5 Quick-Win Email Marketing Tips for Nonprofits
Emails not working for your organization? Here are five quick wins for more engagement and more donors.
Emails not working for your organization? Here are five quick wins for more engagement and more donors.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!The quarter was almost over, and I was still 100 members short of my goal.
Instead of panicking, I quickly planned an email marketing campaign to lapsed members, reframing the benefits and using storytelling to show how their membership made our scholarship program possible.
I noticed something interesting – with just a few changes to my strategy, our engagement rates (open, click, etc.) were skyrocketing.
Instead of simply asking to renew a membership, I was demonstrating value to them by adding a human element.
That year, I grew our membership program by 30%. Here are the email marketing tips I used to get there:
Let’s take a closer look at each:
Nearly half (47%) of recipients open an email based solely on the subject line.
Not every subject line hack on the internet is going to work for your audience. And many nonprofits should steer clear of the gimmicky subject lines that “trick” people into opening.
These could leave donors feeling disconnected and annoyed – and not ready to give.
Instead, try these tips for an eye-catching subject line:
Inboxes are full of clutter, and cutting through that noise requires a level of daring and experimentation. Earn opens by engaging your audience’s curiosity, and you’ll see more traction.
If you’re manually pressing send on every email, you’re likely exhausted and not reaching as many people as you could.
Automating outreach is the key to frequent, personalized touches without overwhelming your to-do list.
And they perform. One study found that automated emails significantly outperformed manual sends, with 52% more opens and a whopping 332% more clicks. When you automate, you reach donors with the right message at the right moment.
Donorbox’s Email Marketing feature, a part of Donorbox CRM, offers automated workflows that allow you to reach out to donors on key milestones like birthdays, create a welcome series, and more.
You put effort into the emails you create – don’t let it go to waste!
Most email platforms allow you to resend emails to anyone who hasn’t opened them.
This gives you a second chance to engage recipients with the same great content you just created.
Here are some tips for resends:
Resends give your content a second chance to shine.
Keeping donors and volunteers up-to-date doesn’t need to be stiff and formal – quick check-ins make all the difference.
I once worked with an organization who sent out super polished, highly designed emails every other week. Their engagement was okay, but they were getting very few donations. They weren’t seeing a return on the investment of all that time and energy.
So we decided to switch things up. Instead of those polished, weekly emails, they pivoted to short, friendly, and somewhat casual communications once a week – a brief update, sharing a picture and a story, with a link to donate.
They saw an increase in engagement, donations, and back-and-forth with donors. The more conversational approach made donors feel like a part of things, not outsiders looking in.
Important: Those beautifully designed emails still have their place! You might find that different donors respond to different types of emails. Create templates for both types of outreach, so you’re ready to go no matter your strategy.
Fundraising is all about relationships, right? If you’re only sending emails from your faceless organization, then donors aren’t connecting with a human – no relationship built.
Most email marketing platforms make it easy to adjust the sender name. Send it from you, your executive director, or any name that your audience might recognize or grow to recognize. Here’s how it looks on Donorbox Email Marketing:
A friendly name in an inbox might stand out more than your organization’s name.
Ultimately, improving your nonprofit’s email marketing strategy will take some time and testing. Your mileage may vary, because your audience varies.
But I’ve seen firsthand how a few clever changes can increase engagement and donations, fueling missions and helping nonprofits meet their goals.
Donorbox Email Marketing offers the tools you need to send strategic, engaging emails to your audience, without requiring a ton of work or know-how on your end. Sign up for the Donorbox CRM waitlist.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!
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