Effective Email Campaigns | Nonprofit Newsletter
Oct 27
Effective Email Campaigns:
How many nonprofits do you think have effective email campaigns? Nonprofit email newsletters are great tools in the nonprofit sector for many reasons, mainly because they are cheaper to produce on a limited budget. When executed properly a nonprofit can capture the attention of their subject audience, relaying important newsworthy information onward.
Some nonprofits’ unfortunately fail to get to know their audience, and are stuck with relatively low open rates. Let’s take a look at how your nonprofit can put together an effective email campaign, and learn how to boost your open rate in 5 simple steps. I recently read an article from Constant Contact, written by Azure Collier—5 Questions Nonprofits Should Ask Before Sending Their Email Newsletter, which I thought to be of value to our readers. I agree 100% with these 5 simple steps outlined below:
Are your subject lines compelling?
Based on my personal experience, a subject line that says “October Newsletter” typically will be overlooked—and wont capture your readers’ attention. Also, be sure to avoid “spam like” words and phrases. Make your subject line stand out from the rest of the emails/newsletters that your audience has to sort through daily.
Some terms to avoid in your email newsletter:
- All CAPS
- Register today
- Special offers
- Free
- Qualified/Qualify
Do you have interesting visuals in your emails?
Is the email content interesting to your readers?
Its true visual images are worth 1,000 words, and what’s better to capture the attention of your audience. Embrace visual content in your newsletters, words alone are no longer enough. When it comes to content, the term “less is more” should be coined. Personally, when it comes to content I believe anything over 300 words is a waste of space and valuable effort. This isn’t a rule, but think about it, how many people actually sit and read an entire newsletter? Do you find that you’re reading less? Leave your feedback in the comments below. You want your audience engaged and involved, you want them to come back for more. You need to capture your audience in 2 minutes or less; before they zone out, and move on to the next email. Be short and to the point! Visual content is:
- More persuasive
- Leaves a better and longer impression
Is this the right frequency and timing for my email?
At this point my opinion above^ has been tossed out the window, my word count is 391+, but I’ll continue to jabber on. Timing is everything when sending out a newsletter campaign to your audience; their time is precious, respect it. Ask yourself if you’re sending an email when your audience is available to read them. In order to test this, schedule your newsletter for different times and dates, use your newsletter reporting to find which schedule is working best. I also agree with Azure Collier, the majority of people are going to be looking at their inbox at the beginning and end of each day.
Do you know what your audience really wants?
Have you thought about asking them? Let them know you value their feedback, and the wealth of information they provide will bring purpose to your product/service offering.
In your newsletter, be sure to focus on quality not quantity. In the end it’s not about how many people open your newsletter; it’s about fostering an engaged reader.