nonprofits reach their audiences, spread awareness about the cause and generate donations. Effective email marketing can connect nonprofits to audiences and raise money for their mission. In this guide, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of email marketing for nonprofits, from establishing your list to tracking your results.
Building Your Email List
Email marketing for nonprofits starts with creating your email list. You can do this in several ways:
a. Add a sign-up form: The first step in acquiring an email list is adding a sign-up form to your website. This form should be on display and readily accessible. Be sure to provide specifics about the kinds of communication subscribers should receive.
b. Use social media: Post your sign-up form on your organization’s social media pages to spread the word. Think about purchasing paid ads to reach people who might be followers that you do not already have.
c. Collaborate with others: Partner with other nonprofits or businesses that are aligned with your cause to promote each other’s email lists.
d. Make it an incentive: Provide something in return, like a discount on merchandise or a free resource, to get people to sign up for your email list.
e. Use events: Utilize offline events as a means of gathering email addresses. Consider a tablet or mobile app to enable attendees to sign up at the door.
Segmenting Your Email List
When creating your email list, it is important to segment it according to your interests, interactions, and donations. Segmenting your list allows you to send relevant and targeted emails that open and are viewed.
a. Split by engagement: Divide your list by the amount of time subscribers are spent reading your emails. People who check your emails regularly should see a different message than those who seldom check your email.
b. Split by donation history: Divide your list by donation history, including donors with no donations, repeated donors, and major donors. This will allow you to make your messages and fundraising appeals relevant to each group.
c. Sort by topic: Separate your list by subject, for example, subscriptions to certain programs or causes. This will help you deliver more meaningful and personalized messages.
d. Segment by location: Split your list by location to target your messages according to their location or time zone.
e. Split by volunteering history: Split your list according to how many volunteers they’ve been (both regular volunteers and first-time volunteers). That way, you’ll have the flexibility to target communications and volunteer efforts.
Creating Engaging Email Content
And, to ensure nonprofit email marketing succeeds, you need to be engaging and informative. Tips for creating great email copy:
a. Use a crisp and catchy subject line: This is your first impression on your subscribers, so make it count.
b. Be visual: Images break up the text and make your emails more visually appealing.
c. Personalize your emails: Call out your subscribers and use language relevant to their interests and values.
d. Create a simple call to action: Tell your subscribers exactly what you need them to do like donate or sign a petition.
Sending Regular Emails
Email marketing for nonprofits is all about being consistent. Regular emails keep your organization on your mind and establish a sense of credibility among your audience. But beware, don’t overdo it – if you are sending too many emails, they will unsubscribe.
a. Use a Content Calendar: Schedule your monthly/quarterly emails into a content calendar. It will keep you on track and send out regular emails.
b. Determine Email Distribution: Choose the number of emails you want to distribute depending on your objectives and demographics. Most nonprofits only send emails once or twice a month, but some might email weekly or daily during special events.
c. Segmentation: Split your list based on location, donation history, and engagement. This way you can email more relevant, personalized emails to each of the groups.
Measuring Your Success
Last, it’s crucial that you can track how successful your email marketing campaigns are so you can make informed decisions. Here are some metrics to keep an eye on:
1. Open Rate
The open rate indicates the number of email opens among one’s subscribers. It’s more of a measurement of whether the subject line and sender name has done a great job in getting the subscribers’ attention. The better the open rate, the more your audience engages enough with your subject lines to open the email and go one step further to interaction. Test A/B with a variety of subjects, make sure you’re sending them at the right time, and send your email mobile-friendly because most people open emails on mobile.
2. Click-through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate is a measure of how many people in your list clicked on a link from your email. This is a key measure because it shows what people are interested in and how many people have been exposed to your email. High CTR essentially means that whatever you are presenting to your users is compelling enough for them to click. For maximum CTR, ensure your CTAs are clear and clear-cut, links are easy to read, and you further segment your list to target your content.
3. Conversion Rate
CTR tells you how many subscribers visited your links, but conversion rate tells you how many of those visits were converted into something you would want to donate, buy, or register for an event. It is perhaps the most relevant measurement because it directly shows how well your campaign has met its objectives. To boost your conversion rates, design landing pages that will enhance the e-mail message and get conversions started as seamlessly as possible, while telling a compelling story that targets the requirements and reasons of your customers.
4. Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is the number that indicates how many of those e-mails didn’t get to the recipients’ inboxes. There are two types of bounces, soft bounces (they only happen occasionally, like when the inbox is full) and hard bounces (they always happen), like email addresses being wrong. What drives you to keep track of your bounce rate is that higher bounce rates can impact your sender reputation (the number that is derived to determine your future deliverability). Make sure to periodically empty your email list and delete those who are inactive or invalid to decrease the bounce rate.
5. Unsubscribe Rate
Your unsubscribe rate is how many people get unsubscribed from your emails. : If you don’t deliver what the audience wants from your content, frequency, or targeting, the unsubscribe rate will rise, creating a red flag. Having this metric under control ensures a balanced list. Keep unsubscribe rates low with relevant content, let subscribers control the amount of time your emails go out to them; keep providing targeted content that can be personalized for your audience.
As you track these metrics, you can measure how well all elements of your plan are working and make any changes needed in light of what’s or isn’t working.
Overall, email marketing helps nonprofits stay connected with donors and meet their fundraising goals. With an engaged email list, grouping it into groups, creating content, regular emails, and tracking your performance, you can craft successful email marketing campaigns for your nonprofit.
