THE 5 W'S OF NONPROFIT MARKETING EMAILS
Effective email marketing campaigns come down to five basic things -
Who should I email?
What should I say?
Where should I send my readers?
When should I send the campaign?
Why am I sending an email in the first place?
Here’s where a lot of nonprofits go wrong. They focus on sending fundraising emails, nothing else. They also send the same message to their entire list.
Now, don’t get us wrong - we prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to how many emails we send. The last thing you want is for a potential donor or volunteer to unsubscribe because you sent too many emails.
But there needs to be a balance between the types of emails you send. If you only send fundraising emails, you are missing a vital piece of the marketing puzzle - relationship building.
Consider this: if you have a friend who only comes to you when they need something, how long will you stay friends with that person? But if they check in, ask you how you’re doing, update you on their life, share the good times, how do you react when they need something? You’re ready and willing to help.
The same is true of your audience. Show your audience the amazing work you’re doing throughout the year with their donations. They want to hear what you’re up to - what you’ve accomplished and current issues your organization is addressing. In fact, people are more likely to engage with your advocacy emails than any other type. Advocacy emails provide a great opportunity to deepen your relationship with your audience. Then, when they receive a fundraising email, they will be more likely to donate.
Does that sound like a lot of emails? It can be. And given the fact that the average office worker receives 121 emails a day, it can be a challenge for your email to stand out from the crowd
The key to get your emails noticed is to write them like they’re to a real person, from a real person.
Here are a few things to consider when you’re looking to add more of a human element to your email marketing:
Design and Format. Take your email design down to the studs and build it up with a format that makes it feel less templated and designed. Think about the design elements you would include in a personal email to a friend or family member and try to mimic that.
Salutation. Easy things like using the person’s first name does wonders for email engagement. Bonus points for starting with their name and adding something personally relevant like a local interest, the holidays, recent events, etc.
Tone and Voice. Use social cues and emotive language that a real human would use. The tone helps people put down their ‘I’m getting marketed to’ guard to engage with the content on a more personal and human level. It’s helpful to read the email out loud and then adjust to account for tone/voice so it sounds like it is from a human, and makes you feel something.
Length. Before you make a request, make sure there is enough body copy to answer the question why… both for the email and for the request. If you can do that in one sentence, do it! If it takes 1,000 words, then make your email 1,000 words.
Call-to-Action. Be clear. Be direct. And make it simple for your reader to follow-through.
Remember - people give to people. The best way to optimize your fundraising email strategy is to craft your email - from the design and format to the call-to-action - as if you were just one person writing to another.
So how does this all come together? Start with the 5 W’s. For example:
Who? First-time donors
What? An educational infographic that reminds them how important their donation has been to solve a problem or help your cause.
Where? Send email recipients to a blog post or a video that elaborates on the information in the infographic.
When? Within a week of their donation.
Why? It demonstrates a donors’ value to your mission and motivates them to re-engage with your organization.
Then, read it through with attention to your tone and voice, making sure it sounds personal. By implementing these techniques, you can craft a winning email marketing strategy.
