THE SIX TYPES OF EMAILS YOUR NONPROFIT NEEDS TO BE SENDING
A well-timed email to the right people is marketing gold. It can help your nonprofit expand its reach, grow its donor base, recruit volunteers, and drive donations - all from your audience’s inboxes.
There are three keys to email marketing success:
Use an email marketing platform with the automations and customization capabilities you need.
Create emails that are visually striking as well as informative and interesting to your viewers.
Stay relevant - don’t email people too often and use subject lines that capture attention.
To the last point, a lot of nonprofits ask, “How many emails is too many?” That’s a tough one, because every business and organization is different; there’s no hard and fast rule. But think about frequency like this: You want to keep your audience engaged, so don’t let too much time lapse between emails that you drop off your audience’s radar. On the other hand, every message that you send to someone’s inbox carries the risk of an unsubscribe, so you don’t want to send emails so often that people feel spammed, and they decide to bounce. The key is to test and find that sweet spot for your own organization and audience.
We recommend sending these six types of emails in order to have the most success:
Welcome. When someone volunteers, donates, or signs up to receive your emails, welcome them to your community and your cause. Welcome emails get four times higher open rates and five times higher click-through rates than traditional emails, according to Experian. The best welcome emails are sent automatically once the person enters your CRM and are friendly and engaging with a clear CTA for your recipient to learn more about your nonprofit. You can send them to a landing page on your website, ask them to follow you on social, show other ways they can interact with your organization.
Fundraising appeals. Make sure your fundraising emails have these three elements:
Your “why” - A strong case for support
Your “who” or “how” - A concise explanation of how the funds will be used
Your “where” - A clear call to action that links people directly to a donation page
This last point is especially important. Get your audience to the Donate Now button in as few clicks as possible. It’s worth your time to be sure you have a seamless flow from your email to your donation pages. Did you know? Email-based marketing and promotional campaigns generate approximately 28% of all online nonprofit revenue, according to Double the Donation.
Thank you. Always send a thank you email after someone has made a donation. This is an email that should be automated. As soon as someone donates, they should receive a thank you email. Also consider sending a thank you email following volunteer opportunities, events, etc.
Announcements. Send emails that are focused on presenting new information and alerting your audience to something new and cool that is happening. Make sure your message is short, sweet, and clear. Add a call to action that invites readers to learn more on your website.
Marketing emails. This doesn’t refer to a sales pitch. Instead, we’re referring to ways to engage your audience and make them interact in some way with your organization. This can take the form of a monthly newsletter, a blog feature, an update on a fundraising campaign, a donor appreciation letter, and more.
Milestones. People love to be recognized. So put the personalization options and automations of your email marketing platform to use! Milestone emails canrecognize and celebrate a special moment in your recipient’s life: a birthday, their “first donation” anniversary, a certain number of hours volunteered, etc. In theory, these types of emails should be customized and automated so they land in your recipient’s inbox at just the right time. The goal of these emails is simply to make your audience feel appreciated. So don’t worry about adding a call to action. Just let them enjoy that warm and fuzzy feeling.
If you aren’t sure where to start, reach out HERE! We can help you create and execute the perfect email marketing strategy for your nonprofit.
