When it comes to email marketing, most people are generally short on budget and bandwidth.
Whether you run a for-profit B2B or B2C - or are juggling multiple tasks as a nonprofit leader - email marketing typically presents a mountain of challenges.
One that looms the largest is not understanding what types of emails to send and what to include in them. After all, your expertise isn't in email marketing.
The struggle is real.
I know the pain. Having worked at nonprofits for a good part of my corporate career - and more recently through my agency - there's always too much to do and too little time and know-how to do it internally.
But it's not just this way at nonprofits. I've also seen this same environment in the corporate settings and small businesses who I've worked with and for.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Even if you can't afford to hire an in-house marketer or a digital marketing agency to handle email marketing for you, you CAN launch and maintain an email marketing program that moves the needle.
It can be done. And it can be done well.
In fact, you really only have to execute three email marketing messages to get the most bang for your buck.
#1 The welcome email
First on the list is one of the easiest and most powerful emails you can ever use. Welcome emails are automated messages. You set them up ONCE and they're triggered to send on their own when someone subscribes.
Just why are they SO important?
When people agree to give you their email address, they've actually taken a pretty big step in their relationship with your organization.
They like you enough to hand over personal information. That also means they trust you enough to believe you won't abuse the frequency with which you send messages.
They're in an excited state of mind about who you are and what you do.
In fact, welcome emails have 4x the open rate and 5x the click rate of a standard email message. That translates to a 91% open rate and 27% click rate.
In case you're not familiar with average email marketing stats, these are mind-blowingly good. It would be safe to say you'll probably never see this much enthusiasm from your subscribers about any other email marketing message again.
It's vital you take advantage of the high they're on by engaging with them as much as possible through an immediate welcome message.
What to include in a welcome email
An automated welcome email should arrive in a new subscriber's inbox a few moments after they've signed up. What's inside the message should reflect what the name implies: Greet them with a virtual hug.
You want to honor the trust your new subscriber has given you by WOWING them with your welcome email. Now's your chance to get them even more enthusiastic about what you do.
Here are the musts to include in your welcome email:
#1 From name
Instead of defaulting to your company's name in the from name field, get personal with it. Use your name (e.g. Joy at Hella Good Marketing) in that field, instead.
#2 Links to social media sites
If people are excited about getting an email from you, they'll also be eager to follow you on social media.
#3 Explain what they'll get
Tell subscribers how often you'll be sending them emails and what content they should expect to receive in those messages. For example, a weekly email with news and updates related to your products and services.
#4 A discount or offer
Offer a reward for subscribing. Welcome emails with offers get 30% more engagement.
#5 Ask subscribers to reply with the reason they signed up
This will give you valuable feedback about what resonates with your messaging. AND it will foster a personal investment in your organization.
Finally, make sure to add a personalization element to your welcome email.
This could be as simple as including a first name in the subject line or in the salutation. This one detail has proven to boost email click rates by 14%.
When executed well, a welcome email can start your interaction with a subscriber off on the right foot. It can literally be the catalyst to make one person an avid fan - and supporter - of your cause for life.
#2 The re-engagement email
Most email lists play host to a LOT of disengaged subscribers. We're talking 25% of the people on your list don't open messages from you anymore.
They subscribed at one point.
But then they changed email addresses. Or they lost interest. Or Google moved your messages to the Promotions tab.
It's not your fault. But it IS hurting your email list.
Every time you send an email and include these nonresponsive subscribers, they're contributing to a lower open rate. Not good.
In fact, the ISPs (the systems that deliver your emails to the inbox) dock points off your sender score for low open rates. The lower the open and click rates, the more likely you'll be sent to the spam folder.
By cutting these disengaged subscribers, basic math would tell us your open rates would increase. Fewer subscribers who open more = higher open rates.
A re-engagement email is your best bet for making that happen.
A re-engagement email is a one-time message you send to a specific group of subscribers. This list includes everyone who hasn't opened an email from you in the past 12 months.
This email gives subscribers a chance to raise their hands to stay on your list - possibly boosting open and click rates in the future.
And it ensures you don't cut off anyone who really wants to be a part of what you're doing.
What to include in a re-engagement email
Pull out all the stops when it comes to the subject line and copy of your re-engagement email.
This is no time to be shy.
You have to grab the attention of an inactive subscriber enough that your email jumps off the screen from the middle of a flooded inbox.
Here are my recommendations to get the highest open and click rates with your re-engagement emails.
#1 Write a subject line that pops
Use negative or shocking phrasing to draw in the reader, (e.g. "We've got a problem" or "Avoid missing out"). Insert an emoji, especially if it's not something you do in your standard emails.
#2 Remind people why they subscribed
Reiterate who you are and why your cause resonates with the subscriber. Explain the frequency with which you'll be sending emails and what information you'll include.
#3 Give a warning
Let subscribers know this is it. If they don't respond, they can still follow you online. But they won't get the benefits of being on your email list.
#4 Ask for action
Include a way for subscribers to reconfirm their list membership.
Once you've sent this email, wait 7 days.
Everyone who doesn't open the email should be deleted off your list.
Note, you WILL still keep subscribers on your list who opened BUT didn't actively click the button to stay on the list. To me, an open is a sign the person behind the email address is still active and interested. The fact that they didn't click the unsubscribe link emphasizes this further.
In the interest of keeping as many email addresses as possible on your list, I'd recommend keeping everyone who opens.
The rest, delete.
I KNOW it's hard to think about shrinking your email list.
It's a precious asset you use to communicate with the people who support your organization the most.
But the dead weight you're releasing off your list with a re-engagement email aren't your biggest fans. They're actually hurting your email marketing.
#3 The ask email
There's a lot of power in email marketing to drive sales for your products or services. For a nonprofit, it's a critical way to raise awareness and money for a cause.
But email marketing is largely underused for this purpose.
Even those who do use this tactic usually aren't taking advantage of its full potential.
One of the hiccups is that it's generally hard for people to ask for something they want, especially when it's money.
This problem will disappear if you create and believe a story (see the Storybrand book) that adds undeniable value to the lives of your subscribers. When you're offering a service or product that offers to transform someone's life, you won't be shy about asking people to spend money with you.
In your ask email, you should resonate with the reader, show them how you can guide them to a better life, and ask them to take action.
In other words, provide value and inspire BEFORE you ask anything of them.
The other part of making your ask email a raving success is honing down the specific audiences to whom you're sending it. You should personalize the messaging to each of their past behaviors to immediately gain their trust.
Some possible audience breakdowns would include:
- Subscribers who have the highest open and click rates (most engaged with your emails)
- Repeat customers (brand loyalists)
- One-time customers (interested in purchasing more)
- Prospects (have never bought)
With these specific audiences built out, you can send the same general message tailored to each group's interests.
What to include in an ask email (for-profit)
The frequency with which you can send an ask email is almost unlimited. It's just important to time it so you're not overwhelming your subscribers with too many messages at one time.
I'm a fan of using the Product Launch Formula for creating excitement about your product and service before sending the ask email.
There are a few items to check off your list before sending an ask email.
#1 Make images prominent
This is your chance to show off gorgeous photos of your products and services. If you don't have access to these, a mockup provider can do wonders.
#2 Pain points and solutions
Each ask email can hit a different pain point you can help your subscribers solve. If you've done your homework on your brand story, this should be fairly straightforward.
#3 A call-to-action (CTA)
Include at least one button that asks your subscribers to take action. The color of this button should be eye-catching, bright, and different from the other colors in your email.
One of my favorite tactics in email marketing is SO simple and SO effective. You should be sure to use it with your ask email.
After 7 days, create a segment of people who did not open your email. Resend them the exact same email at a different day and/or time.
Just change the subject line to something completely different.
You WILL get even more opens and clicks.
There's a variety of reasons subscribers may not have opened the first time:
- The subject line didn't appeal to them
- The subject line didn't stand out in the inbox
- They didn't have time to open your first email when it was sent
- They saw your email but got distracted
By resending your email to those who didn't open the first time, you're overcoming all those problems.
It's a no-brainer.
What to include in an ask email (nonprofit)
Ask emails are a little bit different for nonprofits.
It's often called a donation request email. Unlike for-profit ask emails, these can be sent less frequently - perhaps just a few times a year - to drive more of an impact.
Mark these dates on your email marketing calendar for sending a donation request email.
#1 Giving Tuesday
This day set aside especially for giving to nonprofits falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving every year. It's an essential for nonprofits to take advantage of.
#2 End of December
More donations means more tax write-offs the next year. Remind subscribers they can give to your organization.
#3 Organization anniversary
Say happy birthday to yourself with a message celebrating the year's wins and asking for monetary gifts.
Donation request email content
You can include a variety of types of content in your donation request emails. You just have to remember to make it about the person you're sending it to and what matters to them.
#1 Tell a success story
Highlight someone who benefited from the services of your organization. Connect what you do to a real person and a real story. Add a photo of the person in action and a powerful quote for an extra punch.
#2 Run the numbers
Nothing convinces people of the impact you're having like numbers to back it up. Share a rundown of your most impressive ones: number of donors, amount donated, programs started, people helped, services provided. Your readers will feel natural FOMO seeing how much other people have jumped in to help.
#3 Quotes from donors
In the ultimate don't-take-it from-me move, use your donation request email to share quotes from those who've already made donations to your organization or - even better - are repeat givers. These should reflect the importance of your organization, reiterate the benefits you bring, and talk about their personal reasons for giving.
As a nonprofit, you literally live off donations and sponsorships.
Donation request emails are essential to making sure your cause not only survives, but thrives.
Email marketing: A small team's saving grace
Email marketing allows you to communicate in a smarter, more personal way with your subscribers.
Even teams that don't have a lot of technical expertise - or hours in the day - can implement the 3 essential emails.
In addition, email marketing represents the lowest barrier for entry where industry knowledge is concerned. In fact, I'm convinced that with the tools available for email marketing today - some of them free or cheap - anyone can create and send an exceptional email.
Of course, if you get stuck creating any of these 3 emails, I'm just an email away from walking you through it.
Happy emailing!
Excellent tips, thanks!
Thanks, Mary!